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dankidwell
Level 2
posted
‎January 19, 2019 08:02 AM
last updated ‎January 19, 2019 8:09 AM

Keep getting the Error "QuickBooks can not open this company file because it was created with an incompatible version."

I have Quickbook 2016 for Mac that was running just fine until Xmas 2018. On the 28th of December I bought a new MacBook and Installed my QuickBooks in January, I got all the registration info in, updated it and then tried to open my company file only to be told "QuickBooks can not open this company file because it was created with an incompatible version.". I did some research and I see that the current version was supposed to have been R20 but there was an issue so they pulled it. On another similar post regarding this topic it says solved and there was a link to directly download the file to install R20 but it is no longer available. My version says is is "V17.0.4 R5 01/04/19. I can't open my company file and have not been able to find any help in being able to do this. I needed it opened so bad I downloaded Quickbooks for Mac 2019 and created a copy of my file and opened it with Quickbooks 2019 so I could get to my customers Invoices etc as you get 15 uses for free before it requires registration. I would like though to really be able to use my QuickBooks 2016 and would like to know has anyone else found a way to get around this issue?

 

when I tell my QuickBooks to update I get the following message "

QuickBooks 17.0.4.590 R5.2 is currently the newest version available."

 

I am at a loss of what to do, any help would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks!

Solved
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Best answer January 20, 2019
Solved

Best Answers
Anonymous
Not applicable
‎January 20, 2019 10:20 PM

Keep getting the Error "QuickBooks can not open this company file because it was created with an incompatible version."

We can manually update your QuickBooks to get this fixed, dankidwell. 

 

You'll need to uninstall and reinstall it. Here's how:

  1. To uninstall QuickBooks for Mac, please close QuickBooks.
  2. From the Finder menu (search bar) on the upper right corner of your screen, choose Go then Applications.
  3. Click the QuickBooks icon and drag/move it to Trash.
  4. To reinstall, go to QuickBooks Product Updates.
  5. Click [Change] to select your QuickBooks Desktop version.
  6. Click the Download button to download the installer file to your computer.
  7. Double-click the downloaded.dmg file.
  8. Drag the QuickBooks Desktop icon to the Application folder to install. 

Please go ahead and open the company file again. 

 

Post your questions below and we'll be right here to help. 

View solution in original post

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8 Comments 8
Anonymous
Not applicable
‎January 20, 2019 10:20 PM

Keep getting the Error "QuickBooks can not open this company file because it was created with an incompatible version."

We can manually update your QuickBooks to get this fixed, dankidwell. 

 

You'll need to uninstall and reinstall it. Here's how:

  1. To uninstall QuickBooks for Mac, please close QuickBooks.
  2. From the Finder menu (search bar) on the upper right corner of your screen, choose Go then Applications.
  3. Click the QuickBooks icon and drag/move it to Trash.
  4. To reinstall, go to QuickBooks Product Updates.
  5. Click [Change] to select your QuickBooks Desktop version.
  6. Click the Download button to download the installer file to your computer.
  7. Double-click the downloaded.dmg file.
  8. Drag the QuickBooks Desktop icon to the Application folder to install. 

Please go ahead and open the company file again. 

 

Post your questions below and we'll be right here to help. 

Reply Join the conversation
dankidwell
Level 2
‎January 21, 2019 10:07 AM

Keep getting the Error "QuickBooks can not open this company file because it was created with an incompatible version."

This worked. I had to make sure I didn't use that update file there also available on the same page but download the current version. I had downloaded both and they have the same name but I had to use the current version not the update file. After trying a couple of times and then realizing what I was doing wrong it finally worked. Thanks for the help.

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angie65
Level 1
‎January 13, 2021 04:04 PM

Keep getting the Error "QuickBooks can not open this company file because it was created with an incompatible version."

I am still getting error in trying to open Quickbooks for Mac Desktop 2016.  I tried your solution several times, but still getting same error " Quickbooks can not open this........"

 

Please advise if there is a new solution.

 

Thanks,

 

Angie

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JonpriL
Moderator
Moderator
‎January 13, 2021 04:21 PM

Keep getting the Error "QuickBooks can not open this company file because it was created with an incompatible version."

Hello @angie65,

 

Thank you for letting us know you've tried the troubleshooting steps to remedy your current situation. Since the issue persists, I'd recommend contacting our Customer Care Support.

 

With their tools, one of our specialists can pull up your information on file and guide you on how you can claim your account for product registration. Let me show you how.

