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georgwell-5
December 22, 2022
Solved

Migration from Quickbooks Desktop 2016 to Desktop 2020 (both for Mac)

  • December 22, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 0 views

Hello,

I am trying to move from Quickbooks Desktop 2016 for Mac to Quickbooks Desktop 2020 for Mac.

And I can't figure out how to successfully migrate my 2016 QB files to 2020 QB. Does anyone have instructions that are specific to MacOS?

 

Thanks !

George

Best answer by JessT
Original commenter did not share additional details

Thank you for following the steps and for getting back to us, George.

 

When you say never opens, do you mean the password is incorrect or you didn't get a prompt at all? If you haven't already, you can update your QuickBooks 2020 and open the company file again. However, if it's the same thing, please contact our QB Mac Support so they can check this further using more tools.

 

To contact QB Mac Support:

 

  1. Follow this link: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/help/en-us/contact-us
  2. Choose QuickBooks for Mac and click Continue.
  3. Enter a sentence to describe the issue and click Continue.
  4. Choose Chat or Callback.

 

I'm just a comment away should you need more help with updating your QB or reaching out to Support.

1 reply

Fiat Lux - ASIA
Fiat Lux - ASIA
December 22, 2022

Open your file on QBD 2016 and create a backup file. Open your QBD 2020 and restore the file.

M
Maybelle_S
December 22, 2022

I can guide you to migrate company files in QuickBooks Desktop for Mac, @georgwell.

 

To migrate your company file from QuickBooks for Mac 2016 to 2020, you can create a backup copy of your data and restore it.

 

To create a backup of your company file:

 

  1. Go to the File menu.
  2. Select Back Up.
  3. On the following dialog window, select the folder where you want to store your backup file (.dmg). NOTE: It's a good idea to save backups somewhere other than your main local drive in case of a system failure. If you have a file hosting service (such as DropBox), flash drive, or other removable media, you may want to select it here.
  4. Click Start Backup. The name of the backup will be your QuickBooks filename with the date and time it was completed.

 

After that, restore the company file. I'll guide you on how.

 

  1. Double click the .dmg file. A new window opens the "Ghost" drive. Note: The "Ghost" drive displays the back up of your company file along with your attachments (if applicable).
  2. Drag the company file (with .qbXXXX extension) to the folder where you want to store the company file.
  3. Pull the Attached Documents Library folder (if applicable) to the same folder as the QuickBooks company file.
  4. Click the copy of the company file saved on the desired location or go to the File menu, then Open Company.

 

Once restored, QuickBooks will ask you to update the file. Just click the Update button. The following articles are good references for importing and restoring company data:

 

 

I'll be more than willing to lend a hand if you need further assistance migrating your data. Have a wonderful day.

G
georgwell-5Author
December 22, 2022

Hello Maybelle_S,

Thank you for responding to my question.

 

I followed your instructions and everything works until I attempt to open the restored file using Quickbooks Desktop 2020. The Quickbooks software asks me to login (which was never required before). After I login, the company file never opens.

I must be missing a step somewhere.

Thanks,

George

 

 

 

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