After the Extract — Your Migration Package

Once one good extraction exists, everything downstream runs without QuickBooks — reviewing the books, continuing a conversion on another computer, and building the research database all work from a single file. This page is the workflow for any user after an extract has occurred.

The one file that matters

At the end of the wizard (or on demand from the Upload step's Create Migration Package button), Lift Off writes the Migration Package:

YYMMDDhhmm.migr8.pivoten.YourCompany.zip
├── data/
│   ├── your-snapshot.ndjson.gz    the extracted QuickBooks data (frozen original)
│   └── state.json                 your saved progress and decisions
├── reports/
│   ├── migration-readiness-report.html
│   ├── bank-statements.json       the statement balances you entered
│   └── attached PDFs, cleanup report, summary
├── logs/migration.log
├── SHA256SUMS                     tamper-evidence hash of the snapshot
└── migration.md                   human-readable record of the run

This zip is fully self-contained. To move your migration to a new computer, copy this one file. It carries the data and your work: bank-statement figures, review decisions, chart-of-accounts number overrides, and the wizard step you reached.

Moving to a new computer

1. Copy the package zip to the new machine (USB drive, network share — anything).

2. (Recommended) Verify it's the unaltered original. Unzip, then compare the snapshot's hash against SHA256SUMS:

   • Windows: certutil -hashfile data\your-snapshot.ndjson.gz SHA256
   • Mac/Linux: sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS

   A match proves — cryptographically — that the data is byte-for-byte what was extracted from QuickBooks.

3. Install Lift Off on the new machine and open a workspace.

4. In Setup, choose the source "Snapshot / Migration Package" and pick the .zip. (A loose .ndjson.gz snapshot also loads, but the package restores your saved progress too.)

What comes back automatically

Loading the package restores your migration exactly where you left it:

• The wizard opens at the step you had reached.
• Bank-statement balances and dates you entered are back.
• Review decisions (accepted gaps) and chart-of-accounts overrides are back.
• Your work can never be rolled backwards — if the app finds both an open workspace and a package, the newer state always wins.

Re-opening that workspace later finds the newest package automatically — you don't need to load it again.

Re-running the review — no QuickBooks needed

The Bank Statements and Review steps recompute everything from the snapshot itself: the readiness/reconciliation report (does the data tie out?) and the source-data cleanup report (what's worth fixing in QuickBooks?). The original computer, the QuickBooks installation, and the company file are no longer needed — the package is the books.

:::caution Never edit anything inside the package It is the frozen, hash-anchored original. If something needs fixing, fix it in QuickBooks and re-extract — or handle it in the conversion step. Editing the package breaks the integrity guarantee that makes it trustworthy. :::

The research database (SQL)

The same package is the input for the research database — a standard SQLite file that powers fast search and reporting over your complete history: every record in queryable form plus its verbatim original, unified cross-type views, and full-text search, stamped with the manifest and hash of the exact extract it was built from. It is a disposable projection — it can be rebuilt from the package at any time, so the package remains the only file you must preserve.

:::info Pivoten operators — current method The research database is built with the research-store command-line tool (an in-app button is planned):

research-store -snapshot data\your-snapshot.ndjson.gz -out research.sqlite

The output opens in any SQLite tool. Standing fidelity rule: nothing is ever eliminated or dropped — duplicates are preserved as separate rows and even undecodable lines are kept verbatim in the _unparsed table. :::

Quick checklist

Step	Done when
Copy *.migr8.pivoten.*.zip to the new system	the one file is there
Verify SHA256SUMS	hash matches
Lift Off → Setup → "Snapshot / Migration Package"	wizard opens at your saved step
Bank Statements + Review	reports recompute offline and tie out
(Operators) build research.sqlite	database opens in a SQLite tool