Skip to main content

SUMMER SAVINGS 90% OFF QuickBooks for 3 months* Ends 8/27

Buy now
Switch to QuickBooks and 70% off for 3 Months
Talk to Sales: 877-683-3280
Hours
Mon - Fri, 5am - 6pm PST
Sat - Sun, 7am - 4pm PST
Product support & help
Need help signing in?
KJS
New Member
September 9, 2026
Question

Forced to migrate to Online from 2023 Desktop. Now I cannot access my old Desktop to check balance sheet for correct migration check - Help!!!

  • September 9, 2026
  • 8 replies
  • 143 views

I hope someone can help me here with this absolutely awful situation QB has forced upon me.  I am a small sole business owner.  I’m not an accountant or book keeper.  I’ve been a Desktop Pro Plus user for over 20 years.  In May I was forced to migrate from Desktop Pro Plus 2023 to QBO due to Desktop being withdrawn by QB.  I could not afford to pay for Desktop Enterprise as a small business so I went to QBO.  As part of the migration, I had to first migrate from Desktop Pro 2023 to a trial version of Enterprise as I was told my Desktop 2023 was too old to jump straight to QBO.  From Desktop Enterprise I was then migrated to QBO.  So far so good & the multiple people I dealt with during migration were good & helpful.  However what I didn’t do was create a P&L & balance sheet on the day of migration so to check it was all correct.  I know that was a stupid mistake now but I’m not a professional book keeper & it didn’t even occur to me to check those things straight after migration.

When I now try to revisit my Desktop 2023 or the trial Enterprise version to sense check my original accounts vs the migrated version in QBO I am denied entry to both those older versions.  The Enterprise version tells me my trial has expired & I have to pay to access it to look at my original accounts prior to QBO migration.  If I try to open my Desktop Pro 2023 I get the message “the company files has been upgraded to the latest version of Quickbooks Desktop.  Please contact your system admin to upgrade to the latest version”.  I am the system admin as it’s only me that works on QB!!!!  I was led to believe in various communications from QB that anyone migrating would still have access to their original accounts in desktop for 1 year from point of migration for review purposes.  I do not at this time.

 

I called QB support about a month ago.  Spent over 3 hours online with support & they could not fix the issue.  They really didn’t understand what I was asking for & ended up cutting me off.  They couldn’t even find my original desktop account despite being a customer for 20 years & a paid up member of annual back up support.

 

I don’t have the time, as a small business owner, to spend 3 hours+ with support who do not know what to do in this situation or have the expertise to help me.  I need someone who knows what to do & can help me access my original accounts.  I migrated to QBO in good faith after being given no real choice by QB.  So far I’m not happy at all with how the migration process has been handled & am feeling pretty anxious about how on earth I’m going to file a 2026 tax return when I can’t sense check my P&L & balance sheet against 2025.  

 

If someone on here can give some advice on what to do or a direct line to a specialist I can talk to who knows what to do, I would greatly appreciate it.  Thank you everyone for your help & consideration!

8 replies

SIAB
SIAB
Level 2
September 9, 2026

​@KJS You should contact ​@Fiat Lux_ASIA directly via email. They can share how to access your historical data for good.

KJSAuthor
New Member
September 9, 2026

Thank you for the suggestion.  I’m extremely uncomfortable with that suggestion.  I want to talk to someone at Quickbooks as that is the company I am subscribed to.  I’d appreciate someone from QB jumping in here & giving some input seeing as QB have caused the issue.

Fiat Lux_ASIA
Fiat Lux_ASIA
New Member
September 10, 2026

​@KJS If you are considering switching back to QB Desktop or simply wish to access historical data permanently, you can contact us directly. There are two options you can compare.

MirriamMQuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team
September 9, 2026

You can restore the pre-migration backup copy of your QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus 2023 using another Enterprise trial on another computer.

 

When your file was opened in the Enterprise trial during the migration, the software permanently upgraded your company file (.qbw). Because QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus 2023 is an unsupported version, it cannot open a file that has been upgraded to Enterprise and will prompt you with an error message. Meanwhile, your Enterprise trial has since expired, which explains the expiration notice you are seeing.

 

Before your file was converted to Enterprise, a backup file (.qbb) was created. You can search for this file on your main computer or in your backup folder. Once you find it, you can restore it on another computer using a new Enterprise trial version:

 

  1. Transfer your .qbb pre-migration backup file to the second computer.
  2. Download and install the software on your second computer from the official QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise trial page.
  3. Open the Enterprise trial on the new computer, then restore a backup copy of your company file.
  4. Export your Balance Sheet and P&L reports as PDFs or Excel sheets, so you have copies saved for your records.

 

After exporting the necessary data, you can then compare your financial reports and review your accounts.

 

If you have more questions, drop a reply below.

KJSAuthor
New Member
September 10, 2026

Thanks Mirriam for the suggestion.  You are assuming I have another desktop computer to hand - I don’t.  I’m a small owner operated business.  Cannot Quickbooks re-activate my Enterprise access on my office desktop for a 4 week or shorter trial so I can access it to retrieve the financial docs I need? 

I was led to believe I’d have access to my original accounts for 1 year as part of the migrate.  That was ‘sold’ to me as one of the reasons not to fear migration as I’d be able to go back & review certain things historically such as when QBO mismatches something (which is something that happens sometimes on the bank feed when QBO brings in an old transaction from months before migration so has created a duplicate).  What happened to being able to look at your original accounts for one year post migration?

If you can advise on this as part of the QB team I’d appreciate it.

LouiseG12QuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team
September 10, 2026

You don't necessarily need a second computer to access your data. You can search for your pre-migration backup file saved locally, then restore it directly in QuickBooks Desktop 2023. If you don't have a backup available, restoring the file unfortunately won't be possible.

View-only access remains active for one year after your subscription ends. However, because your company file was upgraded to Enterprise, it can no longer be opened in the 2023 version.

Here's how to restore it:
 

  1. Go to the File menu and select Open or Restore Company.
  2. Choose Restore a backup copy, then Next.
  3. Click Local Backup and then Next.
  4. Browse your computer for your backup company file. It should look like this: [Your company name].qbb.
  5. Select a folder, then click Open.
  6. When you're ready, hit Save.


Furthermore, to open the upgraded company file, you'll have to perform a clean uninstall of the Enterprise trial version to completely remove its installation folders. You can reach out to a local IT technician or Windows support specialist for assistance with this process, and then reinstall a fresh copy.

Let us know in the comments if you have follow-up questions

KJSAuthor
New Member
September 11, 2026

Thank you Louise for the additional info.  I should have a back up as the person that migrated me in QB stored a back up on my hard drive as part of the process.  I just need to find it.

I also pay for the annual back up service on QB Desktop.  I notice that app is still coming in daily & backing up.  I’m assuming it’s backing up my QB Desktop Plus which is what it was programmed to do pre-migration.  Could I use the back up from there in case I can’t find the other back up on my hard drive?

ElykaJen_AQuickBooks Team
QuickBooks Team
September 11, 2026

You can use your computer’s search bar and type .qbb to locate any existing backups across your local drives. However, if you’re unable to find the backup file, you can use your QuickBooks Desktop automated backup service as a fallback.

 

For more details on locating your data and backup files, check out this article: Find QuickBooks company data files and backups.

 

Feel free to return if you have follow-up questions. We’re here to assist you.

Need QuickBooks guidance?
Log in to access expert advice and community support instantly.
Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement