THE OFFICIAL BLOG OF THE SBS "DIVA" : quickbooks 2009

Dealing with a too big Quickbooks

bradley — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:58:00 GMT

Susan, I have a client that uses Quickbooks Enterprise 9 with 6 active users running on a SBS 2003 network. The database file has grown almost 250mb in the last six months and is now close to 700mb. As a result, Quickbooks is running super slow. I have read in the Quickbooks help forum there is a way to reduce the company file size by using a portable file but I have been unable to find documentation to support this. I was hoping you could offer some suggestions.

What you need to do is to flip that Quickbooks database temporarily to single user mode and move the data file to the local machine to perform the next steps. Then inside the program instead of making a backup, make it into a portable file backup. Then you restore it back up to the local machine, then put it back up to the server. The act of backing it up in a portable file format and restoring it back up, thins down the file.

If all of that jumping through hoops doesn't work, I've heard that calling up Intuit and seeing if they can remove the audit log and give it back to you with a cleaned out file format. But see if that does the trick.

What's new in QuickBooks Pro, Premier, and Simple Start 2009 and Enterprise 9.0:

bradley — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:53:00 GMT

What's new in QuickBooks Pro, Premier, and Simple Start 2009 and Enterprise 9.0:
http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/Pages/KnowledgeBaseArticle/1011144

Latest Release Addresses Online Banking and More

Currently Available on Demand. Intuit has just posted Intuit QuickBooks® 2009 Release 8 (QB09-R8) as a manual download (sometimes referred to as a web patch) on its product update site. [Note 1]

Interested users can download the release at any time.

Will Be Available as an Automatic Update. QuickBooks 2009 Release 8 is expected to become available as an Automatic Update soon (within the next one to two weeks).
[Note 2]. We hope you encourage clients to accept this update.

Learn more here from the online release notes.

Critical news about new Release 7 for QuickBooks 2009, affecting Online Banking. March 17, 2009

bradley — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 06:37:00 GMT

Critical news about new Release 7 for QuickBooks 2009, affecting Online Banking. March 17, 2009

Critical Alert

For All QuickBooks ProAdvisors^®

QuickBooks Support QuickBooks Training ProAdvisor Community Feedback More Resources

QuickBooks 2009 R7 for Online Banking, More

Dear QuickBooks ProAdvisor,

We know most of you are busier than ever right now, so we'll keep this brief:

Next week Intuit expects to release a new update to Intuit® QuickBooks 2009 with important responses to your requests on Online Banking.

If you have the time, read on. Specifically, as early as March 23, Release 7 will become available for manual download for 2009 versions of QuickBooks Pro, QuickBooks Premier, and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions. [QuickBooks Pro for Mac 2009 not affected; see Note 1.]

Summary of Changes

As to Online Banking, with this QuickBooks update, you will be able to

Create transactions and perform other tasks in QuickBooks while you have Online Banking open.
Get faster performance for Online Banking (especially for users with larger files).

Note: The latest information on Online Banking related updates can always be found at Intuit's Online Banking 2009 page.

Release 7 includes other changes too, which will be summarized on our QuickBooks Updates page just as soon as the Manual Web patch is live. [Note 2]

Video Just Posted

For a brief (2:24 minutes) overview of the updates available next week, please see our video here:

Expected Timing

Monday, March 23. Manual Update for R7. Your first chance to see the changes for yourself will be to download the update manually from the Updates website. The Manual Update is expected to be available by late Monday, March 23. [Note 3 ]

Thursday, March 26. Automatic Update for R7. Many users, including most of your clients, will be prompted to receive the Automatic Update from within QuickBooks 2009 — if they have enabled automatic updates. The Automatic Update is expected to be available by late Thursday, March 26.

Notes:

Be sure to visit the Updates page, or refer your clients, for more information on manual or automatic updating.
Automatic updates are for the full QuickBooks application only. Use the Manual Download to update the QuickBooks Server.

Reminder for You and Your Clients

We strongly recommend that you and your clients enable automatic updates. The following instructions can be copied into an email to your clients if desired:

If you want to enable Auto-Updates, so QuickBooks will prompt you whenever changes are available, use the following steps:

Go to the "Help Menu" in QuickBooks.
Select "Update QuickBooks."
Then, go to the Options tab, select "Yes" for "Automatic Update."

Follow Up

We appreciate your feedback so we can continue to make QuickBooks better.

