How to Convert QuickBooks Online to Desktop

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There are instances when you might want to convert QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop. For example, you may want to switch to QuickBooks Desktop, or you might have discontinued using QuickBooks Online and want to store your company data for later reference. In such cases, you will need to convert the QuickBooks Online company file to QuickBooks Desktop.

Before you transfer QBO data to QBDT, let us see what data you can export from QuickBooks Online to Desktop. After that, we will show you how to convert QuickBooks Online to Desktop in a methodical guide.

Learn What You Can Export from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop

QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop vary significantly in features. Moreover, not everything can be moved from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop. Learn what data you can export when you convert QuickBooks Online to Desktop.

Features

Let us look at what features are copied when you migrate from QuickBooks Online to Desktop.

What Moves to QuickBooks Desktop	What Doesn’t move to QuickBooks Desktop
	Multi-Currency It either doesn’t move to QuickBooks Desktop or moves incorrectly For instance, nothing might move, and you will see an empty QuickBooks Desktop file.Transactions that are not in the United States Dollar (USD) will show as USD.
	Payroll You need to set up a payroll subscription or manually payroll in QuickBooks Desktop before you can create paychecks.
Reconcile The transactions that are reconciled will show a bold check mark in the cleared section.The transactions that are cleared will show a light checkmark in the cleared section.	Budgets However, the reconciliation reports won’t be exported to the QuickBooks Desktop.
Sales Tax Sales taxes are listed as line items on invoices.Sales tax items and rates move and become service items.	Sales tax payments and adjustments do not move to QuickBooks Desktop
Projects Projects move to QuickBooks Desktop and become Customer Jobs.

Lists

QuickBooks Desktop has list and field limits. If the lists or fields exceed the limit, they will be shortened. Therefore, when you convert QuickBooks Online to Desktop, ensure your company file doesn’t exceed:

Maximum number of list entries (list limits and custom fields) allowed in QuickBooks Desktop. Each QuickBooks Desktop edition, such as QuickBooks Pro, Premier, and Enterprise, has a different number of limits and fields allowed.
Character limitations for fields allowed in QuickBooks Desktop

What Moves to QuickBooks Desktop	What Doesn’t move to QuickBooks Desktop
Chart of accounts Account numbers will appear in QuickBooks Desktop only if you turn on the account number preference.However, the deleted accounts will show up as inactive accounts without account numbers.	Chart of accounts Inventory Shrinkage account doesn’t copy to QuickBooks DesktopAccount detail doesn’t copy either.
Class list Deleted classes are copied as inactive classes.
Customers Full name and Company name will both be limited to 41 characters.Billing Address and Shipping Address will both be limited to three lines of 41 characters each.E-mail addresses will be limited to 81 characters.Deleted customers will be copied as inactive customers.	Customers Customer credit card information is not copied due to PCI compliance.Customer notesPreferred delivery methodMobile numberPager numberIs Taxable
Vendors If your books contain 1099 vendors, you must edit and remove the 1099 status before you can export them to QuickBooks Desktop. Full name and Company name will both be limited to 41 characters.Print on Check As will be limited to 41 characters.Addresses will be limited to three lines with 41 characters each.E-mail addresses will be limited to 81 characters.Deleted vendors will be copied as inactive vendors.	Vendors Vendor NotesMobile numberPager number
Employees Full name will be limited to 39 characters.Deleted employees are copied as inactive employees.	Employees Employee notes
	Other lists These lists mentioned below do not exist in QuickBooks Online. When you move to QuickBooks Desktop, you will see general items on them. Customer typeJob typeMemorized reportsOther namesPayroll itemPrice levelSales repShip viaTemplatesTo doVendor types
Payment method list
	Terms

Products and Services

Take a look at what products and services move from QuickBooks Online to Desktop.

What Moves to QuickBooks Desktop	What Doesn’t move to QuickBooks Desktop
	Bundle
Inventory Inventory Asset accountCost of goods sold accountPurchase accountSales accountQuantity on handAsset values Remember: QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop use different calculation methods. After you move to QuickBooks Desktop, check and review everything in Cost of Goods Sold and Inventory asset accounts.
Categories Categories are exported to QuickBooks Desktop and become Parent items. Categories become the same item type as the Products and Services that were listed under them in QBO.

Preferences

Let us look at what preferences are copied when you export QuickBooks Online to Desktop.

What Moves to QuickBooks Desktop	What Doesn’t move to QuickBooks Desktop
	Company info
	Users
	Location list

Reports

Accrual basis reports in QuickBooks Online are correctly copied to QuickBooks Desktop. However, the Cash basis reports copied to QuickBooks Desktop may or may not match the reports in QuickBooks Online.

Therefore, you must check the cash basis reports when you convert QuickBooks Online to Desktop.

