Best practices and tips for installing a QuickBooks 2012 upgrade on a computer that already has an existing version of QuickBooks in place.
Remember, QuickBooks MUST be installed using a Standard User Account when you are running Windows Vista or Windows 7 AND you use QuickBooks integrated 3rd party programs – see Windows, QuickBooks & 3rd Party Apps – The Struggle Within.
If you have Intuit do the upgrade, DO NOT let the Intuit rep install the new version from within your computer’s Administrator account and DO NOT let them choose the “upgrade” option when they do the installation. Also, make sure that your computer IT person is aware of the requirements and best practices – many do not.
Make sure that you watch and understand what is being done to your computer – don’t let others simply do “whatever”
Installing/upgrading QuickBooks is a fairly straightforward task, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some things that can trip you up along the way. Below are some “best practice tips”, based on technical support calls from our customers, that will help you to ensure a smooth installation/upgrade:
PLAN AHEAD and make sure that everything is in order – DO NOT install the new version of QuickBooks 2012 on the day that you need to run payroll, do billing, or perform any intensive task that requires access to your computer/company data file.
- Perform some basic file maintenance in your current QuickBooks version – backup your file, rebuild the data, check the current file size and number of database file fragments.
- If you use 3rd party integrated applications, make sure that you contact the software developer (if they haven’t already contacted you) about compatibility with and update procedures for working with QuickBooks 2012 – Gold and Silver Developers {those who have applications listed on the Intuit Marketplace} did not have access to a final release copy of QuickBooks 2012 until 9/12/2012; for other developers – well they might have access to the new version today.
- Start with the computer that houses your QuickBooks data file – paying close attention to the following screens.
- On the “Choose Installation Type” window select the “Custom and Network Option“
- On the “Custom and Network Options” window, select whatever the current settings are on your computer
- On the Upgrade or Change Installation Location window, choose the Change the install location option. This installs QuickBooks 2012 in a new folder and when the installation is complete you will have BOTH your current {old} QuickBooks version and the new QuickBooks 2012 version installed on the computer.
- When the installation is complete, you’ll be prompted to reboot your computer. After the reboot, start QuickBooks 2012 and open your company file.
- Rebuild your data file, check your file size and number of database file fragments.
- Install the new version of QuickBooks on each of your other computers; repeating Steps 4, 5, 6, and 7.
Once the new version of QuickBooks is installed and running properly on all of your computers, remove the old version by going to your Control Panel -> choosing Add/Remove Programs {Windows XP} OR Programs & Features {Windows Vista & 7}, find the old version in the list of programs and choose Uninstall or Remove.
We hope that you’ve found these best practices and tips for installing a QuickBooks upgrade to be helpful. If so please take a moment to leave a comment or share it on your favorite social network.
Your QuickBooks file just like you, your car, or your equipment benefits from some basic maintenance. Most people don’t periodically check the health of their QuickBooks file to help prevent data corruption – mainly because they don’t realize that they should or even how to go about it. Below are some best practice tips for some basic file maintenance tasks that you should perform on a regular basis – but more importantly before and after you upgrade your company file to a new version of QuickBooks.
The instructions found in this article are a list of “best practices” for people who have an existing version of QuickBooks currently installed on their computer who wish to “upgrade” to QuickBooks 2012. While this list may seem like an overkill, anyone who has been working with and using QuickBooks for any length of time knows that sometimes things do not always go smoothly.
DO NOT plan to install the new version of QuickBooks on a day when you need to run payroll, do your billing, or perform any task(s) that will require extensive access to your company data file.
Before you upgrade:
1. Make sure that your current computer meets QuickBooks 2012 requirements, by clicking your Start button -> choose Computer -> select System and compare the information displayed to that shown below.
Operating System:
- Windows XP, all versions – Service Pack (SP) 2 or later strongly recommended
- Windows Vista, all version with User Account Control (UAC) turned on {installed under a Standard User Account if using 3rd party add-ons}
- Windows 7, all versions with User Account Control (UAC) turned on {installed under a Standard User Account if using 3rd party add-ons}
- Windows Server 2003
- Windows Server 2008
Processor, RAM, Hard Drive Requirements:
NOTE: You’ll be better off with the recommended requirements.
