How to migrate from QuickBooks Desktop to Sage Intacct
To migrate a client from QuickBooks Desktop to Sage Intacct with superglue's AI agent, upload the client's portable company file, and give superglue access to the client's Sage Intacct 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 Sage Intacct?
Migrating from QuickBooks Desktop to Sage Intacct 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 Sage Intacct
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 Sage Intacct.
- 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 Sage Intacct sandbox or implementation company 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 Sage Intacct?
The client authorizes the superglue sender ID in Sage Intacct and adds a user for superglue. superglue configures Sage Intacct and loads the data through that access, in a Sage Intacct sandbox or implementation company first, in this order:
- 01
Multi-entity, the base currencies and the first fiscal month. Base currencies and the first fiscal month can change only before transactions exist.
- 02
The configuration of each module, such as General Ledger, Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable, and the names of terms and dimensions.
- 03
Entities, locations, departments and the other dimensions.
- 04
The chart of accounts and the journals.
- 05
Customers, vendors and items, then the opening balances and the open items.
Access setup for the client: Sage Intacct configuration guide
What moves from QuickBooks Desktop to Sage Intacct?
| In QuickBooks Desktop | In Sage Intacct |
|---|---|
| Chart of accounts | GL accounts |
| Classes | Dimensions such as departments, locations and classes |
| Customers | Customers |
| Jobs under customers | Projects |
| Vendors | Vendors |
| Items | Items |
| Bank and credit card accounts | Checking and credit card 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 invoices and AP bills with their original numbers, dates and due dates, so the aging in Sage Intacct 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 summary journal entries per month, account and dimension.
Which decisions do you make when you migrate from QuickBooks Desktop to Sage Intacct?
- 01
Where do QuickBooks classes go in Sage Intacct?
Classes in QuickBooks usually stand for departments, locations or lines of business. In Sage Intacct, each of these meanings gets its own dimension.
superglue reads how the client uses each class and proposes its dimension, most often departments or locations.
- 02
What happens to jobs under customers?
QuickBooks keeps jobs as sub-customers. Sage Intacct keeps customers and projects apart, with the customer on each project.
superglue recommends a project for each active job, linked to its customer, and history only for closed jobs.
- 03
Which companies become entities, and which become locations?
In Sage Intacct, an entity has its own books, tax and bank accounts. A location only adds a reporting value.
superglue recommends one entity for each legal company in QuickBooks Desktop, and locations for the sites inside a company.
- 04
Which records are shared across entities?
Customers, vendors and items can live at the top level and be shared, or belong to one entity.
superglue recommends shared customers and vendors, so each company appears once and intercompany reporting stays clean.
- 05
How much history moves?
Most clients need the open items plus one to two years of monthly balances in Sage Intacct, 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 Sage Intacct?
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.
Plan module configuration as its own workstream
In Sage Intacct, the settings of General Ledger, Accounts Payable and the other modules cannot be imported like data. Unless the partner starts from a template company, they are set by hand, screen by screen. superglue sets them and checks every value, so the configuration is ready when the data is.
Agree user-defined dimensions with the person who reports on them
A user-defined dimension stays in Sage Intacct once it holds data. Add only the ones the client will report on, and get each one agreed before the first load.
superglue also runs the rest of the Sage Intacct project. See the Sage Intacct implementation
Frequently asked questions
Which data moves from QuickBooks Desktop to Sage Intacct?
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 Sage Intacct.
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 Sage Intacct without my approval?
No. superglue only reads QuickBooks Desktop. Before any write to Sage Intacct, 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 Sage Intacct 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.