Moving from QuickBooks to Odoo: Chart of Accounts

By D.B., The Bookkeeper's Desk · October 17, 2026

I've made this move a few times. Short version: rebuild the chart, don't copy QuickBooks one to one, and bring over balances, not history.

1. Start from Odoo's US chart

   The accounts Odoo installs with the US localization already have the account types the reports depend on: Receivable, Payable, Bank and Cash, Current Assets, Income, Expenses and so on. The P&L and balance sheet are built from those types, not from account names, so every account you keep needs the right type.

2. Make a mapping sheet first

   One row per QuickBooks account, then columns for the Odoo code, the Odoo account type, and Keep, Merge or Split. Most QuickBooks files have years of one-off accounts. This is the moment to merge them.

3. Load the chart

   Either edit Odoo's accounts in place, or import yours from Accounting > Configuration > Chart of Accounts using the gear menu and Import records. Check the account types again after the import.

4. Post one opening entry

   Pick a cutover date at a month end. Post one opening journal entry from the QuickBooks trial balance on that date, with one change: book the Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable totals to a temporary account called something like "Opening Balance Clearing" instead of to AR and AP.

5. Enter the open invoices and bills

   Enter each open invoice and bill on its own, with its original date and due date. Set the line account to the same clearing account, with no tax. That puts the real open items on AR and AP, so aging reports and payment matching work from day one.

   When every open item is in, the clearing account should be exactly zero. If it isn't, something is missing.

6. Leave the history in QuickBooks

   Keep a read-only copy, or export the reports you need. If you want prior-year comparisons in Odoo, post one summary entry per month from the monthly trial balances rather than importing every transaction.