Peachtree conversion to QuickBooks

The August issue of Intuit ProConnection discusses the conversion tool as well as manual approaches to conversion.

See "Converting to QuickBooks: The How-To Guide"

http://accountant.intuit.com/p...

The author, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor Esther Friedberg Karp, includes this caveat:

"Keep in mind that QuickBooks sets parameters on lists, such as unique names and no more than 41 characters. You also have to be aware that some information will not be brought over, including payroll info, year-to-date employee compensation, and paychecks."

I've done a couple of conversions from Peachtree to Quickbooks, as have others n our office.

using the conversion tool, you have to have the same version of Peachtree on your computer as the file you are wanting to convert.

If you don't have Peachtree on your computer, and are handed a backup of a Peachtree file, you have to submit it to Intuit for conversion. it took a long time to set up with Tech Support, but then i the back up file was transmitted. There was no charge, as I'm a Pro Advisor. I was told it would be a week before I got it back, but I received the e-mail notice that it was ready the very next day. Downloaded it, and we're in business.

The only glitch - and I'm not sure if it's part of the conversion process, or if the client's previous accountant is responsible - but we can see no evidence of any bank accounts being previously reconciled. I'm trying to follow up now with the client's previous accountant...

I just handled a Peachtree to Quickbooks conversion for a retail client. I had her backup Peachtree to a flash drive and lend me her Peachtree installation CD. I installed Peachtree on my computer, performed the conversion, and restored the new Quickbooks file to her computer. A word of warning: the actual conversion process required more than 4 hours to run so set it up to run overnight or when you won't need your computer for 4-5 hours. (Of course, the time it takes to convert depends on how many years of data the client has in his Peachtree file. My client had data going back to 1998.) The conversion handled customer names, addresses, etc. without any glitches. It also handled inventory lists fine. As another poster mentioned, it did not "check off" previously reconciled bank entries, but that takes only a few minutes to bring up-to-date. Reports such as balance sheets, profit/loss, etc. did not match up perfectly. I would estimate that about 80% of Peachtree reports coincided to the penny with the equivalent Quickbooks reports so you still have to review things and tread carefully. Overall, if the decision has been made to switch to Quickbooks, the conversion tool (which is free by the way) is the way to go.