What a QuickBooks migration costs — and what changes the price.
A professional QuickBooks migration is a fixed one-time fee, typically $2,500–$10,000+, set against a written scope after a free review. Where your file lands in that range comes down to a handful of drivers — entities, years of history, integrations, inventory, payroll history, edition or source platform, and the condition of the file.
If your file needs our paid diagnostic first, its fee is credited in full against the cleanup. Either way, you get a fixed fee in writing before any work starts.
A QuickBooks migration costs $2,500–$10,000+ as a fixed one-time fee, set in a written scope after a free review and before any work begins — never billed by the hour.
The quote moves with scope: the number of entities, years of history, number of integrations, inventory, payroll history, multi-state sales tax, the QuickBooks edition or other platform you’re moving from, and the condition of the file. Every migration includes verification, reconciliation, training and a CPA-coordinated handoff; your QuickBooks subscription passes through at Intuit list pricing, and pre-conversion cleanup is scoped separately.
They took something that felt overwhelming to me as a first-year business owner and made it simple.
What stood out the most was TechBrot Inc’s attention to detail.
Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor credentials
- Every migration is scoped and delivered by a QuickBooks ProAdvisor who works in both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online — the source file is read, baselined and verified against, not just exported from.
- TechBrot’s senior reviewer, a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, holds the Intuit QuickBooks Certification Level 2 and QuickBooks Workforce Certification — no Desktop or Enterprise certification is held or claimed.
QuickBooks migration cost, driver by driver.
The migration range, the nine drivers that move a quote, what the fixed fee buys, and how a free review becomes a fixed number — set out in full below.
QuickBooks migration services · Migration readiness check · Get the free file review · Send the details
The nine things that change a migration price.
Every quote is built from the same drivers. The more of them your file carries, the more there is to move, rebuild and verify.
Driver 01 · Number of entities.
A single-entity migration is the lightest scope the hub describes. Multiple entities — and the multi-entity consolidation rebuild that comes with them — sit in the most complex scope, alongside multi-location operations.
Driver 02 · Years of history.
Under three years of history is the lightest scope; multi-year history of three to seven years is the most common; full multi-year history sits at the complex end. Every year brought across has to be reconciled against statements, which is where the time goes.
Driver 03 · Number of integrations.
Few integrations keep a migration light; three to six integrations to replace is the most common scope; six or more replacements is complex. Most Desktop integrations have no direct QuickBooks Online equivalent, so each is replaced with a compatible tool, reconnected and tested with transactions before handoff.
Driver 04 · Inventory.
No inventory is the lightest case. Inventory items, quantities and valuation method migrated and verified adds scope — and moving from Desktop, the valuation re-bases because QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Premier use weighted-average costing while QuickBooks Online uses FIFO only, so the change has to be documented and reconciled.
Driver 05 · Payroll history.
A migration with no payroll history is lighter. Where payroll history and year-to-date figures come across, they are migrated and reconciled to filed returns — one of the seven checks in the Migration Integrity Protocol.
Driver 06 · Sales tax across states.
Every migration includes sales-tax reconfiguration for QuickBooks Online’s different model. Multi-state sales tax setup is additional scope.
Driver 07 · QuickBooks edition or source platform.
A Desktop-to-Online move between two QuickBooks products is the baseline case. Enterprise migrations, with Enterprise-specific configuration, sit in the complex scope. Moving from Wave, Xero, FreshBooks or Bench rebuilds the chart of accounts from scratch, so cross-platform migration runs on the higher end.
Driver 08 · Structure and reporting.
Class and location tracking rebuild, job costing and project history, industry-specific configuration, and custom report template recreation are handled when scope requires — and each one adds to it.
Driver 09 · Condition of the file.
A clean file converts faster than one that needs cleanup first. Migrating a broken file just moves the problems, so if the Desktop file needs cleanup before conversion, that is scoped separately and done first.
