Quickbooks use of DropBox

You can use the Online Edition.
You can talk to your IT person with setting up remote access. You can use a program like Logmein.

Hope this helps. If so please mark solved, if not please ask more questions. Thanks!

Thanks raywhite28 for offering alternative methods of allowing multi-user Quickbooks file sharing but your answer doesn't address the question asked by the user.

***

@TedInBos: I have been testing a Dropbox system for one of my clients (who currently uses a combination of LogMeIn and network servers to share their Quickbooks info) and have to admit that I'm flying a bit blind since I haven't been able to find much info on how to do it correctly.

I love the idea of Dropbox both for its built-in file redundancy (the fact that it keeps a record of changes made to the file has been a life saver more than once) and for the seamless way that it keeps file current.

The biggest concern that I see is that Dropbox stores the file locally on each person's computer and allows them to access the local file. The changes made to that file are then passed back to the "cloud" and then down to everyone else who shares that Dropbox folder. If two people make changes at the same time, you end up with two copies of the file in your dropbox (one marked conflicted).

Unless you are super-vigilant about keeping track of the files in your Dropbox (and this client is far from super-vigilant about anything), I'm not sure how to avoid ending up with conflicted copies all over the place none of which contain all the changes made by every user.

I would love to hear if someone has a solution to this problem.

I'm also having this problem.  When my client accesses the QuickBooks file on his workstation, upon exiting QuickBooks, a new file is created in Dropbox with the QuickBooks Company File marked (conflicted copy).  Can anyone help?  Please do not suggest QuickBooks Online, logmein or gotomypc.  There are problems using any of those as solutions.

The DropBox technology will not allow Multi-User QB access to function correctly. A single user can use the QB file, which will then be updated for the next user to use, but simultaneous use will cause the "conflict" issue referred to above. 

To explain why DropBox (DB) will not work, let's say we have two users; User A and User B. User A opens up the company file from the DB, so the DB servers marks the file as "Checked Out" or "In Use". The DB Server also assigns a version or revision number to the checked out company file, let's say revision#1.

When User B goes to open the company file from the DB, they do not receive an error message even though it is checked out. So now two users have revision#1 opened in their machines active working space (not running from the DB directly). 

When a user exits Quickbooks, the file is marked as "Closed" on their computer, so the DB program you install begins an upload to the DB server. Before uploading, the revision numbers are checked to make sure that files are not accidentally overwritten among other reasons. 

For the first user, the upload is successful because their updated file matches the revision number (Revision#1). Once their file has been uploaded to the DB servers, a new revision number is assigned to that file (Revision#2). When the second user closes Quickbooks and the upload process begins, a conflict is encountered because they are trying to upload an updated copy of revision#1 over top of the new revision#2. As a result, a "conflict" file is created on the DB servers which will contain the second user's changes to the original file (Revision#1).

However, it is possible to enable multiuser access for users across different physical locations.

The use of VPN (Hardware or Hamachi Software) technology can link the multiple networks together, and QB active data packet compression will ensure that the database server packs the data in a small enough package to flow swiftly through the available upstream bandwidth in time.

Many users have voiced issues with VPN and Quickbooks because it performs too slowly. This is caused by a lack of data compression and insufficient upstream bandwidth. I have observed in my work that data compression is DISABLED by default across all late versions of Quickbooks.

I have also observed that the compression feature consumes a LOT more processing power on both ends, and does NOT increase performance in non-VPN networks, as 100Mbps+ networks have the necessary bandwidth to allow the server to push the larger amount of data to each client without the processing delays of compression and decompression.

Hi there, thank you for the in depth information there, Shawn!

I was just working with a customer using Dropbox, and they were seeing the issue of the data not being updated with the changes each user had made.

It seems that using an online file sync/storage/sharing program like this is not currently ideal for QuickBooks Multi-User Mode, yet.

I wrote up an article on this for future reference, as well: http://bit.ly/a2CdmF

Thanks for all the input, and I hope people will continue to update this post if things change!

Jason

 I posted a similar question within the Quickbooks for Mac subsection. Last night I tested dropbox with a copy of my company file. Dropbox will work if the following conditions are met:

(1) As already discussed, no overlapping use: the company file can only be used at one location at a time. 

(2) for Macs, the company file cannot be a log-in at start-up file. I tested this last night. That part of the application that defaults to the last file opened does not recognized the company file opened and saved at another location (I'm assuming it's the file's time stamp). Somehow, however, it's able to create a duplicate version of the last version of the file it opened. You'll end up with two company files on dropbox - the one saved from the remote location and a newly generated version of the previous version.

Apart from these two issues, it seems to work fine.  

I'm not sure if this is an appropriate place to suggest this, but I'll go ahead anyway.  If Intuit were to create a "lock" file next to the Quicken database while the file is open, services like Dropbox would work really well.  Dropbox synchronizes small files across computers within seconds.  Therefore a simple lock file would notify quicken/users that the database is in-use else where, even though the actual file on their computers is not in use.

My situation does not include multiple users.  I use QBpro for my home business and also for my local library where I am the treasurer.  I want to be able to access the library QB at my home without affecting my home business QB.  I can't figure out how to see the library QB on my home computer.  Can anyone help with this?

CopakeCarol,

 I do not see any reason why using a Dropbox would cause an issue for you then. Install the Dropbox software on your library computer as well as your home computer, and then copy the Library's company file in to the dropbox folder.

You would then just have to make sure to work from the dropbox folder when you are at the Library, and the data will be synchronized with the dropbox folder on your home computer.

Shawn J.

Thanks so much for responding.  I have downloaded dropbox on the library computer and saved the library files in it.  When I'm on my home computer I can get to the library files, but when I try to open them, I get a pop-up that says I need to open QB first and then click on restore.  I just want to be sure that when I restore, I don't overwrite my own personal and business companies in QB.

CopakeCarol