Migration guide
Fishbowl → ERPNext
Manufacturers running Fishbowl for inventory alongside QuickBooks for accounting. You’re tired of the two-system sync, the data discrepancies, and the growing cost of maintaining both.
Why teams move
The Fishbowl problem
Two databases, one truth?
Inventory in Fishbowl, accounting in QuickBooks. When they disagree (and they will), which one is right?
Manufacturing is basic
Fishbowl has a manufacturing module, but it lacks real MRP, production planning, or shop-floor tracking.
Licensing cost escalation
Fishbowl’s one-time license sounds good until you add modules, users, and annual support.
Limited customization
Need a custom field? A workflow rule? You’re stuck with what Fishbowl offers.
The move
What ERPNext replaces
ERPNext unifies inventory, manufacturing, accounting, purchasing, sales, and CRM in one system.
How it runs
The migration, step by step
Map Fishbowl data structures to ERPNext equivalents
Export Fishbowl inventory — items, BOMs, locations, quantities, serial/batch
Export QuickBooks accounting — COA, balances, open invoices
Configure ERPNext with one unified structure
Two trial migrations to validate data integrity
Training per department
Cutover weekend, go-live Monday
From the field
The Fishbowl + QuickBooks migration is typically slightly longer than a QuickBooks-only migration because there are two source systems to extract and reconcile.