Using multi user mode

Thank you for reaching out to the Community, joe2017. I'm here to help you set up QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT) to multi-user mode.

QuickBooks Desktop Premier allows up to five users to access a company file. If you've not reached the maximum limit, there's no need to purchase additional licenses.

QBDT requires three conditions before it can allow access to company files. Here's how:

1. Windows File permissions: The user logged in must have permissions set to Full control, which includes permission to look at, open, and modify the file.
2. Database Server mode: The database server should be able to open the company file successfully.
3. QuickBooks User login: Every user must have a QuickBooks user login and password. 

Here's how it works when setting up your laptop as the hosting local and remote files:

• QuickBooks Database Manager runs the process under the currently logged-in Windows user. It starts when the user logs in to Windows and stops when the user logs out.
• A computer in Hosting Local & Remote files mode can support multi-user mode, using TCP/IP to communicate with QuickBooks Desktop. QBDT users on remote computers can access company files on this computer using a database server.
• In this mode, a local computer can host files saved on it, files located on remote computers that open on the local computer.

To learn more about setting up your laptop as a host and how to install it, you can refer to these articles:

• Host your company data in multi-user mode in QuickBooks Desktop
• Install QuickBooks Desktop on a server

Additionally, you can check this article if you encounter an error while switching to multi-user mode: How to fix Error H202 and H505.

Please let me know if you have any questions about the multi-user mode in QBDT. I'm always here to help. Have a great day.

@joe2017 

How many user license do you have now? If you already have 2 user licenses, you can set p a private cloud solution on the host and both users can access the same company file via internet.