Where a file sits in the range, driver by driver.
| Driver | Lighter scope | Heavier scope |
|---|---|---|
| Entities | Single entity | Multi-entity, multi-location |
| Years of history | Under 3 years | 3–7 years, up to full multi-year history |
| Integrations | Few | 3–6 replaced, or 6+ at the complex end |
| Inventory | None | Items, quantities and valuation migrated and verified |
| Payroll | No payroll history | Payroll history and YTD migrated |
| Sales tax | Sales tax reconfigured for QuickBooks Online | Multi-state sales tax setup |
| Edition or source | Desktop to Online | Enterprise, or cross-platform from Wave, Xero, FreshBooks or Bench |
| Reporting & structure | Standard chart-of-accounts restructure | Job costing, industry-specific configuration, custom report rebuild |
QuickBooks migration: the parts of the fee.
One fixed fee, written after the free file review. These are the parts it is built from; a part that does not apply to your file is not in your fee.
| Part | Range |
|---|---|
| Desktop to Online, one company, current year plus opening balances and lists | $2,500–$3,500 |
| History, 2 to 3 years | +$500–$1,500 |
| History, 4 to 7 years | +$1,500–$3,000 |
| Each account beyond 2 | +$50–$100 |
| Each connected app | +$150–$300 |
| Each additional company | +$1,500–$2,500 |
| Inventory (basic) | +$500–$1,000 |
| Job costing | +$750–$1,500 |
| Payroll in Desktop | +$300–$600 |
| Multi-state sales tax | +$300–$600 |
| Custom reports rebuilt | +$300–$750 |
History of more than 7 years, Advanced Inventory (FIFO, serial or lot, bins) or a high end above $15,000 is priced after a short call. The written scope sets the fee.
What the fixed fee includes — and what it doesn’t.
The same written scope that sets the fee lists what it buys, so nothing is assumed on either side.
Included in every migration
- Pre-migration file audit
- Data conversion (Intuit tool or manual rebuild)
- Chart of accounts review & restructuring
- Opening balance verification
- Customer & vendor record cleanup
- Historical transaction reconciliation
- Bank & credit card feed reconnection
- Sales tax reconfiguration
- First-month post-migration reconciliation
- Training session with recorded video
- Documented migration summary
- CPA-coordinated handoff
- 30-day post-migration support window
Handled when scope requires
- Multi-year history migration
- Payroll history & YTD migration
- Inventory data migration & valuation
- Job costing & project history
- Class & location tracking rebuild
- Multi-entity consolidation rebuild
- Payment processor integration replacement
- E-commerce integration replacement
- Time tracking integration replacement
- Custom report template recreation
- User permissions & access setup
- Cross-platform migration (Wave, Xero, Bench, etc.)
Scoped separately: pre-conversion cleanup
If the Desktop file needs repair before it can be converted, that cleanup is scoped as its own line, so the migration fee reflects the migration and the cleanup fee reflects the cleanup.
Not in the fee: your QuickBooks subscription
The work runs in your own QuickBooks Online (or Enterprise) subscription, with the ProAdvisor as an authorized accountant-user. The file is yours from day one, and the subscription passes through at Intuit list pricing — separate from the migration fee.
From a free review to a fixed number.
The fee and the timeline are fixed in writing before any work begins. The whole migration typically runs 3–8 weeks.
- 1
Free migration review
A 30-minute call reviews your current platform, years of history, transaction volume, integrations, and structural issues. A pre-migration audit identifies what transfers cleanly and what needs rework.
Free · before any commitment
- 2
Written fixed-fee scope
The review becomes a written scope with a fixed fee and a fixed timeline. This is where your file lands within the $2,500–$10,000+ range — before any work begins.
Typical: within 3 business days
- 3
Migration to scope
Data converted or rebuilt, the chart of accounts restructured for QuickBooks Online, integrations replaced, payroll history and sales tax set up — the work the scope names, at the fee the scope names.
