You can bring your QuickBooks data into AccountEdge, you won't lose access to your original QuickBooks file, and thousands of businesses have made exactly this move.

AccountEdge is modular where QuickBooks bundles. The core software covers accounting, invoicing, inventory, banking, and reporting; payroll, bank feeds, payment processing, and remote access are add-ons you enroll in separately. This is usually cheaper in total — you pay only for what you use — but it means part of switching is choosing your pieces: The AccountEdge Ecosystem maps it, and Setting Up Your AccountEdge Services is the vendor-account checklist with realistic timelines (payments approval takes 5–10 business days, so start it early).

AccountEdge is an accrual-basis system. If you ran QuickBooks on a cash basis, the day-to-day model shifts: cash-basis workflows in AccountEdge typically run through Spend Money, Receive Money, and journal entries rather than the Pay Bills / invoice-and-receivables flows.

And the part long-time desktop users care most about: your data stays yours. Files live on your machine (or your hosted desktop — your choice), your accountant can access an Accountant's Copy regardless of their platform, and even if you cancel, you keep read-only access to your books.

1. DIY — the File Cabinet Method (free, several hours). Bring your lists and balances into a fresh file; your QuickBooks file becomes the "file cabinet" you consult for history. Best when you're comfortable in Excel, want a clean start, and rarely look back at old transactions. The guided walkthrough: Importing Your Data into AccountEdge — and if your QuickBooks exports IIF files, the built-in IIF Import Tool automates the lists.

2. Standard professional migration — MMC Convert (from $389, ~5 business days). AccountEdge's migration partner converts your file including transaction history: current fiscal year from $389, closed fiscal years $200 per year. Covers QuickBooks 2018 and later — Online, Pro, Premier, Enterprise, and Mac — for US and Canadian files: Convert Your Data to AccountEdge.

3. Full conversion for complex files — Conversion Service (from $1,500, ~7 days). Multi-currency, detailed payroll records, or advanced inventory — the cases the standard migration excludes — are handled by AccountEdge Partner Computer Survival: Conversion Service.

Which one? Simple setup + comfort with Excel → DIY. Want history without the spreadsheet work → MMC. Enterprise files, multi-location inventory, or payroll history that must come over → the full conversion. Still unsure? Chat with us about your specific QuickBooks version.

Fresh start or faithful copy? Conversion isn't copying everything over — it's setting up a system that works better going forward. Three decisions shape it:

When to switch: the start of a fiscal year is ideal, the start of a quarter is the solid alternative, and any time works if you accept re-entering a few weeks. Convert when open invoices, uncleared checks, and pending orders are at their lowest. Payroll deserves its own timing decision — switching at year-end is dramatically simpler: see Mid-Year Payroll Conversion and Setting Up Payroll When Switching.

Archive before you leap. Export from QuickBooks and store securely: General Ledger detail, payroll summaries, customer/vendor lists, and financial statements — your audit trail and your safety net. Excel format keeps them searchable forever.

The setup sequence matters more in AccountEdge than it did in QuickBooks — Setting Up AccountEdge in the Right Order is the checklist, Avoiding Common Setup Mistakes covers the pitfalls we see most (several of them switch-specific), and AccountEdge Terminology for QuickBooks Users translates the vocabulary. Not subscribed yet? The 30-day free trial is fully functional and converts in place.