Excel to QuickBooks Accountant Premier 2005

[Kent Finnell]

I've been using QuickBooks Pro for several years now and just upgraded to QB
Accountant Premier 2005. The documentation tries to cover 8 versions (7
industry specific, including Accountant, plus the Enterprise 10 user
version). That brakes down to about 70 pages per. It is poorly organized.
I bought it because it has some features that the Pro version doesn't.

One of the added features in both the Pro and Premier was supposedly
implemented in 2004. That was easier exporting of lists and data from Excel
to the pricey versions of QuickBooks.

Well, if it there, damned if I can find it. In the past I have done it, by
trial and error, but that was at the startup of the client's business. It
was a kludge at best, almost 6 years ago, and I don't want to attempt it t&e
on mature files.

I have found ONE book that covers the Premier editions only. It is better
organized that Intuit's book and is about the same length, meaning about 80
pages per version. The book is "Running QuickBooks' 2005 Premier Editions"
by Kathy Ivens. After a quick scan at Books-A-Million, I determined that
the importing of Excel data isn't detailed very well there either.

Does anyone here have any working knowledge of the process? QuickBooks
exports many of its reports and lists to Excel in fine fashion. Some of the
formulas are a little on the weird side and I haven't seen one yet that took
advantage of the subtotal function. And it does a fine set of pivot reports
for payroll.

I'm using an HP with a moderately fast 32-bit Athlon chip, plenty of memory
and harddrive space. The OS is XP Home SP2 and the Excel if from Office XP
Standard.

 

[Dave O]

I have no direct working knowledge of the software, so consider this a
guess at best. Is there a file format the Quickbooks imports easily
and well, and can you convert Excel to that format as an intermediate
step?

 

[Kent Finnell]

I have no direct working knowledge of the software, so consider this a
guess at best. Is there a file format the Quickbooks imports easily
and well, and can you convert Excel to that format as an intermediate
step?

QB exports to Excel and can import Excel data, but there's scant instruction
on how the spreadsheet is to be formatted. I did it with moderate success
in 2000/01, but that was the initial formation of the client's company. The
company's now 5, going on six.

Unless someone comes up with some specifics, it's back to trial and error on
a backup of the client's QB file.

 

[Conrad Carlberg]

Here's the information I have: There is absolutely no difference
in the export/import features between QB Pro and QB Premier Editions. Nor
has the QB/Excel export interaction changed in new versions of QB. Starting
a couple of years ago, you can now import List items (not transactions, not
anything with a formula) from Excel, but only a few lists... everything
else you want to import requires IIF files (QB's version of Excel Text
files) which are documented in Running QuickBooks Premier Editions.

There is, in fact, little difference in the everyday features between the
Pro and Premier Editions. Some additional "tweaks" exist in the Premier
Accounting Edition, but mostly, the differences are in the additional
reports available in Premier Editions (all of which can be duplicated in
Pro with a few mouse clicks), and the additional opportunities to use
third-party tools for a year for free - then you have to pay a monthly fee
for them.

C^2
Conrad Carlberg