How do I handle old uncleared checks when converting Sage 50 to QuickBooks?
Clear or void stale checks in Sage 50 before converting, then bring the remaining uncleared items across so the opening bank balance reconciles.
Handle them in Sage before the conversion, not in QuickBooks afterwards. Reconcile the account close to the conversion date, void the checks that will never be presented, and plan for the ones still outstanding. The sections below walk through each part.
Start with a clean reconciliation
Uncleared checks are easiest to deal with while everything still lives in Sage. Reconcile the bank account through your most recent statement. That reconciliation is the snapshot you will work from: it separates items the bank has not yet paid from items you simply never marked as cleared. The closer it sits to the conversion date, the shorter the list you have to manage afterwards.
Void the stale checks, keep the live ones
A check from a closed period that the bank will clearly never present is stale. Void it in Sage before the conversion rather than carrying it across. Voiding an old check touches prior-period figures, so confirm the treatment with your accountant if those periods are closed. Keep genuinely outstanding checks open, and leave deposits in transit open too. The bank simply has not recorded those yet.
How do the leftovers affect the opening balance?
An uncleared check is already reflected in your book balance. Your ledger reduced the account when you wrote the check; the bank just has not paid it yet. So the opening balance in QuickBooks should be the reconciled Sage book balance at the conversion date, with each open check present as an open check. When the bank finally pays one, you clear it in an ordinary reconciliation and the account ties out.
Skipping the old checks and opening with the statement balance creates two problems. Any late-presented check hits an account that never expected it. Any stale item that never presents leaves a permanent difference you would chase at every month end.
Do the open checks convert cleanly?
That depends on the file and on how the conversion is done. Rather than guess, our engineers evaluate the file first. You can send us your file for a free evaluation, and we will tell you what will happen to the open items and the opening balance. The evaluation is also the first step in our Sage 50 to QuickBooks conversion service.
A practical next step
Reconcile the bank account in Sage through the final statement before the conversion date. Print the reconciliation report showing outstanding checks and deposits in transit, and void anything stale with your accountant’s blessing. Send us that list along with your Sage backup when you request the evaluation. Our engineers will confirm how each open item is handled and what the opening balance in QuickBooks will be.