- 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 Processor {2.4 GHz recommended}
- 1 GB RAM {2 GB recommended} for a single user or client machine
- 2 GB RAM for multiple, concurrent users for Pro & Premier
- 2 GB RAM or more strongly recommended for Enterprise on a server
- 2.5 GB free disk space for the actual QuickBooks program – additional space required for the data files
- 250 MB disk space for Microsoft .NET 4.0 Runtime {provided with the installation}
Screen (monitor) resolution:
- QuickBooks Pro, Premier, and Enterprise is optimized for a 1024 x 768 screen resolution, 16-bit or higher color
Database Server Requirements:
- Windows XP, all versions – Service Pack (SP) 2 or later strongly recommended
- Windows Vista, all version with User Account Control (UAC) turned on
- Windows 7, all versions
- Windows Server 2003
- Windows Server 2008
2. Rebuild your QuickBooks Data file:
You’ll need to be logged into QuickBooks as the Administrator. If you have a large file, this could take quite awhile – so plan to run this process at lunch time, or gear it up just before you leave for the day.
- From the File menu
- Choose Utilities
- Rebuild Data
The first thing that the Rebuild will require you to do is to make a backup of your data file, go ahead and do that.
As soon as the backup has completed, the rebuild function will automatically start. This tool will take two passes through your file, looking for problems, organizing your data, and trying to fix any problems with your data that it finds. If you sit an watch the process, don’t be concerned if QuickBooks seems to stop responding or stop working at 99% on the first pass and 50% on the second. This just means that it’s found things that are wrong, is attempting to fix them, and then going back to check that everything it found on the first pass has been fixed.
For more information on the rebuild function, read this article.
3. Check your current file size and health
To check the size of your own QuickBooks file – with QuickBooks open press the CTRL and the 1 keys at the same time OR press the F2 key at the top of your keyboard – this will open a Product Information window; similar to that shown below, paying close attention to the circled areas – file location, file size and DB (database) file fragments:
Right click on the image to enlarge it.
NOTE: File size and DB (Database) File Fragments are crucial! During beta testing I found that file size increased 20-25% on a consistent basis – and database file fragments also increased. Typically a QuickBooks data file that has over 15-20 DB File Fragments is NOT a healthy file. Our blog post for Wednesday September 14th will provide you with some tips for making your file healthy again. To get a basic idea of how big your file will be after upgrading, add 20-25% to your existing file size.
4. Back up your QuickBooks data file
If you use a remote backup service, save this backup to your computer or an external drive.
After you upgrade
1. Rebuild your QuickBooks file
2. Check current file size and health
Check back tomorrow for a complete list of best practices for upgrading to QuickBooks 2012 when you already have an existing version on your computer.
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Frequently Asked Questions about upgrading to QuickBooks 2012 {or any new version for that matter} from QuickBooks users.
Each year when Intuit releases a new version of QuickBooks, I’m flooded with a sea of phone calls/emails from QuickBooks users asking a multitude of questions about the new version. Below are some of the most frequent questions that I’m asked.
Should I/Do I NEED to upgrade to the new version?
I’m usually very conservative in regards to this question, especially the last few years with money being so tight for everyone, but typically my answer is:
IF you are currently using a version of QuickBooks that Intuit will sunset/retire next year OR if you feel that your business would benefit from some of the new features/functions – then you should go ahead and purchase the new version now {while pricing is low} BUT wait awhile before you actually install/move your company data file to the new version. I usually recommend that you wait until AFTER you’ve issued W-2′s and other year-end payroll tax returns.
Here’s why I respond this way:
- Every year when the new version of QuickBooks is initially released, bugs or problems with the program are discovered by the folks who upgrade as soon as the new version is available, I see the problems being reported on the Intuit forums and other QuickBooks forums as well – and the people who are reporting the issues aren’t very happy. So my question to you is — do you want to be one of the early adopters who gets caught or bitten by a bug in the program that wasn’t discovered before it was released?
