Opening back up in new version.

I use Sage 50 for my company and recently my grandparents asked me to take over the books for their company because their bookkeeper passed away unexpectedly. The bookkeepers husband gave me her laptop to take what I needed for my grandparents company and I am able to open the version of Sage she was using and access all the data I need. She was using Sage Simply Accounting 2011 and I am using Sage 50 2024 for my company. I understand I can create a new company to work on through my Sage 50 2024 but can I open a back up from this 2011 version she was still using? When I called tech support the guy refused to answer my questions because I wasn’t able to confirm the details of the late bookkeepers company (I understand the privacy breach) but he mentioned that I need to download all the versions of sage from 2011-2024 to update that back up… Is that correct? I tried to search for where I could download each version but I didn’t find it. Can someone please point me in the right direction? 

  • When you open a Simply Accounting 2011 file with 2024, you get the message in the image below.  I don't know why the Sage tech didn't just tell you this and you don't need to download all versions.

    The Knowledgebase has an article with the download link for the 2015 version (just search for 2015).  You just need to install the 2015 trial version if you don't already have it installed.  Then open Sage 50 2015, open the file and let it convert.  Then open the Sage 50 2024 version, open the same file and let it convert.  You need the sysadmin password to convert between versions.

    Of course, keep a good backup of the file separately in case something goes wrong and you need to start over.