Introduction
No good deed goes unpunished, and that was exactly what happened when we recommended to a new nonprofit client to use a TechSoup subscription to lower their monthly QuickBooks Online costs. This cost-effective solution (one of our core values) reduced their subscription cost for QuickBooks by $80 a month. We have used a simple way to transfer previous transactions to the new TechSoup subscription, which only costs about $150 a year.
The SetupFollowing the instructions, we set up a new account after the client purchased the subscription. However, our client immediately started updating the information in the new QuickBooks Online account before we did something crucial: running a trial balance as of the transition date for both the new and old QuickBooks accounts to ensure they were identical.
The Discovery
A day later, we discovered 14 accounts with different balances. For example, the undeposited funds account had 20 transactions that weren't in the original account. We meticulously went through each discrepancy, identified the issues, and made adjustments. Using the original file, we managed to align all accounts at the time of transfer, except for one major problem.
The Major Problem
A new account called "Accounts Receivable AUD (deleting)" was set up after the transfer. This account contained various transactions that should have been in the regular Accounts Receivable account. We isolated the first transaction in the AUD deleting account using an old trick: running a balance sheet by year and narrowing down the timeframe to find the exact day the discrepancy occurred.
The Challenge
QuickBooks thought the AUD account was in Australian currency, preventing us from merging it with the Accounts Receivable account. We tried several methods:
- Reclassifying Transactions: Using the reclassification tool in QuickBooks, which worked occasionally.
- Journal Entries: These didn't work due to currency restrictions.
- Renaming Accounts to merge them: This also failed.
Seeking Help
We spent hours on the phone with QuickBooks support, trying different solutions. Eventually, we were given a link to report the issue to the Office of the President. They responded and assigned someone to work with us.
The Solution
After a few days of collaboration, we discovered that the AR deleting account was actually in U.S. dollars, not Australian currency. We set up a second Accounts Receivable account in U.S. dollars and moved all transactions there. Finally, we merged these transactions with the existing Accounts Receivable account.
Lessons Learned
The key takeaway: Don't let the client touch the QuickBooks file until after verifying its accuracy. One of our potential solutions was to start from scratch, which would have resulted in lost information. We're grateful for the help we received and hope this case study helps you avoid making the same mistake.
Conclusion
This experience taught us the importance of thorough preparation and verification before making significant changes. We hope our journey provides valuable insights and helps others navigate similar challenges.