Understanding the Output Files
The tool creates these tab-delimited text files:
File Name | Contents | Import Module |
*_Accounts.txt | Chart of accounts | File > Import Data > Accounts > Account Information |
*_Customers.txt | Customer cards | File > Import Data > Cards > Customers |
*_Jobs.txt | Job records | File > Import Data > Jobs |
*_Vendors.txt | Vendor cards | File > Import Data > Cards > Vendors |
*_Employees.txt | Employee cards | File > Import Data > Cards > Employees |
*_Items.txt | Inventory/service items | File > Import Data > Items > Item Information |
*_TaxCodes.txt | Simple tax codes | File > Import Data > Tax Code List > Non-Consolidated |
*_ConTaxCodes.txt | Consolidated tax codes | File > Import Data > Tax Code List > Consolidated |
*_PayMeth.txt | Payment methods | File > Import Data > Sales & Purchase Information > Payment Methods |
*_ShipMeth.txt | Shipping methods | File > Import Data > Sales & Purchase Information > Shipping Methods |
*_Comment.txt | Invoice comments | File > Import Data > Sales & Purchase Information > Comments |
*_Departments.txt | Departments (from Classes) | File > Import Data > Departments |
*_Categories.txt | Categories (from Classes) | File > Import Data > Categories |
Each file includes appropriate headers and is ready for direct import into AccountEdge.
IIF File Format
The Intuit Interchange Format (IIF) is a tab-delimited text format:
First line of each section defines field names
Subsequent lines contain data
Sections marked by header keywords (!ACCNT, !CUST, !VEND, etc.)
Fields are tab-separated
Values may be quoted
Supported IIF Versions
The tool supports the standard QuickBooks IIF format as exported from:
QuickBooks Desktop (Windows)
QuickBooks Pro
QuickBooks Premier
QuickBooks Enterprise
Data Type Limitations
AccountEdge Field Limits:
Names: 40 characters (customers, vendors, items)
Addresses: 4 lines × 40 characters per line
Account numbers: 6 characters (X-XXXX format)
Tax codes: 10 characters (uppercase)
Phone numbers: 21 characters
Email: 255 characters
Custom fields: Varies by field type
Conversion Handling:
Values exceeding limits are truncated with a warning
Critical truncations are logged as errors
Some fields are split across multiple AccountEdge fields
Unicode and Special Characters
Most Unicode characters are supported
Some special characters may be stripped or converted
Tab characters in data are converted to spaces
Line breaks within fields are removed
Performance
NOTE: Your times may vary
Typical conversion times:
Small file ( 100 records): Few seconds
Medium file (100-1,000 records): 10-30 seconds
Large file (1,000-10,000 records): 1-5 minutes
Very large file (> 10,000 records): 5-15 minutes
The Full Import method takes longer due to AccountEdge's import processing.
Understanding Warning and Errors
Common Warnings
Missing Required Information:
"Phone number missing" - Customer/vendor record imported without phone
"Payment terms not recognized" - Default terms applied
"Custom field value exceeds maximum length" - Value truncated
Data Mapping Issues:
"Account not found" - Referenced account doesn't exist, default account used
"Tax code not found" - Referenced tax code missing, item created without tax
"Vendor not found" - Item created without primary vendor link
Format Issues:
"Address truncated" - Address exceeded field length limits
"Email address format questionable" - Email imported but may be invalid
"Decimal value rounded" - Price or cost rounded to AccountEdge precision
Common Skipped Records
Duplicates:
Records with duplicate names or codes that already exist in AccountEdge
Solution: Edit the import file to rename or remove duplicates
Unsupported Account Types:
Non-posting accounts (NONPOSTING type) are not imported
These QuickBooks organizational accounts have no equivalent posting function in AccountEdge
Solution: Create header accounts manually in AccountEdge if needed for organization
Unsupported Item Types:
The following QuickBooks item types are not imported: ASSEMBLY, GRP (Group), FIXEDASSET, OTHC (Other Charge), SUBT (Subtotal), DISC (Discount), PMT (Payment)
These item types either have no direct AccountEdge equivalent or serve special purposes in QuickBooks
For ASSEMBLY and GRP items, you'll need to create the individual component items separately in AccountEdge
COMPTAX items are imported as tax codes, not as items
Solution: Recreate the needed functionality using supported AccountEdge item types or features
Invalid Data:
Records missing required fields (e.g., name field is blank)
Records with invalid data types (e.g., text in a numeric field)
Solution: Edit the import file to correct the data
Business Rule Violations:
Items with invalid account references
Tax codes with invalid rates
Solution: Ensure all referenced records exist or correct the data
Troubleshooting
Import Fails to Start
Problem: Nothing happens when you select the IIF file
Solutions:
Verify the file is a valid IIF file (open in text editor, should start with "!ACCNT" or similar)
Check file permissions (make sure the file isn't locked or in use)
Try copying the IIF file to your desktop and import from there
Many Records Skipped
Problem: Large number of records showing as "Skipped"
Solutions:
Check if records already exist in AccountEdge (duplicates are skipped)
Non-posting accounts are intentionally skipped (not supported in AccountEdge)
Unsupported item types (ASSEMBLY, GRP, FIXEDASSET, OTHC, SUBT, DISC, PMT) are intentionally skipped
COMPTAX items appear as skipped items but are imported as tax codes instead
STAX items appear as skipped items but are imported as consolidated tax codes instead
Review the log file for specific error messages
Verify required fields are populated in QuickBooks
Check for special characters or unusual formatting in record names
Account References Not Working
Problem: Items show "Account not found" warnings
Solutions:
Import accounts first before importing items
Verify account names match between QuickBooks and AccountEdge
Check that header accounts were created for any subaccounts
Manually map accounts in the item import file if needed
Jobs Not Linking to Customers
Problem: Jobs import but aren't connected to customers
Solutions:
Import customers before jobs
Verify customer names match exactly (case-sensitive)
Check for extra spaces or special characters in customer names
Manually edit the jobs file to match customer names exactly
Custom Fields Not Importing
Problem: Custom field data is missing or in wrong fields
Solutions:
Verify custom fields are marked for use in QuickBooks (CUSTNAMEDICT/CUSTITEMDICT)
Check that AccountEdge has custom fields defined for the same record types
Field mapping is by position (field 1 → field 1), not by name
Manually create custom fields in AccountEdge Setup if needed
Tax Codes Have Wrong Names
Problem: Tax code names are abbreviated or don't match QuickBooks
Solutions:
This is expected - AccountEdge limits tax codes to 10 uppercase characters
The description field preserves the full name
Check the mapping in the tax code file to see original → new names
Edit the file to use different abbreviations if needed
Import Takes Very Long
Problem: Full import runs for a long time
Solutions:
This is normal for large IIF files (thousands of records)
The progress window shows which record type is currently importing
You can cancel and use Create Files method instead
Import individual files for better control
Foreign Characters Display Incorrectly
Problem: International characters, accents, symbols show as garbage
Solutions:
Verify the IIF file is saved in UTF-8 encoding
Re-export from QuickBooks ensuring UTF-8 encoding
Edit the tab-delimited files in Excel ensuring proper encoding
May need to manually correct affected records after import