- If you are currently using a version of QuicBooks that Intuit will sunset or retire next year, then you should go ahead and purchase now, but wait until after you’ve issued your W-2′s. Based on historical data, if you are currently using QuickBooks 2009/Enterprise 9 Intuit will be retiring these versions in May of 2012. If you are using QuickBooks 2008/Enterprise 8.0 {and I actually spoke to someone last week using the 2008 version}, run your payroll in-house and issue your own W-2′s – then you will need to upgrade in order to have the most current W-2 forms.
- If you are using the 2010 or 2011 versions, are happy with things the way they are and don’t want/need any of the new features – then just hold off.
Will the 3rd party add-ons that I use be compatible with the new version?
This is ALWAYS a difficult question for me to answer. QuickBooks add-ons can be written by anyone, so you have to take into consideration when that developer will have access to the new version of QuickBooks to test their product, make sure it works as expected, make any necessary coding changes if they discover a problem, put out an update or patch, etc.
Most of the time there shouldn’t be a problem, but you never know for certain. My best piece of advice, when you rely on 3rd party apps to run your business, is to contact the developer who wrote the program and ask them directly before installing the new version, here’s why – it may be a little technical so bear with me:
- Gold and Silver level developers, who have their 3rd party applications listed on the Intuit Marketplace, have historically been able to have access to a beta version of the new QuickBooks version in late July/early August so that they could perform testing, etc. As of today {September 9} this early access has not been made available to Gold and Silver Developers. NOTE – 9/12/2012 Gold & Silver developers can now download QuickBooks 2012.
- There is a beta version of a new SDK (the Software Development Kit that many developers use to write their add-ons and is required if they are a Gold/Silver developer) that will allow developers to work with some of the new features. But the new version of the SDK is of little use if they also do not have access to the new QuickBooks version for testing, debugging and documenting new procedures or features that the developer might be able to take advantage of.
- Other developers who use the SDK but are not Gold/Silver developers OR use other methods of working with the information in your company file – perhaps they use IIF files or other methods to access the QuickBooks file; also do not have access to the new version for testing and in reality they probably will not have access until right around the same time as you do.
Will my current computer/network run the new version of QuickBooks?
QuickBooks 2012 will require that your computer meets the following requirements, check your computers current settings by clicking your Start button -> choose Computer -> select System. This information came from data provided while I was beta testing and may be different when the final version is released:
Operating System:
- Windows XP, all versions – Service Pack (SP) 2 or later strongly recommended
- Windows Vista, all version with User Account Control (UAC) turned on {installed under a Standard User Account if using 3rd party add-ons}
- Windows 7, all versions with User Account Control (UAC) turned on {installed under a Standard User Account if using 3rd party add-ons}
- Windows Server 2003
- Windows Server 2008
Processor, RAM, Hard Drive Requirements:
NOTE: You’ll be better off with the recommended requirements.
- 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 Processor {2.4 GHz recommended}
- 1 GB RAM {2 GB recommended} for a single user or client machine
- 2 GB RAM for multiple, concurrent users for Pro & Premier
- 2 GB RAM or more strongly recommended for Enterprise on a server
- 2.5 GB free disk space for the actual QuickBooks program – additional space required for the data files
- 250 MB disk space for Microsoft >NET 4.0 Runtime {provided with the installation}
Screen (monitor) resolution:
- QuickBooks Pro, Premier, and Enterprise is optimized for a 1024 x 768 screen resolution
Database Server Requirements:
- Windows XP, all versions – Service Pack (SP) 2 or later strongly recommended
- Windows Vista, all version with User Account Control (UAC) turned on
- Windows 7, all versions
- Windows Server 2003
- Windows Server 2008
When installing the new version should I choose the upgrade option?
We’ll be dedicating an entire blog post to best practices for installing a new version on a computer that currently has QuickBooks installed. Look for this information on Tuesday September 13th.
How does upgrading affect the size of my current file?
During beta testing I worked with two different files so I could see, first hand, how upgrading to QuickBooks 2012 would affect the size of the QuickBooks data file. To check the size of your own QuickBooks file – with QuickBooks open press the CTRL and the 1 keys at the same time OR press the F2 key at the top of your keyboard – this will open a Product Information window and you can find your file size – you should also check the number of DB {Database} file fragments.