Online Banking. For questions or comments related to Online Banking, feel free to email us at OnlineBanking_QB2009@intuit.com with any additional thoughts.

Other QuickBooks Feedback. Remember you can always provide feedback through QuickBooks software; just go the Help pulldown menu and choose Send Feedback Online.

ProAdvisor Issues. See our ProAdvisor Feedback site here.

Intuit thanks you for your patience and understanding while we have worked to improve the online banking experience in Intuit QuickBooks 2009 and complete additional minor updates. We appreciate and benefit from your feedback.

Sincerely,

Your QuickBooks ProAdvisor Team

Notes

Release 7 (R7) updates QuickBooks Pro 2009 (Windows version), QuickBooks Premier 2009, and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0. R7 is of interest especially in its further response to requests on Online Banking, following up on changes in earlier QuickBooks 2009 releases.
Remember that the support page organizes around a particular version of QuickBooks. If the last time you were on this page you were supporting an early product, the page may continue to reflect the older version of QuickBooks. Please be sure the Current Product is identified as QuickBooks 2009.
Manual Downloads are typically made available ahead of Automatic Updates to allow ProAdvisors and others to complete the update before the Automatic Update is more generally available. Some ProAdvisors ask to review the update so they can reach out to clients as needed from a position of first-hand experience. Manual Downloads are also required by network implementations where the QuickBooks Database is on the server.

Online Banking 2009 Updates

bradley — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:24:00 GMT

- Intuit Community:
http://community.intuit.com/wikis?cid=a7fadd6a3f7a23fffb5e37109a5785dd83b95fa7

Check out the announcement about Online Banking updates for the 2009 QB.

Online Banking 2009 Updates

Background

In redesigning the online banking feature in QuickBooks 2009 we were hoping to provide an easy to use experience for new users to the feature. We are dedicated to listening to your feedback and updating the feature so that it is as easy and efficient to use as previous versions. Please continue to check this page for announcements.

We will be posting announcements on this page. If you any have questions or feedback you would like to share please go to our Online Banking Community Forum or Email Us.

Latest Information

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to improve the online banking experience in QuickBooks 2009. We are happy announce that the following updates will become available in late March for QuickBooks Pro, Premier, and Enterprise 2009 solutions:

You will be able to access other areas of QuickBooks while you have the online banking “Add transactions to QuickBooks” window open. For example:

Performance Improvements

Other minor changes relating to customer feedback:

These updates will be available in an automatic update or manual download in late March. For more information on how to turn on automatic updates or manually download this update please see below.

We are continuing to work on updates to the online banking feature in QuickBooks 2009 and will provide more specifics on timing closer to the release date.

How to Get the Updates

Here’s how you can get the updates (automatically):

1. From the QuickBooks Help menu, choose Update QuickBooks.
2. Click the Overview tab and click Update Now.
3. Select the desired downloads in the Update Now window.
4. Click Get Updates to download your selected updates.
5. When the Update Complete message appears, click Close.
6. From the File menu, choose Exit.
7. Start QuickBooks and click Yes to the message to install the update.

When the updates are available in late March, you can manually download the updates you can visit our QuickBooks Support Site and selecting the “Updates & Downloads” tab for QuickBooks 2009.

Solve the Quickbooks 2009 Invoice Sending Problem

bradley — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 08:18:00 GMT

Solve the Quickbooks 2009 Invoice Sending Problem | The OSM Blog:
http://theosmblog.com/2009/02/24/solve-quickbooks-2009-invoice-sending-problem/

The players:

64bit Vista (or Windows 2008)

Quickbooks 2009

And a certain PDF printer that can drive you insane.

Check out that post and bookmark it.

(and a special thanks to Alison Ball of Intuit for the heads up!)

And even before the stroke of midnight....there it is...Quickbooks for free (or nearly so)

bradley — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 07:47:00 GMT

And there it is on the front page....

