invoices and statements across two companies in quickbooks

[pdonoho]

For background, I am an architect using QuickBooks Pro 2012 so I sell services and I start each client off with an estimate for the total lump sum fee to be charged per our contract and then bill monthly based on actual percentage of completion for each of my five phases of work.

I ran as an LLC for the last 8 years, i have just switched to a sole proprietorship. With the new bank accounts, tax licenses, etc... I have created a new QB company. Clients from the former company that I am still working with are to be 'migrated' over to the new company.

As I was partially through my service contracts with those clients, how do I write a new invoice showing (based on the estimate created in the old company QB file, with the old bank accounts, etc...) the previous percentages charged, new percentage charged? And then how will the statements of all transactions for their accounts work when some of the transactions took place in the old QB file?

[tallen]

I think what you will want to create "new" estimates for the continuing customers in your new company file -- these estimates could be just the balance remaining on their "old" projects, or could be duplicates of the original estimates. If the latter, then you just make dummy transactions to bring their accounts up-to-date (create a special account for these dummies to accumulate in, it would represent the transfer between the two companies). Just my thoughts....

edit: you can also close-out their accounts in your old company by creating transactions that represent the transfer of their balances to the new company.

[pdonoho]

thanks so much tallen! while i think i've been wracking my brain over having the second option, because i'd like to as we move forward still provide statements that show actual previous transactions from the former accounts, trying to setup all those dummy transactions is just going to make spaghetti of my brain so thanks so much for the thoughts that finally allowed me to buy in that it's fine to:
1 - generate final phase balance statements for each current project from company version 1
2 - these become the new estimates to move forward from in company version 2

just writing out the above i realize i can have .pdf final statements from company version 1 always attached to any future company version 2 statements to always have record of all transactions.

i think it's making sense in my brain now, thanks so much again