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Did you get yourself a shiny new computer on Black Friday or Cyber Monday? Or maybe you just need to get some year-end bookkeeping done on your laptop over the holidays?
If you need to get QuickBooks from one computer to another, it’s not a big deal. Here’s what you do:
1. Computer #2: Install QuickBooks (you’ll need your original install disk or downloaded install file, plus your installation codes that came with the software.)
2. Computer #2: Update QuickBooks: Run QuickBooks and click on Help / Update QuickBooks. That way, you’ll have the same QuickBooks updates on computer #2 that are on computer #1.
3. Computer #1: Backup your company data. You can back it up to any medium that will be accessible to computer #2. That would normally include CDs, USB/flash drives, external hard drives, or online storage services (like Global DataVault.)
The smallest backup you can make is a Portable file. This kind of backup is only about 20-25% the size of your regular QBW company file, yet it contains all your data. (The backup excludes the internal indexing in the file – that’s why it’s both smaller and takes longer to make and restore.)
4. If you made a backup to a physical backup drive, take it to computer #2 and plug it in or insert it. If your backup is online somewhere, download it to computer #2’s hard drive or desktop.
5. Computer #2: Run QuickBooks, and at the opening dialog box select “Open or restore an existing company”, and then “Restore a portable file” (or “Restore a backup copy” if you are bringing over a regular backup copy from computer #1.)
6. Computer #2: Navigate to the drive and folder where your backup is, and select the backup file.
7. Computer #2: Specify where you want the file to be restored to. You can accept the default that QuickBooks suggests, or point to a particular folder that makes sense to you. My Documents is not a bad choice.
8. Computer #2: Finish the restore.
Once your data is restored, everything should be set up for you to work in QuickBooks on your new computer. If you need to take your company file back to computer #1, simply reverse the process for steps #3-8.
What’s your favorite way to move QuickBooks data between computers?
my computer crashed and I still had quickbooks 2005. I took the hard drive out and made it an external hard drive. I bought a new pc and installed quickbooks 2011 yet I still can’t open any of my files. What am I missing here????
I’m sorry old PC had XP and quickbooks Acct. New PC is Windows 7 and QB11
Hi Alex,
Are you able to copy the QBW files from the old drive to your new computer’s hard drive? You might try that, and then try to open the files when they are located on the new computer’s C: drive. If you cannot copy them over, then there is probably some damage to the original hard drive.
If you can copy them successfully, but they still won’t open from the C: drive, you might give us a call for options.
Thanks for the comment.
Hi Alex,
my transfer question is a little different.
The company has changed ownership and has new name and accounts etc. We are now using QB 2012 pro. The old company was on QB 2010 pro on another PC. I need to move all the customers and account balances and inventory etc. from the old company to the new.
Whats the best way to do this?
Thanks for any help.
ed
Sorry, I referred the question to Alex, when clearly I should have asked Shannon.
Hi Ed,
I just posted a blog post with a link to that very issue. Please see http://blog.quickbooksusers.com/quickbooks/how-to-start-a-new-quickbooks-file-from-existing-data/
Thanks for the question.
I have a different issue. I am helping someone out who started a business 2 years ago & is now just getting to putting it all on quickbooks. She has only been able to enter the customer info & invoices but nothing else & wants me to finish entering the rest. I made a backup copy of her company on a USB, took all her paperwork & went home to complete the work. When I tried to open her company on my quickbooks it would not let me. Her company backup is definitely on the USB & quickbooks recognizes it. I clicked restore company, found the backup copy for the top half of the restore section, but it falls apart for the bottom half of that dialog box. What am I doing wrong? Should I have made a portable copy or accountants copy instead?
Hi Nancy,
I’m not quite visualizing what you mean when you try to restore that backup. So if you see the backup file and double-click it, what happens?
If you can’t get the backup working, try just copying the QBW file from her computer to the USB drive, and from the USB drive to your computer’s hard drive. Then you can simply open the company, instead of having to restore it.
Thanks for the question.