Quickbooks Pro 2009 Edition at Staples®:
http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/StaplesProductDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogIdentifier=2&partNumber=758686&cm_sp=marketing-_-Half%2520Wow-_-QuickBooksPro

Make sure you get the rebate
https://www.stapleseasyrebates.com/promocenter/staples/promotion.html?sku=758686

Staples.com:
https://www.stapleseasyrebates.com/promocenter/staples/select_form.html

Rebate Rules: Offer valid for customers who purchase QuickBooks Pro 2009 (SKU 758686) on 12/22/2008 at Staples stores, Staples.com or Staples catalog only. Rebate amount does not include tax, phone or s/h charges. Offer not valid with any other rebates, offers or promotions unless otherwise specified by Intuit. All required materials must accompany rebate coupon. Rebate submission must be postmarked by 1/22/09. Void where prohibited. Intuit is not responsible for lost, delayed, misdirected, illegible, incomplete or postage-due mail. Claims of non-payment will require photocopy substantiation of all required items. To specify your contact preferences for Intuit special offers, visit https://privacy.intuit.com. This rebate is NOT eligible for online submission and must be mailed in. For purchases made at Staples Stores: Send the completed ORIGINAL or Copy of the rebate redemption form printed from the cash register. If you are using any other type of Staples Rebate Redemption Form, you MUST attach your ORIGINAL or Copy of the Sales or Rebate Receipt. UPC label is required. For purchases made at Staples.com/Catalog: Send this ORIGINAL or Copy of the completed rebate redemption form with the ORIGINAL or Copy of packing slip that is enclosed with your purchase as your receipt. UPC label is required. Photocopies will not be accepted. Offer valid in US only. Good for actual purchases by end users; excludes resellers and distributors of products and their families. Please allow 9 weeks after claim is received by Fulfillment Company to receive your rebate. If after 9 weeks you have not received your check, please call 1-800-201-0845, 8am-5pm CST, Mon-Fri (live) or 24/7 (automated). All rebates will be made in US dollars. Staples logo and product names are trademarks of Staples and their respective companies. Limit 1 rebate per name/address/household/company. For questions about your rebate call 1-800-201-0845. Fraudulent submission of multiple requests could result in federal prosecution under the U.S. Mail Fraud Statutes (18 USC, Section 1341 & 1342). Keep a copy of your claim for future reference.

Q&A regarding the Intuit Quickbooks offer on Monday:

bradley — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 03:19:00 GMT

Q&A regarding the Intuit Quickbooks offer on Monday from the great and wonderful Allison Ball at Intuit

Again USA only (sorry gang)

HI everyone,
A couple of you have emailed me offlist about concerns and questions, 
so I thought it best to answer all the questions on list so everyone 
has the info.

Additionally, if you are on other chat boards and forums, please re-
post my answers to those boards so everyone sees it.

1) Question - is this a real offer?
YES the Staples offer is real.  It is for one day only, and works 
like this: Go to a Staples Store, buy one copy of QuickBooks Pro for 
PC (single-user SKU) and use the Staples $40 off instant coupon. Pay 
the difference plus sales tax. At the store, pick up the form for the 
$159 rebate and then follow the instructions to mail in the rebate 
form.  Sometime in the near future you'll get your refund.

OR - go online to Staples.com on MONDAY and buy it that way.  Same 
deal - you have to pay $159 plus tax, then file the rebate form to 
get the money back.  

2) What about Sales Tax?
Sales tax is your responsibility.. sorry - you all know what the 
State Board of Equalization is like!  

3) can we use this to make our existing copy of QuickBooks Pro 2009 
multi-user?
YES - but remember that each customer can only get ONE rebate.  But 
if you need additional licenses of QuickBooks Pro 2009 to make your 
existing one multi-user, I say go for it!

4) there are 1400 Staples Stores nationwide... what if the 
communication doesn't reach every store?  

Well - great question!!!  I asked our VP of Sales, Caroline Donohue - 
about that, and got this response...

Alison, 
Our team has emailed, fed ex'ed, etc to all stores…but with 1400 
stores it may be hard to get 100% compliance. 

As of Monday, the offer will be on the HOME PAGE of Staples.com. I 
recommend going to a store early or doing it early on line. I'm 
confident that they will get the offer on Monday—store execution is 
always tricky but with all their communication, they will get it.

Also - if they do go to a physical Store and the supplies have "run 
out" - note that there are no rain checks…  this offer is `while 
supplies last' but luckily Staples has TONS of inventory (most stores 
have been getting huge orders over the last several days). 

But ordering online will for sure get them the deal, so that is a 
great way to go as well.

Thanks, 
Caroline

I hope this helps, everyone - it'll be cool to see you all down at 
Staples with your clients!!  If you do go, send me the photos!!

