Welcome to the Fit Small Business Xero training course. In this lesson we're
going to cover how to convert from QuickBooks to Xero. To follow along with
me, login to your Xero account now or click
the link below this video for a free 30-day trial of Xero. You can also click
this link to access our full Xero course and other helpful resources. Let's get
started. If you are currently using QuickBooks or another accounting
software program to manage your books, there are three key reasons why you
should consider converting your existing data. Number one: you will be able to
compare prior periods. Xero allows you to convert data for the last two fiscal years.
This will give you the ability to run comparison financial reports such as
income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements. Having the ability to
compare the current year to previous years can help you to identify trends
in income and expenses, and other key areas that impact the bottom line.
Please note if you want to convert more than two years worth of data, there are a few
Xero partners that will do it for a cost. Click the links below to learn more.
Number two: it's faster than starting from scratch. By converting your existing
data Xero will transfer all of your information such as customers, suppliers,
invoices, and bills. This can save you a lot of time that you normally would have
spent setting up your business from scratch. Please note, if you did not do a
good job of managing your books in your old system and you would prefer a fresh
start, then you should not convert inaccurate data.
As the old adage goes, garbage in garbage out. Head over to our how to set
up Xero course which includes 15 video tutorials that will walk you through
step-by-step on how to set up your business from scratch. You can click here
to access the course. And third: converting your data is free. As a
business owner we know how tight cash flow can be. Xero will convert your
QuickBooks file for absolutely free. To ensure a successful conversion, there are
a few steps that you need to take to prepare your QuickBooks file for the
conversion. We will cover these next. In order for Xero to convert your data
your QuickBooks file must meet the following requirements: you must have a
US edition of QuickBooks Windows or Mac version, that is a 2007 or a newer
version, you are currently using a US edition of QuickBooks Online, and you
have never turned on the multi-currency feature in QuickBooks. If you meet these
requirements then Xero will convert the current year and the previous fiscal
year if this information is in your QuickBooks file. For example, let's assume
our fictitious company Acme Web Pros plus has five years worth of data in
their QuickBooks file. As of June 2017, they have decided to start using Xero to
keep their books. Xero will convert all of 2016, and the first six months of 2017 -
January through June - over to Acme's Xero account. Any data prior to January 2016
will not be converted. Instead that information will be summarized into the
conversion balance as of December 31st 2015. Check out our how to set up account
balances video tutorial for more information on conversion balances.
You can click here to access this lesson. If you meet all of the above requirements
keep reading to learn how to prepare your QuickBooks file for a successful
conversion. If you do not meet all the requirements, you should head over to our
how to set up Xero course to learn how to set up your organization from scratch.
Click the link below to access the full course. Now let's go through the
checklist to prepare your QuickBooks file for conversion to Xero. Number one: you want
to complete all outstanding tasks. So this means you want to make sure that
all bank accounts have been reconciled and all open credits have been applied
to their respective invoices or bills. Number two: you want to be sure and clean
up your data. If there are errors or inaccurate information that you have
been meaning to fix, take care of it before converting your data. For example
if you need to update customer or supplier contact information like phone
number, address, or email information. You want to do this prior to converting your data.
Number three: the chart of accounts.
The chart of accounts can have no more than 699 accounts including inactive accounts.
If you have more than this then you need to go ahead and delete accounts that
have never been used, and merge any duplicate accounts that you
may have. Number four: turn on account numbers. Unlike QuickBooks, Xero requires
that account numbers - known as account codes in Xero - are used. By turning on
this feature and assigning account numbers in your QuickBooks file,
Xero will convert those accounts to account codes. Please note if you do not assign
accounts in QuickBooks before converting the file, Xero will assign account codes
to all accounts during the conversion. Click this link to access our chart of
accounts lesson. And number five: you want to re-number any sub accounts that you
have set up in QuickBooks. While QuickBooks uses sub accounts, Xero has a
flat account structure and does not use sub accounts. Therefore, if you have sub
accounts on your QuickBooks chart of accounts, you will need to make sure that
an account number has been assigned to each sub account. Before we walk through
the steps to upload your file, you must save the file using the appropriate file
type. Refer to the chart below on the acceptable file types and instructions
on how to save the file. Next we will walk through the steps on how to upload
your QuickBooks file to Xero. Before you can upload your QuickBooks file you must
sign up for a Xero account. You can click the link below to sign up for a free Xero account.
Once you do that you should see a screen similar to this one. You want to
go ahead and provide the necessary information in each of these fields and
once you've done that, be sure to mark the box that says I am NOT a robot.
And be sure to accept the terms of use and privacy policy. And then you can click
the get started button here at the bottom. You will receive an email from
Xero and you want to go ahead and open up that email to confirm that it is you.
And so your account will be activated so you should see an email similar to this
one, you can go ahead and click the blue button that says yes it's me let's get started.
In the next screen you will be asked to go ahead and enter a password
for your account, and then you can click the activate your account button right
below that. Once you have set up your password, go ahead and log into Xero
and then you should see a screen similar to this one. So in this first field you
want to go ahead and put the name of your company in here, where does your
organization pay taxes - so select the country that this business was formed in.
