Sage 50 Data Conversion Guide – Convert Old Data Files to New Format Without Errors

Sage 50 accounting software is one of the best tools available in the market for organizations that handle huge customer data and deal with high-figure computations. When we talk about data in Sage 50, there are instances where the stored information is not compatible enough with the outdated version, and hence does not open. In such a scenario, it becomes important to go for data conversion in Sage 50. Also, you can check the Data Conversion Sage 2022, 2023 to Sage 2024 step-by-step process. Sage 50 performs a data conversion from a prior version

Convert Old Sage 50 Data to the Latest 2024 Sage Edition

The 2024 version is the latest in town, and hence, the data stored in the previous version may not be used in this version if not converted. AccountsPro experts will guide you through the entire conversion process once you contact Sage Technical Support.

Before you start Sage 50 Data Conversion, there are some precautionary tasks you may want to execute

• To speed up the conversion process and avoid any errors, turn off screen savers, disable anti-virus software, and close all other applications, including memory managers.
• Ensure you have sufficient hard disk space available for your data before converting the company. Depending on the version you’re converting, the conversion may need up to three times the size of your company’s data to successfully convert. For example, if your company is 6MB, confirm you have 18MB of free hard disk space. This does not mean that your company will triple in size. The Sage 50 temporarily uses the extra space while converting.
• Also, while the wizard needs you to back up your company’s data during the conversion procedure, you can do so before launching the wizard if you wish. In any case, backing up company data is highly recommended. Never overwrite an existing conversion backup.

Convert Sage 50 Company Data to a New Release Format

After installing a Sage 50 upgrade or update, the Data Conversion Wizard may automatically appear the first time you open your company in Sage 50.

First, prepare your system

• Create a backup for the files to be converted
• Go to File
• Select Properties
• Take down the Location and the Company File. The file names for different versions to be chosen are listed below:
  • Version 7.0 or below, the file type is .asc
  • Version 8.0 to 2007, the extension is .sdb
  • Version 2008 and higher, the file extension is .sai
• Switch off the User Account Control (UAC) while converting data. To reach the option:
  • Go to the Control Panel
  • Choose User Accounts
• If any Antivirus, anti-spyware, or Firewall is enabled, disable it
• Proceed to save the details on the local computer
• Run Advanced Database Check
• Convert data
• Save the data to the original location

Note: Sage 50 Data Conversion Wizard only works for company data installed in earlier releases of Sage 50 or similar or lower versions.

Second, Start the Sage 50 Data Conversion Wizard

Use the process below to convert your company data to the new Sage 50 format.

Step 1: Select Open Company from Sage 50’s File menu. If your company is in a pre-release format, the Data Conversion Wizard seems. If it doesn’t, then data conversion is not essential.

• The Data Conversion Wizard guides you through the procedure of converting your company’s data to an updated format. At each point in the process, the wizard explains your options and the results of each action you take. The first window, Data Conversion Wizard – Introduction, tells you that your company’s data needs to be converted.

Step 2: Once you have finished reading the introductory text, click the Next button to go to the next window in the series, Data Conversion Wizard – Verify Company.

• This window recognizes the company you’re converting, the place of your company data, and the version you’re converting to. After you assure the company you want to convert, click Next to display the Data Conversion Wizard – Backup window.
• Sage 50 needs you to back up company data and customized forms before converting to the new format. If something goes wrong or there is a power outage, you can restore the backup and convert again. Also, it’s a good idea to back up your old company data, which can be filed for audit purposes.

Step 3: Choose the Backup button to begin the process.

Step 4: After you’ve backed up your company, click Next to start the conversion procedure.

• Sage 50 displays the data in the Conversion Progress window, which displays the progress of the conversion.
• Once the data conversion is done, a congratulatory message seems to confirm the success of the conversion process.

Step 5: Tap on the finish to open your company in the new format.

• Complete this process for each company you created in the previous version.

Note: If multiple users have access to your company (Sage 50 Premium Accounting and higher), all users will have access to the company in the new format. Although each user must install a Sage 50 upgrade or product update, company data changes only once.

