# Switch from QuickBooks Desktop to Xero

- Author: SimpleBankConvert (https://www.simplebankconvert.com)
- Published: 2026-09-29
- Updated: 2026-09-29
- Category: Switching accounting software
- Canonical: https://www.simplebankconvert.com/blog/switch-from-quickbooks-desktop-to-xero

> How to switch from QuickBooks Desktop to Xero: conversion tools versus a fresh start, the balances to carry over and Desktop bank history to import.
To switch from QuickBooks Desktop to Xero, first tidy the Desktop company file and reconcile every bank account to a month end. Then either have Xero's conversion partner move your lists and two years of transactions, or start fresh with balances. Finally, connect Xero's bank feeds and import statement files for any months the feed misses.

## Why the Desktop support date shapes a move to Xero

QuickBooks Desktop versions stop receiving Intuit's connected services after a set date, and bank downloads are among them. Once your version passes that date, new bank activity has to be typed or imported by other means. That deadline usually decides when the switch to Xero should happen.

Intuit's [QuickBooks Desktop service discontinuation policy](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/feature-preferences/quickbooks-desktop-service-discontinuation-policy/L17cXxlie_US_en_US) gives the example of QuickBooks Desktop 2023, which stopped getting support after May 31, 2026. On a discontinued version, Intuit says you can't download transactions, send online payments or send online transfers, and you lose services such as Desktop Payroll, Desktop Payments and online bank feeds.

### Planning around the date

- Note the year and edition of your Desktop version.
- Check it against Intuit's discontinuation list.
- If the cut-off is close, aim for a conversion date at the next month start, so the last Desktop month still has working bank downloads.
- If the cut-off has passed, the switch is mostly about getting new activity into a program that can receive it.

Payroll deserves its own plan. Xero says payroll information does not migrate in any of its conversion methods, so a business running Desktop Payroll needs the new payroll set up before the first pay date after the switch.

## Converting the Desktop company file to Xero versus a fresh start

Xero's page on [converting from QuickBooks](https://www.xero.com/us/accounting-software/convert-from-quickbooks/) offers three routes: an automated conversion by its partner Jet Convert, a fresh start from balances, and a CSV-based Conversion Toolbox that Xero pitches at accountants and bookkeepers. For a Desktop file in good order, the automated route saves the most time; for a messy file, a fresh start can be cleaner.

Xero says it is free to migrate the current and prior fiscal year of transaction data, that more than two years may cost extra, and that the automated migration takes between 20 minutes and five business days. The converted records include the chart of accounts, contacts and historical transactions such as bills and invoices.

### How to choose for a Desktop file

| Your Desktop file | Better route | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reconciled every month, few old open items | Automated conversion | History arrives clean, lookups stay in one place |
| Years of unreconciled months or stray balances | Fresh start | Bad history would follow you into Xero |
| Heavy inventory or job costing | Talk to an adviser first | The free conversion may not carry what you rely on |
| More than two years needed in Xero | Toolbox or paid conversion | Beyond the free scope |

A fresh start does not mean losing the past. The Desktop file stays on your computer for lookups, and Xero holds the business from the conversion date forward.

## Cleaning up the QuickBooks Desktop file before a Xero conversion

A conversion copies what is in the file, mistakes included. An hour of clean-up in Desktop prevents days of correcting in Xero. Focus on the items that become balances: bank reconciliations, open invoices and bills, and stray entries in suspense or equity accounts. Then back up the file before anything is sent.

### A pre-conversion checklist

1. **Reconcile every bank and card account** through the month before the conversion date, and print or save each reconciliation report.
2. **Clear old uncleared items.** A check from three years ago that never cleared should be voided or written off now, with your accountant's agreement.
3. **Review open invoices and bills.** Anything listed as unpaid that was actually paid, or will never be, needs fixing before it becomes a Xero receivable.
4. **Empty suspense and "ask my accountant" accounts.** Every amount there should go to a real account.
5. **Merge duplicate customers and vendors.** Xero will import each name as you have it.
6. **Make inactive the accounts and items you no longer use**, so they do not clutter the new chart of accounts.
7. **Back up the company file** and keep the backup with your records.

Desktop users moving to QuickBooks Online instead of Xero face many of the same clean-up steps; the Sage version of that move is laid out in [switching from Sage to QuickBooks Online](/blog/switch-from-sage-to-quickbooks-online), and its checklist is a useful comparison.

