QuickBooks Desktop to Online migration limits: readiness checker

Open the company file in QuickBooks Desktop and press F2 (or Ctrl+1). On a Mac, press Command+1 and choose the Company File tab.

The Product Information window opens. Read Total Targets in the File Information section and type it into the tool.

To count accounts, run your chart of accounts report, then choose Excel > Create New Worksheet > Create a comma separated values (.csv) file. Drop that CSV into step 2.

• Targets. QuickBooks Online limits imports by targets, not file size. Intuit’s condense article sets the limit at 5,000,000 targets (updated November 5, 2026). The limit field is editable if Intuit changes it.
• Condense estimate. It divides your targets by the years in the file and keeps as many recent years as fit under the limit. Busy years use more targets, so treat it as a starting point.
• Plan fit. It checks your users, accounts, classes and locations against Intuit’s usage limits: 250 accounts on Simple Start, Essentials and Plus, and 40 classes and locations combined on Plus. Advanced has no cap on either.
• Features. Inventory needs Plus or Advanced. Multicurrency is not in Simple Start. Price levels are not in QuickBooks Online.

Example (a made-up file): 6,300,000 targets over 14 years is 450,000 a year. Keeping 11 years is 4,950,000 targets, which fits.

• Back up and verify. Make a full backup, then run Verify Data and fix what it finds.
• Work from a local copy. The file must be on your own computer, not a server or hosting service.
• Payroll timing. Wait 2 to 3 business days after your last payroll, and finish the move at least 7 business days before the next payroll date.
• Save what won’t come across. Keep the Sales Tax Liability report and the reconciliation reports you want. Bank feeds, users and timesheet data don’t move.
• Mind the window. You have 90 days from your QuickBooks Online sign-up to import, 180 if your accountant does it. If that company already has data, the move replaces it and can’t be undone.

When the move is done, run Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet for the same dates in both and compare. For the bigger decision, see what to do now that QuickBooks Desktop 2023 is discontinued and our guide to moving distributors from QuickBooks Enterprise to Online.