This problem I found (years ago) was caused because I once added a customer with a credit card. That triggered the password. When I removed the credit card, the password issue remained. I found that when the credit card number was removed, the expiration date remained in the database, thus continuing to trigger the password.

I would be interested in knowing if my request years ago to have your engineers COMPLETELY remove credit card informatiuon was ever enacted?

You can stay logged in to your QuickBooks company file, lavarock7.

If you're using the same Windows user account, you'll only be required to log in once every few days. However, the login feature is unavailable if you're using a hosting environment.

To enable the feature, follow these steps:

QB Pro and Premier

Company > Set Up Users and Passwords > Manage Login Settings

QB Enterprise

Company > Users > Manage Login Settings

You can learn more about this feature here.

Passwords protect all the sensitive information entered on your company file. Removing it will risk the information.

I'll send the feedback to our product engineers. I appreciate your understanding.

There once was one credit card entered into QB but it was removed. QB did not clean up the data and left (as I remember) an expiration date. This QB encrypted and password protected the database.

This is NO sensitive data in QB at all, but still needs to be encrypted.

The simplest solution would be for QB to disable checking account storage credit card stoarage, etc if the user decides to not password protect.

If I were an employee, I would be embarrassed that my company had not taken action to address this issue considering how many people wanted the problem fixed. Forcing users to enter passwords because the programmers did not clean up after deleted entries is unforgivable.

There once was one credit card entered into QB but it was removed. QB did not clean up the data and left (as I remember) an expiration date. This QB encrypted and password protected the database.

This is NO sensitive data in QB at all, but still needs to be encrypted.

The simplest solution would be for QB to disable allowing either checking account or credit card information if the user decides to not password protect.

If I were an employee, I would be embarrassed that my company had not taken action to address this issue considering how many people wanted the problem fixed. Forcing users to enter passwords because the programmers did not clean up after deleted entries is unforgivable.

---

A simple warning and a bit of coding fixes the problem.

***WARNING FOR PC VERSIONS ***

For yours and your customers security, if you decide to enter either checking account information for your business or payment information for your customers, the database will be encrypted and password protected. This is the best practice and required by these entities.

Should you not want to password protect the data, these sections will be disabled and will be unavailable in your QuickBooks data.

Requiring a password, by default, is good!  You should be encouraging customers to password protect their data.  But, you need to allow power users to disable this feature.  Some of your customers don't need/want Intuit to interfere in their security practices.

For example:

We store the QuickBooks data files on encrypted drives and require users to sign on [to the computer] with a smartcard and a strong password.  If a user is able to open the company file, they have already been authenticated and authorized.  We don't want or need another password.  It doesn't increase security, and it causes confusion with the users.  Please explain why you don't allow power users to bypass this requirement.

Furthermore, you don't allow customization of the QuickBooks password policy.  In our company, we require passwords to be at least 15 characters long with at least two character classes.  QuickBooks "strong" requirement is substantially weaker.  I attempted to set the QuickBooks password to "eivma5ld7wn2lf9" (this is a weak password that meets our requirements), but QuickBooks says the password is not complex.  An example it provides is "coMp1ex".  This causes security professionals to weep.  Why?  Using a brute force attack, I can hack "coMp1ex" in about 6 minutes.  My desired [weak] password would take 701 thousand years to hack.

You are not my mother, nor are you my boss, nor are you a regulating agency.  It is not your responsibility to dictate how I secure my data.  Listen to your customers, and add a way to disable the password requirement.  A simple warning, "Are you sure you want to disable passwords? Your data will be at risk!" would absolve you of responsibility.

Thank you for sharing your feedback, @CertifiedSecurityEngineer.

I understand how you feel about the password requirement we have here in QuickBooks. I’ll surely take note of your feedback and share this idea to our Product Development team right away.

This password protection is important for those users whose files contain sensitive data such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, and employer identification numbers.

For now, you can visit the QuickBooks Blog to check for new updates and features that we have. 

Stay in touch if you have other concerns by leaving a comment below. I'm always glad to help in any way I can.

Or you could listen to what your customers want and provide an option to remove the password requirement.

We don't want you to feel that way, User2020a.

I'll be sure to send this feedback to our product engineers. We want to make sure we're able to provide the quality service our customer deserves.

Please note that we strive to protect the data you enter in QuickBooks that's why we have the password requirements.

We appreciate your suggestions. You can post here in the Community if you have other questions.

I like how all of the replies from QB say something like, "Thanks for your feedback, but _____ is why it won't be changed." I'll say it again... Those of us who use QB for personal use or for small businesses in our homes should have the ability to bypass the password requirement. It is MY responsibility as a business owner to protect my customers' information, not QuickBooks'. 

Thank you for replying @MJoy_D , but you forgot to respond to my request:

Please explain why you don't allow power users to bypass the password requirement.

Hi CertifiedSecurityEngineer,

Thanks for getting back to us.

QuickBooks requires password for your data security. As mentioned by @MJoy_D, password protection is important for those users who have sensitive data. I'll make sure to pass this along to our product team to let them know of your business needs.

You can also check this article for more information why QuickBooks requires password: Password Security for QuickBooks Desktop.

Let me know if you have other questions. I'll be here to assist.

I discovered today that your password requirement is not just annoying, but it is less secure. 

That is right, your password requirement is making our financial system LESS secure!  Let me explain...

We require our users to enter a complex password before signing onto the computer running QB.  Most users have no problem remembering this one password, but after the upgrade to the recent version of QB, they now are required to remember another password.  We discovered that some users cannot do this, and they are writing down both passwords.  This never happened when QB didn't require a password.

Obviously, we discourage this behavior, but it's not possible to regulate social behavior with technical solutions.  There is no software -- anywhere in the world -- that prevents people from writing their password on a post-it note.