The first file was a very small QuickBooks 2011 file with the following specs:
- File size – 14,252 K {which roughly translates to 14 megs}
- Total Transactions – 146
- DB (Database) File Fragments – 3
After upgrading this file to QuickBooks 2012 this same file had the following specs:
- File size – 17,716 K {which roughly translates to almost 18 megs – meaning the file grew 4 megs just from the upgrade}
- Total Transactions – 146
- DB (Database) File Fragments – 10
This is cause for concern, in my opinion – a 4 meg file size increase and a total of 10 database file fragments for a file that only has 146 transactions!
The second company file was
- 162,287 K {162 megs}
- 17,583 transactions
- 1 database file fragment
After the upgrade to QuickBooks 2012,
- File size was 192,396 {about 192 megs or an increase of 30 megs}
- 26 database file fragments
We’ll be dedicating an entire blog post to some basic file maintenance before and after converting your current QuickBooks file to the new version on Monday September 12th.
What are the new features in QuickBooks?
This is the most popular question that I receive and one of the reasons that I started this blog — so you’ll have to stay tuned for that information.
What’s it gonna cost me?
Beginning on September 26, 2011 you will be able to pre-buy QuickBooks 2012 from Authorized QuickBooks Affiliates and directly from Intuit websites. The prices shown below are BEFORE any discounts.
- QuickBooks Pro (single user) – $229.95
- QuickBooks Pro 2 User – $459.95
- QuickBooks Pro 3 User – $649.95
- QuickBooks Pro Add-a-Seat – $229.95
- QuickBooks Premier (single user) – $399.95
- QuickBooks Premier 2 User – $749.95
- QuickBooks Premier 3 User – $999.95
- QuickBooks Premier Add-a-Seat – $359.95
*NOTE: I believe that the Premier Accountant Edition will cost an additional $100 over the prices indicated above and will include Intuit Statement Writer. I have not yet seen official pricing, so will update this price at a later date.*
QuickBooks Pro and Premier is scheduled to be available beginning October 9, 2011 at leading retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, BJ’s, Costco, Fry’s, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Sam’s, and Staples. Typically, the prices that you receive at these retailers will beat any discounts that you would receive if you purchased the software from an Authorized Intuit Affiliate or from Intuit.
Will your software work with the new version?
It should, however, I am waiting – just like everyone else to get my hands on a final release version of QuickBooks to do some more testing before making a more positive statement. I have run our software through some preliminary testing while beta testing the new version and did encounter a couple of issues, nothing major – but I couldn’t tell if the issue was with the QuickBooks beta {because I was having some issues with it} or with our software. I have found over the years that it’s always best to wait until I’ve run tests with a final release and not a beta release before making that final compatibility statement.
I hope you found our frequently asked questions about upgrading helpful. If so, please leave a comment or share it on your favorite social media platform by using the buttons below.
Do you have a question about upgrading?
Windows Vista and Windows 7 have changed the way that we use our computers, install software, and store our files. We were all spoiled with Windows XP, where we could save anything anywhere we wanted and share anything with anyone that we wanted. The new rules and requirements of Windows Vista and 7 are often overlooked or are unknown and can cause quite a bit of aggravation!
There is a power struggle going on in the world we work in; and it’s between Windows 7/Vista, QuickBooks and QuickBooks 3rd party applications. You can tell if your computer is caught in up in this struggle if you receive an 80040408 – Could not start QuickBooks error when a 3rd party app tries to access your QuickBooks company data file.
This article will discuss best practices to help YOU prevent or put an end to this power struggle; explain why it happened in the first place, and provide instructions for putting an end to the power struggle going on inside your computer.
Your New Computer
Any new computer that you buy comes pre-configured with an Administrator Account, which is great – BUT few people, including IT people, ever take the time to research the Microsoft website to learn that it is recommended that you create a Standard User Account for each person who accesses the computer–including yourself AND EVEN if you are the only person who uses the computer.
- What is an Administrator Account? An Administrator account is a user account that lets you make changes that will affect other users. Administrators can change security settings, install software and hardware, and access all the files on the computer. Administrators can also make changes to other user accounts. When you set up Windows, you’ll be required to create a user account. This account is an administrator account that allows you to set up your computer and install any programs that you would like to use. Once you have finished setting up your computer, we recommend that you use a standard user account for your day-to-day computing. It’s more secure to use a standard user account instead of an administrator account.
