QuickBooks migration · Verification
QuickBooks post-migration checklist: prove the move worked.
A migration can finish without an error message and still leave the numbers off. The only proof is a comparison: the new QuickBooks Online file against the Desktop reports you trusted, as of the conversion date. Here are the checks, in the order to run them.
After a QuickBooks Desktop to Online migration, compare the Online file with the Desktop file as of the conversion date: the trial balance account by account; the balance sheet and profit and loss on the same basis; receivable and payable aging totals; bank, card and loan balances against statements; sales-tax liability; payroll year-to-date totals if payroll moved; inventory value for inventory files; and the customer, vendor and item lists. Anything that does not match is fixed before the Desktop file is retired. What does not carry over at all is covered in what doesn’t convert.
TechBrot Inc. · independent bookkeeping and advisory firm led by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor — not a CPA firm and not affiliated with Intuit Inc.
Intuit certifications
Every engagement is reviewed by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor (QuickBooks Online Level 2, Payroll) — verification on request. Intuit’s ProAdvisor program becomes ProPartner Accountants in early 2027; the certifications continue.
Verifying a migration, in five questions.
What should I check after migrating QuickBooks Desktop to Online?
The trial balance account by account, the balance sheet and profit and loss on the same basis, receivable and payable agings, bank and loan balances, sales tax, payroll year-to-date, inventory value and the lists — each against the Desktop reports as of the conversion date.
What is the reference point for verification?
The Desktop reports as of the conversion date, run before the Desktop file is archived.
What if the trial balance does not match?
Differences in equity point to opening balances or prior-period entries that landed in the wrong account; they are corrected before new work is entered.
When should I retire the Desktop file?
After every check passes. Back it up and archive it rather than deleting it.
Does TechBrot verify migrations?
Yes — verification is part of every TechBrot migration, and a migration done elsewhere can be verified or repaired on a written fixed-fee scope.
A finished migration is not a verified one.
A conversion reports success when the data moved, not when it moved correctly. Balances can shift through opening entries, unapplied payments, sales-tax settings or items that behave differently in QuickBooks Online.
Verification is a comparison against a fixed point: the Desktop reports as of the conversion date. Run them from the Desktop file before it is archived; they are the standard the Online file has to meet.
What a failed check points to.
Trial balance off in equity
Opening balances or prior-period entries landed in opening balance equity or retained earnings instead of their own accounts.
Aging totals right, invoices wrong
Open invoices or bills came across as summary balances, or payments are sitting unapplied.
Sales tax off
Rates or agencies were set up differently in Online, so the liability is calculated differently from Desktop.
Inventory value off
Items, costs or quantities did not come across the way Desktop tracked them.
Three checkpoints after the move.
Day one
Trial balance, balance sheet, agings and bank balances against Desktop, before anyone enters new transactions.
First month-end
The first reconciliation in Online for every account, and the first sales-tax period, tied out.
First quarter-end
Payroll quarter totals and liabilities against the filed forms, and inventory value against a count.
The checks, in order.
Run each Desktop report as of the conversion date and compare it with the same report in QuickBooks Online.
- Trial balance: every account matches, to the cent.
- Balance sheet and profit and loss: the last full year matches, on the same basis (accrual or cash) in both files.
- Receivable and payable aging: the totals match, and open invoices and bills came across individually rather than as one balance.
- Bank, card and loan balances: each matches its statement at the conversion date, with reconciliation picked up from there.
- Undeposited funds: the balance matches Desktop, and the items in it are the same items.
- Sales tax: the liability matches, and each tax rate and agency is set up in Online.
- Payroll, if it moved: year-to-date wages, taxes and liabilities match for every employee.
- Inventory, if you track it: quantity and value match the Desktop inventory valuation summary.
- Lists: customers, vendors, items, classes and locations are all present, with no duplicates.
- Before retiring Desktop: users and permissions set, bank feeds connected, and the Desktop file backed up and archived.
Verification and repair.
Verification is part of every TechBrot QuickBooks migration (published at $2,500–$10,000+, fixed fee). If you migrated on your own and a check fails, the fix is scoped as a repair: see balances wrong after conversion.
Questions about checking a QuickBooks migration.
Does a successful conversion message mean the migration is right?
Should the reports use the same basis?
What if my payroll did not move to QuickBooks Online?
How much does a migration cost?
Is TechBrot affiliated with Intuit?
Numbers not matching?
Get the migration verified or repaired.
Book a free 30-minute discovery call. We compare the Online file with your Desktop reports, and you get a written fixed-fee scope for the verification or the repair within 3 business days.
Tell us what’s wrong with the books. We’ll tell you whether cleanup, catch-up or monthly bookkeeping fits.
Call (877) 751-5575. If we miss you, a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor returns your call within one business day. Written fixed-fee scope within 3 business days. No hourly billing.