Best regards,

Alison

Quickbooks 2009 updates

bradley — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:06:00 GMT

Update 1 (QuickBooks 2009 Release 4)

Update 1 provides the ability to

Quick Fill. You will be able to start typing entry information, such as payee and account names, and QuickBooks will recognize what you are typing and complete the information for you.
Add New. You can quickly add new names, accounts, and classes within Online Banking by selecting Add New from the dropdown list.
Manual Match. You will have the ability to view and select QuickBooks register entries to manually match the downloaded transaction. [2]

Update 1 becomes available on

Thursday, Dec. 11, as a download at www.quickbooks.com/support (click on the Updates & Downloads link along the top navigation bar).
Thursday, Dec. 18 as an auto-update if you and clients have automatic updates enabled.

Update 2 (QuickBooks 2009 Release 5)

By working overtime, our programmers were able to complete this first update and catch up with one more heavily requested change. Update 2 provides the ability to

Review and Add Multiple Bank Transactions at Once. You will be able to easily review, edit, and save downloaded transactions in a batch.

Update 2 becomes available on

Thursday, Dec. 18, both as a download from www.quickbooks.com/support and as an auto-update if you and clients have automatic updates enabled.

Informational Video

Here is a YouTube video on the four features affected by these updates. Feel free to share this link with clients as you think useful.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCkvOEErbj8

More Feedback

Bank of America. Some QuickBooks users have reported difficulties downloading bank transactions from Bank of America. Bank of America reports it will be able to update its systems to resolve these difficulties as early as December 12.

Multiple Windows. Some QuickBooks users have asked for the ability to have multiple windows open at the same time. We are working on an update for this as well.

Feedback on Online Banking

Feel free to email us at OnlineBanking_QB2009@intuit.com with your thoughts or if you would like to be notified of Online Banking-related updates. We appreciate your suggestions to date to help us better meet the needs of both our existing and new customers.

Notes

This alert relates to Windows versions of QuickBooks 2009 in its Pro and Premier editions, as well as to QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0.
You will be shown a view of the register that includes transactions that have not yet been reconciled and were not automatically matched by online banking

-------------

The Quickbooks folks were very quick to get these fixes out. If you have QB 2009 now is the time to get updates!

Quickbooks 2009

bradley — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:17:00 GMT

If you are an Accountant or consult with Accountants, urge them to upgrade to Quickbooks 2009. They've added a very very cool tool to Quickbooks 2009 that organize and streamline a process that Accountants do when we get a file from a client.

I normally open up the file and if there is a balance in Opening Balance Equity that's a telltale sign that information is not as it should be.

In the new 2009 version there is a new section in the Accountant's version of the program called the Client Data Review.

All of those steps that we'd normally go through to clean up a mess are now organized in one checklist style part of the program.

See that first one up there at the top? So many times when I open up a Quickbooks file the balances that are supposed to be there as of 12/31/whatever year end are not what they are supposed to be. Why? Because the client has posted entries that impacted the ending balances. We try to put a closing date thorugh date on the books but sometimes they still make adjustments.

You can squeeze out the differences right inside the program now rather than having to pull a new working trial balance.

I subscribe to the Quickbooks Professional Advisor program so that I get the new version every year. I think it's a must for any CPA to sign up for this program. Sort of like Action pack for IT pros, the Quickbooks Pro Advisor program is a must.

Word I've heard is that it cuts from 2 to 10 hours off of the normal year end clean up time that we do in anticipation of the year end tax work.

So this year... if you are an Accountant, buy yourself an early Christmas present and get a copy of Quickbooks 2009. It will probably be the best present you buy for yourself.

What firewall ports do you need open for Quickbooks?

bradley — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:16:00 GMT

Troubleshooting QuickBooks update errors:
http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/pages/knowledgebasearticle/203312

So what ports are needed for Quickbooks in the various years?

Quickbooks 2009 --

80 and 443 outbound
55333-55337 inbound and outbound
Fallback port 56719

Quickbooks 2008 --

80 and 443 outbound
10180 inbound and outbound

Quickbooks 2007 --

Port 10172 inbound and outbound

Quickbooks 2006 --

Port 10160 inbound and outbound

Quickbooks 2005 --

QBW32.exe and QBupdate.exe through the firewall

Remember these holes need to be done on the server as well on SBS 2008. Do NOT disable the firewall.

Click on allow a program through the firewall

Click on Add port

Do this for each port in that list for the versions of quickbooks you have running on the server. You do not need to make any port adjustment for port 80 and 443, that is done in the CEICW wizard (or whatever they call that wizard these days)