- Why use a standard user account instead of an administrator account? The standard account can help protect your computer by preventing users from making changes that affect everyone who uses the computer. We recommend creating a standard account for each user. When you are logged on to Windows with a standard user account, you can do anything that you can do with an administrator account, but if you want to do something that affects other users of the computer, such as installing software or changing security settings, Windows will ask you to provide a password for an administrator account.
- What is User Account Control? With Vista and Windows 7, Microsoft enabled additional security features; such as User Account Control (UAC). User Account Control (UAC) is a feature in Windows that can help prevent unauthorized changes to your computer. UAC does this by asking you for permission or an administrator password before performing actions that could potentially affect your computer’s operation or that change settings that affect other users. When you see a UAC message, read it carefully, and then make sure the name of the action or program that’s about to start is one that you intended to start. By verifying these actions before they start, UAC can help prevent malicious software (malware) and spyware from installing or making changes to your computer without permission. When your permission or password is needed to complete a task, UAC will alert you with one of the following messages:
- Windows needs your permission to continue
- A program needs your permission to continue
- An unidentified program wants to access your computer
- This program has been blocked
Right click on the image to enlarge it
Right click on the image to enlarge it
Right click on the image to enlarge it
Right click on the image to enlarge it
Into the picture comes comes QuickBooks and Intuit Support Reps
We all know that Intuit offers to install QuickBooks on your computer for you; and many people take advantage of this service – which is fine……BUT I know from talking with customers who have taken advantage of this service – that the Support Rep {9 times out of 10} installs QuickBooks under the Administrator account and NOT the Standard User Account and to my knowledge they never ask the user if they use a 3rd party app. This is where the trouble begins.
Enter the QuickBooks 3rd Party App, the Intuit Developer Network & the SDK
Developers who utilize the QuickBooks SDK to create their 3rd party applications must follow rules established not only by Microsoft, but also the rules created by the Intuit Developer Network (IDN) regarding how a 3rd party app must or can access the QuickBooks file when they are run on a Windows Vista or 7 computer.
These rules include:
- The Vista (and Windows 7) user account must have its User Account Control (UAC) set to On (as recommended by Microsoft)
- Both QuickBooks and the application accessing it through the SDK should be run with Standard User Permissions – NOT elevated to run as administrator {in less technical terms this means that both QuickBooks and the 3rd party app should be installed and then run under the Standard User Account)
- The QuickBooks company file must also be in a Public or properly shared folder
Right click on the image to enlarge it
Right click on the image to enlarge it
The power struggle is caused by a lack of communication and information! And the result is an 80040408 – Could not start QuickBooks error when the 3rd party app tries to access your QuickBooks company data file.
Troubleshooting an 80040408 – Could Not Start QuickBooks Error
First, you should try some basic troubleshooting/problem solving exercises:
- Do you have a Standard User Account? – if not you need to create one.
- Is your User Account Control turned on? – if it isn’t, turn it on.
- Does your QuickBooks file live in the Public folder or in a properly shared network folder? – if it doesn’t, put it there.
- Was QuickBooks and the 3rd party app installed through the Administrator account? – if it was, then it is running with Administrator level permissions; you can tell if it was installed under the Administrator account because there will be a little “shield” on the desktop icon.
Creating a Standard User Account – OR – Creating a New Administrator Account and Turning the Existing Admin Account into a Standard User Account
Follow the steps below to create a Standard User Account if this is a new computer and you’ve not yet installed any software:
- Close all open/running software on your computer.
- Click your Start button -> choose Control Panel -> choose User Accounts.
- Note what the current account name is {it may be Admin}
- Click the link that says “Manage another account”.
- Click the link that says “Create a new account”.
- Type in a User Name – this name MUST be different than the existing account name – for example if the existing user account name is Admin, make this user account name be YOUR name
- Select the Standard User account type option.
- Follow any on screen prompts.
- Reboot your computer and log into the newly created account and install your software.
