"A server with the specified host name could not be found" when trying to connect to Quickbooks Payroll for Mac.

Thanks for posting to the Community, @westlandpropane.

Your internet connection may be interrupted by magnetic interference caused by a slow network connection. I'd suggest checking it with your ISP so that you'll be able to connect your Intuit Online Payroll MAC to QuickBooks Desktop for Mac.

For additional overview into QuickBooks Desktop for Mac, such as running payroll, I'm adding the links I recommend:

• https://payroll.intuit.com/payroll-services/mac-payroll/
• https://iop.intuit.com/welcome/macpayroll.jsp?SC=QBMACINT

Please feel free to place a comment below if you need further assistance. I'm always here to help. Have a good one!

I just discovered that I can sign into paycycle.com through Safari and have access to everything I need. It appears the issue is the link from Quickbooks for Mac.

Hello, @westlandpropane. 

I’m here to help fix the challenges you’ve encountered upon connecting to your QuickBooks Payroll for Mac. 

There are several possible causes for this issue, such as:

• Your company name is too long
• Damaged or missing QBWUSER.INI file
• Corruption on your hard drive
• Damaged program files or QuickBooks Desktop installation
• Damaged Windows operating system 

To perform the process, please check out this article: QuickBooks Desktop won't open, has stopped working, or not responding. 

Additionally, you may want to consider rebuilding and verifying your data in case there's any damage. The Verify Data utility identifies any potential data damage issues, while the Rebuild Data utility repairs data in your company file. 

If the program is in multi-user mode, you need to change to single user mode (Go to File -> Switch to Single User Mode). It is very important that you have to create a backup copy of your company file before running Verify and Rebuild Data.  

Verify Data: 

1. Press the File menu. 
2. Choose Utilities from the drop-down option.  
3. Select Verify Data. 
4. Tap Ok to continue. 

Note: If the verify process is successful, you are done. In case it fails due to some problem, QuickBooks will notify you to run Rebuild data. 

Rebuild Data:

1. Click the File tab at the top. 
2. Select Utilities from the drop-down option. 
3. Choose Rebuild Data. 
4. Click Ok on Rebuild has completed.     

As always, you can contact our QuickBooks Support team if you need assistance with the steps. They'll be able to pull up your account in a secure environment and help you navigate using one of their tools. 

Please let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with in opening or closing QuickBooks Desktop. Have a great day!

I am getting the same error message! There is nothing that has changed, my internet connection is fine and I have verified the data as suggested. Please advise. 

Welcome to the Community space, @hredd.

I appreciate you doing the troubleshooting steps suggested by my colleagues. 

It's good that you have a good internet connection. However, if possible, let's try connecting it to a different Internet Service Provider (ISP). This way will be able to isolate the issue and provide the best possible steps to address your concern. 

I've added additional reference about payroll in QuickBooks Desktop for Mac:

• Using QuickBooks Payroll on a Mac.
• OIP Mac Desktop.

Please get back in here if you have further concerns. I'd be glad to help you out. Have a great day.