Q: How can more than one person work on QuickBooks at the same time?
A: The Multi-user mode in QuickBooks Pro and Premier allows up to five users to collaborate on the same company file at the same time. All users must be networked and must each have their own QuickBooks license.
To enable multi-user mode, go to the File menu in QuickBooks and choose "Multi-User Mode."
If you need more than five users to access QuickBooks at the same time, please see our
QuickBooks Online Edition or
QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions products.
Q: What are the benefits of Multi-User Mode?
A: Multi-user mode enables more than one person to work on a company file at one time, increasing collaboration and productivity. It ensures that all users are working on the most up-to-date data and allows you to set individual user access levels. New multi-user improvements in Enterprise Solutions 9.0 also allow you to back-up, run reports, and enter transactions - without forcing other users out of the data file.
Q: When do I need an additional license?
A: Our standard license agreement requires separate QuickBooks licenses for each person who uses QuickBooks software. However, if you have both a laptop and desktop PC, and you're the only person using QuickBooks, you only need one license. You need to get additional licenses when additional people need to use QuickBooks on their computers. For full details on our license agreement, please go to:
http://quickbooks.intuit.com/commerce/catalog/fragments/quickbooks/common/legal.
Q: What are some common situations in which businesses need to buy additional licenses?
A: The most common scenario is when more than one person in the business needs to use QuickBooks, even if only for certain specific tasks. For example, a business owner may want to have a copy of QuickBooks solely for running reports, doing payroll and printing checks, but his office manager needs to use QuickBooks to enter sales orders and receipts. Accordingly, the business needs two licenses.
Q: What if I print out reports from my QuickBooks software for another person? Would I need to get an additional license for this person?
A: If another person is solely reviewing printed reports that you generate yourself in QuickBooks, she doesn't need to get her own QuickBooks license. However, if she installs and/or uses QuickBooks, then she will need a separate license.
Q: Can I run QuickBooks both at the office and at home on a single-user license or do I need to purchase separate licenses for both machines? If so, how do I do that?
A: Under the single-user license, you can install QuickBooks on both your work and home machines, as long as you're the only person using QuickBooks on both machines. Also, only one person at a time can access the company file with one single-user license.
Q: How do I purchase another license for QuickBooks?
A: Currently, there are two methods to purchase additional licenses for QuickBooks:
- You can buy another box of QuickBooks, which has a unique license number. This will allow a user to access the company file at the same time as another user with a different license number in Multi-User Mode.
- Go to the Help menu, click on "Manage My License," and purchase additional seats to your license. You will see a web page that allows you to select "Add seat by phone" or "Add seat by web." If you choose to purchase additional seats by phone, you will be given a phone number to call and a representative can assist you in adding a seat to your license. If you choose to purchase additional seats over the Internet, you will be directed to the QuickBooks e-Store.
Q: Must I purchase the Pro 3 User Edition or can I purchase just what I need?
A: You can purchase just what you need. You may choose from single user or three-user editions available online or at your preferred retailer. Another option is to buy an additional license through the "Manage My License" functionality in the Help Menu in the product. Adding a license or buying an additional QuickBooks box is entirely up to you—the result is the same.
For other options for multiple user access, please see the general multiple user page.
Q: Can I run multiple companies from one copy of QuickBooks?
A: Yes. You can run as many companies as you want from one copy of QuickBooks. Of course, you'll still need a separate license for each user of QuickBooks if you have multiple users.
Q: Can I create accounts in QuickBooks to give specific people certain permissions?
A: You can create "users" to access the company file. When creating the users, you will be able to set up permissions for areas that a particular user has access to based upon a number of user access profiles. However, because a user is "restricted" in one company file, it does not mean that the same user will have the same restrictions in another file. They could create a separate company file and have full access. So rights are restricted based on which company file you open, not the application. There's no feature that allows someone to restrict areas based on the installation on the system.
Q: What should I know before installing multiple licenses in a multiple user environment?
A: All users must be networked in order to take advantage of Multi-User Mode. The company file is a true SQL database, so you can either install QuickBooks on a server and have all users access it there, or users can access the file from a designated user's computer. In Enterprise Solutions 9.0, the installation interview will guide you through the process of setting up QuickBooks based on your network configuration.
Q: What is the maximum number of simultaneous users for a QuickBooks company file?
A: The maximum number of simultaneous users (users in the file at the same time) for QuickBooks Pro and Premier Editions is five users. A server does not count as a user if no one works on QuickBooks on the server itself. Our Enterprise Solutions and Online Edition products offer the ability for more users to work in the file at the same time.
Q: Can I install a copy of QuickBooks on my network server? Do I need an additional license?
A: You do not need a separate license if you install QuickBooks on a server for other users to access, but no one directly uses QuickBooks on that server. By choosing the Server Installation during the Installation Interview, QuickBooks will install a version that is appropriate for server access but not for regular QuickBooks use.
If you install QuickBooks on your server, you still must have a license for every user of the program. Only certain configurations involving shared company data files are allowed.
Q: What server platform can my Enterprise Solutions 9.0 run on?
A: You can install an Enterprise Solutions 9.0 on a Windows server platform or on a Linux server, and only in compliance with the End User License Agreement ("EULA"), which prohibits networking or serving QuickBooks on an "application service provider" or ASP basis.
Q: What if I don't have a server and want to share my company file with another person?
A: If you want to share the company file with another person, one of you will have to install the company file on his computer. During the Installation Interview, Enterprise Solutions 9.0 will ask you about your network configuration and direct you to the correct installation types. You will need to choose the Multi-User Host installation for the computer that stores the company file and the standard installation for all other users. You must share the folder which contains your company file across your network (see your operating system's documentation for more information on sharing files).
Please note that the designated computer where the company file is placed must be running for clients to access the file. Also, if you want the same computer to host the company file each time QuickBooks is used, that computer either needs to run QuickBooks all the time or be the first computer to log into the company file each day. This will prevent users from accessing the wrong company file. Please see our
additional information on multiple users set-up.
Q: When should I consider QuickBooks Online Edition?
A: QuickBooks Online Edition is ideal for you if you would like to access your books from any place with an Internet connection, home, office, or on the road. It also provides the flexibility for up to 20 people to work on your books at one time. With QuickBooks Online Edition you can grant access to three users as well as a free accountant user--you can control what they see and how much they can do. Learn more about Online Edition at
http://oe.quickbooks.com/.
Q: When should I consider QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions?
A: Move up to QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions when you're at the point where you need to handle larger amounts of data (resulting from having more customers, vendors, inventory, and transaction volume) and multiple users with ease. With Enterprise Solutions, you get twice the list capacity of QuickBooks Pro and Premier Editions, and you can scale up to 30 simultaneous users with 200 percent faster performance. The software also offers in-depth security features with different levels of access to more than 115 individual reports. And it includes 13 predefined user roles to make new user set-up fast and easy.