Fixed fee · no hourly billing
- 4
Verification & handoff
First-month transactions reconciled to confirm migration accuracy, training with recorded video, a documented migration summary, and a CPA-coordinated handoff, followed by the 30-day support window.
Optional: continue into monthly bookkeeping
Why pay when Intuit’s migration tool is free?
What the free tool costs you
Intuit’s free tool handles the technical data transfer at no cost. It does not review accuracy, redesign the chart of accounts for QuickBooks Online, replace Desktop integrations, or reconcile history. When the free tool runs but the result isn’t usable, that repair is migration cleanup, a separate engagement.
When the free tool can be enough
For a very simple, clean file, the free tool can be enough — and we’ll say so on the review rather than scope work you don’t need. The fee buys what sits around the conversion: verification, reconciliation, integration rebuild and training.
A QuickBooks ProAdvisor who reads the file before quoting it.
A migration quote is only as good as the look at the file behind it. Every TechBrot scope is written by a QuickBooks ProAdvisor who works in both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online (TechBrot’s senior reviewer, a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, holds the Intuit QuickBooks Certification Level 2 and QuickBooks Workforce Certification), after reviewing what transfers cleanly and what needs rework — so the fixed fee reflects your file, not a guess. Every engagement is reviewed by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor before delivery.
The range stated here is TechBrot’s own fee range; it is not an Intuit price, and it is not a quote for your file — the written scope is.
QuickBooks migration cost: your questions.
How much does a QuickBooks migration cost?
A QuickBooks migration is a fixed one-time engagement, typically $2,500–$10,000+. Where your file lands in that range depends on its scope — entities, years of history, integrations, inventory, payroll history, edition or source platform, and file condition. The exact fee is set in a written scope after a free review, before any work begins — for a quote, book a free call or dial (877) 751-5575.
What makes a QuickBooks migration more expensive?
More of what has to be moved and verified. Multiple entities or locations, multi-year history, more integrations to replace, inventory, payroll history and year-to-date figures, multi-state sales tax, Enterprise-specific configuration, job costing or custom report rebuilds all add scope. A cross-platform move from Wave, Xero, FreshBooks or Bench rebuilds the chart of accounts from scratch, so it runs on the higher end.
Is the price fixed, or billed by the hour?
Fixed. Every TechBrot engagement is fixed-fee with a written scope agreed before any work begins — no hourly billing, no surprise invoices. The scope names the work, the fee and the timeline, and it is delivered within 3 business days of the free review.
Does the migration price include cleanup?
It includes the verification that makes a migrated file trustworthy: opening-balance verification, customer and vendor record cleanup, historical transaction reconciliation and a first-month post-migration reconciliation. If the Desktop file itself needs cleanup before conversion, that is scoped separately. Repairing a migration that someone else already ran is migration cleanup, its own engagement.
Is the QuickBooks subscription included in the price?
No. The migration runs inside your own QuickBooks Online (or Enterprise) subscription, with the ProAdvisor working as an authorized accountant-user, so the file is yours from day one. The subscription passes through at Intuit list pricing and is separate from the migration fee.
How long does a QuickBooks migration take?
3–8 weeks. The largest variable is file condition: a clean file converts faster than one that needs cleanup first, and more history, entities or integrations lengthen the work. The timeline is fixed in the written scope before work begins.
Is Intuit’s free migration tool cheaper?
The tool itself costs nothing and handles the technical data transfer. It does not review accuracy, redesign the chart of accounts, replace Desktop integrations or reconcile history — which is what a professional migration fee pays for. For a very simple, clean file the free tool can be enough; the free review will tell you if that is your case.
Can I lower the cost by bringing less history?
Often. When moving from another platform, the most common cost-effective path is opening balances and open AR/AP at a cutover date plus the current year’s detail, with the old system kept as a read-only archive for prior periods. There’s rarely value in paying to import years of messy history you’ll never reference — the review recommends the balance of completeness against cost.