Importing account balances and the chart of accounts from QuickBooks

Show expandable text

We moved!

Help articles have been migrated to the new Help and Support. You can find help for your products and accounts, discover FAQs, explore training, and contact us!

Accounting CS enables you to import account balances and chart of accounts data from QuickBooks via the File > Import wizard.

Notes

  • If you are not able to open QuickBooks during this import procedure (for example, if you are running Accounting CS in Virtual Office CS or another terminal server environment), you or your client can use the CS QuickBooks Data Utility to create an export file.
  • When you choose to import account balances only from QuickBooks (without transaction details), the application imports only the net changes of account balances from QuickBooks. When you close the current period to the next year by choosing Action > Change Posting Period, be sure to click the Yes button when you are prompted to carry forward balance sheet account balances.
  • Because QuickBooks does not store the beginning balances, you will need to import the prior-year's ending balances from QuickBooks. For details, see Spreadsheet import - Account Balances from QuickBooks.

Requirements

  • QuickBooks Pro, Premier (including Accountant's edition), or Enterprise edition must be installed on the machine where the import is being processed. Accounting CS supports the current version and two prior-year versions of these applications.
  • Accounting CS supports imports of the .QBW file type or of an export file created by the CS QuickBooks Data Utility from a .QBW file. It does not support Accountant's copy file types (QBA, QBX, QBY, QBM, etc.).
  • The company database must be open in QuickBooks during the import process. (The original data file is not altered in any way during the import process.)

Specifying import options

  1. Choose Setup > Clients and click the Integration tab.
  2. Select the appropriate client from client list, and then click the Edit button.
  3. Select QuickBooks from the Import source drop-down list, and then click the Ellipsis Ellipsis button button.
  4. In the Import Client Data Options dialog, mark all applicable checkboxes.
  5. Click OK to return to the Clients screen.

Importing account balances and mapping the chart of accounts

The Import Client Data wizard enables you to import the QuickBooks account balances and to map the chart of accounts to corresponding items that have been set up in Accounting CS.

  1. If you run Accounting CS on a computer running the Windows 8 (or higher) operating system and on which the User Account Control feature is enabled, open QuickBooks, but do not open the client database yet.
  2. If you have the QuickBooks application installed and the company data file open during the import, the QuickBooks - Application Certificate dialog opens automatically in QuickBooks. Click the Yes, always; allow access to the data even if QuickBooks is not running option. Mark the Allow this application to access personal data such as Social Security Numbers and customer credit card information checkbox and then proceed with the import.
  3. In Accounting CS, choose File > Import > Client Data to open the Import Client Data wizard.
  4. In the Source Data page, verify that the appropriate client is selected and that QuickBooks Account Balances is selected as the source.
  5. Browse to the file location of the file to use for the import and then select the appropriate file (either the QuickBooks company file or the file created by the CS QuickBooks Data Utility).
  6. Enter a range of dates for which to import account balances from your QuickBooks client data. The application places the balances that are calculated for the specified date range in the current GL period in Accounting CS.
  7. If you run Accounting CS on a computer running the Windows 8 (or higher) operating system and on which the User Account Control feature is enabled, return to QuickBooks and open the client database that you want to import. Then return to Accounting CS and click Next in the Import Client Data wizard.
  8. Map the chart of accounts to the appropriate items in Accounting CS. For each account that is listed in the QuickBooks Number & Name column, select a corresponding account in the Accounting CS Number & Description column.

    Notes

    • You can import setup information for the Accounting CS client. For example, if the chart of accounts does not exist in the application for the current client, you can import the chart of accounts and select <Add as is> for each account to have the application automatically add the account number for the client.
    • If you do not want to import an account or any related data into Accounting CS, select <Do not import> from the drop-down list for that account.
    • You can click the Clear All Mappings button in the Import Client Data Wizard to clear previously mapped items.
  9. After you finish mapping the QuickBooks data, the application displays the Data Analysis screen, which gives you the opportunity to print and/or preview diagnostic reports about the data that will be imported. Review the diagnostic reports and correct any information as needed. Please note that the application does not actually transfer the data to Accounting CS until you click the Finish button. Show screen.
    Data Analysis
  10. Check any errors encountered during the import that are listed on the completion screen of the Import Client Data Wizard. Print them and if necessary, take the appropriate actions to correct any exceptions or failures.

Was this article helpful?

Thank you for the feedback!