Once you determine that QBO is the right solution for your business, it's time to determine the best time for transition. We recommend the start of a new quarter or new fiscal or calendar year*. We've laid the transition out for you in four easy steps!
1. Clean Up!
Merge duplicate/redundant accounts
Eliminate unused accounts
Add new accounts to adjust for new tax reform
Merge duplicate vendors
Consider using vendor names like “gas” or “meals” for high volume vendor transactions with little to no meaning to your business insights
Reconcile all balance sheet accounts as of the most recent month’s end
We want the data that will be transferred to be complete and accurate
2. Evaluate Other Workflow Applications*
QBO is an accounting platform that is built to link with many industry specific applications. Some of our favorites include:
Bill.com
Hubdoc
Expensify
Gusto
Commerce Sync
Intuit Payments
Evaluate applications that may be beneficial to your business. Time savings is the name of the game here! There are many aspects to consider when selecting an app. Visit apps.intuit.com to learn more!
3. Data Transfer
Whether you’ve decided to input your balance sheet as of January 1 or input your all of your historical data and transactions from your current QuickBooks Desktop file, you’ll want to ensure that the data is complete. Reconcile the following items to ensure you data transfer was complete:
Balance Sheet as of December 31 plus any beginning balance adjusting entries for January 1 start (for a Balance Sheet only transfer)
Prior/current year profit and loss
Accounts payable and receivable open balances
Uncleared checks and deposits
You also have the option of moving over some of the data. Meaning maybe you want to do a fresh start as of January 1 but you want to move your vendor and customer lists over. You can do that using an upload application like SaasAnt. You can upload a chart of accounts and your products and services lists too.
Connect your new applications and start using them!
There are some limitations to moving the data over. It’s just important to be aware of these before the transition.
4. Run Your Systems Parallel
In a perfect world, we would all be able to run our system transitions parallel. Meaning we would run both at the same time to ensure that the results the new system produces are the same as what the old system produced. If you can do this for one month, we highly recommend it. It will allow for you to see the nuances in the new system and adjust your internal business processes as necessary.
System transitions are not easy and can be time-consuming. Planning and setting expectations upfront can help decrease interruption to your business operations and workflow. And remember, the transition will be a decision that pays off in the long term.
(*Always consult a QuickBooks Proadvisor or other expert to determine which option is best for you.)
Visit us at www.la-financialmanagement.com to learn how we can help today!