---
title: From QuickBooks
description: "**Audience:** admin, bookkeeper · **Last updated:** 2026-06-16 · [Edit on GitHub](https://github.com/phreesoft/bizuno/edit/main/docs/08-migration-and-upgrade/02-from-quickbooks.md) # From QuickBooks QuickBooks refugees are a big share of Bizuno's audience, so be clear from the start: **there is no QuickBooks importer.** Bizuno does not read `.qbb`, `.qbo`,…"
url: "https://www.bizuno.com/docs/from-quickbooks/"
updated: "2026-06-18"
category: Migration And Upgrade
---

# From QuickBooks

**Audience:** admin, bookkeeper · **Last updated:** 2026-06-16 · [Edit on GitHub](https://github.com/phreesoft/bizuno/edit/main/docs/08-migration-and-upgrade/02-from-quickbooks.md)

# From QuickBooks

QuickBooks refugees are a big share of Bizuno's audience, so be clear from the
 start: **there is no QuickBooks importer.** Bizuno does not read `.qbb`, `.qbo`,
 or IIF files (an old `xfrQuickBooks` tool was retired to a separate legacy
 module). Migrating from QuickBooks is a **start-fresh** exercise — bring your
 master data and opening balances, not a full transaction history. The good news
 is Bizuno has real CSV importers for the master data, so this is methodical, not
 painful.

---

## The strategy in one line

**Set up the chart of accounts → import master data (CSV) → post opening balances
 (CSV) → optionally import recent open items → validate the balance sheet.** Cut
 over on a clean period boundary (month/quarter/year end) so the opening balances
 line up with a QuickBooks statement you can check against.

---

## Step by step

### 1. Chart of accounts (first, before any transactions)

Set up the COA from a Bizuno **template** (XML) or build it out, *before* posting
 anything — COA import is blocked once journal entries exist. Map your QuickBooks
 accounts to Bizuno accounts as you go; you can export the Bizuno COA to CSV for a
 working reference. See [Chart of Accounts](/docs/chart-of-accounts/).

### 2. Master data via CSV — *Admin → Import/Export*

| Data | Import? | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Customers** | ✅ CSV | Contacts tab; download the template, match the columns |
| **Vendors** | ✅ CSV | Same Contacts importer (set the vendor role) |
| **Inventory items** | ✅ CSV | Inventory tab; SKU, description, cost, price, type, GL accounts |
| **Chart of accounts** | ✅ (XML template) | Not CSV — set up before transactions (above) |
| **Employees** | ❌ no CSV importer | Create employees by hand (payroll *entries* can import, but not the employee master) |

Export each list from QuickBooks to CSV, reshape to the Bizuno template columns,
 and import. Get contacts and inventory in **before** any transactions that
 reference them.

### 3. Opening balances via CSV — *Admin → Import/Export → Beginning Balances*

Bizuno has a dedicated **beginning-balance importer** (you don't hand-key one
 giant journal entry). Provide a CSV of `account, balance`; it writes the balances
 into the first period and **must balance** — total debits equal total credits, by
 account type (assets debit; liabilities/equity credit). Use your QuickBooks trial
 balance as of the cutover date as the source.

### 4. Open items and beginning stock (optional)

- **Open AR/AP:** to age individual unpaid invoices/bills, import them as
   historical **sales (j12)** / **purchases (j6)** via the journal CSV importers,
   rather than burying them in the opening lump sum.
- **Beginning inventory quantities:** set starting stock/cost on the inventory
   record at import, or post an **inventory adjustment (jID=16)** for the opening
   counts.

### 5. Validate

Run a **balance sheet / trial balance** as of the cutover date and reconcile it
 to the same QuickBooks report. They should match to the penny. If they don't, the
 opening-balance CSV is where to look first.

---

## What QuickBooks does that Bizuno does *differently*

Don't expect these to work the QuickBooks way — the capability exists, the shape
 differs:

- **Undeposited Funds** → Bizuno uses a holding account plus an explicit bank
   deposit step, not an automatic UF account. See the deposit step in
   [Quote → SO → Invoice → Payment → Deposit](/docs/quote-so-invoice-payment-deposit/#step-5--bank-deposit-jid2-optional).
- **Classes / Locations** → Bizuno's equivalent is **multi-store** (`store_id`),
   not free-form classes. See [Multi-store, multi-period, multi-currency](/docs/multi-store-multi-period-multi-currency/).
- **Memorized / recurring transactions** → Bizuno's
   [recurring entries](/docs/recurring-invoices-and-pos/)
   (note: occurrences are projected eagerly, and stopping a chain is manual).
- **Sales Tax Centre** → Bizuno calculates tax per contact/authority on the
   transaction; there's no separate tax-centre module.

## What QuickBooks does that Bizuno *doesn't*

Be honest with stakeholders about gaps:

- **Native bank feeds / auto-reconcile from a bank connection** — Bizuno reconciles
   manually against a statement; there's no built-in bank-feed aggregator.
- **The QuickBooks third-party app ecosystem** — integrations written specifically
   for QuickBooks won't carry over. Bizuno integrates via its own
   [REST surface](/docs/rest-api-surface/),
   [WooCommerce bridge](/docs/woocommerce-via-bizuno-api/), and
   [EDI](/docs/edi-x12/).

---

## Keep QuickBooks as a read-only archive

Because you're not importing full history, **keep the QuickBooks file as a
 read-only historical reference** for at least a full fiscal year (and as long as
 your retention/tax rules require). Pull prior-year comparatives and audit detail
 from QuickBooks; run the live books in Bizuno from the cutover date forward. Don't
 archive QuickBooks away entirely until you're confident you won't need to look
 back at pre-cutover detail.

---

## Related

- [Chart of Accounts](/docs/chart-of-accounts/) — set this up first
- [Quote → SO → Invoice → Payment → Deposit](/docs/quote-so-invoice-payment-deposit/) — the Undeposited-Funds difference
- [Multi-store, multi-period, multi-currency](/docs/multi-store-multi-period-multi-currency/) — Bizuno's answer to classes/locations