# QuickBooks Import Sales Orders: Desktop Only

- Author: SimpleBankConvert (https://www.simplebankconvert.com)
- Published: 2026-03-23
- Updated: 2026-03-23
- Category: Invoices, bills and lists
- Canonical: https://www.simplebankconvert.com/blog/quickbooks-import-sales-orders

> Can QuickBooks import sales orders? Why sales orders exist only in Desktop Premier and Enterprise, the import routes there and what Online uses instead.
QuickBooks has no built-in way to import sales orders from a spreadsheet. Sales orders exist only in QuickBooks Desktop Premier and Enterprise, and neither the IIF import nor the Excel import there carries them. Open orders go in by hand, through an estimate converted to a sales order, or through a third-party import app.

## Can QuickBooks import sales orders from a spreadsheet?

Not with the tools QuickBooks ships. The QuickBooks Online import list covers bank data, invoices, bills, estimates, purchase orders, sales receipts and several lists, but Intuit's [list of data you can import into QuickBooks Online](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/import-export-data-files/common-questions-importing-data-quickbooks-online/L4OYJRFdj_US_en_US) has no sales order type. Desktop has its own gap, covered below.

That surprises people moving from inventory or e-commerce systems, where a sales order is the starting point of every sale. In QuickBooks, a sales order is an optional, non-posting record. It tracks what a customer has asked for and what is still to ship. It does not touch income, receivables or the bank account until you turn it into an invoice.

## Sales orders in QuickBooks Desktop Premier and Enterprise

The sales order form appears in QuickBooks Desktop Premier and Enterprise. QuickBooks Desktop Pro and every QuickBooks Online plan lack it. In the editions that have it, a sales order records the items, quantities and prices a customer committed to, and tracks partial shipments as you invoice part of the order.

Because the record doesn't post to the accounts, it never shows on a profit and loss or balance sheet. Its value is operational: the open sales orders report tells you what you owe customers in goods. That is why the question of importing them usually comes up during a move, when hundreds of unfilled orders need to reach the new company file.

## Why IIF and Excel imports leave sales orders out

QuickBooks Desktop has two file imports, and neither builds sales orders. Intuit's [IIF import kit overview](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/list-management/iif-overview-import-kit-sample-files-headers/L5CZIpJne_US_en_US) offers sample files for invoices, estimates, purchase orders and other transactions, with no sales order among them. The Excel import is for lists only.

Intuit's page on [importing and exporting Excel files in QuickBooks Desktop](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/list-management/import-export-ms-excel-files/L9BDPsTTX_US_en_US) is plain about it: the Excel tools handle customers, vendors, items and the chart of accounts, and the multiple list entries window cannot import transactions such as invoices or bills. A sales order is a transaction, so it falls outside that tool as well.

The practical upshot is that you can load everything a sales order refers to, the customers and the items, with the Excel import. Only the orders themselves need another route.

## Routes for open sales orders in QuickBooks Desktop

Three routes work in Desktop: typing each order in, importing estimates by IIF and turning each one into a sales order, or using a third-party import app that writes sales orders through Intuit's developer connection. The right one depends on how many open orders you have and how often you will repeat the job.

| Route | What it carries | When it fits |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Type each order | Every field on the form | Up to a few dozen open orders |
| Import estimates by IIF, then create a sales order from each | Customer, items, quantities and prices | A one-time move with many orders and a free afternoon |
| Third-party import app | Whatever the app maps, usually the full order | Repeated imports, such as orders from an online store every week |
| Estimates instead of sales orders | Customer, items and prices, no shipment tracking | Businesses that don't need partial-shipment tracking |

The table is a guide, not a ranking. The estimate route is free but has two steps per order. An app costs money but turns a weekly chore into a few clicks. Whichever you choose, test with three orders first and check them on the open sales orders report.

## What does QuickBooks Online use instead of sales orders?

QuickBooks Online users record a customer's commitment as an estimate, then convert the estimate to an invoice when goods ship. Estimates can be imported from a spreadsheet, so they are the closest thing to a sales order import Online offers. Partial invoicing from an estimate covers many of the same needs.

When the sale is paid at the moment it happens, skip the estimate entirely. A sales receipt records the sale and the payment together; the guide to [uploading sales receipts to QuickBooks Online](/blog/upload-sales-receipts-to-quickbooks-online) shows that import. On the buying side, spending that has already happened goes in as expenses, which the guide to [importing expenses into QuickBooks Online from Excel](/blog/import-expenses-into-quickbooks-online-from-excel) covers.

## Fulfilled sales orders to leave behind

Only open orders belong in a new company file. A sales order that was shipped and invoiced in the old system has finished its work. Bringing it across adds an open order that looks like goods still owed, and the open sales orders report becomes unreliable from day one.

The money side of a move works differently. Unpaid invoices and account balances carry real value, and they come across as opening balances rather than as old orders. The guide to [importing opening balances into QuickBooks Desktop](/blog/import-opening-balances-into-quickbooks-desktop) explains that step. Bank history follows the same logic: if the new file needs past bank activity and you only have PDF statements, [SimpleBankConvert](/) is being built to turn those statements into a file QuickBooks can read.