Transfer Data & Accounting

When moving from one software to another, for example if you previously used QuickBooks and are moving over to Design Manager, you can have some of your data imported and you can reproduce your account balances from your previous accounting software into Design Manager.

The data that can be imported into Design Manager are Client list, Vendor list and a list of Ship-To addresses. To have this information imported, you'll need to export these lists individually as a CSV or Excel file. Then you can email these lists to our Support Department at support@designmanager.com and they will import these lists for you and let you know when they are imported.

Before you start reproducing your previous accounting software into Design Manager, you'll want to follow the Getting Started tips below. Then you can begin to enter client balances, vendor balances, outstanding checks and deposits, and general ledger account balances. The steps to enter these are listed under the below steps.

1. Pick a start date for when ALL work will be further completed in the Design Manager system - we suggest the first day of the month; for example: 6/1/24. Once you have picked a date, ALL new Items and entries will be entered in Design Manager ONLY from this date forward. NOTE: ALL of the entries below should be entered the day before this transition date (the prior months' end or 5/31/24 for example).

2. Create a list of Clients with open receivables from your old accounting system (aged accounts receivable, customer balance detail or equivalent report that show Clients and the Invoices that the Client has not yet sent payment for)

3. Enter a new Project and Client into Design Manager for each Client on the list. It may be a good idea to enter any outstanding Invoice numbers and Purchase Order numbers into the Project notes, as Design Manager will assign its own numbers to these documents. You may also use the Transaction Description area of the new Invoice in Design Manager

4. Create a list of open Client deposits (deposits collected from Clients but not applied to an Invoice yet)

5. Enter a new Project and Client into Design Manager for each Client on the list- unless they have already been entered as per above

6. Create a list of open accounts payable (aged accounts payable, Vendor balance detail or equivalent report that show Vendors and payees to which money is owed) from your old accounting system

7. Add a Vendor in Design Manager for each vendor on your list above

8. Create a list of open Vendor deposits (deposits sent to Vendors but you have not received a final bill yet)

9. Enter a new vendor into Design Manager for each Vendor on the list - unless they have already been entered as per above

10. Create a list of outstanding checks and deposits that have not cleared the bank

11. The balances from the last bank statements of each account you have; including Credit Cards (these bank statements should have already been reconciled in your old system)

12. A trial balance (list of accounts with the current balance in each account) from your old accounting system. (Review the Design Manager list of General Ledger accounts found under General Ledger and Accounts to be sure the necessary accounts are already in Design Manager. If not, add them)

Enter Client Balances

1. Client Deposits - Add a new Retainer through Cash Receipts for the Client's entire open deposit amount. You will be able to allocate this retainer manually, as needed, when you create Invoices for the Client. Once all are entered, the Open Client Deposit report in Design Manager should match your Open Client Deposit report in your old accounting system. You can learn how to enter a Retainer here

2. Client Invoices - Enter a line Item/specification in the newly created Projects for each Invoice on the Client's open receivable list from your old accounting software. All you have to fill in is the price field under the component. Make sure the price is equal to the total amount of the Invoice from your list. Create a new Invoice for each of these Items. Next print the Design Manager Aged Accounts Receivables report and make sure that it matches your old accounting system report. You can learn how to enter an Invoice here

Enter Vendor Balance

1. You will need to enter an Operating Expense for each bill listed on your open accounts payable report from your old accounting system. On each entry use the appropriate expense or cost of goods sold account. After you make the entries, print a Design Manager Aged Accounts Payable report and check to make sure that the report matches your old accounting system report. You can learn how to enter a Vendor Invoice here

Enter Checks and Deposits

1. Enter another Operating Expense for each outstanding check written that has not yet cleared the bank. When entering the Expense, use the hand check button to fill in the number and date of the check already written from your previous program. Make sure that you use either expense or cost of goods type of accounts when making these entries

2. Enter a miscellaneous Cash Receipt for each bank deposit that has not cleared the bank. Next, enter one final miscellaneous cash receipt to serve as your opening cash balance. On this entry make the amount equal to the ending balance on your last bank statement. It is a good idea to use the retained earnings account for the miscellaneous cash receipts

Entering General Ledger Accounts

1. Compare the trial balance for your old accounting system to your trial balance from Design Manager. Your cash, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and Client deposit account balances should already match if you have correctly followed the steps above. Write the correct numbers/amounts next to the accounts on the Design Manager Trial Balance printed. Add a new Journal Entry for each account that does not match to make the two (Design Manager and old accounting) Trial Balances match. You can learn how to enter a Journal Entry here

Entering Client Payments and Vendor Bills as they come into your company

1. When a Client payment comes in for an Invoice that was in your old system, enter it against the new Invoice that you have created in Design Manager. Make sure that you put it against the correct Invoice in Design Manager, as the Invoice numbers will not match the Invoice numbers from your old accounting system

2. When a bill comes in from a Vendor, enter it as you normally would into Design Manager. If the bill is for a PO that was created in your old accounting system, you will have to create an operating expense for it because there will be no PO. If a Vendor deposit is involved, enter that as a negative amount on the bill's distribution using the Vendor deposit account. Enter the total amount of the Invoice as positive numbers to the appropriate cost of goods sold or expense accounts

All items that have not yet been invoiced in your old accounting system will need to be re-created in Design Manager under their respective Projects. You can do this by adding new Items/Specifications into the respective project to get started.