quickbooks pos

Good morning, @drew1.

Thanks for taking the time to reach out to the QuickBooks Community. I hope you're having a great day so far. 

Typically when QuickBooks POS workstations aren't connecting to the server, the most likely culprits are network connectivity issues, firewall restrictions, incorrect server settings (like not being in multi-user mode), or problems with the QuickBooks POS database service on the server machine.

Since you've stated your network is working you'll need to check that the server is in multi-user mode, verify firewall rules, and restart the QuickBooks POS database service on the server to troubleshoot the issue.

When a firewall blocks connectivity within the server and client workstations, Point of Sale automatically configures the firewall for you. However, there are times when manual configuration is required. I suggest performing the steps below to make sure your software or account stays accurate.

Here's how:

1. From your keyboard, press Windows+R to open the run command.
2. Type in control. Then, click OK to open the Control Panel.
3. Set the "view by" to Small Icons and select Windows Firewall.
4. Choose Advanced Settings and select Inbound.
5. Click New Rule. Then, select Port and click Next.
6. Enter the port numbers and click Next (See Point of Sale Firewall Ports section of the help article below)
7. Select Allow Connection. Then, choose Next.
8. Name your firewall rule (e.g. POS) and click Finish
9. Follow steps 5-9 to create a new Outbound Rule.

For a list of port numbers and more information about firewall and security, check out Set up firewall and security settings for QuickBooks. 

Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns. I'm always around to lend a hand. Have a good one! 

I genuinely appreciate your efforts and understand that dealing with ongoing challenges can be disheartening, especially after you attempt to resolve them, @drew1. It is concerning to learn that while the server restart addressed one issue, similar problems continue in other areas. I will share some information and recommendations to help you fix these problems so you can get back to work without any more delays.
 

After replacing your workstation, one possible cause of the connectivity problems could be related to the firewall settings. Specifically, it seems that the rules for the Point of Sale (POS) applications may not be correctly configured to allow traffic through the firewall.
 

To troubleshoot this issue, I recommend temporarily disabling the firewall on the server. This will help determine if the firewall is the source of the problem.
 

If turning off the firewall solves the connection problems, it's important to reach out to an IT expert. They can help you turn on the necessary Network Sharing settings for the Private Network and fix any other connection issues arising from switching to new workstations.
 

I'll keep this thread open just for you, so feel free to tag me anytime you have follow-up questions or need clarification about the POS system. I'm here to support you, and our main goal is to ensure that you can run your business smoothly and without any hassles.

EDIT HOST FILE in the workstation (not the server)

*Close POS from the workstation

1. Go to the server and capture the IP Address and Host name (start menu > cmd > ipconfig > enter > look for ipv4 // hostname > enter > look for POS1
2. Windows + R =  type in "drivers" then enter
3. Go to etc folder
4. Drag the "host file" to desktop
5. Open the file using the notepad
6. Go all the way to the bottom and Enter the IP address followed by the computer name. Use the TAB key to enter space.
7. Save the Host file
8. Drag the host file back to the folder.

Thanks for the information.  Just let me say this about Intuit and all the bigger companies.  Not all small businesses can afford to upgrade their financial or POS systems every year or two (2) just because the company has developed something newer.  Small businesses like ours cannot afford to have subscriptions the exceed their monthly income/sales and need to be ale to continue to operate on older programs and therefore need longer than, what the company thinks, normal lifespan of their programs and the service/support that comes with them.  For example, my business only does about $1800 a month in sales of which only about $200 is actual profit, so I have to use a second hand much older version of QB Financial (Pro 2011).  For the business that has experienced the issue with POS recently (currently), Using a subscription based POS system and having to have to pay for it every month would put both of our businesses out of business, because we could not afford it.  The idea of having a stand alone system available for desktop/laptop is so much better for us and other small businesses.  Unfortunately Intuit/QuikBooks does not think beyond the bigger companies or thinks that if you are in business for yourself that you have an unending fountain of money just waiting to be spent.  Well I can say that is not the case.  And it would be very helpful if the company would slow down on their bottom line and remember that at one time they WERE the small company and that other SMALL companies/businesses were the ones that made them what they are today, and that maybe they need to develop something for those small businesses again.  With that being said, we have used versions of QB Financial and POS for almost 30 years and as long as they continue to work, we plan on continuing to use them.  But if they completely fail and efforts to get them back online are no longer available, we will shut our computers down and go back to using paper and pen, because that worked before computers and will continue to work when computers are no longer around.

Go to Windows Defender Firewall
Set to recommended settings then click Advanced Settings, Inbound Rules
and modify all the QBPOS rules by double clicking, go to scope, remote IP address and choose

"Any IP addresses" then go to Advanced and make sure Domain,Private and Public are chosen.

This worked for me good luck.