Migration from QuickBooks Desktop

I see there is a nice Wave migration app. Anything good options to migrate from QuickBooks Desktop, even if it requires the Double Entry App? Most of what I've seen so far is that it would require exporting reports into various Excel files to allow imports into Akaunting. It is a bit of a daunting task from what I've seen.

Just curious if anyone has accomplished the migration?

Rob

I would be interested as well. Our company is still using an older version of quickbooks desktop and I have been considering moving online. Started setting up with Wave but now Wave moving away from international companies so have considered akaunting but don't see a nice way to migrate data over. Seems like data migration would be a high priority to get more users using akaunting and then purchasing apps. The harder it is to migrate the less interested people will be to use this software.

I figured out that about the only way to do this was to export the data into the spreadsheet templates. There are a few tricks but basically a lot of trial and error. It also helped to look at the data tables and get comfortable with how things worked. Once in Akaunting, things were fine. For now, I’ve stuck with QB just because I’m a solo consultant ramping down my work.

How did you import it from the spreadsheets into akaunting?

The first thing you need to decide is if you want to continue using double entry or not. At first, I thought I did although I realized for me, it would be fine to do it without. If you need that, purchase the double entry app. It makes it more like QB.

Second, the import method I used was using the import button. For example, if you go to Sales -> Invoices, you'll see the import option. You can download a template there to use for your data. Then, when the file is ready, you choose to import it. Various integrity checks are done when you import the actual file. They aren't comprehensive, so it's better to rely on your own method of data checking.

I didn't worry about creating vendor lists or customer lists. These are created automatically when you import expenses or invoices, so that worked for me.

The biggest challenge was creating the invoices/sales. In QuickBooks, I created a detailed, custom transaction report with the columns I needed and only invoices. I then exported this into Excel to massage the data. Using copy/paste and some formulas, I was able to create a spreadsheet to import about 3 years of data. NOTE: The memo field isn't in the template but exists in the database as a transaction item description. So if it is in the spreadsheet it will show up in the database. I learned this by reviewing the code for import. They rename some columns so those have to be in the spreadsheet. Other columns are imported into the database if the column name matches. There are some quirks like this that you have to work through that makes it good to know the mysql back end, at least a little.

Purchases (e.g. bills, payments, vendors) works in a similar way. I don't use bills so I only needed to import payments.

The best thing to do is to create a test instance, test your imports and get your data ready, then either recreate the install by deleting the database and restarting fresh to import the data.

On my cheap, shared hosting plan, I had to break my invoice spreadsheet into several smaller chunks because I couldn't get the php memory needed to import the file all at once (FUN!). You shouldn't have this issue if you're on a dedicated or reasonable server.

Not sure all this helps?

Rob

Thank you Rob. That was very helpful. I tried a similar thing when I was trying to import charts of accounts but the sample file didn't have any explanation as to what should go in the file. For example, it asked you to put in a number (say from 1-10) to show if it was an asset, liability, etc. but they didn't provide a legend for you to know what number related to what type of account so that it would map properly in their system. Akaunting has a lot of potential. It appears that Wave and Zoho Books are actually built on top of Akaunting. But it still needs a lot of refinement. Wave was great, but my business is outside of the US so I have to look for another solution. Another one of my businesses (also outside the US) is using QuickBooks for desktop. I want to move online for convenience of access etc. but we are a small business that happens to have multiple currency transactions and most companies charge a very high monthly fee for multi currency support. Akaunting seemed like a great solution and I did buy the double entry app but am finding a lot of little things that actually are making me have second thoughts. For example, you can't decide whether or not to send emails when payments are made on invoices. The system sends out an email whether you like it or not. The logo doesn't upload well (no instructions on sizes, you have to learn by inspecting code) so it gets distorted and leaves a lot of white space. Invoice templates are not consistent in how they display depending on if its HTML, PDF or printed. They all look and behave differently with weird font formatting (Wave's were very elegant). Seems like all very easy things to fix but reading the discussion forums, they are things that have been mentioned for years that have not been addressed. I hope these things can get addressed because it does seem like a decent solution and I'm fine paying (like I did for the double entry app), I just need a more reasonable cost than Xero and others charge, but would also like some very basic things like Invoice appearance, control over communication to clients, etc. to work cleanly.

Yes, I would agree with your assessment, lots of potential and a good fit for simpler businesses. There are quirks but I'm guessing there are workarounds for most. It would've been perfect if I'd been starting my consulting business from scratch. As it is, I'll make the older version of QuickBooks work for now. With Wave, did you import data from QuickBooks?

I did not import from QuickBooks to wave. One business started with Wave, the other business started with QuickBooks (before Wave even existed). Was just in the process of deciding to move from QuickBooks to Wave when they decided they would no longer support companies outside the US and Canada. That's what led me here to Akaunting. If I can get my Wave migration setup up and am happy with it, I want to migrate my other company as well. We have self-hosted the Akaunting app so I don't have to fear the app disappearing one day (just might lose updates, etc.) which is great.

I have been looking for workarounds for some of the issues I'm running into. My fear is with every update that is done you have to redo all the workarounds which is really annoying.

If you are US/Canada based, take a look at Wave. I really liked them. So easy to use. Clean interface. I am sad to see them push us out the door.

I vote for this! I need to migrate from QB Desktop. I also have QBO but Im glad to see they created an app for that!

I actually would prefer a QB Desktop Sync. So that Akaunting can be the online portal for my QB.