The time zone needs to be selected from the drop-down as well, and then here in the
what does your organization do you can start typing the industry that you're in.
And then it will come up with a list of results and you can choose from one of
these results or you can just type in a custom information in this field if you
don't see anything that's appropriate for your business. What was your previous
accounting software, so this one we will indicate QuickBooks. And then to convert
from QuickBooks, so here is the link that says move from QuickBooks for free.
So you want to go ahead and click that link. And when you click that link it gives
you some information here, says we'll create your Xero organization and set up
its financial information from your QuickBooks file, and we convert the
current and previous fiscal years' data. And so you just want to check the box
here that says that you want to convert your data. And then you want to go ahead
and click continue. One thing I will point out here that you want to note is
that it says conversion typically takes three hours. So just be aware that the
more information that you have that needs to be converted over the longer
the conversion will take. And so once you have made sure you selected that
confirmation that you want to convert your data, go ahead and click the
continue button. In this next screen we've got the
actual upload button here. So right here it says learn how to prepare your file
for conversion. So you can click there for some of the tips that we've already
talked about on what you should do to prepare your file before converting it
to Xero. Also here another reminder on the acceptable file type so we've got
.qbw .qbb and .qbxml are acceptable file formats. Once you have
selected your QuickBooks file, you'll see the names indicated here. If you selected
the wrong file you can click this link that says change file and make the
correct selection. If your QuickBooks file has a password then you will need
to go ahead and check this box that says this file has a password. You will need
to provide the administrator's username and password. You will not be able to
convert the file without the administrator's user ID and password.
In general if you are the only user then you are also the administrator. You want
to go ahead and agree to the terms of use and then once you've made your
selection you can go ahead and click continue.
Please note once you click that continue button, the conversion process will begin.
Remember that conversions can take anywhere from three hours to several
days, so depending on the size of your QuickBooks file will determine how long
conversion will take. Click the links below for information on how to view
progress and fix errors in a QuickBooks conversion for a status update on your
conversion file. Once a conversion is complete
you will receive an email notification from Xero. You will at that point need to
log into Xero and follow the instructions to accept the subscription transfer.
You will be prompted to select a subscription plan and enter your
billing details before you can review your data. Before you begin working in
Xero you must verify that your data is correct. When reviewing your converted
data it is important you don't change or remove any
conversion balances, your conversion date, or any converted transactions.
Changes made to any of this information can cause your financial statements to be innacurate.
Here is a list of the key items that you should review to ensure
that your data transferred over correctly. Verify that all banking
credit-card accounts that were reconciled in QuickBooks are marked as
reconciled in Xero. If you find that you need to reconcile a few items,
instructions on how to do this can be found by clicking the links below.
The second thing that you want to do is compare trial balance reports.
Run a trial balance report for the end of the current month in Xero and QuickBooks and
compare them to ensure that they match. To run a trial balance in Xero you want
to click on reports, go to all reports, we're going to go down to the accounting
section here, and the trial balance report is right here. Please note that
the trial balance report in Xero is based on the accrual accounting method.
Therefore we recommend that you run the trial balance in QuickBooks,
also using the accrual accounting method so that you can compare apples to apples.
Otherwise if you run a cash basis trial balance from QuickBooks and compare it
to the accrual basis trial balance from Xero, they will not match. The third thing
that you want to do is find and fix unidentified invoices and bills.
Sometimes invoices and bills will lose details during their conversion, such as
contact name. If this occurs the invoices and bills will display under the contact
name 'no contacts' and Xero. The best way to identify these invoices or bills is
to run an accounts receivable aging report and an accounts payable aging
report in both QuickBooks and Xero. In order for Xero to match QuickBooks you will
need to add any missing bills or add any missing invoices to Xero. For more
troubleshooting tips on converting your QuickBooks data to Xero,
check out How Xero Handles QuickBooks Data and Xero's guide on
converting from QuickBooks to Xero, You can find this information by clicking
the links below. After you have verified that your data was successfully
converted to Xero, it's time for you to get up to speed on how to use Xero.
Lucky for you we've created a free Xero course that includes step-by-step written
instructions and video tutorials to show you how to do just about anything in Xero.
Since you converted your data as opposed to starting from scratch,
you don't have to go through all fifteen of the tutorials on how to set up Xero.
However I do recommend that you complete the following 5 lessons before you start
working in Xero: how to set up organization and financial settings;
how to customize invoices, quotes, POS and receipts; how to set up multi currency,
how to set up sales tax rates, and how to invite multiple users. In addition to
setting up Xero, we've got tutorials that will help you
to run your business in Xero. Here is a list of all of our Xero courses which
you can access for absolutely free. Just click the links below. Course number two
is managing banking and business credit cards in Xero. Course number three is
managing sales and income in Xero. Course number four is managing bills and
expenses in Xero. Course five is managing online payments in Xero. And course six
is reporting in Xero. That wraps up the lesson on how to convert from QuickBooks
to Xero. To access our full Xero course or any of the other lessons in this
series click this link. You can also find a link below this video for a free
30-day trial of Xero. If you have feedback about this course
or if you have any questions, please leave a comment below.
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