QuickBooks

When you import Accountant's Changes into your QuickBooks file, you may see the following error message: "You are attempting to import data from a different Accountant's Copy than the one which was last created for this company data file." After you click on OK, QuickBooks will tell you that the changes have not been imported.

If you're a Grace Soderberg Keniston client, we ask you to call us at 259-9505 and let us work through it with you. But as a resource to anyone looking for a do-it-yourself solution, we offer the following information -- including a technique that in most cases will let you import the data anyway.

Important note: This technique described below will not work in QuickBooks 2007, because the accountant's changes file is now in a different, non-editable format. As of this writing we don't have a workaround for QuickBooks 2007.

We know of a few reasons why this can happen.

• You created an Accountant's Copy but never gave it to your accountant
   
• You started to create an Accountant's Copy but canceled midway through the process
   
• You've cancelled the Accountant's Copy altogether (it's actually called "Cancel Accountant's Changes" in the menu, but that's just plain wrong)

However it happened, the effect is the same: The link to your accountant has been broken, and QuickBooks won't allow you to import the changes.

Intuit's web site will tell you that your only hope is to make a new Accountant's Copy ... and then ask your accountant to enter the adjustments all over again. You'll be glad to hear that there's another option.

At this point you may want to let your accountant handle this. But if you're computer savvy -- or if you are the accountant -- here's a way to get those changes imported without tearing your hair out.

You can do this because the accountant's import file is a simple text file, and because the format is almost identical to the generic .IIF import file.

1. Open the accountant's import file (.AIF) in Notepad or Wordpad. Don't try to edit it in Word or double-click on the file in My Computer. Word may corrupt the file, and Windows has its own idea of what an AIF file is.

2. Highlight the top two lines of the file with your mouse. These are the lines that start with !HDR or just plain HDR. Delete both lines.

3. Resave the file under a new name, and this time give it a .IIF extension.

4. In QuickBooks, open your company file. In the File menu, select Utilities and then Import.

5. Find the IIF file you just created and click on Open.

6. QuickBooks may tell you that the import was successful even if it wasn't. Confer with your accountant to be sure the adjustments have been made.

There's no hard and fast answer if the import fails at this point. Some adjustments aren't allowed in a generic import file -- a common stumbling block is changes to the chart of accounts.

Codes like !ACCT and !TRNS can tell you what different parts of the the import file are doing. If you can identify the more problematic adjustments, deleting that section (or just specific transactions) may allow the changes to import. Any adjustments you remove from the file will have to be redone by hand.

If you're having no luck with it or don't feel comfortable doing surgery on an import file -- and there's no one else you can go to for help -- re-entering all of the adjustments may be your only option.