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QuickBooks Migration Tool

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When moving QuickBooks to another computer, you can rely on the QuickBooks migration tool to simplify the process of transferring the software and the tool to another system. As moving your accounting data can be a laborious task requiring you to configure everything once again on the new system, relying on the migration tool can make things real easy because it transfers your personal preferences and configuration along with the company files, which contain your accounting data. 

The QuickBooks migrator tool copies the software and the company file to a USB device and encrypts all the data with a password set by the user. Then the user can plug in this device into the new system and authenticate the migration of QuickBooks desktop. Once the process is over, you can quickly and easily get back to work with the same configurations as on the previous system.

In this post, you’ll learn how to use the QuickBooks migration tool to move QuickBooks to a different system.

What is the QuickBooks Migrator Tool?

QuickBooks migrator tool facilitates moving QuickBooks desktop and company files to a new system. It also obviates the need to reset the preferences on the new system, since all the program files are migrated too. The tool relies on an external storage device such as USB to migrate your data.

This tool is available in versions of QuickBooks desktop 2018 and later.

How does the QuickBooks Migrator Tool work?

The Migrator tool is present inside Quickbooks desktop, so you don’t have to install it separately. Here’s how the QuickBooks Migrator Tool works:

  • You need to create a one-time password that securely transfers the software and accounting data from your system to your external storage device. This password is necessary to authenticate the migration of the data to the new system.
  • With the Migrator Tool, you can copy upto 3 company files to an external storage device. You can only transfer company files -- neither accountants copy nor backup file.
  • The Migrator tool does most of the heavy lifting by handling the technical work so that you can get started with QuickBooks on your system.
  • The migrator tool will install the same version of the company file on your new system.
  • The migrator tool does not impact any other files on your old or new system.

Now that you know how the migrator tool works, you can prepare to proceed with the migration process.

What are the requirements to run QuickBooks migration tool?

The migrator tool requires two particular things to execute its function. Here’s all that you require to migrate QuickBooks desktop using the migration tool:

  • Internet connection: the migrator tool will require an active internet connection to install the appropriate version of the QuickBooks desktop on your new system.
  • An external storage device: the migrator tool moves the software and data to an external storage device such as an USB flash drive. Then the external device can be used to complete the migration process.

How to set up the Migrator Tool?

You need to set up the migrator tool and configure various options so that you can smoothly transfer QuickBooks desktop to your new system. Setting up the tool requires minimum work, so you don’t have to worry about a long, laborious process.

Note: log into QuickBooks desktop with an admin account to use the migrator tool.

Here are the steps to configure migrator tool to transfer Quickbooks to a new system:

  1. Go to the File menu from the main screen in QuickBooks.
  2. Go to the Utilities option.
  3. Choose Move QuicKbooks to another computer. 
  4. Choose I’m Ready, then input a one-time password that will be required later to move the accounting software to the new system.
  5. Use the USB Flash drive with your new system.

After setting up the migrator tool, use the following steps to easily move QuickBooks to your new system:

  1. Plug in the USB device that you used to transfer data through the migrator tool.
  2. Open the USB device folder.
  3. Double click on the Move_QuickBooks.bat file to launch the migrator tool on your new system.
  4. Input the password that you created while configuring the migrator tool on your system. 
  5. Click on Finish after the migration process finishes.

You’ll get a confirmation message from the migrator tool after the transfer process completes.

You’ve to take a few more steps to complete the process of migration:

  • Activate the payroll service by entering the service key.
  • Create a backup schedule. (You can also activate the Intuit Data Protect service to store the backup copies automatically on Intuit’s servers.)
  • Migrate any other company files from the old system to your new one.

The Migrator tool in QuickBooks desktop only migrates up to 3 company files. So the rest of the company files must be transferred manually. After importing the company files to the new system, you can simply open the company files with QuickBooks desktop, which will import the data and enable you to work with it.

Note: Here is a list of all data types that won’t be migrated when using the QuickBooks migrator tool:

  • Payroll & Payment Setup: You’ll have to configure payroll and payment setup once again on your new system after you’ve activated the payroll service with the subscription of the service.
  • Intuit Data Protect (IDP) settings: If you’ve subscribed to Intuit data protect, then you can enable it on this system after the migration process so that backups are automatically created and transferred to a server managed by Intuit itself.
  • Backup Files: any backup files created on the previous system won’t be migrated to the new one. However, you can manually copy the backup files and create new ones using the backup feature in Quickbooks desktop.
  • Few Company Files: The migrator toll does not transfer more than 3 company files to your new system, so you need to manually transfer those files.
  • Multi-User settings: If you’ve hosted the company file on a separate server to enable multi-user mode, then you’ll have to reconfigure the entire settings to enable multi-user mode once again.

Alternative: Manually Transfer QuickBooks to New System

If you don’t want to rely on the migrator tool to transfer your data to the new system, then you can follow these steps to manually transfer your software and data to your new system:

  1. Go to the Control Panel.
  2. Choose Program and Features, then Uninstall a Program.
  3. Choose QuickBooks, then right click on it.
  4. Choose Uninstall/Change.
  5. Follow on-screen instructions to uninstall the program from your system.
  6. On your new system, download and install QuickBOoks desktop.
  7. Transfer your company files and open them using the newly installed software.

Even though you’ve successfully transferred your accounting data, you’ll have to spend a lot more time on configuring most of the tools and features that you won't have had to if you used the migrator tool to transfer Quickbooks desktop to your new system.

FAQ

Do I need to upgrade my company file after migrating the software?

If you are looking to move your financial data from one desktop computer to another, the QuickBooks Desktop Migration Tool is a great way to do it. This tool can import data from the entire financial history of your current computer into your new computer. Overall, the QuickBooks Desktop Migration Tool is a great way to move your financial data from one desktop computer to another. It is easy to use and can import data from the entire financial history of your current computer.

Should I manually transfer the files or use the migrator tool?

The QuickBooks Desktop Migrator is a free, online tool that helps you move your QuickBooks data from one computer to another. The tool supports both Windows and Macs, and it's easy to use. Connect your source computer to the Internet. Next, launch the QuickBooks Desktop Migrator. After you sign in, select your source computer from the list of computers. After you sign in, select your destination computer from the list of computers. Click Start migration. The migration process will start and will take a few minutes to complete. When it's done, you'll have a copy of your data on the destination computer.

How to copy files using the QuickBooks migration tool?

If you're migrating to a new computer, you'll need to copy your files over. Here's how to do it using the QuickBooks Desktop Migration Tool.

1. Download the QuickBooks Desktop Migration Tool from the QuickBooks website.
2. Launch the migration tool and click New Connection.
3. In the Connection Details dialog box, type in your new computer's name and IP address (if you know them).
4. Click Connect.
5. On the Transfer Files page, select the files you want to move and click Move Selected Files.
6. When the migration is complete, on the Summary page, click Close Connection.

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