How to migrate from QuickBooks Desktop to NetSuite
To migrate a client from QuickBooks Desktop to NetSuite with superglue's AI agent, upload the client's portable company file, and give superglue access to the client's NetSuite 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 NetSuite?
Migrating from QuickBooks Desktop to NetSuite 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 NetSuite
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 NetSuite.
- 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 a NetSuite sandbox account 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 NetSuite?
The client turns on the SuiteCloud features and adds an integration record for superglue. superglue configures NetSuite and loads the data through that access, in a NetSuite sandbox account first, in this order:
- 01
Subsidiaries and their base currencies.
- 02
Accounting preferences and periods.
- 03
The chart of accounts, then departments, classes and locations.
- 04
Custom fields, records, segments, forms and workflows, and SuiteScript where the design needs it.
- 05
Customers, vendors, contacts and items, then the opening balances and the open items.
Access setup for the client: NetSuite configuration guide
What moves from QuickBooks Desktop to NetSuite?
| In QuickBooks Desktop | In NetSuite |
|---|---|
| Chart of accounts | Accounts |
| Classes | Departments, classes and locations |
| Customers | Customers |
| Jobs under customers | Projects |
| Vendors | Vendors |
| Items | Items |
| Bank and credit card accounts | Bank 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 invoices, credit memos, vendor bills and vendor credits with their original numbers and dates, so the aging in NetSuite 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 entries per month, account and segment.
Which decisions do you make when you migrate from QuickBooks Desktop to NetSuite?
- 01
Where do QuickBooks classes go in NetSuite?
NetSuite has three standard segments: departments, classes and locations. A QuickBooks class can map to any of them, or to a custom segment.
superglue proposes the segment for each class from how the client uses it, and keeps NetSuite classes for lines of business.
- 02
What happens to jobs under customers?
NetSuite supports sub-customers and projects. Sub-customers keep the QuickBooks hierarchy, and projects add budgets, time and billing.
superglue recommends projects for jobs with costs or billing, and sub-customers for jobs that only hold another address.
- 03
How many subsidiaries does the client need?
In NetSuite OneWorld, subsidiaries set the currency, the tax and which customers and vendors each company can use. Changing them after go-live means reworking master data.
superglue recommends one subsidiary for each legal company in QuickBooks Desktop, decided before any master data loads.
- 04
Which item types do the items become?
NetSuite separates inventory, non-inventory, service, other charge, kit and assembly items. Non-inventory and service items can be for sale, for purchase or for resale.
superglue proposes the type for each item from how the client bought and sold it.
- 05
How much history moves?
Most clients need the open items plus one to two years of monthly balances in NetSuite, 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 NetSuite?
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.
Lock the subsidiary structure before the first load
The currency of a NetSuite subsidiary is fixed once its first transaction is saved, so a late change means a new subsidiary and a reload. Get the structure signed in the design phase.
Plan the sandbox around refreshes
A sandbox refresh replaces everything in the sandbox, including your configuration. superglue keeps the configuration and applies it again, so a refresh does not cost you the setup work.
superglue also runs the rest of the NetSuite project. See the NetSuite implementation
Frequently asked questions
Which data moves from QuickBooks Desktop to NetSuite?
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 NetSuite.
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 NetSuite without my approval?
No. superglue only reads QuickBooks Desktop. Before any write to NetSuite, 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 NetSuite 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.