I am planning to upgrade my
Can I use Quickbooks Enterprise to consolidate Quickbooks Pro files?
Answers
If the only reason that you are considering QuickBooks Enterprise is the consolidation feature, don't bother. Go for the Premier:
Here's why:
(1) The Enterprise Edition is more expensive and more feature-rich, and you don't need any of those features except the consolidation tool.
(2) The consolidation tool isn't all it's cracked up to be. A lot of things need to be in place in order for it to work properly and smoothly. If those things are in fact in place, then sure, it can be a great time-saving tool. But you're still left with an ordinary
(3) It's a straightforward matter to save money and don't bother with the upgrade and instead create a consolidation template that takes the financial statements of your component companies and maps them to a consolidated financial statement template that you create that is professional-looking and easy for people to read.
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Thanks Jaime for your inputs. Going back to my original question, can I consolidate Quickbooks Pro/Premium files with Enterprise?
You can, with a "but" attached.
If you want to keep using Pro or Premier to keep the books on an ongoing basis, you'll need to make a copy of the files, upgrade the copies to Enterprise simply by opening the files using the Enterprise edition, and then use the consolidation tool.
So you'll be upgrading a copy, not the original files.
If you upgrade the original files to Enterprise and you want to keep using pro or Premier on an ongoing basis, you'll have to purchase a specialized tool such as q2q or a get a consultant (I know one who is excellent) to "downgrade" back to Pro or Premier.
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