What Moves to QuickBooks Desktop	What Doesn’t Move
	Audit log
	Reconciliation
	Memorized reports

Transactions

Let us look at what transactions will be moved to the QuickBooks Desktop.

What Moves to QuickBooks Desktop	What Doesn’t move to QuickBooks Desktop
Cash purchases • Cash purchases get copied as checks	Estimates Purchase order Recurring transactions
Time Tracking All-time activities are copied except locations, as QuickBooks Desktop doesn’t track locations.Activities will be copied; however, physical timesheets won’t.
Checks Checks that have blank number fields will be auto-assigned a number. Important: Therefore, remember to check which numbers are correct and which are just auto-assigned.
Credit Memos Sales Receipts Received payments Bills Bill Payments Invoices Refund receipts
General Journal Entries Transactions that have multiple accounts receivable or accounts payable lines are copied to multiple journal entries.
Deposits	Deposits QuickBooks Desktop doesn’t copy the billable status on deposits.
Transfer Funds Transfer funds move and become journal entries.
Paychecks Paychecks become checks.
Liability adjustments Paychecks become checks.
	Inventory Adjustments
	Credit Card Payments

Once you have checked what will move from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop and are ready to move to QuickBooks Desktop, continue to the next section.

Also Read: How to Convert QuickBooks File to Older Version

How to Convert QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop for Windows

Now, let us guide you through migrating from QuickBooks Desktop to Online. Follow the steps listed below in the order they are written.

Important Instruction: For Mac Users

You cannot directly convert QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop for Mac. First, export QuickBooks Online data to Desktop, and then you can convert from QuickBooks Desktop Windows to QuickBooks Desktop Mac.

1. Install QuickBooks Desktop

Before you export QuickBooks Online to Desktop, you need to have QuickBooks Desktop installed on your computer. Therefore, if you don’t already have QB Desktop on your system, download and install QuickBooks Desktop.

Once done, open QuickBooks Desktop.

If QuickBooks Desktop is open in the No Company Open window, skip to the next step. However, if QuickBooks Desktop has a company file open, go to the File menu and tap on Close Company.
The QuickBooks Desktop should be opened and remain in the No Company Window while you carry out the rest of the steps.

Select a company that you've previously opened

Now, proceed to the next step.

1. Sign into QuickBooks Online

Now, open QuickBooks Online in a supported browser such as Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari.

Log in to the QBO company file you want to move to QuickBooks Desktop with your Intuit credentials.
Once you have signed in, copy and paste https://app.qbo.intuit.com/app/exportqbodatatoqbdt into the search field and press Enter.
When you see the Export Overview, read it. You can also print it out or save it as PDF on your computer.
Once you are ready, tap on Get Started.

2. Download the QuickBooks Desktop migration tool

To convert QuickBooks Online to Desktop, you will need the QuickBooks Desktop migration tool.

After you click on Get Started in Export Overview, you will see the Download tool button.
Now, tap on the Download tool.
Once the tool file is downloaded, open it to start the installation.
Go along with the on-screen instructions and complete the installation. Once done, tap on Finish.

After you have successfully installed the QBDT migration tool, continue to the next step.

3. Prepare the file for export & choose data to export in QuickBooks Online

Now, you need to prepare your company file to migrate and choose what data you want to move to QuickBooks Desktop.

Navigate back to QuickBooks Online until you reach the Prepare to Export window. Tap on Continue.
Select the data you want to export. For example, you can export all data with transactions or only lists and balances.
Choose to Continue.
Tap on Learn about the limitations of converting data for QuickBooks Desktop. Now, read about how certain limitations can impact your migration.
Once done, and if you are ready, tap on Continue.
Provide the name and email address where you want to receive the migration confirmation email and tap Continue.
Tap on Close to go back to your QBO file.
Check your email in another tab or on your email application. The email may take some time, depending on the amount of data you migrate.

After you have followed the instructions on the confirmation email, continue with the steps below.

Now, return to QuickBooks Online and follow the steps you followed earlier until you reach the Prepare to Export page. Then, tap on Continue.
When you reach, Select your data page, choose the same option you did earlier, and choose Continue.
When you reach the Exporting from QuickBooks Online page, a message might tell you that you already have a file to download. Tap on Continue to Download.
Choose Download QBXML file. If QuickBooks asks you to save the file, save it in a folder or location where you can easily find it and tap on Continue.
If QuickBooks Desktop is open in the No Company Open window, skip to the next step. However, if QuickBooks Desktop has a company file open, go to the File menu and tap on Close Company. The QuickBooks Desktop should be opened and remain in the No Company Window while you carry out the rest of the steps. Scroll up to the image to see what a No Company Window looks like.

Before you export QuickBooks Online to Desktop, view your reports to compare your data before and after the export.

