Desktop to Online migration checklist
The QuickBooks Desktop to Online migration checklist
The migration checklist, phase by phase
This is a phased checklist for moving from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online — clean the Desktop file, capture a baseline, run the conversion, verify what carried, reconcile the before and after, then cut over. Work through it in order, because a conversion copies whatever you give it. Tick items as you go; your progress saves in your browser.
Last reviewed October 2026 by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor
The migration checklist, phase by phase
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The migration checklist, phase by phase
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Clean the file first
Capture the before baseline
Run the conversion
Verify what carried
Reconcile before and after
Cut over
The list is print-friendly — to keep a copy, use your browser's print option and choose Save as PDF.
Download: what moves, what changes and what doesn't, from Intuit's own lists, with the checks to run after — the Desktop-to-Online decision matrix (CSV). Illustrative example — not a client file. The full matrix is on our Desktop-to-Online migration page.
Items people miss
- Create the Online company only when the Desktop file is ready: Intuit's US import window is 90 days from creating it (180 if your accountant did), and importing into a company that already has data replaces it (Intuit, Intuit, checked October 2026).
- Save what won't move first — Intuit lists the audit trail, memorized reports, past reconciliation reports, price levels, pending sales and users among them, and lists budgets both ways — so export the Desktop budget and check the Online result; bank connections are set up again (Intuit).
- Schedule the cutover at least 7 business days before a payroll, and check year-to-date payroll summaries after the move — current-year paychecks arrive as lump sums.
How to use this checklist
Work it top to bottom. A conversion is a copy, not a repair — it carries whatever is in the Desktop file across to Online, errors and all. So the first two phases get the file clean and record a baseline you can measure against; the conversion happens in the middle; and the last three phases prove the move worked before you rely on it. Skip the cleanup and you migrate the same mess into a new place, only harder to untangle.
Intuit is steadily moving customers from Desktop toward Online, so many files make this trip eventually. Doing it deliberately — clean, baseline, convert, verify, reconcile, cut over — is what separates a migration you can trust from one you spend months second-guessing. Tick items as you finish them; your progress saves in your browser on this device, so you can stop and come back. If the verify or reconcile phase will not tie out, that is the moment to hand the file over rather than force it.
Questions about the Desktop to Online migration checklist
Do I have to do the phases in order?
Yes — the order is the point. You clean the Desktop file and capture a baseline before you convert, because the conversion copies whatever you give it. Verifying and reconciling after the conversion only means something if you have a clean before picture to compare against.
Should I clean the file before or after migrating?
Before. A conversion carries your errors across with everything else, so a messy Desktop file becomes a messy Online file. Reconciling and correcting first means you migrate books you can trust, and the after-conversion checks have a clean baseline to match.
Does my progress save?
Yes. Each item you tick is stored in your browser on this device, so you can close the tab and come back. It is not sent anywhere; clearing your browser data or switching devices starts the list fresh.
What if the numbers do not match after conversion?
That is exactly what the verify and reconcile phases are for — some list and transaction types do not carry the same way Online, so a mismatch is common and fixable. If your key reports will not tie out, a free QuickBooks review will tell you what did not carry before you cut over.
- Cleanup checklist— the cleanup to finish in Desktop before the move
- Month-end close checklist— the first close in QuickBooks Online