QuickBooks Database Server Manager

QuickBooks database server manager can help you set up a company file on a separate machine and enable multiple workstations to connect to the company file. It is essential for those who want to set up a multi-user network when working with QuickBooks desktop. Whenever a user makes a change in the company file, the database server manager syncs those changes so that users can easily work simultaneously on the same accounting data. 

The database server manager can be installed for free while installing the accounting software. If you choose a network setup when installing QuickBooks desktop, then the installer will also install the QuickBooks database server manager on your system. You only need to install the server manager on the system that will store the company file. All the other workstations do not require the server manager to work with the company file data. 

In this post you will learn to install, configure and set up QuickBooks database server manager to enable multi-user mode.

What is the QuickBooks database server manager?

The QuickBooks database server manager is a utility that enables users to to create a multi-user network so that multiple users can work simultaneously on the accounting data. Without properly setting up the database server manager and mapping the company file, the user can neither store the company file on a separate server nor enable multi-user mode.

How to install QuickBooks database server manager?

QuickBooks database server manager comes with the setup file for the accounting software. Users need to choose the correct options to ensure that the installer installs the database server manager.

Click here to download the setup for QuickBooks database server manager.

Here are the steps to install QuickBooks database server manager on your system:

1. Close all the QuickBooks and related programs on your system.
2. Launch the setup for QuickBooks desktop that you can download from the link provided above.
3. Go through the instructions provided by the installer and enter the product and license numbers to activate your product.
4. Choose a custom or network option when choosing the install type. Express install will not install the database server Manager on the system, so you need to choose the other option. You can choose the express install option on the workstation that will be connected to the server to retrieve data from the company file.
5. Choose from among the two options to configure your database server manager:
   1. I will be using QuickBooks Desktop on this computer and I’ll be storing…:  choose this option if you will store the company file on the current machine. This option is meant for the server computer that will host the company file.
   2. I will not be using QuickBooks desktop…:  choose this option if you will not use QuickBooks desktop on this machine, but you will only store the company file.
6. Go forward with the rest of the instructions and choose finish once installation is complete.

You have successfully installed the program by following the steps we have provided above. The edition of the database server manager depends on the version of the QuickBooks desktop that you install on your system.

Note: for the two options provided above, we recommend that you select the first one so that you will be able to make the required changes in the company file directly from the server system. But in the end, it is your choice so you can go with the second one if you don't want the accounting software installed on the server.

For the first case, the installer installed both the accounting software and the database server manager on the server. For the second case, the installer only installed the database server manager and not the accounting software.

Steps to configure the QuickBooks database server manager

The next step is to configure the database server manager by choosing the correct settings and options according to your requirement.

Here are the steps to set up QuickBooks database server manager on your server system:

1. Go to the start menu. Input services into the search box and click on the first option.
2. Choose QuickBooksDBXX, where XX refers to the version of QuickBooks Desktop that you have installed on your system.
3. From the General tab, find the service status section.
4. Click on automatic from the startup type dropdown menu.
5. From the Logon tab, choose a local system account, then go to the recovery tab.
6. Click on restart the service from the following drop down menus: 
   1. first failure 
   2. second failure 
   3. subsequent failures
7. Go back to the general tab and click on start.

You have successfully configured the QuickBooks database server manager and restarted it on the server so that it can now look for the company files and sync your accounting data with it.

How to scan folders using QuickBooks database server manager?

After installing the server manager on your system, you need to scan the folders that contain the company file so that the server manager can easily check for changes and sync those changes. This will help you in setting up a multi user network connection for your accounting software.

Here are the steps to scan folders using QuickBooks database server manager:

1. Login to your admin windows account on the server computer (the system that hosts the company file.)
2. Input database into the search and click on QuickBooks database server manager.
3. In the scan folder tab, choose Browser, then the folder that contains the company files.
4. Click on Ok, then Start Scan.

Once the scan completes you can easily find your company files listed in the database server manager. further these company files can now be accessed from the other workstations that are connected to the same network and have the required Earth and authentication.

Monitor drives with the database server manager

After the scan, you need to list the drive that contains the company file for monitoring by the server manager. This obviates the need to scan the folders again and again in order to sync the changes made on different systems.

If you choose to move your company file to a different folder, then you will not have to scan the company folders again after you have enabled monitoring of the drive.

Here are the steps to monitor drivers using QuickBooks database server manager:

1. In the database server manager, go to the Monitored Drives tab. 
2. Choose all the drives that you want to monitor.
3. Click on Close.

Only select the drives that contain the company file; otherwise the database server manager will use more server resources to scan the drives that don’t have any company file in them.

There are several other options available in this program that give you more control over how the system works and sensor data:

• The system tab can be used to change the installation location of the server manager.
• The database server tab shows you a list of all the users who are currently connected to the company file. 

How to restart the QuickBooks database server manager?

The steps to restart a database server manager depend on whether you installed the accounting software with it or not. To perform this action, you will have to login into your server computer that contains the company file.

Here are the steps to restart the QuickBooks desktop server manager on your system:

1. Open QuickBooks desktop on the server computer.
2. From the file menu, click on open or restore company.
3. Click on open a company file and choose your company file.
4. Click on next and mark the checkbox for “open the file in multi user mode”.
5. Click on open and enter the authentication details to log into your company file.
6.  From the File option, click on close company/log off.
7. Launch the QuickBooks database server manager from the start menu.

You have successfully restarted the program by shutting it down and then launching it again. The program will now begin to scan the company file for any changes so that it can sync those changes accordingly.

Note: before you restart the server manager, ask all the users connected to the server to save their data and close QuickBooks desktop on their workstation.

Users who have installed only the database server manager can follow these steps to restart it on their system.

1. From the start menu, go to the control panel, and choose administrative tools.
2. Click on services.
3. Click on QuickBooksDBXX ,where XX stands for the version of the software that you installed on your system.
4. Click on restart.

If the database server, despite following the steps mentioned in this post, does not start, then you can restart your entire server computer.

Conclusion

QuickBooks database manager is a free utility that can help users sync all their data among multiple workstations. It is very useful for anyone who wants to enable multi-user networks so that multiple users can connect to the company file and work at the same time. Even though the method seems long and daunting, it is quite simple to follow along because of the steps that we have provided here.

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