QuickBooks Desktop POS data migration considerations
Before you migrate your QuickBooks POS data to Shopify, make sure to review which data can be migrated using the QuickBooks Desktop Connector app and which data you might have to migrate manually. For a full list of data mapping terms, refer to QuickBooks POS and Shopify POS glossary and data mapping.
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QuickBooks data migration scope
Review the following table to learn more which QuickBooks Desktop POS data can and can't be migrated to Shopify using the QuickBooks Desktop Connector app:
| QuickBooks data type | Shopify data type | Data can be migrated |
|---|---|---|
| Customer | Customer | ✔ |
| Inventory | Products | ✔ |
| Inventory style grid | Product variants or options | ✔ |
| Product images | Product images | ✘ |
| Transfer slips | Product transfers | ✘ |
| Vendors | Vendor or supplier | ✔ |
| Stores (POS) or Classes (QuickBooks Desktop) | Locations | ✔ |
| Item Number or UPC | Barcodes | ✔ |
| Customer note | Customer note | ✔ |
| Sales receipt | Orders (paid/fulfilled) | ✘ |
| Invoice | Orders (unpaid/fulfilled) | ✘ |
| Invoice with payment | Orders (partially paid/fulfilled) | ✘ |
| Sales order | Orders (unpaid/unfulfilled) | ✘ |
| Sales order with deposit | Orders (partially paid/unfulfilled) | ✘ |
| Purchase order | Purchase orders (items not received) | ✘ |
| Receiving voucher (QuickBooks Desktop POS) | Purchase orders (items Received) | ✘ |
| Bill or Item Receipt (QuickBooks Desktop) | Purchase orders (items received) | ✘ |
| Automatic discounts | Discounts | ✘ |
| Alternative lookup (ALU) | SKU numbers | ✘ |
| Store credits | Giftcards | ✘ |
| Loyalty | Loyalty | ✘ |
QuickBooks data that can be migrated using the connector app
The following data can be migrated from QuickBooks POS to Shopify using the QuickBooks Desktop Connector app:
- customer data
- names
- emails
- phone numbers
- vendor data (migrates over as Suppliers in the Stocky app)
- location data (maximum 20 locations)
- inventory and product data
- product title
- barcodes (item number)
- quantity
- location
- price
Products and product variants
After you migrate, your product variants are imported as individual products to Shopify. The migration doesn't overwrite any existing products in Shopify. Your migrated products are imported with a Quickbooks tag and with a Draft status. You can do the following:
- Filter and sort your imported products using the Quickbooks tag.
- Review the product information and make any necessary changes before making your products available for sale. You can change the product status from Draft to Active for individual products or in bulk using the bulk editor.
Data migration item limit
You can migrate up to 50,000 items per day. For example, if you have 150,000 items, then it will take around three days to migrate your data from QuickBooks POS to Shopify. This item limit applies across all import files, such as products, customers, and inventory.
The migration can take from an hour to five hours to complete. The length of the migration depends on many factors, such as your QuickBooks POS setup, the amount of data you're migrating, or the number of your locations.
Item numbers and UPCs
QuickBooks allows for multiple scannable barcodes for a single product, but Shopify allows only one barcode per product in the Barcodes field in Shopify. During migration, you can choose product number to import as a barcode. You need to choose from Item Number or UPC, but you can't select both.
In Shopify, you can also attach a SKU number to an inventory product that's is searchable, but not scannable. You can edit SKUs in bulk using a CSV file after migration.
If you require saving multiple product numbers in your inventory, then you can use metafields after migration. Learn more about metafields.
Learn about using barcodes and SKUs in the POS.
QuickBooks data that can't be migrated using the connector app
The following data can't be migrated from QuickBooks POS to Shopify using the QuickBooks Desktop Connector app, but you can look for alternative methods to import your data:
Product images
Product images aren't migrated from QuickBooks POS to Shopify. However, you can manually export your inventory pictures in bulk from QuickBooks POS. After you export your images, you can import these images to Shopify using one of the following methods:
- make the images publicly available online using a tool, such as Dropbox or Google Photos, export your product list from Shopify, add appropriate image URLs for each item, and then reupload the images by using a CSV file
- use a third-party app, such as ifyApps Image Manager to import your images
- hire a Shopify expert to export and import product images for you
Alternative Lookup (ALUs)
Alternative Lookup (ALUs), also known as product SKU numbers in Shopify, aren't migrated from QuickBooks POS to Shopify. After you complete the initial data migration, you can import ALUs from QuickBooks POS to Shopify manually in the SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) field.
Transfer slips
Transfers slips aren't migrated from QuickBooks POS to Shopify. You can import transfer slips manually as Product transfers in Shopify.
Orders, purchase orders, and discounts
Order history, such as orders, purchase orders, discounts, and customer order history, aren't migrated from QuickBooks POS to Shopify. After you migrate to Shopify, your new purchase orders are created in the Stocky app and synced with the QuickBooks Desktop accounting software.
Existing store credit
Store credit isn't migrated from QuickBooks POS to Shopify. You can use third-party apps, such as Selling Point to migrate your store credit as gift cards to Shopify.
If you choose to use the Selling Point app, then you need to set up your gift card report for export, import your report to the Selling Point app, and then reissue these gift cards to each customer to use in the store.
Customer loyalty information
Customer loyalty information isn't migrated from QuickBooks POS to Shopify. You can use a third-party app, such as Growave, Smile, Yotpo, or Loyalty Lion, to migrate your customer loyalty information to Shopify.