Error 176102 when opening QuickBooks Desktop Point of Sale

When opening QuickBooks Desktop Point of Sale or when attempting to receive a mailbag in Point of Sale Multi-Store, the following message is returned:

Error 176102: QuickBooks Point of Sale could not locate a valid installation on this machine.

This may be happening because:

• System requirements are not met.
• The user logged in to Windows does not have permission to allow Point of Sale to access necessary files.
• Windows security is too high.
• The entitlements folder is damaged.
• There's a missing or damaged Microsoft .NET Framework configuration application.

To fix this, perform the following troubleshooting steps in the order shown.

Solution 1: Log in as Windows Administrator

Make sure the user logged into Windows has sufficient permissions to run QuickBooks Desktop Point of Sale. If logging in as an administrator resolves the issue, increase the permission levels for the user normally logging into windows.

1. Restart your computer and log in as administrator.
2. Select the Windows Start button.
3. Type User Accounts, then press Enter.
4. Select Change User Account Control Settings. Consider lowering the setting if you have it on high.
5. Try to open Point of Sale or receive a mailbag again.

Note: Alternatively, you can create new Windows user with administrator rights.

Solution 2: Delete the contents of the Entitlement Client folder

1. For:
   • Windows 10, 8.1, and 8.0: Select the Windows logo and select Folder Options.
   • Windows 7: Right-click Windows Start button and select Computer.
2. Go to C:\Program Data\Intuit\Entitlement Client\vx.x (where vx.x indicates the highest version of the Point of Sale Entitlement Client).
3. Press Ctrl+A to select all files. Right-click, then choose Delete.
4. Open and register Point of Sale.

Solution 3: Perform a clean re-install of Point of Sale