I am unable to do my job and protect our company's data because of a design flaw in your software.  I have informed our management of the situation, and make it clear to them that this flaw has existed for many versions, and is actively being ignored by Intuit for over a year.  Luckily, QB is so popular that nearly all competing accounting software seamlessly imports the data, if it comes to that.

@MariaSoledadG, thanks for replying.

You said:
QuickBooks requires password for your data security. As mentioned by @MaryJoyD, password protection is important for those users who have sensitive data. I'll make sure to pass this along to our product team to let them know of your business needs.
 
I understand, but this is not an answer to my question. I agree that the password feature is good and should be enabled by default for all users.  However, there are situations where it is unneeded, unwanted, and less secure.  For these "advanced" scenarios, power users should be able to disable it.  You could provide an undocumented entry point, similar to F2 that displays a dialog where it could be turned off after acknowledging some warnings.
 
So, I still would like a proper answer to my question:
I understand why the password is required for "normal" users, but please explain why you don't allow power users  to bypass the password requirement.
 
I'm sorry to be a pain, but I am simply seeking a more accurate response.  The generic "it protects sensitive data" canned response is not adequate.
 
Thank you.

I support your position here, @CertifiedSecurityEngineer.

Aside from protecting sensitive data, QuickBooks Desktop also requires users to have a password in compliance with security and privacy as accounting software. 

I appreciate you letting us know about your thoughts. That said, I will pass this along to our Product Team so they can consider adding a feature with an advanced setting for power users that'll disable the password.

As always, you can visit our QuickBooks Product Updates site to keep you in the loop about the latest news and updates.

Know that I'm here to provide further assistance if you need it. Wishing you a beautiful holiday season!

I wish Intuit people would stop the plaquating "I'll pass your suggestion on to our engineers" because over the years nthis issue has persisted, nono of your staff cares.

Lets look at the information posted about your product TurboTax and I quote:

"TurboTax offers the ability to password protect your tax files in both Windows and Mac."

It has the ABILITY not the REQUIREMENT.

So inside a tax file there are Bank Names and Account Numbers, Family Member SS Numbers, and other information, yet it appears the dats is not forced to be encrypted. Why? Well, I can tell you that should a customer be unable to get in to print a tax form to mail at the last minute, I guarantee you that word would get around and that product would be dropped faster than the 737 MAX plane.

I have never seen a company so arrogant to ignore the needs of their customers.

You have lost me as a future customer and have started inverstigating dumping QuickBooks. Luckily you are not the only game in town, you just THINK you are.

No reply is necessary nor desired.

I purchased the program and you have hijacked it without my permission.

Reaching out to us was the best thing to do, Bigun377. I will try to set things right. 

If you're unable to log in to QuickBooks, we can reset your password. This way, you can already sign in and continue with your work.

Although, if you're referring to the password feature. Setting one is compulsory for us to protect any sensitive information stored in the program. You can stay logged in without entering your password, though. 

We know a lot of our customers are requesting to have an option to turn off this feature. I've seen some feedback submitted to our engineers already. Rest assured, this has been checked thoroughly. 

Should you have more questions, please feel free to let us know. We're looking forward to hearing from you. 

Just bought new version and tried to remove password OR delay for 90 days nether of which worked and found this string.

Let me eloquently summarize the last 2 pages of comments.

[REMOVED]

Just installed new version of quickbooks and tried UNSUCCESSFULLY to remove or delay password requirement for 90 days. 

Let me eloquently summarize the two pages of comments on this topic:

[REMOVED]

I HAVE ZERO PERSONAL DATA AND WORK FROM HOME.

Hello @mwande,

Handling your issue or concern is our top priority. Thus, this is not what I want you to experience when working with the resolutions provided.

I want to let you know that creating a password is a must when you're using software for accounting. Here's an article you can read to learn more: Password security for QuickBooks Desktop.

But don't worry, I'll take note of your request and pass it along to our product developers. This way, they'll of your need for an option to set and require a password or not.

For updates, you can always visit the following links below for reference:

• QuickBooks Resource Center
• Firm of the Future

Fill me in if you have further questions. I'm always around if you need any help.

I have 9 different company files that I work with from my home office and every time I have to change to a different company, which is about 12-15 times a day, I have to enter a password.  WHY, WHY , WHY??  I never used to enter one and I don't want to now.  So frustrated with INTUIT and their BS "I'll pass this on to the engineers" crap! Do what your customers want or they  will find someone who will!

I has been over 2 months since I informed you that your password requirement is making our QuickBooks installation less secure.

My IS department informs me the password removal change should take about 1 month to implement, test, package, and deploy.  So, why is it not done?

If you are serious about protecting the security of our financial data, you would not force customers to implement a solution that results in less security.

Please respond with a time frame of when I can expect this issue to be fixed.

If required by law to implement security as you have done [and you've implied this], please post a link to the relevant federal legal code.

The time for canned responses and evasive answers has passed.  Let's make your customers happy.

Hi @CertifiedSecurityEngineer,

Thank you for your post, as well as sharing your thoughts on how long a specific feature can be implemented in the software. 

Although there isn't a provided time frame as to when this feature to bypass passwords will be implemented, rest assured, this idea has been noted. 

As for legal reasons, Intuit is a member of the Security Summit. This consists of the IRS, along with state tax agencies, software developers, among others. The purpose of the Security Summit is to combat identity theft refund fraud and protect taxpayers. 

More on this can be found in this online PDF file: About the Security Summit. Here you'll find each group under the Security Summit and what they're tasked to do, as well as the list of members from the States, the Industry and Endorsing Organizations.

Feel free to post in the comments below if you have anything to add. I'll be sure to get back to you.