I have just purchsed QuickBooks Pro 2008 3 user and Enhanced Payroll to replace my Peachtree Complete 2005. We just have 3 computers on a small "home network" (just a basic DSL connection with a router) with a simple stand alone network drive and I'm not 100% sure how to set up QuickBooks after reading the instructions. On Peachtree I just moved the company folder to the network drive and then altered the start up file to point to the drive. But if I'm reading this right... do I have to install QuickBooks on the network drive and then on each individual computer?
One computer hosts the company file. You cannot copy to a network drive and share the file, it must be hosted. QuickBooks must be installed on the computer, host the file, and share the drive. Then everyone can access the file. QuickBooks doesn;t even have to running on the computer, though it does have to installed and hosting the file (being a server), therefore you can use an expiating license to install and host. The standalone network drive might be an issue
Thanks Gary. That sort of pisses me of considering I explained in detail my current setup and equiptment to the sales rep and they told me that Quickbooks would work the same way as my current Peachtree setup is running.
How do you know it does not? QuickBooks in a multiuser setting requires that one workstaion or the server host the data file. Certainly having the database manager running on a dedicated server and hosting the file is the best way to go. You can have the file hosted by one of the workstations. Peachtree probably works the same way.
In any event if you have three concurrent users you should have a dedicated server no matter what accounting program you are using.
Use this method if you are unable to install QuickBooks on the machine that stores your company files.
1.. Open QuickBooks on the computer that you want to use as the host for the company file. 2.. Select the File menu, and select Utilities > Host Multi-User Access. 3.. Click Yes to start hosting, and then click OK to continue. 4.. When the message stating you have enabled hosting appears, click OK. 5.. Press F2. You should see a message "Hosting local files." 6.. Open the QuickBooks company file that you want to host multi-user access: 1.. Select the File menu and select Open Company. 2.. When the message "Hosting Configuration Change [H505]" appears, click Alternate. Important: If you want the same computer to be the host in Alternate mode each time QuickBooks is used, the computer either must run QuickBooks all the time or it must be the first computer to log into the company file each day. This prevents another computer from becoming the host.
Was the sales rep at QuickBooks? Or a local consultant? Actually the only issue here is the external standalone network drive. The alternate method mentioned by Allan might solve that problem
Well after this email I called QuickBooks Tech support and asked.... basically my Peachtree is setup with a full install on every computer but the actual company database resides on the stand alone network drive and all the computers access it through the network. The actuall database isn't associated with any one computer, it's a stand alone file. Unlike Quickbooks, which as you point out must be installed on a workstation or server.
I guess my best alternative is to just install Quickbooks on my computer with the database and then install it on the other computers and point them to my system. I'll just have to make sure I'm here every day to turn on my computer.
That is helpful, thank you! But my point was that I don't have to go through all this with peachtree. By having my company on the network drive there's no need for any computer to be on except the one accessing the company folder... I just have to keep one small network drive turned on at all times.
You have no point. QuickBooks is the same. The first computer to access the file becomes the host. Stop looking for fault where there is none. You should be out there looking for a real server.
No it's not...Peachtree doesn't need a host computer or a server and that's my point. If I'm understand your setup (and I may not be) I still have to go in on the first computer, host the file and then leave that computer on while the other computers access the file. I do not have to do this with Peachtree. I do not have to dedicate a specific computer to the file in Peachtree, I can simply install the files on the stand alone network drive... no one computer must host the data files in Peachtree.
It was a rep at Quickbooks, and maybe I'm just not understanding Allan's setup (I'm going to try it today so I can better understand it), but it still looks like to me that I have to have one computer running to allow the others multi-user access.
I believe Allan doesn't understand what a network drive is. It is a stand alone disk with a network connection, not USB or firewire. It is not attached to a general purpose computer but a hub or switch. It is a SOHO concept for people who haven't graduated to the need of a general purpose file server yet.
Here's the deal - Older Peachtree, older QuickBooks, and many other types of programs don't require anything special when it comes to where the data file lives. The file is just a file, and as long as the application is running, it could usually let you find and open that file. Kind of like a Word document or something. Nothing fancy. Newer Peachtree, newer QuickBooks (starting with about 2006) programs use a new relational database that requires a "server" piece to manage the database and access to it. In the case of QuickBooks, I believe it's a Sybase db engine... not sure about Peachtree - maybe Pervasive? In any event, this type of database management was designed to have a machine running the database manager, and then the workstations run the application which talks to the database manager. This design is supposed to allow for more robust data (e..g., more data, and more types of data), as well as allowing for more users (as with QB Enterprise edition). The unfortunate side effect of this design change is that it is more complicated to install the programs for multi-user access.
A machine, whether it is a workstation or a dedicated computer in the corner which you call the server, needs to be designated as the machine that will serve up the data files. It may be your PC, or it might be a machine that nobody uses as a workstation. In any event, it must be turned on in order for folks to access it and the data on it. Your best performance is typically with a dedicated server computer, but it is not a requirement. j
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