Last Updated on November 6, 2025
QuickBooks is an accounting and bookkeeping software used by many small businesses and accountants. To work in QB, you have to create a company file to save, maintain, and feed in data. However, while upgrading or downgrading your QBDT app, you might have a question about the QuickBooks company file compatibility between different versions. This is a query that many users have who are looking to upgrade their QBDT version since payroll has been discontinued on the 2022 version. In this blog, we’ll guide you on the compatibility of the company file within different versions of QuickBooks.
Are you looking to migrate your company data to a newer version of QuickBooks? The experts at Accounting Helpline can help make this process seamless and trouble-free for you. So don’t wait, call us at 1.855.738.2784 to receive guided assistance!
QuickBooks Terminology – A Short and Precise Explanation
Before we talk about the QuickBooks company file compatibility, first, let’s get familiar with the QB terminology:
- Product: This refers to the QB product you’re using, i.e, Pro, Premier, or Enterprise Solutions.
- Version: This refers to the year designated for the product. For example, QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2019.
- Edition: This exists in Premier and Enterprise Solutions for different business types, like:
- General Business
- Accountant
- Retail
- Manufacturing & Wholesale
- Non-Profit
- Contractor
- Professional services
These were some of the terminologies you need to know to understand the QB company file compatibility.
Some Limitations to Converting the Company File to Another Product, Version, or Edition
If you’re looking to convert an old QuickBooks file to a new version, product, or edition, there are some limitations to it. Go through the table given below to know all the limitations.
| Converting To a New: | Limitations |
| Product | 1. The Pro company files can be opened in Premier. The vice versa is also true 2. You can open and upgrade your QBDT Pro and Premier company file to Enterprise Solutions. However, you won’t be able to open QuickBooks Enterprise file with Pro or Premier. |
| Version | 1. A company file cannot be opened in another country’s QBDT version. For example, you can’t open a company file created in the QBDT US version in the QBDT Canada version. 2. You can upgrade your company file to a newer version. But you can’t open the upgraded file in the older version. The only exception is if you are using QuickBooks Desktop Accountant and are working in an Accountant’s Copy. 3. If you open your company file in a newer version, the QBDT app will ask if you wish to upgrade your company file. If the company file won’t upgrade, you may need to step the company file through an intermediate version of QuickBooks Desktop. |
| Edition | The file created in one QBDT Edition can be opened in any other Edition without affecting the data. |
Now, let us talk about some things to keep in mind before converting the company file.
Things to Keep in Mind When Converting the QB Company File
If you wish to convert the QuickBooks company file to a newer version, edition, or product, there are some things you should keep in mind:
- You need to create a folder named Pre-Conversion Backup in order to avoid overwriting company files.
- If you wish to transfer your company file between two different workstations, ensure they are using the same QuickBooks Desktop version and release.
- If you want to convert a QuickBooks file to an older version, you will have to manually re-enter the transactions you have entered in the upgraded or converted file:
- You can’t merge the company files or export transactions in QBDT. To do so, you might have to use a third-party application.
- If the new QBDT version is installed on top of the older version, you would have to install the older version again in a different folder if you want to restore an old backup.
How to Upgrade QuickBooks Company File to a Newer Version of Desktop
To upgrade your QuickBooks company file to a newer version (year), follow the steps given below:
Prepare Your Company File
You would need to prepare your company file for upgradation with the following steps:
- Open the version of QBDT you want to upgrade from.
- Hit F2 on your keyboard to open the Product Information window.
- Look over to the File Information section.
- Take note of where the company file is saved on your PC.
Update Your Company File
To update your company file to a newer version, you would need to follow the steps given below:
(Note: If you upgrade your company file to QB Desktop version 2024 or Enterprise version 24.0, due to security reasons, you will have to reset the passwords for non-admin users to a temporary one. The non-admin users, while signing in, will be prompted to set up a permanent password.)
- Sign out all users from your company file.
- Open the newer version of QB Desktop.
- Navigate to the File menu.
- Select the Open or Restore Company option.
- Click on Open a company file:
- If you have a backup company file, click on Restore a backup copy.
- If you have a backup company file, click on Restore a backup copy.
- Press Next.
- Find your company file.
- Select it and press Open.
- Sign in to your company file as an admin:
- Optional: QB will automatically create a backup of the existing file. You can click on Change this default location to save the backup in a different location.
- Then, press Update Now.
- Click on Done after QuickBooks finishes.
If the procedure fails, try to restore a backup.
How to Convert QuickBooks File to Older Version
You can downgrade your company file to work with older versions of QuickBooks Desktop and Enterprise Solutions. However, there is no official tool present to do that. You would need to use third-party tools to convert your QuickBooks file to an older version. It must be noted that third-party tools can result in data loss if not used properly. To ensure minimal damage to your data, contact our experts.
QuickBooks Company File Compatibility – A Quick View Table
Given in the table below is a concise summary of this blog on the topic of compatibility of the QuickBooks company file:
| Description | QuickBooks company file compatibility comes to the minds of many users before they upgrade or downgrade their QB Desktop. The compatibility to upgrade or downgrade depends upon a variety of factors, as discussed in this blog. |
| Compatibility between versions | 1. A QBDT company file is not compatible with QuickBooks Desktop in another country. 2. You can upgrade the QBDT file to a newer version, but vice versa is not true. |
| Steps to upgrade the company file | Preparing the company file and then updating it. Detailed steps have been discussed in this comprehensive blog. |
Conclusion
In this blog, we talked about the QuickBooks company file compatibility with different products, versions, and editions of the QB Desktop application. On top of that, we provided you with the guided steps you can follow along to update your company file to a newer version of QB Desktop. If you are looking to convert your QuickBooks company file to a newer version, contact our Accounting Helpline experts today at 1.855.738.2784. They can help make the process seamless and trouble-free.
FAQs
Is the QuickBooks Desktop Windows file compatible with QBDT Mac?
No, the QuickBooks company file compatibility between the Windows and Mac versions doesn’t exist. However, you can convert your Windows company file data to Mac with the help of the Copy Company File for QuickBooks Mac utility present in the File menu.
What file type is a QuickBooks company file?
The QuickBooks company file type is QBW, as this is the extension it is saved by on your system. The backup company file can be found with a QBB extension.
How to upgrade the company file in QuickBooks Desktop?
To upgrade your company file, first open the new QB Desktop version and follow these steps:
– Click on the File menu and select Open or Restore Company
– Press Open a company file and click on Next
– Lastly, select Update Now
To know the detailed steps, read the blog given above.
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Edward Martin is a Technical Content Writer for our leading Accounting firm. He has over 10 years of experience in QuickBooks and Xero. He has also worked with Sage, FreshBooks, and many other software platforms. Edward’s passion for clarity, accuracy, and innovation is evident in his writing. He is well versed in how to simplify complex technical concepts and turn them into easy-to-understand content for our readers.