Sage Intacct to QuickBooks Data Conversion

Step 1: Preparing for Sage Intacct to QuickBooks Online Conversion

A successful transition from Sage Intacct to QuickBooks Online demands strategic planning and preparation like data backup and security, configuring QuickBooks Online account to ensure a seamless conversion and minimize business disruptions.

Strategic Planning

Before the actual migration, plan for specific business requirements, migration objectives, allocation of necessary resources and detailed timeline.

Business Requirements and Migration Goals for Transitioning from Sage Intacct to QuickBooks Online:

Cost Reduction as a Primary Driver: Cost often plays a significant role in business decisions. The need to lower operational expenses frequently motivates business owners to migrate data from Sage Intacct to QuickBooks Online.

Simplified Reporting Summaries: In cases involving multiple branches or subsidiaries, separate financial reporting is required.

Multi-Currency and Foreign Business Tracking: The requirement arises to easily monitor foreign business dealings and transactions involving multiple currencies.

Migration Timeline: A detailed and structured timeline is essential for successful migration. If data complexities such as taxation, multi-currency, inventory management, and other crucial modules are minimal, the migration timeline can be as short as two to three weeks. However, as the number of modules and data sections increases, the timeline can range from two to three weeks up to thirteen to sixteen weeks.

Kick-Off Date: Business continuity is imperative; therefore, establishing a kick-off date for implementing the new software is as crucial as the migration timeline. For instance, if the data migration covers a two-year period up to December 31, 2023, the kick-off date could be January 1, 2024. This approach enables clients to start generating new bills and invoices from that date, minimizing disruptions to business operations.

Migration objectives include data transfer of chart of accounts, customer list, vendor list, employee information, open transactions and historical transactions.

Supporting Your Business Through Transition

If you’re managing the migration process in-house, you’ll have to provide additional support to your team or at least guide them in the right direction.

Even though QuickBooks Online is a user-friendly business solution, you may want to provide these useful links to your team members:

• QuickBooks Learn and Support US
• Get started QuickBooks Tutorials US
• US QuickBooks Community

Chronological Sequence: A detailed chronological sequence is a critical element in the migration process. In the absence of complex data, such as Taxation, Multi-Currency, Inventory Management, and other essential modules that are not currently operational, the migration timeline can range from two to three weeks. However, as the number of modules or sections increases, the migration timeline may vary from two to three weeks and extend to thirteen to sixteen weeks.

Data Backup and Security

Export comprehensive data from Sage Intacct to safeguard valuable financial information against potential data loss during the conversion. Save the exported data both locally and on a secure cloud server to ensure redundancy and protect sensitive information.

Specific Considerations for Sage Intacct to QuickBooks Online Migration:

1. Feature Set Differences:
   • Sage Intacct is known for its robust multi-entity management and dimensional accounting. When migrating to QuickBooks Online, consider how to replicate these functionalities using QuickBooks Online’s class and location tracking features.
   • Sage Intacct is known for its robust multi-entity management and dimensional accounting. When migrating to QuickBooks Online, consider how to replicate these functionalities using QuickBooks Online’s class and location tracking features.
2. Data Structure Adjustments:
   • Sage Intacct uses a dimensional chart of accounts, while QuickBooks Online uses a traditional account structure. You’ll need to flatten your chart of accounts and potentially use classes or locations to maintain similar reporting capabilities.
   • Custom fields in Sage Intacct may not have direct equivalents in QuickBooks Online. Plan how to capture this data in QuickBooks Online’s available custom fields or consider third-party apps for extended functionality.
3. Reporting Differences:
   • Sage Intacct offers more advanced financial reporting. Identify critical reports and determine how to recreate them in QuickBooks Online or through third-party reporting tools.
4. Integration Considerations:
   • Review your current integrations with Sage Intacct. Determine if similar integrations exist for QuickBooks Online or if you need to find alternative solutions.
5. User Permissions:
   • QuickBooks Online has a different user permission structure. Plan how to map your current user roles and permissions to QuickBooks Online’s available options.
6. Historical Data:
   • Decide how much historical data to migrate. QuickBooks Online may have limitations on the volume of historical transactions it can efficiently handle.
7. Training Requirements:
   • Users familiar with Sage Intacct’s interface and functionality will need training on QuickBooks Online. Plan for a comprehensive training program to ensure smooth adoption.

