Hi there, @sprintership.

Thanks for getting back to us in the Community and taking the time to share the outcome after trying the steps on my colleague's previous post. I'd be happy to help add some more insight to get this straightened out.

Since you see the option Stop Hosting Multi-User Access on the computer that hosts your company files, leave it like that. There should be only one computer set to host the file.

To answer your second question, you're correct. The Host Multi-User Access option needs to be turned off in the workstations or other computers connected to the network. However, multi-user must be selected so that they can use the company file in this mode. 

If you wish to check each workstation to make sure the Host Multi-User Access option is off, please refer to the steps below: 
 

Here's how: 

1. Open QuickBooks on each workstation.
2. Open the File menu and hover over Utilities.
3. If you see the Host Multi-User Access option, don’t select it. Move on to the next workstation. This one isn’t causing the problem.
4. If Stop Hosting Multi-User Access is an option, select it.

Additionally, please take note that every user in QuickBooks has the ability to change the file from multi-user mode to single-user manually. However, the file should stay in the same state that it was when being closed. So if the file was in multi-user mode when closed, it should be the same when reopened.

For your last question, you don't need to keep QuickBooks open on the server. However, when working within a multi-user mode, QuickBooks services (QuickbooksDBXX and QBCFMonitorService) need to be running on the server. When they're not set up to start automatically, this can cause the file to open in just single user mode when accessed from a workstation. 

Here's how to verify if QuickBooks services are running on your server computer:

1. Open the Windows Start Menu on your server computer.
2. Type “Run” into the search and open Run.
3. Type “services.msc” into the Run window, and then press Enter.
4. Find and double-click QuickBooksDBXX on the list. XX notes your version of QuickBooks.
5. Select Automatic for the Startup Type.
6. Make sure the Service status is either Running or Started. If it’s neither, select Start.
7. Select the Recovery tab.
8. Select Restart the Service from each of these drop-down menus: First failure, Second failure, and Subsequent failures.
9. Select Apply and then OK to save the changes.

Repeat these steps for QBCFMonitorService. When you’re done, open QuickBooks on each workstation. Go to the File menu and select Switch to Multi-User Mode. If everything opens correctly, the problem is fixed.

That should take care of it. I'm also leaving you some articles about hosting for additional reference: 

• Features available and tasks you can perform in single or multi-user mode
• Host your company data file in multi-user mode

Please let me know if you have any follow-up questions about this or after trying the steps above. I want to make sure everything is running properly in your end. Have a wonderful day.