QuickBooks 2019 Desktop - Migrate QuickBooks to another Computer

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Even though this feature was introduced in a QuickBooks 2018 release update, it is included within Intuit's list of QuickBooks 2019 features because this is the first year that this feature will have been available for the entire product release. QuickBooks 2019 Desktop (U.S. only) versions include this almost 'fully automated' migrator tool for moving QuickBooks Desktop from one computer to a different computer, including your last 3 Company files opened. 

To use this feature, you must be the QuickBooks Administrator and you must have Windows Admin privileges for the new computer where QuickBooks will be installed, which must also have Internet connectivity. You also need a USB flash drive with enough free space to hold your QuickBooks files. QuickBooks will even tell you how much space you will need on the flash drive as part of the migration process.

Once you select the 'Move QuickBooks to another computer' option from the QuickBooks Utilities options, QuickBooks will close itself and then launch the Migrator Tool which looks like the screen shown below.

Upon clicking the 'I'm ready' button (shown above) QuickBooks will require you to set a password used for encryption of the data that will be written to the flash drive.

Once you have confirmed your password, and selected 'Continue,' you will be prompted to select the flash drive if you have already inserted it into your computer's USB drive. The Migrator Tool then begins to copy information from your computer onto the encrypted directory on your flash drive including your current installation, along with the three most recently opened Company files. Some of the configuration information copied includes custom templates and forms, memorized reports, local attachments, and several other companion files that are associated with QuickBooks. By the way, none of the data copied onto the flash drive is deleted from your computer.

When the copying process is completed, QuickBooks displays the message below.

After ejecting your flash drive, you are ready to move to the new computer where you want QuickBooks and your data installed. When you plug your flash drive into the new computer, the Migrator Tool should launch on it's own and display a window like the one shown below.

Enter the special password you created and click the 'Let's go' button. The tool will then download the correct version of QuickBooks over the internet and install it based upon the information from your flash drive. It also registers the product, and then proceeds with setting up your Company files along with the companion file data. 

Be certain to wait until the tool has finished the process. (Note: Your internet connection speed can impact the time needed to download the software, and the speed of your computer can effect the time required for the installation process.) QuickBooks will display as screen like the one below telling you that the process is 'Done' and asking if you want to open QuickBooks.

When the entire process is completed you won't have to worry about your information being retained on the flash drive as QuickBooks removes it as part of the installation process.

Upon logging-in to your Company file(s) on the new computer, you will need to sign-in to your payroll and payments services, and also Intuit Data Protect if you were using it. If you used more than three Company files, you will also need to manually move those from your old computer to the new one.

This tool is designed for single user installations and it worked well, in my testing of a pre-release version, to migrate QuickBooks and Company files from one computer to another. As such, I will give this feature a 'thumbs up' from a technical standpoint even though it seems that this feature could substantially limit the future offering of a traditional QuickBooks ProAdvisor staple service.

By the way, Intuit says that this tool wasn't designed for multi-user (networked) QuickBooks environments because it doesn't copy any of the configuration information related to network set-up (etc.), so at the time of this article, I hadn't attempted to use it to migrate a server (with complete QuickBooks installation) and Company files to a different server. I may have more information about that in a follow-up article I am considering on this functionality.

Notes & Disclosures:

Graphics or other illustrations used in this article have either been prepared using a pre-release version of QuickBooks 2019 software, or were furnished and/or adapted from Intuit source content. Be aware that certain aspects of features described or illustrated herein may have changed between the pre-release software version we used and the release of QuickBooks 2019 desktop products scheduled for September 4, 2018.

This article is intended to serve as a summary of one specific QuickBooks 2019 product feature, it is not an in-depth review nor has it been written to provide instruction in the proper use of the software (or feature).

While the writer or editor may express a personal opinion within this article regarding this feature and/or the software as a whole, such personal opinion does not constitute a formal endorsement by Insightful Accountant or the publisher.