Windows 11 and older QuickBooks

[kathyc2]

I have QB 2019 desktop Accountant Edition.  I'm seeing conflicting info online if it will continue to work with Windows 11.

Anyone with first hand experience?

Before people start going on about security, I only use it for my personal information, not clients. 

[mcb39]

I use Quicken 10 for all of my personal bookkeeping.

[Margaret CPA in OH]

i have QB Pro 2019 on Win 11 with no problems.  I use it only for my personal business accounting so cannot speak to any potential issues with payroll or other updates. In fact, I don't think it even updates any longer but it serves my purpose.

[Catherine]

I've got personal stuff on QB 2021 on a W10 machine. If it won't work on W11, then that machine will get kept on W10 and I just won't use it online.

[JohnH]

I just bought a new computer to run W11 and had the old hard drive cloned over.  Quickbooks Desktop 2019 still works fine on it.  But like Catherine, I kept my old W10 machine just in case any issues arise with any software in the future.  I plan to run it about every week to keep it updated until Oct 2025  (and beyond if I decide to take advantage of the 1-year extension I keep hearing about) Then I will just run it offline if necessary. 

[Catherine]

But who knows - I may take this as impetus to update my probably 10 year old W10 laptop with the flaky "n" key and nearly-unusable space key! Hey, it works fine on vacation with the plug-in keyboard...

 

[Patti in Upstate NY]

I'm using QB Premier Accountant 2017.  I bought a new computer with Windows 11 in May and sent it and the old one to my IT guy to transfer everything.  

He struggled with my "real" software a LOT and I ended up on a call with Sage support last week because I couldn't access the payroll tax forms. 

There were quite a few questions when IT moved QB but he was able to make it happen and I've been using it daily for over a month with no issues.  

[kathyc2]

Thanks all!  It seems promising that it may work.  

My main concern was losing past data, so I'm downloading 25+ years of data to Excel in various formats so I should be able to find prior info if needed.

I don't use QB for billing or AP, so going forward if it doesn't work, I should be able to find something simple that will.  Basically just need ledgers for various financial accounts and expenses classified by category.  I'm a creature of habit and prefer to stay with what I know rather than new programs.  Definitely don't want or need all the silly graphics and charts that much of the new stuff uses. 

[mcb39]

This is why I use Quicken 10; the last year that it came on a CD.  It works beautifully with all versions of Windows (including 11) so far and I never have to update.  It allows me to create all the ledgers and accounts that I want and creates beautiful end of year reports that allow me to create tax returns right from the reports.  No need to ever go online.  It can still be found on Ebay if you want to pay the price.  I can also import, export and backup accounts as I wish.

[GLGACCT]

21 hours ago, JohnH said:

I just bought a new computer to run W11 and had the old hard drive cloned over.  Quickbooks Desktop 2019 still works fine on it.  But like Catherine, I kept my old W10 machine just in case any issues arise with any software in the future.  I plan to run it about every week to keep it updated until Oct 2025  (and beyond if I decide to take advantage of the 1-year extension I keep hearing about) Then I will just run it offline if necessary. 

Did you clone it yourself, as I need a new computer and want to clone my old W10 machine to a  W11 machine.   Not sure if I will be able to get Quickbooks and one or two other programs working on a new machine.

[Abby Normal]

20 minutes ago, GLGACCT said:

Did you clone it yourself, as I need a new computer and want to clone my old W10 machine to a  W11 machine.   Not sure if I will be able to get Quickbooks and one or two other programs working on a new machine.

You can't clone to a different OS (Win 10 to Win 11) because a clone is the entire drive including windows, so you would end up still on Win 10. You can copy all of your data folders, but you will have to reinstall all of your software.

[Abby Normal]

21 hours ago, Catherine said:

I've got personal stuff on QB 2021 on a W10 machine. If it won't work on W11, then that machine will get kept on W10 and I just won't use it online.

I have QB2020 thru QB2023 installed on Win11 with no issues. My guess is that you could go back even further than QB2019. 

[GLGACCT]

I understand.   I thought John had a workaround.  My concern is with Quickbooks and the validation code.  All prior versions are registered but I always used a telephone number to register the product in addition to the license and product key.  None of the version I ever had a validation code.  I have all the emails from Intuit for prior products. I can keep my W10 machine going for QB if I cannot install on a new machine.   

[JohnH]

I may be using the wrong terminology when I said "cloned", but all I know is that my computer guy took my old W10 computer and a couple of days later gave me back a W11 computer with all my programs, data files, and everything that was on the original device.  As far as I can tell, it's an exact copy except for W11.  It has Drake 2013 - 2024, for example, as well as numerous other programs going back several years.  Don't know how he did it, but so far I haven't had any problems.  (But he also gave me back the original computer, which I've booted up just to be sure I have the backup I expected). 

[Abby Normal]

25 minutes ago, GLGACCT said:

I understand.   I thought John had a workaround.  My concern is with Quickbooks and the validation code.  All prior versions are registered but I always used a telephone number to register the product in addition to the license and product key.  None of the version I ever had a validation code.  I have all the emails from Intuit for prior products. I can keep my W10 machine going for QB if I cannot install on a new machine.   

All the versions I installed verified themselves as part of the installation process. No need to call anymore. 

[Abby Normal]

14 minutes ago, JohnH said:

I may be using the wrong terminology when I said "cloned", but all I know is that my computer guy took my old W10 computer and a couple of days later gave me back a W11 computer with all my programs, data files, and everything that was on the original device.  As far as I can tell, it's an exact copy except for W11.  It has Drake 2013 - 2024, for example, as well as numerous other programs going back several years.  Don't know how he did it, but so far I haven't had any problems.  (But he also gave me back the original computer, which I've booted up just to be sure I have the backup I expected). 

He may well have some software that can extract registry entries and User folder data from the old computer and import/copy them onto the new computer that allows programs and data to be copied over without reinstalling the programs, but I'm not aware of any such software. 

[GLGACCT]

Thank you both for the information.  I will need to try to install QB when I get the new computer.  I did some browser searches and came across some software called Zinstall www.zinstall.com, I never used it nor can I recommend it.  But it does look like it will copy W10 - W11 and all programs, this is a paid program. Thanks again for the information.

[Corduroy Frog]

I'm holding on to Windows 10 as long as I can.  Most of the software upgrades claim "to serve you better" but the reality is that the upgrades are for THEM and not for YOU.

[JohnH]

If you stick with W10, you will want to consider the Extended Security Updates (ESU), being offered by Microsoft.  Looks like the paid version is $30 for one year for stand-alone computers - more for networks & multiple computers.  There is speculation it will be extended beyond the one year, but nothing definite.  (I plan to get the ESU for my old computer just to keep it safe if I need to use it with an online connection) 

But I wouldn't risk signing onto the internet with an unprotected W10 computer after Oct 13, 2025. Also, some software that's compatible with W11 may not work with W10.  Lots of things to ponder here. 

[Catherine]

3 hours ago, Abby Normal said:

I have QB2020 thru QB2023 installed on Win11 with no issues. My guess is that you could go back even further than QB2019. 

That was going to be my guess, but I would not assume until proven.