Disable QuickBooks Messenger

QuickBooks Messenger is a newly introduced feature of QuickBooks 2009. This feature helps you to communicate with other users in a multi-user program. Before the release of QuickBooks Messenger, while working in a multi-user mode, you could only see the users logged in but could not communicate. This feature lets the different users communicate in real-time while working. In a multi-user program whenever a new user logs in, a popup gets displays at the right of your screen.

Another way to open the QuickBooks messenger is by clicking the Chat window. Go to the coworker option in the company tab. This option will appear by right-clicking the green icon saying QuickBooks Messenger from the Windows toolbar.

Let us discuss more, several settings in QuickBooks Messenger and further on how to disable QuickBooks Messenger.

User Settings in QuickBooks Messenger

Set User Status

Either from the chat window or from the toolbar icon, a user can set a status flag. Just like we set our status in any other online chat app, such as whether the user is online, away, busy, in a meeting, or Do not to disturb. Set as per requirement.

See the below picture for reference

But there is one drawback of this feature that other users can choose to ignore your set status. Even if you have set your status as Do Not Disturb, every other user can still ping you. Whether you want it or not, pop-ups will be there.

Admin Settings are there to resolve this problem. Read on

Admin Settings

This setting is only available to the admin who is running the multi-user program of QuickBooks. Only admin will have the access to ‘Actions’ menu

Have a look-

This feature serves best when you want to switch to a single-user mode for several reasons such as for a backup or to adjust inventory or else. From the Actions tab, send a message to all logged-in users and can shut down your computer system. You can also close your company file for users if you wish to with this feature.

Drawbacks

Just like any other software or program, QuickBooks Messenger has certain drawbacks. Here enlisted some of them-

• The major drawback of QuickBooks Messenger is that it lets you communicate with those users only who are logged in to the same Company file. If two or multiple users are logged in and working on different files, they can not communicate. Also, if a user is not logged in to any company file, again he can not communicate.
• Several multi-user programs like Windows XP and Vista can easily take over the control of your keyboard from another program easily. Suppose you are typing something important in a program and get the chat pop-up and you forget what you were typing. This will lower your productivity and will spoil your mood as well.
• All your activities will be shared by other users which you might not want to share. It might be useful for an admin but not for other users. They might get annoyed. This bars your privacy and security.
• All in some cases, some people might indulge in time-wasting chats and will hamper the office work.
• Keeping these drawbacks in mind, you might want to disable the QuickBooks Messenger and do not want to get disturbed while working. You might also not want your employees to indulge in time-wasting activities. To increase the productivity of your business, you just want to disable the feature. But you do not know how to do it.

How to Enable and Disable QuickBooks Messenger

If you do not want to use QuickBooks Messenger and finds it disturbing rather than productive, you can always disable this feature. Follow the below steps to disable QuickBooks Messenger in the R4 release of QuickBooks 2009-

• Go to the C drive of your computer system.
• Then Program Files>Intuit>QuickBooks 2009
• As shown in the picture.
• There find the files with the extension .exe in the QuickBooks program folder.

• Please ensure to close QuickBooks before performing the steps.
• Right-click on the .exe file and select rename and change the filename.
• Do not delete the file as you might be needing it later.
• Restart your computer system when you are done with performing the steps.
• After the restart, you will see that QuickBooks Messenger has been disabled.

Important Note-

You will have to perform the above steps on each computer running QuickBooks. You can still see the number the users online even after disabling messenger, by pressing the function F2 in QuickBooks. It will allow you to find the number of users logged in.

It will appear like this

Conclusion

It is completely a personal choice whether you want to enable or disable QuickBooks Messenger. You can decide as per your business requirements.

FAQs-

Yes, you can always re-enable QuickBooks Messenger anytime you want.

No, you can not. QuickBooks Messenger allows you to communicate with the users who are working on the same company file you are working on.

Yes, you will be able to see the number of users logged in but can not communicate with them while you have disabled QuickBooks Messenger.

Better not delete the .exe file, you might need it in case you want to re-enable QuickBooks Messenger.

Yes, you can do that from the Actions tab.