Check the complete guide and step by step instruction, which help you for Sage FAS Data Conversion During The Upgrading Process.

In which versions of Sage 50 can I convert my data?

When you first open a new version of Sage 50cloud Accounts, your data will automatically convert to the new version. For example, if your data was previously opened in version 30, when you open it in version 31, the data will convert to version 31.

This table explains which versions of Sage 50cloud Accounts you can convert from and to.

V31

V30

V29

V28

V27

V26

V25

V24

V23

V22

V21

V20

V19

V18

V17

V16

V15

V14

V13

V12

V11

V10

Sage Accounts Version 32

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

N

N

N

N

Sage Accounts Version 31

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

N

N

N

N

Sage Accounts Version 30

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

N

N

N

N

Sage Accounts Version 29

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

N

N

N

N

Sage Accounts Version 28

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

N

N

N

N

Sage Accounts Version 27

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

N

N

N

N

Sage Accounts Version 26

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

N

N

N

N

Sage Accounts Version 25

–

–

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

N

N

N

N

Sage Accounts Version 24

–

–

–

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

N

N

N

N

Sage Accounts Version 23

–

–

–

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

N

N

N

N

Sage Accounts Version 22

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

Sage Accounts Version 21

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

N

N

N

N

Sage Accounts Version 20

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

N

N

N

Sage Accounts Version 19

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

N

N

Sage Accounts Version 18

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

N

Sage Accounts Version 17

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

N

Sage Accounts Version 16

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Sage Accounts Version 15

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Y

Sage Accounts Version 14

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Y

Sage Accounts Version 13

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Y

Y

Y

Sage Accounts Version 12

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Y

Y

Sage Accounts Version 11

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Y

Sage Accounts Version 10

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Sage Accounts Version 9

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Sage Accounts Version 8

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Another way to perform Sage 50 data conversion from a previous version

The Sage 50 software may need to convert your data after an upgrade is installed. The Data Conversion Wizard will automatically start if your data opens normally after the upgrade. If it doesn’t, see the steps below to start the Sage 50 Data Conversion Wizard.

• Open Sage 50
• Select your company and click OK to open an existing company
• Note: You can restore a backup as a New Company if your data is not on this computer
• Click Next to open the Data Conversion Wizard – Introduction window
• Click Next after you have confirmed the company to convert
• In the Back Up Existing Company Information window, click the Backup button and then click Save
• Click Next after you have saved your backup
• If your data is large, the conversion may take some time. Do not interrupt the process.
• The Conversion Completed window will appear once the conversion is complete; click Finish to complete the process.

Steps to Restore a Sage 50 Company Backup after a Failed Sage 50 Data Conversion from a Previous Version

You must restore the backup completed before the data conversion if it fails (for example, your computer locks up). A product upgrade requires data conversion; a product maintenance update may also require data conversion. To restore your old company data, you need to use the new version of Sage 50 instead of uninstalling a Sage 50 upgrade or product update.

• If Sage 50 is not already running, start the updated version.
• Select Restore from the File menu.
• If you want to restore a previous data conversion backup file, select the folder and backup file.

The data conversion backup file is usually in your original Company Data folder (not the CONVERT one you just created). The default file name for conversion backups is BackupV#.ptb (where # indicates the current version number—for example, BackupV9.ptb). Sage 50 backup files use the *.ptb file extension.

The backup file will start with your previous company name if you selected to include the company name in the Data Conversion wizard.

• Click Next after selecting the right .ptb file.
• Restore to a new company by selecting it.
• You can choose which files you want to restore from the Restore Options window:
  • Select the Customized Forms check box to restore all backed-up custom forms, such as customized invoices.
  • Choose the Web Transactions check box in Sage 50 Web Transaction Center to restore all Web transactions. After the date of the backup, all unprocessed Web transactions (those in the Inbox and Exceptions lists) will be lost if they were synchronized using the WebSync wizard.
  • When the Company Data check box is selected, all backed-up data files for the company, including customized forms, will be restored.
  • The Intelligence Reporting Reports checkbox will restore all Intelligence Reporting reports. Standard Intelligence Reporting reports will be replaced with the most recent versions, but custom reports will be replaced with the backup set.
• Click Next. Verify your choices, and then select Finish.
• Sage 50 displays a progress indicator during the restore process.

