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J
Jackson-Wong
February 13, 2026
Question

How to migrate 2020 data without a Desktop Pro software to Quickbooks Online?

  • February 13, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 7 views

I had a Quickbooks 2020 Desktop Pro installed onto a Windows 10 machine. Hard drive died. I could not reinstall the software to my new computer. I have just bought Quickbooks Online, i do have all the company files on backup. Can I able to use these backup files to migrate to Quickbooks Online? According to the Migration in the online help, it requires the Desktop version and click the Export to Quickbooks Online. Can I do this migration without the Desktop software?

2 replies

SIAB
SIAB
Level 2
February 13, 2026

What QB Desktop country version? US or another country?

Where is your company located?

E
Erika_KQuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team
February 13, 2026

Hi there, Jackson. While you can't migrate those files directly, you can use a QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) trial to open your backups and move them over to QuickBooks Online (QBO). Just make sure your computer meets the requirements for the 2024 QBDT trial first, and be careful not to register the trial version, as that might actually lock you out of the software.

 

Once the trial is installed, you can open your company files or backup and start the migration. Just a heads-up that you have a 60-day window from the time you create your QBO account to get your data moved over. You can check out this article for the full step-by-step guide: Move your QuickBooks Desktop company file to QuickBooks Online.

 

While you're transitioning to QBO, feel free to reach out if you have any other questions.

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