"employees file when opened locks up entire quick books. new quickbooks loaded last week. now not working?

Hello, @mjstrussion.

We have an on-going investigation about QuickBooks freezing when selecting employees in the Employee Center. Rest assured our Product Engineers are working on releasing a permanent resolution to this issue.

In the meantime, you can export the employee list via IIF, then re-import it back into QuickBooks to stop the freezing. You can read through this article for more detailed steps: Export, import, and edit IIF files.

Also, I'd recommend contacting our Customer Care Team so you'll be added to the affect user list. Once updates are released, it will be applied to your account. You'll also be notified via email.

Meanwhile. you can read these articles to help resolve unexpected issues when working with QuickBooks:

• Resolve data damage on your company file.
• Top data damage errors in QuickBooks Desktop.

Feel free to click the Reply button if you have other questions. I'm always here to help.

Same problem here - but have had current QB product installed since January of 2019. 

This is BS pure and simple.  I have used QB for years and have been very happy but this bug is really testing my patience!   I am losing a bunch of time waiting for QuickBooks to finally respond almost every time I go into Employee Files.  We need fix for this YESTERDAY!!!

Not sure how to add my name to this list to receive the fix when it is avaiable.

Hello, @Boraabe.

I hope you're having a wonderful week so far. I want to make sure we get you back to business by adding you to the affected users list. 

By contacting our Customer Support Team you'll be added to the list and you'll receive email updates on this matter. 

Here's how: 

1. Go to Help.

2. Click QuickBooks Desktop Help.

3.  Pick Contact Us.

4. Enter a brief description of your issue, then select Continue.

5. Choose to receive a callback. 

Remember, I'm only a click away. Have a great day!

Same problem here

I have the same problem.  I think we need a time line on when this will be fixed. It is a huge annoyance.

We want this resolved as much as you do, NAG2.

For now, we're unable to provide a timeline to when this will be fixed. Rest assured, our engineers are doing their best to fix it.

In the meantime, you can follow IamjuViel's workaround to fix it. Then, click the Customer Care Team link so you can reach out to our technical support. This way, we'll know how many users are affected. 

We're just around if ever you have other questions. The Community is open 24/7. 

The "IIF-Export-import" fix to this problem only helps for one session at the most.  I may be able to look at a few employees.  Close the employee center and when I re=open it - Quickbooks freezes.    I have tried it all: IIF,  Verify/build; uninstall QB, clean reinstall.  Nothing is working.  I believe the Investigation Case # is INV-24741. And it's been open since April 2019.  Not encouraging..... 

Welcome to the thread, @MoBr. Thank you for the feedback on this issue.

This isn't the impression we want to leave with you. This problem has already been escalated to our product engineers in which they are diligently working for a fix. At this time, we don't have a specific time frame when this issue will be resolved. 

For additional information on this, please see the following link: QuickBooks Status.  You can also sign up to receive updates as soon as they're available by selecting SUBSCRIBE TO UPDATES on the page.

I appreciate your patience while this is being resolved. If you have any questions, please let me know by commenting below. I'm here to help. Have a great day!

As much time as I am wasting having to open and close my QB because it keeps freezing, I would think our complaints are notifying you.  We shouldn't have to put our name on a list.

Still am freezing on QB Enterprise 20 (I updated from 19 thinking it would help) Employee Screen.  

INV-24741

I can't even get the employee open to be able to click the edit button.

Driving me crazy right now!

Same issue for months and months have wasted numerous hours on phone with Qbs "support" if you could even call it that, did all the bs steps shown here and multiple other things "bob" on the phone wanted to waste an entire work day trying, several restarts and call backs required and still nothing fixed and their solution is a big "we don't know" lol ok thanks qbs awesome software and support 

An update to the "employees screen" locking up....  I believe the problem was having odd characters in the NOTES area of an employee.  I copied and then deleted every single note I had for all employees.  I believe this is an SQL problem - the coding behind quickbooks.  As soon as I deleted the notes - all was well.   I believe this is especially true if you've had QB for decades like I have.  The Employee NOTES section has gone through so many changes over the years - I believe this is where the problem is.  At least it was for me.  :)

Try getting rid of all notes in the employees information.  This worked for me.  You can copy and paste them into a word document.  I believe the problem is that there are characters that SQL doesn't like in the notes.  Especially if your file is many years old.  That NOTES field changed so much and SQL (the coding behind QB) has problems with some characters - and sometimes never tells you - just quits working.

It's so easy to talk about the IIF solution as if it works.   It's a temp fix if anything.   I know Intuit employees have to say that's the fix... but it's not guys.  It's just not. 

Can you provide a link to the workaround so I don't have to look through 342 pages of posts?

Hey, @VAClove. 

After looking further into this investigation, I've discovered it's still being worked on, but keep an eye out for updates. In the meantime, the confirmed workaround, presented by our Engineers, is to export the employee list via IIF. Afterward, you can re-import the information back into your account. This is an extra link that can help you export, import, and edit IIF files in QuickBooks Desktop. 

Let me know if this helps. I want to make sure that you're able to get back to running your business as soon as possible. 

QuickBooks needs to get this fixed before we decide to jump ship to sage or xero. Dozens of our clients are having issues with this, including our own firm file.

IIF trick doesnt work, clearing notes doesnt work, deleting old employees doesnt work, fix your backed programming now.

Hey there, @patrickcpa. 

I appreciate you sharing your concerns with us. 

If our workaround solution isn't working for you, I recommend contacting our support team to be added to the list of affected users. This way, you'll receive email updates about the investigation and will be notified when a resolution has been posted. I've included the steps below to contact support. 

1. Open QuickBooks.
2. Go to Help, then select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
3. Hit Contact Us.

Please let me know if there's anything else that I could assist you with. You and your business are my top priority in getting things back in order. You can reach out to the Community or me anytime you need help. 

After deleting employee notes are you still having issues with freezing or did that fix the issue? I have so many notes and really hate to spend all day copying them and losing the notes I have in QB if it didn't fix the issue. Thank you.

Thanks for joining the thread, @jmeyer4RVC. I'm here to lend a hand.

There are several reasons why QuickBooks freezes, these could be:

• 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 help resolve the issue, try to run the Refresher tool to end QuickBooks processes running in the background. Here's what you'll need to do:

1. Close QuickBooks. 
2. Download the Refresher tool.
3. Save the file on your desktop.
4. Run the QBRefresher tool.

Once done, try to re-open QuickBooks Desktop and check how it works. However, if the issue persists, you can follow the additional steps outlined in this article: Solutions for when QuickBooks stops working.

If you have additional questions or concerns, let me know by adding a comment. I'm right here to help. Have a fantastic day!