[$] Escape from QuickBooks (with data in hand)

When a small business contemplates getting away from a proprietaryaccounting tool like QuickBooks in favor of free software like GnuCash, thefirst order of business is usually finding a way to liberate thatbusiness's accounting data for input into a new system. Strangely enough,Intuit, the creator of QuickBooks, never quite got around to making thateasy to do. But it turns out that, with a bit of effort, this move can be made. Getting there involveswandering through an undocumented wilderness; this article is at attempt tomake things easier for the next people to come along.