Most lists and transactions move over in a standard migration. A handful of areas usually deserve a closer look before and after the move: open sales orders, payroll history, inventory valuation, sales-tax payments, attachments, custom forms, and saved reports. Intuit publishes migration documentation that lists what converts and how; it changes over time, so check the current version before you start.
Plenty of businesses move from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online without trouble. The ones that have a rough first month usually didn't check a few specific areas up front. For a supplier, those areas tend to be the ones tied to day-to-day operations, so they're worth a careful pass. Here's a checklist we'd use ourselves.
01Open sales orders
Review how your open sales orders will be handled before you migrate. If your business runs on sales orders, list what's open, close out anything that was already filled, and decide where the open ones will live after the move. Old open orders that were filled but never closed can inflate demand in whatever system they land in. Our guide to planning your sales-order workflow covers this in more detail.
02Payroll history
Check how payroll history converts and what you'll need for year-end. Prior-year detail may come over in summarized form. Keep reports from your current system for the records you need, and plan for any overlap period while payroll is set up in the new system.
03Inventory valuation
Confirm the inventory valuation method in your new system and compare it with your current one. If the method differs, valuations and cost of goods sold can shift compared with your old reports. Run inventory valuation and P&L reports before and after the move and have your accountant review the difference. Also check that your plan includes inventory tracking.
04Sales-tax history
Reconcile sales-tax liabilities and payments after the move. Compare the sales-tax liability report before and after, and follow Intuit's current guidance for any payments that need to be re-entered so your filings start clean.
05Attachments and documents
Make a plan for attached files. Attachments may move separately from the main migration, with size and location limits. Export the POs, signed delivery tickets, and vendor documents you need to keep, and decide where they'll live going forward.
06Custom forms and fields
Expect to review your invoice, estimate, and PO layouts. Custom templates and fields may need to be rebuilt. Make a list of what builders expect to see on your paperwork, such as lot, plan, and their PO number, and confirm it appears after the move.
07Memorized transactions, bank rules, and reports
List the recurring transactions, bank rules, and saved reports your team relies on. Some convert in a different form and some need to be set up again. A short list made before the move saves a lot of searching afterward.
08Structural changes worth knowing
Some records move but change shape. Check how jobs and sub-customers come across, how many A/R and A/P accounts you'll have, whether inactive customers stay inactive, and which budget types convert. Also read up on how re-running a migration works before you need to, since it may not be possible to re-import just one area.
Keeping the operation running through the move
For a supplier, the accounting migration is only half the job. Open orders, backorders, purchase orders, deliveries, and builder and lot references are what the warehouse and order desk live in every day. Many suppliers split the two jobs: accounting in QuickBooks Online, and operations in a system built for order-to-cash.
That's the approach ClearOrder takes. It runs sales orders with backorders, multi-vendor purchase orders, receiving, delivery proof, and invoicing, and it connects to QuickBooks Online so your books stay current.
Start with a look at your own data
ClearOrder's free data audit reads your QuickBooks Desktop export in your browser and shows record counts, duplicates, and open orders in under a minute. Nothing is uploaded.
Run the Free Data Audit → Book a Demo