Hello there, @WARox.
I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts on this. Allow me to chime in and share some ideas about opening a backup file in a prior year's version.
Once you convert a company file to a newer version of QuickBooks, you can no longer open it in any earlier version. This is because different QuickBooks versions utilize a dissimilar process of compressing backup files.
Just in case you need to use a trial version of QuickBooks for a test run, please check out this article: QuickBooks Desktop trial links.
However, if you need to upgrade your client's company file to a new version, you can follow the steps below:
- Open your new version of QuickBooks Desktop.
- Select Open or Restore Company if you don't have a company file open. You can also go to the File menu and select Open or Restore Company.
- Select Open a company file, then Next.
- Browse your computer for your company file. Select it and then select Open.
- Sign in to your company file as an admin user.
- Before you upgrade, QuickBooks automatically creates a backup of your existing company file. You can select Change this default location to save the backup in a specific folder.
- Select Update Now to start the upgrade.
- Click Done.
For more details, you can check out this article: Upgrade your company files after you switch to a new version of QuickBooks Desktop
Also, it's important to know about the company file compatibility to avoid issues and errors upon the upgrade. For more insights, I'm adding an article for additional reference on this: Company file compatibility with QuickBooks Desktop when upgrading.
Let me know if I can be of additional assistance or should you have follow-up questions. I'll be here to help. Have a good one!
