How to replace QuickBooks without losing your history
Replacing accounting software sounds like a big job. It does not have to be. The steps below work for QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online, and SeroBooks is built to make each one easier.
Pick a clean start
Change over at the start of a month, a quarter or your fiscal year.
Bring your company
Lists, open invoices and bills, balances and stock come across in one import.
Check before you commit
A dry run shows the trial balance you will end up with. Nothing is written until you say so.
Keep the old file
Your QuickBooks file stays as the archive for earlier years.
Step 1: choose the cutover date
Pick the first day of a month. The start of a quarter or your fiscal year is even better, because your reports will line up. Everything before that day stays in QuickBooks. Everything from that day is recorded in SeroBooks.
Step 2: bring your company across
From QuickBooks Desktop, SeroBooks can connect and read the company directly — no file to export. It can also import an IIF file. From QuickBooks Online, it imports the standard exports. Your chart of accounts, customers, vendors and items come across with their names, along with unpaid invoices, unpaid bills and opening stock.
The import runs as a dry run first. You see what will be created and the trial balance you will end up with. If something is wrong, fix it and run it again. When you commit, one step can still take the whole import back out.
Step 3: run both for a short time
For the first month, record new work in SeroBooks and keep QuickBooks open for reference. Do your first bank reconciliation in SeroBooks — when it balances to zero, your opening balances are proven.
Step 4: tidy up and move on
Set up users and their permissions, check your sales tax settings, and turn on the reports you use every week. Keep your QuickBooks file for looking up older years. If your accountant still works in QuickBooks Desktop, SeroBooks can export your books to it.
Choose SeroBooks when…
Choose SeroBooks if you want the replacement to feel familiar, keep your history, and add inventory, Amazon and payroll without extra apps.
Choose QuickBooks when…
Stay with QuickBooks if the move would cost more than it saves — for example, a service business with simple books that is happy where it is.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to replace QuickBooks?
For most small businesses, bringing the company across takes an afternoon. Running both side by side for one month is a sensible safety net.
Do I lose my old transactions?
No. The import brings a full year across from QuickBooks Desktop, and your QuickBooks file remains your archive for earlier years.
What if the import is wrong?
You see a dry run with the resulting trial balance before anything is written, and a committed import can be taken back out in one step.
Can someone help me move?
Yes. Book a demo from the website and we will walk through your move with you.