  1. Go to the General Contact Us page.
  2. Select QuickBooks Desktop for Mac.
  3. Click Continue.
  4. Under What can we help you with, select Search for something else.
  5. Enter the error message in the text field.
  6. Select Search.
  7. Click Start a Message.

Additionally, I've got you this reference for a compilation of articles you can use while working with us: Account Management - QuickBooks Desktop for Mac.

 

If there's anything else that I can help you with, please let me know by leaving any comments below. I'll be here to lend a hand.

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angie65
Level 1
‎January 18, 2021 04:24 PM

Keep getting the Error "QuickBooks can not open this company file because it was created with an incompatible version."

Followed your instructions, but no luck.   Below is my error message.

 

 

Check with the developer to make sure Quickbooks 2016 works with this version of macOS.

 
Process:               QuickBooks 2016 [9253]
Path:                  /Applications/QuickBooks 2016.app/Contents/MacOS/QuickBooks 2016
Identifier:            com.intuit.QuickBooks2016
Version:               17.0.4.578 R05 (17.0.4.578)
Code Type:             X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process:        ??? [1]
Responsible:           QuickBooks 2016 [9253]
User ID:               501
 
Date/Time:             2021-01-14 11:37:07.714 -0600
OS Version:            macOS 11.1 (20C69)
Report Version:        12
Anonymous UUID:        8F1F3291-A8C4-81DE-6EB1-4C763FF9D8CF
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angie65
Level 1
‎January 18, 2021 04:26 PM

Keep getting the Error "QuickBooks can not open this company file because it was created with an incompatible version."

I tried your instructions, no luck.  Below is my error message.

 

Check with the developer to make sure Quickbooks 2016 works with this version of macOS.

 
Process:               QuickBooks 2016 [9253]
Path:                  /Applications/QuickBooks 2016.app/Contents/MacOS/QuickBooks 2016
Identifier:            com.intuit.QuickBooks2016
Version:               17.0.4.578 R05 (17.0.4.578)
Code Type:             X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process:        ??? [1]
Responsible:           QuickBooks 2016 [9253]
User ID:               501
 
Date/Time:             2021-01-14 11:37:07.714 -0600
OS Version:            macOS 11.1 (20C69)
Report Version:        12
Anonymous UUID:        8F1F3291-A8C4-81DE-6EB1-4C763FF9D8CF
Reply Join the conversation
angie65
Level 1
‎January 18, 2021 04:27 PM

Keep getting the Error "QuickBooks can not open this company file because it was created with an incompatible version."

No luck, tried instructions.  Below is my error message.

 

 

Check with the developer to make sure Quickbooks 2016 works with this version of macOS.

 
Process:               QuickBooks 2016 [9253]
Path:                  /Applications/QuickBooks 2016.app/Contents/MacOS/QuickBooks 2016
Identifier:            com.intuit.QuickBooks2016
Version:               17.0.4.578 R05 (17.0.4.578)
Code Type:             X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process:        ??? [1]
Responsible:           QuickBooks 2016 [9253]
User ID:               501
 
Date/Time:             2021-01-14 11:37:07.714 -0600
OS Version:            macOS 11.1 (20C69)
Report Version:        12
Anonymous UUID:        8F1F3291-A8C4-81DE-6EB1-4C763FF9D8CF
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jamespaul
Moderator
Moderator
‎January 18, 2021 05:48 PM

Keep getting the Error "QuickBooks can not open this company file because it was created with an incompatible version."

Hello, Angie. 

 

I appreciate adding the detailed log regarding the error message. I have some details about it and I'll throw in a couple of solutions to help you open your file. 

 

We already discontinued support for QuickBooks Mac 2016. Looking at the error message details, I see that you're on the new Big Sur update. 

 

Since the version's discontinuation, we haven't released any updates for it to run on the new Big Sur operating system. 

 

However, you can revert your operating system's version to when QuickBooks Mac 2016 was running properly. You'll want to contact Apple's technical support on how to do this. 

 

Alternatively, you'll want to upgrade your QuickBooks Mac version to the latest supported versions. Currently, the 2020 and 2021 (R6 and R3 releases respectively) version can run on the new Big Sur operating system. 

 

You can grab the latest version from this page: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/desktop/mac/.

 

More details can be found in this article: Intuit’s support policy for QuickBooks for Mac running on macOS 11 Big Sur.

 

After upgrading or getting the program to run on a reverted version, you can check out our articles. Our help content has guides to help you record transactions, run reports and manage your income and expenses. Go to this page to get started: QuickBooks Desktop Mac articles list. 

 

I'll provide more details if you have concerns regarding the Mac platform. I'll also add guides if you need help managing your file after getting the program to run properly. 

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