Note: Data restoration may take a while, depending on the quantity of data. Be patient and do not interrupt the process. If you interrupt the process, you may damage the data.

Once your company data has been restored, the Sage 50 Data Conversion wizard will appear again.

How to Troubleshoot Sage 50 Failed Data Conversion

If you run into errors during Sage 50 data conversion or your computer freezes, we recommend that you reboot your computer. This will free up memory and avoid other errors.

Causes of Sage 50 data conversion failures include the following:

• Your computer freezes for some reason during the conversion procedure
• A power outage happened during a conversion process
• You closed Sage 50 during the conversion process
• You turned off your computer during a conversion cycle

Restore a Data Conversion Backup

Before you try the conversion again, you must restore the backup you created before the conversion. In most cases, Sage 50 data conversions are necessary when you install a product upgrade; In some cases, data conversion is necessary for a product maintenance update. Instead of uninstalling the Sage 50 upgrade or product update, you can restore your old company data to a new company folder.

Note: As the conversion process can take a long time to complete, we instruct that you start the process before lunch or at the end of your business day, making sure you leave the computer running.

Solution of Sage 50 Failed Data Conversion

If you receive non-existent invoice errors during conversion

If you receive the error message, “This transaction refers to a non-existing invoice for customer/vendor XXXX, reference XXXX” during the conversion. This document gives detailed instructions on how to fix the error. Then try the conversion once again.

If you’re having trouble transferring data over a network

If you are operating Sage 50 over a network and experience “lock table full” errors, increase the maximum number of locks per connection on your network, then retry the conversion process. If this doesn’t work or you’re experiencing “lock table full” errors on other networks when attempting to convert data, copy your company’s data to a workstation and work directly on that workstation. When the process is done, copy the data back to the network drive.

If you are unsure how to determine the number of locks, consult your network manual or network administrator. You can also chat with our Sage 50 experts on our website for information on how to fix the error.

If you have an automatic backup routine enabled on your network and run the conversion or purge process overnight, you should disable this routine. It can be re-enabled after the purge or conversion process is complete.

If Sage 50 Data Conversion Continues to Fail

If you’ve attempted all of the tips above and you still run into conversion errors, contact Sage Customer Support for further assistance. In rare cases, your company’s data may have been damaged in the prior release and thus may not be converted successfully. Sage 50 Customer Support may ask you to reinstall a previous version of Sage 50 so that they can help you restore the data if necessary. As a last resort, you may need to restore an older backup of your company data and retry the upgrade and conversion process.

Sage 50 Data Conversion Error Support

While converting the Sage 50 data, you may come across a Sage Error with a message: This company is from a version of the product that is too old to be converted. The message displayed is enough to identify the cause, i.e., the incompatibility of the data with the outdated version of the software. To resolve this, you can choose either of the following options:

• Start the company all over again in the latest 2024 Sage version
• Or purchase a new version of the software to convert your data to a compatible mode

In the End!

Besides upgrading the data by converting it and making it compatible with the upgraded versions, Sage 50 also comes with a downgrade data conversion facility. You can check the full details Sage 50 Downgrade Process here. In case you need to save money and do not require many of the features of the novel version, you can convert data to a lower version as well as connect to Sage 50 Support Number to find more… For further assistance on the queries related to Sage 50, you can contact the AccountsPro experts.

Smart Hosting Sage 50 on Cloud

Being an owner of an organization, if you want to monitor the activities being performed in the company file by managers and employees, you can opt for AccountsPro Sage 50 Cloud Hosting Services. This will let you keep a watch on the file on the go from anywhere at any time via any device.

Frequently Asked Questions