4. Run the QuickBooks Desktop migration tool

Now, ensure that QuickBooks Desktop is open at the No Company Open screen. Follow the steps listed below.

Open the QuickBooks Desktop migration tool you downloaded earlier.
Either enter the path to the downloaded QBXML file or tap on Browse to locate and select the file.
Now, tap on Import.
Choose a location where you will be storing your company file and a name for the new QuickBooks Desktop file. Make sure to store QuickBooks company in a secure location.
Look for the QuickBooks Application Certificate, which might be hidden behind other screens if QuickBooks Desktop is in the background. You can switch windows using the Alt + Tab keys or minimize other windows to look for the QuickBooks Application Certificate window. However, don’t close any windows.
Do you see a QuickBooks Desktop icon in your Windows Taskbar? If so, click on it, and the Application Certificate will appear.
In the Application Certificate, choose Yes, prompt each time.
Choose the read/modify rights and whether you want QuickBooks to access personal data or not. Finally, tap on Continue and Done.
After your data is exported to QuickBooks Desktop successfully, tap on Done.

However, if the QuickBooks data migration progress status doesn’t change or move, there might be a QuickBooks Application Certificate window awaiting your confirmation.

Here is how you can check QuickBooks Desktop for an Application Certificate again.

Look for the QuickBooks Application Certificate, which might be hidden behind other screens if the QuickBooks Desktop is in the background. You can switch windows using the Alt + Tab keys or minimize other windows to look for the QuickBooks Application Certificate window. However, don’t close any windows.
Do you see a QuickBooks Desktop icon in your Windows Taskbar? If so, click on it, and the Application Certificate will appear.
In the Application Certificate, choose Yes, prompt each time.
Tap on Continue and Done.
After your data is exported to QuickBooks Desktop successfully, tap on Done.

After you are done, continue to the next step.

5. Verify Your QuickBooks Data

After you have exported QuickBooks Online data to QuickBooks Desktop, you need to verify it. In the section ‘Learn what moves to QuickBooks Desktop and what doesn’t,’ we have seen that not all data moves to QuickBooks Desktop, while other info might be modified into a different item. Moreover, the cash basis reports might not match.

Therefore, run the Profit and Loss report to check if your books match.

Important Note: When comparing reports, you need to run them on an Accrual basis to check if they match.

Why do the reports don’t match after QuickBooks data migration?

After you migrate from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop, you may find that the reports don’t always match.

This might be because your QuickBooks Online company file exceeded the report limitations supported by your QuickBooks Desktop edition or if you used an unsupported version of the browser or Internet Explorer.

What you can do is leave the QuickBooks Desktop open in the No Company Window and convert QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop a second time. This can often fix the discrepancies.

On QuickBooks Desktop, go to File and choose Close company.
After you see the No Company Window on QuickBooks Desktop, leave it as it is and follow the steps listed in this guide from the beginning.

After you are done, run the Profit and Loss report to check if your books match.

Note – If you no longer need QuickBooks Online, you might want to cancel your subscription. However, this is totally up to you.

Reasons Why You Should Delegate Data Migration to Experts

Converting QuickBooks Online to Desktop is a delicate process in which years of your company data is at stake. It is possible that due to some reason or a mistake, crucial QuickBooks data might not be migrated or the books might not match after the migration.

QuickBooks ProAdvisors have years of experience in helping businesses move from QuickBooks Online to Desktop and vice versa. They know how to carry out the whole process in the most efficient way and set you up to start working on your QuickBooks Desktop application. Therefore, we recommend you dial 800-580-5375 and reach out to a QB ProAdvisor.

Wrapping It Up

So, this was all about how to convert QuickBooks Online to Desktop. The guide should help you migrate your QuickBooks Online data to QuickBooks Desktop. However, if you face an issue or have a query, reach out to a QB ProAdvisor. A QB ProAdvisor will help you convert from QBO to QB Desktop in no time.

Top Queries

Can I move from QuickBooks Online to Desktop?

Yes, it is easy to convert from QuickBooks Online to Desktop. Follow the guide above on how to migrate data from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop.

Can I transfer my QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Desktop?

Yes, you can transfer your QuickBooks Online data to QuickBooks Desktop. For that you need to download and install QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Desktop Data migration tool on your system.

How do I export all data from QuickBooks Online?

Learn how to export data from QuickBooks Online to Desktop in this guide above. However, if you don’t want to convert QuickBooks Online to Desktop, but instead want to export QuickBooks Online to excel, you can do that as well.

How do I download QuickBooks Online to my Desktop?

You can download a QuickBooks Online app for Windows on your desktop to launch QuickBooks Online easily. For that, login to QuickBooks Online, tap on Settings and choose Get the desktop app option.

How to Convert QuickBooks Online to Desktop – Data Migration