How to Set Up and Switch to Multi-User Mode in QuickBooks Desktop

Before you start

• Count your licenses. In QuickBooks, press F2 to open Product Information and check User Licenses on each computer.
• Intuit says Pro lets 3 people work in one company file at the same time, Premier 5 and Enterprise up to 30.
• To add seats, go to Help > Manage My License > Buy Additional User License. If that option is missing, your copy already has the maximum number of users.
• Pick one computer to hold the company file. Intuit calls it the server. Database Server Manager doesn't support network attached storage (NAS) devices.
• Intuit asks for network bandwidth of 40 Mbps or more for a network install.
• You'll need admin rights on the server and workstations to create shared folders.

Make a backup before you change how the file is shared. See how to back up and restore a QuickBooks Desktop company file.

Step 1: Install QuickBooks on the server

1. 1Close every program on the server, including QuickBooks.
2. 2Run the QuickBooks Desktop installer and enter your license and product numbers if asked.
3. 3Choose Custom and Network Options, not Express. Intuit warns that Express overwrites your previous version, which you may need for troubleshooting.
4. 4If people will also work in QuickBooks on this computer, choose the option to use QuickBooks Desktop here AND store the company file here. Intuit strongly recommends this setup.
5. 5If the server will only hold files, choose the option that says you will NOT be using QuickBooks Desktop on this computer. That installs only the Database Server Manager.
6. 6Finish the install, then activate and update QuickBooks.

If you host more than one QuickBooks version, install the oldest first and the newest last. Each version has its own database service and Windows user. QuickBooks Desktop 2024 uses the service QuickBooksDB34, for example.

Step 2: Share the folder and set Windows permissions

Intuit lists three conditions for opening a shared file. The Windows user needs full control of it, the database server must be able to open it, and each person needs a QuickBooks login.

1. 1On the server, choose the folder that will hold the company files.
2. 2Right-click the folder, select Properties, then the Security tab. Give the QBDataServiceUser account for your version Full Control. For QuickBooks 2023, that's QBDataServiceUser33.
3. 3On the Sharing tab, share the folder and give the same account Full Control.
4. 4Make sure the server's firewall and antivirus let the Database Server Manager run.

Step 3: Scan the folder with Database Server Manager

1. 1On the server, open the Windows Start menu, type Database and open QuickBooks Database Server Manager.
2. 2On the Scan Folders tab, select Browse and choose the folders that hold your company files (.qbw). Select OK.
3. 3Select Start Scan. When it finishes, the folders appear under QuickBooks company files found.
4. 4On the Monitored Drives tab, select the drives that hold those folders. Then you won't need to rescan if files in them move. Mapped drives can't be monitored.

You only need to scan a folder once. The Database Server tab shows the service's status and who is connected.

Step 4: Turn on hosting on the server only

1. 1If QuickBooks is installed on the server, open it there.
2. 2Go to File > Utilities.
3. 3If you see Host Multi-User Access, select it. If you see Stop Hosting Multi-User Access, hosting is already on, so leave it.

Only the server should host. Intuit warns that a workstation with multi-user access turned on can take ownership of the company file. Then nobody else can open it.

Step 5: Open the file from each workstation

1. 1Install QuickBooks with Custom and Network Options, and choose the option to use QuickBooks Desktop on this computer.
2. 2Use the same license and product numbers, then activate QuickBooks.
3. 3Map a network drive to the shared folder on the server.
4. 4In QuickBooks, go to File > Open or Restore Company, select Open a company file, then Next.
5. 5Browse to the mapped drive, select the .qbw file, and check Open file in multi-user mode.
6. 6Select Open and sign in with your QuickBooks user name and password.

Already in the file? Go to File > Switch to Multi-user Mode. To go back, select File > Switch to Single-user Mode.

Step 6: Give each person a QuickBooks login

Intuit says each user needs their own QuickBooks login and password. In Enterprise, only the admin can create users.

• Pro and Premier: go to Company > Set Up Users and Passwords > Set Up Users, then Add User. Choose which areas the user can reach, or pick Selected areas of QuickBooks to set access area by area.
• Enterprise: go to Company > Users > Set Up Users and Roles and enter the admin password. On the User List tab, select New, enter a user name and add one or more roles.

For limited users and Enterprise roles, see how to give an integration read-only access in QuickBooks Desktop. The same user and role steps apply to people.

What only works in single-user mode

Intuit lists tasks that need everyone else out of the file. Switch to single-user mode for these:

• Rebuild Data, Condense Data and creating a portable company file. Verify Data runs in multi-user mode, but it stops others from working.
• Setting the closing date and changing Company Preferences. In multi-user mode, you can only change the My Preferences tab.
• Merging list entries, such as two customers or two items. You can add and edit list entries in multi-user mode, but not merge them.
• Creating an Accountant's Copy, and batch deleting or voiding transactions.
• Scheduled reports, advanced import, and exporting lists to IIF files.

Payroll and bank feeds also lock out a second user while someone else is using them.

Common errors: H202, H505, H101 and H303

These errors usually mean a workstation can't reach the company file on the server. To find the server, QuickBooks looks for a small .nd file in the same folder as the company file. That folder also holds what QuickBooks needs to contact the server, such as its IP address and port.

Error H202

1. 1On the server, open Windows Services (services.msc). Open the QuickBooksDBXX service for your version. Intuit's example is QuickBooksDB33 for QuickBooks 2023.
2. 2Set Startup type to Automatic, and select Start if the service isn't Running.
3. 3On the Recovery tab, choose Restart the Service for the first, second and subsequent failures. Select Apply, then OK.
4. 4Repeat for QBCFMonitorService.
5. 5Make sure the server's firewall lets QuickBooks through.
6. 6From a workstation, ping the server by name. Packet loss or slow replies point to a network problem for IT to fix.
7. 7On each workstation, select File > Switch to Multi-user Mode again.

Intuit's QuickBooks Tool Hub offers another route, run on the server. Under Network Issues, run QuickBooks Database Server Manager and select Start Scan; Intuit says this repairs firewall permissions. Under Company File Issues, run QuickBooks File Doctor and choose Check your Network.

Errors H505, H101 and H303

These mean a workstation is set to host. Fix each workstation first, then the server.

1. 1On the workstation, open QuickBooks but not the company file.
2. 2Go to File > Utilities. If you see Stop Hosting Multi-User Access, select it. If you see Host Multi-User Access, leave it; this computer isn't the problem.
3. 3Repeat on every workstation that shows the error.
4. 4On the server, go to File > Utilities and select Host Multi-User Access if it appears.

Where QuickBooks Desktop leaves the work to you

• The server has to stay on with the database service running. Intuit says it must run even when QuickBooks itself isn't open.
• Every workstation needs QuickBooks installed, activated and kept updated.
• Rebuilds, merges, closing dates and preference changes need everyone out of the file first.
• Licenses cap how many people can work at once. Someone has to track seats as staff change.
• Network, firewall and Windows permission problems fall to whoever runs your IT.