Follow the steps below to create a NEW Administrator User Account and turn the existing account into a Standard User Account if you have already installed a lot of software on this computer:
- Follow Steps 1-5 above.
- Type in a User Name – this name MUST be different than the existing account name – for example if the existing user account name is YOUR name, make this user account name be ADMIN or your company name.
- Select the Administrator account type option.
- Follow any on screen prompts.
- Reboot your computer and log into the newly created account.
- Click your Start button -> go to Control Panel -> User Accounts -> choose Manage another account -> select the original login account.
- Choose Change the Account Type and set it to be a Standard User.
- Follow any on screen prompts -> reboot your computer and log into the ORIGINAL account.
Yes, unfortunately this is all a lot of work and aggravation, but it must be done in order for the QuickBooks 3rd party software application to be able to work with your company data file. For additional information on resolving an 80040408 error and other QuickBooks Connection errors, please visit our support area.
NOTE: We have had a lot of success with creating a new Administrator account and changing the existing account to a Standard User Account. There have only been a few instances where this has not resolved the 80040408 error.
When you are unable to resolve the 80040408 error using the information provided above:
- You will need to login to the Administrator account and uninstall/remove QuickBooks and the 3rd party app.
- Reboot {restart} the computer and log into the Standard User Account -> install QuickBooks and the 3rd party application.
Have you or your clients received a QuickBooks 2011 message window, when you are not connected to the internet, stating:
We can’t detect your internet connection, so we can’t verify your QuickBooks subscription.
I frequently receive this message and others when I work on my Vista laptop and it is not connected to the internet. Is QuickBooks 2011 “phoning home” to Intuit? I seriously believe that it is phoning home to Intuit on a daily basis – either that or I’ve found a bug.
Background:
QuickBooks Premier Accountant 2011 R3P with no internet connection on a Vista 32 bit laptop, a Windows 7 64-bit laptop AND a Windows 7 64-bit desktop; logged in as a Windows “Standard” User.
Details of the problem:
Boot computer normally. The Vista (or Windows 7) User Account Control window will appear, displaying the following message:
A program needs your permission to continue
QuickBooks Utility Application
When I click on the Details option, the following file name and location displays on Vista:
C:\Program Files\Intuit\QuickBooks 2011\DBManagerExe.exe, Start Server 256
When I enter the Admin password, QuickBooks launches automatically – without my doing anything – and a window appears stating:
We can’t detect your internet connection, so we can’t verify your QuickBooks subscription. Check that you are connected to the Internet and click Retry.
Right click on the image to enlarge it.
Because I know that I’m not connected to the Internet, I click Cancel (clicking Retry only makes the message display again).
QuickBooks 2011 then loads, but loads “oddly” – meaning that it doesn’t load the Home page, the Icon bar, or even the last company file that I had open – only the Menu bar loads but even that does not load properly.
The ONLY items that are active on the menu bar are the File and Help menus.
Right click on the image to enlarge it.
Using the File menu, I scroll down to the Open Previous Company option; which displays no previous files – when in fact it should display 9 different company files that I have been working with.
Right click the image to enlarge it.
In order to actually open a company file, I have to use the Open or Restore Company option and browse/select which file I want to work with.
This behavior has been happening consistently on my Vista laptop every morning this week (I use this machine in the wee hours of the morning on the comfort of my couch).
I decided to test my theory, so when I came to work this morning I unplugged my Windows 7 desktop and my husbands Windows 7 laptop (both 64-bit machines).
I experienced different results with these machines, which leads me to believe the following:
- If you have selected the option to Keep QuickBooks running for faster startups (Edit menu -> Preferences -> General Preference -> My Preferences tab) AND you are not connected to the internet; then you will experience the UAC Window for the QuickBooks Utility Application. If you turn this option off, you will not receive this any longer.
- I believe that the “Can’t Verify Subscription” message is due to having signed up for an Intuit Workplace Application at one point or another and canceled the subscription. My husband who has never signed up for an Intuit Workplace Application did not receive the “Can’t Verify subscription” message – while I have signed up to test Intuit Workplace Applications.
I have submitted this as a “bug” to Intuit.
I’m making this information available because I have seen others post about the same issues and thought that you would like a “heads up”.
