Switching business data from Windows to Mac

Welcome to our guide on moving your business data from Windows to Mac! Let's walk through how our software makes this transition as smooth as possible. Transitioning from Windows to Mac needs some preparation, especially with business data. It's a good idea to revisit this guide as you make the shift.

Before you Migrate

Here are a few steps to take before you migrate:

• Determine how far back you want to go. The more years of data you move, the more work it will be. If you still plan to maintain and update your Quicken for Windows file, you may want to start fresh on the Mac or only keep the past year’s worth of data.

• Make sure you are on the latest version of Quicken for Windows. In Quicken for Windows, you can check for updates by going to the Help menu and selecting Check for updates.

• Review your business transactions to ensure they have Business Category and a Business Tag assigned. Pay close attention to any split transactions, especially transactions that may include both business and personal transactions or multiple businesses.

  • Quicken for Mac uses a Business field, rather than tag(s) to identify business transactions.

  • Business tags in Quicken for Windows will be imported into Quicken for Mac as Business entities.

  •  Quicken for Mac will attempt to set the appropriate Business Type for imported Businesses based on historical category usage. For example, if you use categories associated with Schedule C tax data, Quicken for Mac will set the Business Type to Schedule C. You can always change this.

• Review the Primary Use for imported Business accounts. For most accounts associated with your business, you will want to verify that Business is identified as the account’s primary purpose. For more information, see Primary Use: Business vs. Personal.

Migration Steps

There are two primary parts of the migration process. The first is copying your Windows file to your Mac. The second is converting/migrating your file.

Migrating your file

Recommended

This is the recommended method for migrating your file.

Once your file is on the Mac, you want to start Quicken Business & Personal. If this is your first time using Quicken for Mac, you'll start at Step 2.

1. Go to File menu → New.

2. On the Let's get started screen, select Start from a Quicken for Windows file.

3. Click Next.

4. Click Select file to convert.

5. In the file window, select the file you want to import.

6. Click Open.

7. Click Next.

8. Choose whether to use Quicken Mobile or Web. This will sync your files to the cloud so you can review transactions and run reports from the mobile app or Quicken on the web. 

9. Click Next.

10. Your file will be imported. You may be asked, Do you want to use Quicken Cloud to securely import your Quicken Windows file? Select Use Quicken Cloud.

11. Once your files are imported, you will receive the message, Successfully Imported File.

Copying your file to the Mac

This is another method of transferring your data, but if possible use the Migrating your business method. You'll want to identify your Quicken for Windows file before you start. 

• Unless you have chosen a different file destination, your file will be located in Documents → Quicken. Be sure the file has the .QDF extension, which is the one used with your regular Quicken file. Do not use a backup file.

• Create a copy of the file. You can do this by right-clicking on the file and selecting Copy.

• Transfer your file to your Mac. You can do this in many ways. If you are using Quicken's free Dropbox subscription, just move the file to the Dropbox Directory in Windows, then access it again from your Dropbox account on the Mac. 

Next Steps

Set a business account

When you import a file from Windows, the accounts are all listed as Personal. If you have one or more accounts that are primarily for business, you will want to set Business as the account's primary purpose. For more information, see Primary Use: Business vs. Personal.

Migrate Business Categories

Use the steps below to migrate your business categories.

Keeping categories consistent

A main category and its smaller categories should match in type. For example, if a category is a "business expense," all its smaller ones should be too. There is no need to adjust each one — change the main one, and the rest will follow suit.

1. Go to the Window menu and select Categories.   
   

   

2. Go to the three-dot menu at the bottom of the screen and select Migrate Business Categories.
   

   

3. Review the list of categories and suggested Action. Make any changes you need to make. If you need to add more categories to the list, click Select More Categories in the bottom left. This can be the case if you were previously tracking business transactions with non-business categories such as Other Income or Rental Income.
   

   

4.  Choose the appropriate Action for each category in the column on the right.

5.  Select Migrate.