## Which Desktop balances carry into Xero on the conversion date?

Only balance sheet figures carry over, taken from Desktop as of the day before the conversion date. Those are bank and card balances, loans, open receivables and payables, sales tax owed, fixed assets and equity. Income and expense accounts begin at zero in Xero, with this year's profit so far sitting inside equity if you convert mid-year.

Run a trial balance in Desktop for that date and keep it. It shows each account's debit or credit, and its totals must agree, which makes it the reference you check Xero against. With the automated conversion, the balances arrive with the data; with a fresh start, you enter them from this report.

### Bank balances need one extra step

The Desktop register balance and the bank statement balance differ by any checks and deposits that had not cleared at the cut-off. The book figure is the one that goes on the balance sheet, and each uncleared item needs to exist in Xero so it can be matched when it clears. Your Desktop reconciliation report lists those items, which is one more reason to save it.

### An example of the bank figures

These numbers are illustrative, for a conversion on April 1.

| Item | Amount |
| --- | --- |
| Bank statement balance, Mar 31 | 12,780.00 |
| Check 4410, written Mar 29, not cleared | -1,250.00 |
| Deposit made Mar 31, credited Apr 1 | +640.00 |
| Desktop register balance, Mar 31 | 12,170.00 |

The register figure, 12,170.00, is the balance Xero should show for the account on March 31. The check and the deposit wait in Xero as unreconciled entries and match the bank lines when they arrive in April. If Xero shows 12,780.00 instead, either the uncleared items were left out or the statement balance was used by mistake.

## Getting Desktop bank history into Xero as statement lines

Bank lines in Xero are statement lines: entries that stand for what the bank reported, ready to be reconciled. Desktop's history does not become statement lines automatically. For months after the conversion date that the feed does not reach, import statement files built from the bank's own records, not from Desktop's register.

### Where the files come from

- **Bank downloads.** Many banks offer CSV or OFX downloads for recent months.
- **Web Connect files you already saved.** A QBO file downloaded for Desktop is built on the OFX format, and [importing an OFX file into Xero](/blog/import-ofx-file-into-xero) explains when such a file goes in as it is.
- **PDF statements.** For older months, the PDF is often all the bank still offers. SimpleBankConvert is being built to turn a PDF statement into a CSV laid out for Xero's import; the [get started page](/get-started) is where to ask for access.

### What about months before the conversion date?

If you used the automated conversion, those months' transactions are already in Xero, so importing statements for them would double them. With a fresh start, the opening balance stands in for everything before it. Either way, start statement imports at the conversion date. Quicken users moving to Xero make the same call about pre-conversion months; [switching from Quicken to Xero](/blog/switch-from-quicken-to-xero) covers that case.

If you need Desktop's own record of a bank account for reference, [exporting the bank register from QuickBooks Desktop](/blog/export-bank-register-from-quickbooks-desktop) shows how to build a report and save it to Excel.

## What should stay behind in QuickBooks Desktop after the Xero move?

Keep the Desktop file, its backup and a set of saved reports, and leave old detail there rather than forcing it into Xero. Xero needs your balances, open items and the history its conversion covers. Old payroll records, inventory history and closed years are safer left in Desktop and in report files.

### Reports to save before you stop using Desktop

| Report | Dates to cover | Why keep it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Profit and Loss | Each year you may be asked about | Tax and lender questions |
| Balance Sheet | Each year end, plus the day before conversion | Proves the opening figures |
| Trial Balance | The day before conversion | Source for Xero's balances |
| A/R and A/P aging | The day before conversion | Lists every open invoice and bill |
| Bank reconciliation reports | Last reconciled statement per account | Lists uncleared items |
| Payroll summaries | Each year paid through Desktop | Payroll does not migrate |

Save them as PDF and Excel files in a folder that does not depend on QuickBooks to open.

### Undo test runs elsewhere

Some people try QuickBooks Online before settling on Xero and upload a few months of bank files there. If you did, clear those lines out before cancelling, so nobody later mistakes the trial for real books; [deleting imported transactions in QuickBooks Online](/blog/delete-imported-transactions-in-quickbooks-online) shows how to remove them in a batch.

Keep Desktop installed on one computer until the first Xero year is closed and filed. After that, the saved reports and the backup are usually enough.