Sometimes, a client working with an Accountant’s Copy import file (.qby) may encounter a problem when attempting to import an accountant’s changes.
In QuickBooks 2009, the import process will successfully import those changes and transactions that can be made, leaving those changes or transactions that produced an error condition. In earlier versions of QuickBooks, processing an Accountant’s Copy import file (.qby) is an all-or-nothing proposition. If any change or transaction produces an error and can’t be successfully imported, the entire import process will fail.
To resolve the import problem, you’ll need to identify the change or transaction that triggered the error, fix it, and re-attempt the import process.
Import problems fall into distinct scenarios:
- An account on a check was changed to the Sales Tax Payable liability account
- The tax form used by the company was changed in the Accountant’s Copy file
- Unspecific problems in QuickBooks 2007 or earlier
Scenario 1 – An Account On A Check Was Changed to Sales Tax Payable
This import error is normally accompanied by a specific error message:
Object '#####-##########' specified in the request cannot be found. QuickBooks error message: Invalid argument. The specified record does not exist in the list.
It’s typically caused by changing an account on a check to the Sales Tax Payable liability account. While QuickBooks will allow an accountant to make this change, the change is accompanied by a warning. An import file (.qby) that includes such an edited transaction will not successfully import into a QuickBooks company file (.qbw).
To fix this problem, the accountant should locate the transaction in the Accountant’s Copy working file (.qba), change the account to something other than the Sales Tax Payable liability account, and generate a new import file (.qby) for the client. Once the client has successfully imported the accountant’s changes, the client can change the account.
As discussed in this Intuit knowledge base article, Intuit considers this an unresolved problem.
Scenario 2 – The Tax Form Used By the Company Was Changed In the Accountant’s Copy File
QuickBooks stores the income tax form used by the company in the Income Tax Form Used setting on the Company Information window. This window is accessed from the Company->Company Information… menu selection.
If an accountant changed this setting in the Accountant’s Copy working file (.qba), it won’t match the setting in the company file, causing the import process to fail with the following message:
The 'account Tax Line Id' field has an invalid value '####'. QuickBooks error message: The tax line with the specified ID could not be found.
To resolve this, change the setting in the company file (.qbw) to match the setting that the accountant made in the Accountant’s Copy working file (.qba), which in turn has been included in the Accountant’s Copy import file (.qby). Once the settings match, the import should proceed normally.
This scenario is discussed in this Intuit knowledge base article.
Scenario 3 – Unspecific Problems in QuickBooks 2007 or Earlier
In QuickBooks 2007, an attempt to import an Accountant’s Copy import file (.qby) may produce the following error:
Import Failed. A problem was encountered when trying to import changes. Please restore the back up made before importing changes. Object specified in the request could not be found.
Unfortunately, to resolve this error, the client may need to manually enter the accountant’s changes, as discussed in this Intuit knowledge base article.