Choose the Right QuickBooks Online Plan

Select the appropriate QuickBooks Online plan based on specific business needs, budget, and growth projections. QuickBooks Online offers various tiers, including Simple Start, Essentials, Plus, and Advanced, each with increasing levels of functionality.

Is there any other QB version that needs to be included? QuickBooks Online Advanced is geared towards medium-sized businesses and offers more advanced features compared to other QuickBooks Online plans.

Is the process version specific? The data that you’ll be able to import into QuickBooks Online will be limited, as only certain versions support advanced features – multi-currency mode, classes, etc. Further, migrating payroll data requires an active subscription of QuickBooks Payroll.

Configure QuickBooks Online Account

After choosing the right QuickBooks Online plan, set up company-specific configurations, tailor settings such as chart of accounts, customer list, vendor list, employee information, inventory list, tax configurations, and user preferences.

If the client has any specific custom fields, they can be added by the client in QuickBooks Online.

Step 2: Sage Intacct to QuickBooks Online Conversion Process

Extract Data

Extract customer data, vendor information, invoices, and payment data from Sage Intacct in CSV or MS-Excel formats compatible with QuickBooks Online.

You can export key reports from Sage Intacct using the Report Writer feature.

Sage Intacct’s Report Writer feature provides a powerful and flexible way to export and customize reports. With Report Writer, you can easily create reports tailored to your specific needs, and then export them in a variety of formats, including PDF, Excel, and CSV.

Here are some of the key benefits of using Report Writer:

• Easy to use: Report Writer’s intuitive interface makes it easy to create and customize reports, even for users with no prior reporting experience.
• Powerful and flexible: Report Writer offers a wide range of features and options, allowing you to create reports that are as simple or complex as you need.
• Export to multiple formats: Report Writer can export reports in a variety of formats, including PDF, Excel, and CSV. This makes it easy to share reports with others, or to import them into other applications.
• Secure: Report Writer is a secure feature that is only accessible to authorized users. This ensures that your data is protected.

Here are some of the key reports that you can export using Report Writer:

• Financial reports: Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, and more.
• Operational reports: Sales reports, inventory reports, and project reports.
• Compliance reports: Tax reports and audit reports.
• Custom reports: Create your own reports to meet your specific needs.

Clean Data

Identify and remove redundant or inaccurate entries from the extracted data to prevent duplication and discrepancies in the new QuickBooks Online system.

Transform Data

Standardize data formats from cleaned data to ensure consistency and compatibility with QuickBooks Online’s data structures.

Map Data

Align the data fields from the transformed data to their corresponding fields in QuickBooks Online. For example, customer names, contact information, vendor details, and financial transaction data need precise mapping to their QuickBooks Online equivalents.

Import Data

Use the QuickBooks Online import function to bring in the exported data from Sage Intacct after extraction, cleanup, transformation, and mapping.

Verify and Reconcile Data

Verify the accuracy of customer and vendor data, check financial transactions, pay attention to inventory data, and use reconciliation reports to identify and fill in any missing data.

Step 3: Handling Common Sage Intacct to QuickBooks Online Conversion Challenges

• Incompatible Data: Differences in data structures and formats between Sage Intacct and QuickBooks Online can result in errors if not properly aligned. Evaluate and test data compatibility and integration issues thoroughly before initiating the transfer.
• Missing Data: To mitigate missing data issues, create a comprehensive checklist of all data types that need transferring and perform thorough reconciliations at each stage.
• File Corruption: File corruption can arise due to network interruptions, software glitches, or human error. Use robust data validation tools throughout the conversion process to identify and prevent file corruption before it becomes a major issue.