Will my Sage 50 retained earnings balance be correct after converting to QuickBooks?
Yes, in a proper conversion the prior-year results roll into retained earnings, and you can verify the figure against your Sage trial balance.
Yes, provided the conversion is built around a clear cutover date. The retained earnings figure in QuickBooks should equal the accumulated prior-year results in your Sage books, and the two can always be tied together through the trial balance. Whether it matches to the penny depends on how much history converts, so plan to verify the number before you start working in the new file.
How does QuickBooks build the retained earnings balance?
QuickBooks rolls the net result of each closed fiscal year into retained earnings on its own. You do not post a closing entry the way Sage does at its year-end close. The balance you see in QuickBooks is the sum of all converted income and expense activity from earlier years, plus any journal entry made directly to the account.
Sage 50 reaches the same end by a different route. Its year-end close zeroes the income and expense accounts and leaves the net result sitting in retained earnings. Either way, the balance is the accumulated profit and loss of past years, which is why the two programs should agree once the data lands.
Does the balance depend on how much history converts?
It does. If full transaction history is converted, QuickBooks derives retained earnings from that history, so the figure is only as complete as the history itself. If balances are brought forward as of a cutover date instead, the accumulated equity is posted as one opening figure. The account it lands in depends on how the conversion is built.
Which approach suits your file depends on the file itself: its size, its age, and how far back you need transaction detail. We look at all of that during a free evaluation, before any work is quoted.
Verifying the balance against your Sage trial balance
- Print the Sage trial balance as of the cutover date and keep a copy.
- In QuickBooks, run the trial balance and the balance sheet for the same date.
- Compare equity in total rather than line by line. QuickBooks shows one combined retained earnings figure for all closed years, while Sage may reflect several years of closes.
- Confirm that total debits equal total credits in the QuickBooks report. If they do not, the file has a conversion defect rather than an accounting question.
- Check the opening balance equity account. A balance left there after cutover usually means an opening entry has no matching side yet.
What if the two figures do not match?
Differences usually trace to a few generic causes. The two programs may use different fiscal year ends, or activity may have been posted into a closed Sage year after its close. Partially converted history is another common source.
Our engineers compare the two trial balances line by line, find where the divergence starts, and correct it inside the converted file so the balance sheet stands on its own. That review is part of our Sage 50 to QuickBooks conversion work, not an extra you have to chase afterward.
Before the conversion starts, print the Sage trial balance as of your planned cutover date and keep it. Send it together with the company file for a free evaluation. We will confirm what the converted retained earnings figure will be, and quote the work, before anything is touched.