file size limits

There is no published size limit for the actual data file that I am aware of. There are many factors that will determine your experience with QuickBooks as your data file size grows.

The processor speed, the amount of ram and the free space on your HDD are all contributing factors, as well as how you use it.

There have been some informal suggestions that a file greater than150 meg in size would benefit by using QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions. But , I would say that if you are a single user and are using QuickBooks in the simple way that it is designed then you should have no issues other than a little slowness sometimes with a file greater that 150 meg.

If you intend on having multiple users and you think that the growth rate of your company, in terms of number of transactions and other functions you will be doing, then this informal number could be your limit. 

I have worked with clients that have a file size as large as 1.2 gig in size and they were working just fine. They were in the process of upgrading to Enterprise Solutions because they needed more than 5 user limit of Pro. They were going to benefit greatly from this upgrade.

There are however, list limitations. Refer to http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/pages/knowledgebasearticle/1... for more information on this topic.

Staci's answer is correct. Just want to add info about it. Yes you can exceed more than 150MB of file size for QB pro/premier and still work on your file w/ just a little bit of slowness to it on a single user. the only downside is, due to slow performance and a large database that you have, the company file itself may get corrupted due to those factors. Yes, QB tech support team can help you recover your file or in worst case, they have their data recovery team if the tech support agents was not able to resolve it. but there will be no guarantee that it will not happen anymore.

now aside from the file size, you may also consider your list (chart of accounts, names list, items, etc.) because pro/premier can only take up to 14,500 each and it may also be the factor why your file is so big.

One last factor is the # of transactions you enter on a day to day basis. Estimate the number of transaction you enter on QB for 1 week (bills, pay bills, invoices, deposits, payments received, etc.). If you are entering a lot of transactions per week, then you must consider going to the Enterprise Edition. But if you only enter a few of them, then you can stick to the pro/premier.

If you want to know more about your options, I'd rather suggest you to call the experts about it. You can call Quickbooks at (877) 683-3280 and you can talk to a product specialist to know more about your options and provide you the right solution for your business.

Hope this helps. Thanks!

Thank you for the information on file sizes for QB.  The reason that I asked was because I was registering my new QB 2010 on the phone and after we completed the registration the QB rep asked me to look to see how big my file was,   we have had QB since 2004 or 2005. my file size says 313588 k.  She then proceeded to tell me that I really need to buy the enterprise solution , and that my file size was way too big for QB pro.She said that it could crash at any time and if it does, it could take 15 days for them to recover my files. The enterprise solution is very expensive compared to pro. I don,t know if i should do it . I was just wondering if she was trying to make some big sales, or if she was really trying to help me before I needed it . YOu never know these days if you should trust them, after all , they don't sound like they are even in the U.S.. What do you do ???

                                                    Thanks.

WOW!!! Your file is ENORMOUS! 313588 K = 313 MB. It's really a very huge file for QB pro/premier to handle. You also mentioned about starting this company file from 2004 version so I am assuming that you have 6 years worth of data. But 300++MB of file is still huge for 6 years worth of data. I have some friends that used the program more than you do but their file size is still in between 70-200MB. in your case, your business is outgroing the program.

The sales rep is right about recommending the Enterprise edition because if you will keep on using the Pro/Premier, there will come a time that the program can't take your database anymore causing it to be damaged. Just like what I said previously, QB tech support can recover that but there will be no assurance that it will be taken care of for good. In short, your file will be susceptible for data corruption.

If you want an expert yo hear you out, you can call Quickbooks at 866-676-9666. You will not speak to a sales rep at this number, instead, you will talk to a product specialist who will provide you some options about your situation.

Hope this helps. Thanks!

My file is about 300m also and we just converted to 2010 this week. We are a 3 user environment and I purchased a new laptop that screams, however QB is ridiculously slow when performing basic functions such as opening the employee center (4 minutes). This was not a problem in 2007. We are a small company with about 40 employees and have been using QB for 10 yrs. In this day and age I find it extremely unacceptable that QB 2010 cannot handle files of at least 1gig. The only reason we upgraded in the first place is due to us using there payroll service. I will not purchase their $3000.00 enterprise product instead I will be reinstalling 2007 with my backup and using adp or paychex for payroll in the future.

I would suggest the third party software to move transactions out of your current company file into a separate one.

marketplace.intuit.com/AppID-2309-Overview.aspx

I don't think a 300 MB file is too large -- I think between 500 MB and definitely approaching 1 GB is where you start to encounter problems.

You can get some file size reduction if you create & restore a portable file.  You can also create a new file with just the last year or so of data yourself or have someone do it for you.  In 2010 the Clean up company data will reduce the file size some but in the older years the clean up company data made the files larger (due to writing everything to the audit trail).

We upgraded to 2010 back in June. In the past three months it seemed like QB was CRAWLING at startup. This morning our file became corrupt. The technician said out size of 113MB was "approaching the 120MB limit of QB Pro" he then proceeded to sell me on Enterpise, which I bought hook line an sinker.

If you want a new file with just the last year or so of data contact Matt Clark www.qbornotqb.com or Nancy at www.bottomline-sb.com  Matt has done it for clients of mine and it was no where near $3,700 as someone mentioned.  Plus, it would be cheaper than QB Enterprise Solutions.

Also, in QB go to Help > Submit Feedback Online > Product Suggestion to let Intuit know you would like that feature in QB.  It helps to have lots of people request it.