Migration readiness assessment
Migration readiness assessment: is your file ready to move?
Your five-question readiness check
Five questions about your Desktop file give a quick read on whether it's ready to move to QuickBooks Online — what converts cleanly, what needs prep, and what a free review would confirm. The check runs in your browser and saves nothing.
Last reviewed October 2026 by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor
Your five-question readiness check
Rough answers are fine; pick "Not sure" if you'd have to guess.
Estimated read
— of 5 ready
Answer the five questions above for an honest read on how migration-ready your file is.
How this is calculated — every number used
- Each question has one ready answer: Yes.
- The score counts how many of the five checks you can answer Yes — nothing else.
- "Not sure" counts as not ready.
- This is a self-assessment, not a migration plan or a guarantee. A free view-only review confirms what actually carries over.
Three of Intuit's own conditions to check too
- File size: the Desktop file's Total Targets count must be below 4,000,000 (Intuit, checked October 2026).
- The clock: if a QuickBooks Online company already exists, its 90-day (or 180-day) import window started when it was created (Intuit).
- An empty target: importing into an Online company that already has data replaces it, and Intuit says that can't be undone.
What the five test
What the checks mean
Each question maps to something we confirm before moving a file. Books that are reconciled and current migrate predictably; ones that aren't carry their gaps into the new file. Clean reports and tidy lists — customers, vendors, the chart of accounts — move without dragging duplicates across. And knowing which history you need, and whether your payroll, inventory, or add-ons carry over, is what separates a smooth QuickBooks migration from a stalled one. If you're moving off the desktop product, the desktop-to-online path has its own specifics. Either way, a free view-only review confirms what actually moves before anything changes — the same way we scope every engagement in our method. This assessment is one of our free interactive tools, alongside the bookkeeping health score.
Questions about migration readiness
How accurate is this assessment?
It's a self-assessment, not a migration plan: five questions that decide whether a Desktop file moves cleanly. The free review checks the file itself, including what Intuit's conversion won't carry.
Is anything I enter saved or sent?
No. Your answers stay on this page — the score is worked out in your browser and disappears when you leave. Nothing reaches us unless you book a review.
What do I do with the result?
Mostly ready: plan the move — see how a migration runs, or have us confirm the file first. Several gaps: a free review scopes the prep before you create the Online company.
What if I'm not sure how to answer?
Choose "Not sure". It counts as a gap, not as ready — and not knowing whether a feature or a year of history will carry over is a common reason to have the file reviewed before migrating.
- Bookkeeping health score— a check of the books themselves before you move them