Silent Install - SCCM

Thanks for reaching out to us, brandon17549.

At the moment, there isn't an available steps specific for silent installation for QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise via SCCM. However, you can check out this article to be familiar with the installation process and set up QuickBools Desktop: Installation and Setup.

In this case, I recommend asking guidance from an IT professional to guide you through installing QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise.

You can always visit us again if you have other concerns or questions about QuickBooks installation. I'll do my best to help you out.

It has been over a year since you posted this response.  Has Intuit documented a silent install method yet?  I realize that large organizations may not use Quickbooks all that much, but I need to install to 50 seats.  I have setup a transform which includes the product number an license key as well as disabling the parent app in launchconditions, but get error 1723 "There is a problem with the windows installer package..."

Please point me to documentation for this process.  Thank you.

Hi @jka3ehfr,

Although there isn't a documented article for a silent installation method for QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, I suggest for you to contact our Enterprise Technical Support team for assistance. They can help with the process of silent installation.

Here's how you can get a hold of support:

1. On your QuickBooks homepage, go to the Help menu.
2. Choose QuickBooks Desktop Help.
3. Tap the Contact us button.

Know that you're welcome to leave a comment below if you have any other questions. I'll be sure to get back to you.

Wait - so there is an enterprise installation solution? I'm excited to learn how to implement it!

Is it an .MSI file, or an .exe? Or did you fix the app to be able to update itself without requiring users to be local administrators?

Thank you!!!

I'll route you to the right support, @livingtruly.

We have another page called Intuit Developer forum where you can post questions about System Center Configuration Manager installation and what file extensions are available for QuickBooks Enterprise, especially for a large network. They are group engineers and developers that can help answer questions like yours.

Feel free to visit this page: https://developer.intuit.com/app/developer/homepage.

In case you need help with other tasks in QBDT, you can browse this link here to go to our general topics with articles. Just look for responses that suit your issue.

I'm just a comment away should you have questions or concerns with the program. Don't hesitate to reach out. Have a great day ahead.

Thanks for the resource, Shiella. Unfortunately the folks over on the developer's forum also concur that there is no silent installation method available for installing or upgrading, whether you're using SCCM, .msi or any other enterprise application management solution. How disappointing that we will need to 'work harder, not smarter', when it comes to managing the Intuit QuickBooks software life-cycle.

Just so everyone knows; there IS a silent installation for QuickBooks. I'm not sure why the developers or the software company doesn't want to share the information with anyone, it's just sad. If I had to manually install this software on a bunch machines at our university campus I might as well not do anything else for next couple of weeks, that's insane! Anyhow, if they're not wanting to share, they must have a valid reason so I won't post it so that I don't end up getting anyone angry.

QuickBooksPremier2019.exe -s -a QBMIGRATOR=1 MSICOMMAND=/s QB_PRODUCTNUM=XXX-XXX QB_LICENSENUM=XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXX

this works for 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 so far. It does not work for 2018 or older. 

I can't take credit for this, but there is SO much struggling to find this, I am reposting it wherever I can.

You are a wonderful person for sharing this. I have been searching the ends of the earth for this and you provided magic! 

Doesn't seem to work, testing on a clean Win11 21H2 VM:

MSI (s) (E4:08) [03:09:36:665]: Windows Installer installed the product. Product Name: QuickBooks. Product Version: 33.0.4003.3302. Product Language: 1033. Manufacturer: Intuit Inc.. Installation success or error status: 1603.

QBCDREVINFOMSG3 = Note: The version you are trying to install is older than your current version. If you wish to replace your existing version with an older version, click Cancel, uninstall your existing version and re-install.

It installs fine when I run setup manually.

Were you ever able to find a method that would get past the 1603 error? I am coming across that myself in a similar environment to you. Trying to get this in an MSIX format.

Hi @GrimMenace,

I hope all is well with you. I'm here to lend a hand to fix Error 1603 when installing QuickBooks Desktop.

There are many reasons why a problem 1603 appears on your computer screen during the process. Here are some of the possible factors that may trigger the error:

• In case of an erroneous Microsoft installer or QB installer, there are chances for you to face issue code 1603 in QuickBooks
• Whenever there are some glitches in the installation of Microsoft.NET framework, then also you will this error 1603 occurring.
• Probably, your current Windows version is having terrific Windows security policies that might lead to this installation issue in QuickBooks.

