How to migrate from QuickBooks Desktop to Acumatica
To migrate a client from QuickBooks Desktop to Acumatica with superglue's AI agent, upload the client's portable company file, and give superglue access to the client's Acumatica account. superglue assesses the data in minutes, plans every phase, recommends an answer to each decision, and runs a trial load that reconciles to the cent before cutover. You review, decide and sign off with the client.
Intuit released its last annual QuickBooks Desktop versions in 2024 and stopped selling Pro Plus and Premier Plus to new US customers in September 2024, so most Desktop clients plan their move now.
What are the steps to migrate from QuickBooks Desktop to Acumatica?
Migrating from QuickBooks Desktop to Acumatica takes six steps: connect both systems, assess the data, plan every phase, decide the mapping, run a trial load and cut over. Each load repeats exactly what you tested, and every write waits for your approval.
- 01
Connect QuickBooks Desktop and Acumatica
The client saves a portable company file (.QBM) and sends it to you. superglue reads the whole company from that one file, without QuickBooks. The client then gives superglue access to Acumatica.
- 02
Assess the QuickBooks Desktop data
In minutes, superglue counts every record, finds the open items and lists the data issues with examples. You know the size of the migration before you quote it.
- 03
Plan every phase
superglue drafts the plan from discovery to cutover, with tasks, owners and the QuickBooks Desktop specifics already in it.
- 04
Decide the mapping
superglue brings each decision below with a recommendation from the client's own data. You confirm or change each answer, and the client signs the mapping.
- 05
Run the trial load
superglue loads an Acumatica test tenant and compares it with QuickBooks Desktop: the trial balance per period, the open receivables and payables per customer and vendor, and the inventory value. superglue explains every difference before cutover.
- 06
Cut over
At cutover, superglue loads the final data with the same steps as the trial load, and you sign the reconciliation with the client.
How do you get the data out of QuickBooks Desktop?
- Ask the client for a portable company file (.QBM). superglue reads the whole company from it, with the full history, and needs no QuickBooks and no session on the client's computer.
- Collect what the file does not hold in readable form: the Attach folder with documents, and the tax IDs and bank account numbers that QuickBooks encrypts.
- At cutover, ask for a new file. superglue reads it again and loads production with the same steps as the trial load.
Steps to forward to the client: QuickBooks Desktop files
What needs to be configured in Acumatica?
The client adds an API user and a connected application for superglue. superglue configures Acumatica and loads the data through that access, in an Acumatica test tenant first, in this order:
- 01
The features the client licenses, such as subaccounts, multicurrency and projects.
- 02
The subaccount structure, companies and branches, and the chart of accounts.
- 03
The financial year and its periods, opened for every migration date.
- 04
Cash accounts, credit terms, taxes and numbering, then the preferences and classes of each module.
- 05
Customers, vendors and items, then the opening balances and the open items.
Access setup for the client: Acumatica configuration guide
What moves from QuickBooks Desktop to Acumatica?
| In QuickBooks Desktop | In Acumatica |
|---|---|
| Chart of accounts | GL accounts |
| Classes | Subaccount segments and branches |
| Customers | Customers and customer classes |
| Jobs under customers | Projects and project tasks |
| Vendors | Vendors and vendor classes |
| Items | Stock and non-stock items |
| Bank and credit card accounts | Cash accounts |
Open items
Open invoices, credit memos and unapplied payments, open bills and vendor credits, open sales and purchase orders, and inventory on hand with its cost.
Open items load as AR and AP documents with their original numbers, dates and due dates, in an open financial period, so the aging in Acumatica matches on day one.
History
The portable company file holds every transaction since the company started, with each payment still applied to its invoice, unless the client condensed the file. Condensed years are summary entries.
History loads as journal transactions per financial period, account and subaccount.
Which decisions do you make when you migrate from QuickBooks Desktop to Acumatica?
- 01
Where do QuickBooks classes go in Acumatica?
Acumatica has no classes on transactions. Reporting values live in subaccount segments, branches or projects.
superglue proposes a subaccount segment for classes that split revenue and cost, and a branch for classes that stand for sites.
- 02
How do QuickBooks items become Acumatica items?
Acumatica separates stock and non-stock items. Item classes set the units, the valuation method and the posting class, and the posting class sets the accounts.
superglue proposes stock items for inventory parts and assemblies, non-stock items for the rest, and item classes from the accounts each item posted to.
- 03
Which companies and branches does the client need?
In Acumatica, a company can have several branches. Branches drive balances, reports and access rights.
superglue recommends one company for each legal company in QuickBooks Desktop, and branches only where the client reports per site.
- 04
Which classes carry the defaults?
Customer and vendor classes set the accounts, terms and other defaults for every record in them, and item classes set the units, the valuation method and the posting class.
superglue proposes classes from the groups the client already uses, so each record gets its defaults from its class.
- 05
How much history moves?
Most clients need the open items plus one to two years of monthly balances in Acumatica, and older years as yearly balances. The client keeps the older detail in an archive.
superglue recommends two years of monthly balances per account, and full transaction detail only where the client needs to look into single transactions.
What are the common challenges when you migrate from QuickBooks Desktop to Acumatica?
Old opening balances sit in three holding accounts
QuickBooks posts the opening balances of accounts and inventory to Opening Balance Equity, and those of customers and vendors to Uncategorized Income and Uncategorized Expenses. Ask the client's accountant to clear these before the trial load, so the new system opens with a clean trial balance. superglue traces each entry to its source.
Names must be unique across the name lists
QuickBooks does not allow the same name on a customer, a vendor, an employee or an Other Names entry, so clients add suffixes such as "Acme (V)". superglue finds these pairs and proposes one clean name for each company.
Undeposited Funds hides open payments
Payments that were received but never deposited stay in Undeposited Funds, sometimes for years, and the bank reconciliation in the new system cannot start clean with them. Ask the client to deposit or void each one before cutover. superglue lists them.
Items decide the accounts
Each QuickBooks item posts to its own income, expense or asset account. superglue groups the items by those accounts, so the account defaults in the new system produce the same postings.
Brief the controller on equity accounts
Acumatica has no equity account type, so equity accounts are set up as liability accounts and shown as equity on the balance sheet. Controllers who read the account list often ask about it, so explain it before they see it.
Finish the preferences before the first trial load
Acumatica does not load the records of a module until that module's preferences are complete. Put the preferences in the configuration plan ahead of the first trial load.
superglue also runs the rest of the Acumatica project. See the Acumatica implementation
Frequently asked questions
Which data moves from QuickBooks Desktop to Acumatica?
The chart of accounts, customers, vendors and items, the open items, and as much history as the client needs. The mapping table on this page shows where each record lands in Acumatica.
Does the client need to run QuickBooks for superglue to read the data?
No. The client saves a portable company file once. superglue reads it without QuickBooks and with the full history. At cutover, the client sends a new file.
Does superglue write to Acumatica without my approval?
No. superglue only reads QuickBooks Desktop. Before any write to Acumatica, it shows the target, the connection and a transformed sample, and waits for your approval.
How do I know the migration is complete?
superglue reconciles the trial load and the final load against QuickBooks Desktop: the trial balance per period, the open receivables and payables per customer and vendor, and the inventory value. You get a reconciliation report to sign with the client.
What happens when I start this migration?
You sign up and connect the client's systems. If you want to see a full migration run first, superglue can set up Pinecrest Supply, a sample client.
Start your QuickBooks Desktop to Acumatica migration
Sign up and connect the client's systems, or let superglue set up Pinecrest Supply, a sample client, to see a full migration run first.