Sage 50/Simply Accounting → QuickBooks

Sage 50 source formats accepted

We accept three Sage 50 source formats: a .cab cabinet file (the modern Sage 50 backup format produced by the platform's own backup workflow), a .zip archive (used by older Simply Accounting releases and some Sage 50 export tools), and a .sai standalone file (occasionally produced by third-party export utilities that operate directly against a live Sage 50 database). Each format is parsed against the same internal canonical representation and the resulting QuickBooks Desktop file is structurally identical, which matters when a practice has files from multiple Sage 50 versions and needs reporting consistency across the whole portfolio.

How Sage 50 specifics translate to QuickBooks

Sage 50's account-segment structure maps to QuickBooks's class structure rather than to additional account-list entries, which is the right structural fit and avoids inflating the chart of accounts unnecessarily. Sage 50's project-tracking apparatus maps to QuickBooks's job structure on the customer record. GIFI codes on accounts are preserved as a QuickBooks custom field on the account because Canadian practices use them for T2 corporate tax filings and they are non-trivial to recreate manually. Each translation choice is documented in the audit document line by line so reviewing accountants see the reasoning.

Database passwords and user accounts

If your Sage 50 file is password-protected, include the database password in the Portal order notes — we cannot parse a protected file without it, and the order will pause on intake otherwise. Multi-user Sage 50 setups carry a list of active users with per-user permissions; if you want us to recreate the user list on the destination QuickBooks file, include the list in the order notes too. The audit document records both decisions. Passwords supplied via Portal order notes are encrypted at rest, accessible only to the engineer running your conversion, and discarded along with the working files seven days after delivery.

Are GIFI codes preserved during the migration?

Yes. GIFI codes on accounts are preserved as a QuickBooks custom field on the account record specifically because Canadian practices use them for T2 corporate tax filings and they are time-consuming to recreate manually after the fact. The audit document records the GIFI mapping line by line so the deliverable is auditable on tax codes specifically. If your tax software pulls GIFI codes through a custom-field lookup, the QuickBooks destination structure works with that lookup once the tax software is pointed at the new field, which is a five-minute configuration on the tax-software side.

Will Sage 50 project tracking work the same way in QuickBooks?

Sage 50's project-tracking apparatus maps to QuickBooks's job structure on the customer record, which captures the same operational intent — tracking revenue and cost against a defined project — but uses a different navigation pattern in the QuickBooks interface. Project-level reporting is rebuilt against QuickBooks's job-based reports, which work natively without custom report definitions. The audit document calls out project mapping as a named section so reviewing accountants see the structural decision in writing rather than having to reverse-engineer it from the deliverable file later.

How is multi-user Sage 50 handled in the destination file?

Multi-user setups in Sage 50 carry a list of active users with per-user permissions. If you supply the user list in the Portal order notes, we recreate the user accounts on the destination QuickBooks file with the closest QuickBooks-native permission set per user. If you do not supply the list, the destination file ships with a single Admin user and you set up additional users yourself inside QuickBooks afterward. Either path is valid; most practices prefer to set up users themselves so passwords are never transmitted off-site, which is also the safer default.

How do I produce the right Sage 50 backup before uploading?

Inside Sage 50, run File → Backup, choose a folder, and let Sage 50 produce a .cab file with a date-stamped name. That .cab is the modern format and the one we recommend by default. If your release of Sage 50 produces a .zip archive instead, that is also accepted. If you need to use a third-party export tool to produce a .sai file, please confirm in the Portal order notes which tool produced the file so we know which canonical-representation parser path to apply. Pre-purchase chat in the Portal walks through the right backup workflow for your specific Sage 50 version.