October 6, 2026
Reckon to Xero vs Reckon to QuickBooks Online: what each route moves
The short answer: Xero and QuickBooks Online can both take a Reckon Accounts file, but the free, self-serve routes carry about two years of history, no payroll history and no jobs, so the real choice is made by what you must keep searchable, how your jobs and classes are coded, and how your BAS or GST history needs to reconcile. If two years of history and a clean chart is enough, the vendor tools are a fair start. If you need the full ledger, job costing or a trail an accountant or tax authority can audit, plan a reconciled full-history conversion. Below is what is documented, where the two routes differ, and the checks to run in Reckon first.
What Intuit says its Reckon route carries
Intuit Australia's help article on transferring Reckon Hosted data to QuickBooks Online says it uses a partner, Dataswitcher, and that the process takes about an hour on average from when you begin, though some cases take up to 24 hours. By default it brings the chart of accounts, general ledger balances, customers and suppliers, transactions from two financial years, and inventory items (up to 1,000) with basic details.
The same article lists what does not transfer: budgets, memorised transactions, invoice and other templates, jobs not attached to transactions, file attachments, draft or unposted journals, sales orders, quotes and proposals, plus payroll data, fixed assets and project details. Multi-currency files are converted into the home currency, some invoices may post as open rather than paid, and sub-customers arrive as parent customers. Intuit also advises not using QuickBooks Online until you receive the confirmation email.
What the Xero route looks like
Xero has no single Reckon button comparable to the Intuit article, so Reckon-to-Xero is usually done by an accounting partner or conversion provider working from your Reckon backup or export. The depth is therefore a scoping decision, not a fixed product limit: a full-history conversion rebuilds every financial year you choose to carry as native Xero transactions, with classes mapped to tracking categories and GST codes mapped to Xero tax rates. We describe the mechanics on our Reckon to Xero page. Check any provider's quote in writing for years of history, payroll and tracking.
Side by side
| Question | Xero | QuickBooks Online |
|---|---|---|
| History depth | Set by the conversion scope; full history is possible | Two financial years by default on Intuit's Reckon Hosted route |
| Jobs | Become tracking categories; plan the structure first | Classes (check plan tier) or Projects; unattached jobs do not transfer on Intuit's route |
| GST / BAS | GST codes mapped to Xero tax rates | GST-coded transactions mapped; reconcile summaries first |
| Payroll history | Not posted; YTD set-up plus archive | Payroll data not transferred on Intuit's route |
| Multi-currency | Handled in a scoped conversion | Flattened to home currency on Intuit's route |
| Typical fit | Accountant-led, multi-year history, tracking-heavy files | Simple files, two years enough, familiar Reckon-style layout |
A buyer-math example
Take a file that started in July 2018, ending financial year 2026 with eight years of transactions. Intuit's route brings two years, so six years of invoices, bills and bank history stay only in your Reckon backup, which you need a Reckon licence to open. If the only question is who owed what at cutover, that is fine. If you will be asked for supplier history for a five-year review, a lender or an amended return, the missing years are the cost, not the tool fee. The break-even is not price: it is how often you expect to look back past year two.
Check these in Reckon before either move
- Finish and lodge the last BAS, and save the GST summary you will reconcile against.
- Reconcile every bank and card account to the cutover date and clear stale uncleared items.
- Resolve negative or muddled stock; neither route should copy it. See fixing negative inventory first.
- List jobs and classes with a current balance, and decide what each becomes.
- Take a Reckon backup and a set of trial balance, ageing and GST reports, and keep them as your archive.
- If you are on Hosted and tempted by the free Reckon One move, read Reckon Hosted vs Reckon One first, because it shrinks history before any later move.
FAQ
Can I move Reckon Accounts to QuickBooks Online myself for free?
Intuit Australia describes a Reckon Hosted transfer through its partner Dataswitcher that it says takes about an hour on average, up to 24 hours in some cases. It carries two financial years by default and has the exclusions listed above, so it suits files where two years and no payroll history is enough.
Does Reckon's free move to Reckon One count as a route to Xero or QuickBooks?
No. Reckon's free migration is Hosted to Reckon One, with one year of history plus year-to-date, single-currency files and jobs arriving as classes. Converting to Xero or QuickBooks from a Reckon One file starts from that reduced history, not from your original Reckon company file.
Will my GST and BAS history survive the move?
GST-coded transactions are mapped to the destination's tax rates on either route. What matters is reconciling the GST summaries for the last lodged period against Reckon before cutover, so the first BAS in the new system starts from the same numbers.
Can payroll history be posted into Xero or QuickBooks?
Neither route posts historical pay runs as payroll transactions. Employees are set up with year-to-date figures and leave balances, and earlier pay history is kept as journals plus archived reports. Intuit also lists payroll data as outside its Reckon Hosted transfer.
Which destination is better for a job-costed business?
Neither carries Reckon jobs natively. Jobs become classes or tracking categories, or QuickBooks Projects, so decide the structure before you convert and check whether your QuickBooks plan includes classes.
Related service: Reckon → Xero · Reckon → QuickBooks