Before You Start

This guide assumes you have administrator access to both QuickBooks Online and Xero accounts.

Overview

45 min
Estimated Time
Advanced
Difficulty
Quarterly
Review

What You’ll Learn

  • How to prep your QuickBooks data for export
  • Mapping your chart of accounts accurately to Xero
  • Handling historical data and opening balances
  • Validating data integrity post-migration

1. Preparation Steps

Ensure these essential elements are reconciled and up-to-date in QuickBooks before starting:

Required Data Points

  • Bank Accounts reconciled to cut-off date
  • Accounts Receivable & Payable balances
  • Sales Tax liability accounts
  • Equity accounts and opening balances

Optional (but highly recommended)

  • Historical payroll data summary
  • Fixed assets register with depreciation
  • Detailed inventory lists and values

2. Choosing Your Migration Method

You have two primary options, each with distinct advantages and drawbacks.

Method A: Manual Export & Import

This involves exporting data from QuickBooks and manually importing it into Xero.

Pros:
  • It’s free (no tool subscription).
  • Full control over data points.
  • Suitable for small, simple datasets.
Cons:
  • Highly time-consuming.
  • High risk of errors and omissions.
  • Requires extensive manual mapping.

Method B: Third-Party Migration Tools

These are paid services designed to automate the transfer process.

Expert Tip: For businesses with significant transaction history or complex chart of accounts, we strongly recommend using a dedicated third-party migration tool like Movemybooks or Dataswitch. These tools ensure data integrity and drastically reduce manual effort.

Here is a sample of how a chart of accounts mapping might look in a migration tool’s configuration.

{
  "quickbooks_account_name": "Sales Income",
  "quickbooks_account_type": "Income",
  "xero_account_name": "Revenue",
  "xero_account_code": "200",
  "xero_account_type": "Revenue"
}

3. Step-by-Step: The Migration Workflow

Here is the high-level workflow for a clean data migration.

graph TD
    A[QuickBooks Export] --> B{Choose Migration Method}
    B -- Manual --> C[CSV Preparation]
    B -- Tool --> D[Tool Configuration]
    C --> E[Xero Import]
    D --> E
    E --> F[Data Validation]
    F --> G[Go-Live in Xero]

A simplified flow showing the stages of migrating data from QuickBooks to Xero.

4. Configuring Xero Post-Migration

  1. 1

    Connect QuickBooks to Migration Tool (if applicable)

    Authorize your chosen migration tool to securely access your QuickBooks Online data for export.

  2. 2

    Map Your Chart of Accounts

    Carefully match each QuickBooks account to its corresponding Xero account. Create new accounts in Xero as needed.

  3. 3

    Review and Import Data

    Initiate the data transfer. Most tools offer a review stage before the final import into Xero.

Common Error: Mismatched Account Types

Ensure that asset accounts are mapped to asset accounts, liability to liability, etc. Incorrect mapping can lead to an unbalanced trial balance in Xero.

5. Post-Migration Validation

Data Validation Checklist

  • Compare QuickBooks & Xero Balance Sheet reports (at cut-off date)
  • Verify bank account balances match exactly
  • Confirm customer and supplier balances are correct
  • Check first month’s transactions in Xero for accuracy

Need Help?

Get Migration Support

Struggling with complex data or specific account mappings? Our experts specialize in seamless accounting software migrations.

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