Let's perform some basic troubleshooting to get you past the error. I recommend you start by downloading and running the Install Diagnostic Tool from the Tool Hub.

Here's how:

1. Close QuickBooks.
2. Download the most recent version (1.5.0.0) of the QuickBooks Tool Hub.
3. Open the file you downloaded (QuickBooksToolHub.exe).
4. Follow the on-screen steps to install and agree to the terms and conditions.
5. After the installation, double-click the icon on your Windows desktop to open the tool hub.
6. Open the QuickBooks Tool Hub.
7. In the tool hub, select Installation Issues.
8. Select QuickBooks Install Diagnostic Tool. Let the tool run. It can take up to 20 minutes.
9. When the tool finishes, restart your computer.

If the problem persists after following the suggested steps above, continue the troubleshooting. Check out this link to view the remaining solutions you can perform for the issue: Fix Error 1603 when you install QuickBooks Desktop.

We also have tools in QuickBooks that will help self-identify data issues within a company file and self-resolve them on your behalf. To learn more about these features, I've attached a link for your reference: Fix data damage on your QuickBooks Desktop company file.

Keep in touch if you need further assistance resolving the error in QuickBooks. We're always available to help in this space. Take care always.

There isn't; I contacted support 4 years ago and they basically said "We deprecated the silent insall".

It may be deprecated, but it still works as of QBD 2022.

Replying to follow.  I can't believe it is this difficult for Intuit to develop an unattended removal / install / upgrade.

Do you know what the "QBMIGRATOR" option does and what the acceptable values are for it?

I’d be glad to discuss with you how the QuickBooks Migrator option works, @GrayHunterStenn.

The QuickBooks Migration or Migrator tool allows you to relocate your data using a web-hosted solution without having to purchase a Desktop subscription.

With this, you can transfer your company files seamlessly to your new computer. It installs, activates the program automatically, and downloads the correct version of QuickBooks Desktop to your new computer while setting up the company accordingly.

Check out these resources to learn more about the feature:

• Move or reinstall QuickBooks Desktop to another computer
• Migration Corner

If you mean something else, don’t hesitate to get back and add some details below. I’ll always be here to ensure everything is covered correctly. Have a good one!

@MadelynC, I was referring to the option in the command that @heorun posted.  I replied in the wrong place.

Hi there, @Gray.

I appreciate you for providing clarification on this matter. Upon checking here on my resource, we currently don't support silent installation for QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT). While waiting for @heorun's response, you may seek your IT for a recommendation.

Additionally, I've got you this article for reference in case you'd like to migrate from QBDT to QuickBooks Online (QBO): Move your QuickBooks Desktop file to QuickBooks Online.

You may also visit this page to know what will happen to your data after transferring from QBDT to QBO: Learn how features and data move from QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online.

Thanks for dropping by today, @Gray. I'll be here if you have any additional QuickBooks-related concerns. Stay safe and have a good one!

This is verified working today. I just tested on 2023. Also, If anyone uses PDQ Deploy just create a package, add step (install), point to the installation file/directory then post the command into the custom command line option at the bottom.

Support has not been any use. Found another way to do this and I got this to work for QB Desktop and Enterprise:

1. Download QuickBooks version from the website.
2. Use 7Zip to extract the .exe
3. Put the extracted folder in your server.
4. Installer script make sure the path to the MSI file matches where you have it saved... example: \\server\QB20XX\QBOOKS\QuickBooks.msi
5. Use this as your script:
   msiexec.exe /i "QuickBooks.msi" NSTALLMANAGER=1 ALLUSERS=1 /qn /norestart /log output.log CKBOX_GDS=0 AgreeToLicense=Yes INSTALLDESKTOPICONS=0 MULTIUSERINSTALL=1 QB_LICENSENUM=XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXX QB_PRODUCTNUM=XXX-XXX PARENTAPP=INSTALLMANAGER

Intuit doesn't have a way to support it. There is a work around that works for QuickBooks Desktop & Enterprise. Hope that helped.