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Quickbooks - Is there a better solution then our setup...
Posted on 4/4/15 at 4:39 pm
Posted on 4/4/15 at 4:39 pm
I own a service, retail, wholesale construction business. I have 4 computers in the office. 2 PC's, 1 Mac, 1 Chromebook. All of the software we use is currently web based with the exception of quickbooks...We tried to go to the online version twice now and it ended badly due to import problems. Ultimately, I would love for everything to go webbased and then I would just buy a bunch of chromebox's/books and roll! But...That won't happen until next year at this point. SOOOO...Here is the question....We have been running Quickbooks Pro for the last 8 years. We run it in multiuser mode between two computers...one user hosts it and uses it while another user logs in from another computer as well. This setup is SLOW for the non hosting computer. Does anyone know if it would be better to host it on a computer that runs as a server and have two other computers login to that computer and use it that way? Seems nuts, but I am wondering if that method would be faster than what we are experiencing now. Any input would be appreciated!
3
Posted on 4/4/15 at 7:02 pm to dallaslsufan
I never had a problem with slow response in multiuser mode with the same setup. Might just be the computer?
Posted on 4/4/15 at 8:28 pm to dallaslsufan
I have, on occasion, done some QB consulting... My experience is that QB is a gigantic (expensive) PITA with a technical support department staffed mostly by morons. IMO the only reason QB is still a valid product is the lack of a competing product (outside of Great Plains, which is another story).
Enough bitching, back to your question...
I am going to make a major assumption here... Are you storing 8 years with of transactions inside the same company file? If so, I would start off by checking the size of my QB company file... It may have finally grown so large that your LAN is buckling under the load. My recommendation is to always create a new company file each year (all of the pertinent information can be carried over) which keeps the files much smaller and more manageable.
As for hosting, i always push to install QB on a server (or dedicated PC) and in many cases, use RDP to access QB directly on the server. This reduces the network load, saves sessions (if a desktop PC crashes) and if anyone has/needs remote access (VPN) QB is just as fast as in the office.
Hope this helps!
Enough bitching, back to your question...
I am going to make a major assumption here... Are you storing 8 years with of transactions inside the same company file? If so, I would start off by checking the size of my QB company file... It may have finally grown so large that your LAN is buckling under the load. My recommendation is to always create a new company file each year (all of the pertinent information can be carried over) which keeps the files much smaller and more manageable.
As for hosting, i always push to install QB on a server (or dedicated PC) and in many cases, use RDP to access QB directly on the server. This reduces the network load, saves sessions (if a desktop PC crashes) and if anyone has/needs remote access (VPN) QB is just as fast as in the office.
Hope this helps!
Posted on 4/4/15 at 8:44 pm to Gringo
quote:
I have, on occasion, done some QB consulting... My experience is that QB is a gigantic (expensive) PITA with a technical support department staffed mostly by morons. IMO the only reason QB is still a valid product is the lack of a competing product (outside of Great Plains, which is another story).
Enough bitching, back to your question...
I am going to make a major assumption here... Are you storing 8 years with of transactions inside the same company file? If so, I would start off by checking the size of my QB company file... It may have finally grown so large that your LAN is buckling under the load. My recommendation is to always create a new company file each year (all of the pertinent information can be carried over) which keeps the files much smaller and more manageable.
As for hosting, i always push to install QB on a server (or dedicated PC) and in many cases, use RDP to access QB directly on the server. This reduces the network load, saves sessions (if a desktop PC crashes) and if anyone has/needs remote access (VPN) QB is just as fast as in the office.
Hope this helps!
I have to say I totally agree with this entire post.
Posted on 4/4/15 at 8:57 pm to 3deadtrolls
Your assumption is correct. The file is 201 MB...Very large I'm assuming. I would like to go with quickbooks online...I have been asked a lot lately to rebuild my data...making me nervous...If this file crashes, I'm in major trouble. I thought about starting new each year, but not sure how that process would happen? Does it pull over all of my accounts receivables? What if I need to go back and pull up history on a customer, can I see what I have invoiced the min the past? Just unsure of the details. Thanks for all the info thus far!
Posted on 4/4/15 at 9:06 pm to dallaslsufan
quote:
If this file crashes, I'm in major trouble.
you should be running regular backups of your qb database.
Posted on 4/4/15 at 9:11 pm to diat150
I backup every night...I am just worried that it is starting to ask me to rebuild...I just tried to condense the file and it is erroring out when I do it. YIKES! I am over the 200mb limit for online conversion. I'm at 201mb
Posted on 4/4/15 at 9:37 pm to dallaslsufan
are there any good freeware quickbooks alternatives? I remember looking a while back and found some free or really cheap ones that looked promising.
Posted on 4/4/15 at 10:14 pm to dallaslsufan
201 MB is not the largest company file I have seen, but is larger than I would feel comfortable with. I would try to stay below 50 MB if at all possible.
Keep in mind that QB is not transactional (like a real database), it tends to push around large hunks of the company file for each request, which could be one source of your slowness.
Start here and let us know if any questions.
LINK
LINK
LINK
And if you have not done so, setup regular backups of the QB company files immediately. Do not use any cloud provider (Dropbox, etc...) to backup your QB company files, you WILL break QB.
LINK
I have never personally tried the QB online service, but I have heard it does not support all of the same features available in the installed product, which makes it a no-go for many businesses.
Keep in mind that QB is not transactional (like a real database), it tends to push around large hunks of the company file for each request, which could be one source of your slowness.
Start here and let us know if any questions.
LINK
LINK
LINK
And if you have not done so, setup regular backups of the QB company files immediately. Do not use any cloud provider (Dropbox, etc...) to backup your QB company files, you WILL break QB.
LINK
I have never personally tried the QB online service, but I have heard it does not support all of the same features available in the installed product, which makes it a no-go for many businesses.
This post was edited on 4/4/15 at 10:16 pm
Posted on 4/4/15 at 10:34 pm to diat150
quote:
are there any good freeware quickbooks alternatives? I remember looking a while back and found some free or really cheap ones that looked promising.
I would not trust freeware when you could be audited.
Posted on 4/5/15 at 12:12 am to dallaslsufan
quote:
I backup every night
Good. Have you done a dry run restore for practice to be sure you can get it back?
Posted on 4/5/15 at 1:20 pm to dallaslsufan
Sage Peachtree is a decent alternative, but if you want to keep QB, a local terminal server is the best option.
This post was edited on 4/5/15 at 1:21 pm
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