Sending an Accountant's Copy

Hi there, @SmlBizAdmin.

You'll want to use the Accountant's File Transfer Service feature in QuickBooks. This way, your accountant will receive the copy without saving it to a local computer. Here's how.

In your QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT):

1. Go to the File menu and select Send Company File.
2. Select Accountant's Copy and hover over Client Activities.
3. Click Send to Accountant an then Next.
4. Select Accountant's Copy and then Next.
5. Enter the dividing date. Then click Next.
6. Once done, click Send.

Here's an article you can read for more details and steps (read Step 2: Send a file through the Accountant's Copy File Service section): Create an Accountant's Copy of your company file in QuickBooks Desktop.

I've also added these great articles that can help you learn more about the Accountant's File Transfer Service feature:

• Accountant's File Transfer Service
• Troubleshoot Accountant File Transfer service issues

Also, I got you this great resource that can help you handle the situation in case you received an error message when you try to send an accountant's copy with the file transfer service.

As always, don't hesitate to leave a comment a below if you have other concerns or questions with your QBDT software. The Community is always here to back you. Have a great day and take care!

Thanks for the reply, however I've already found and been through all of those steps. Nothing helped until I copied the company file from the server to the user's PC and sent it from there using the established procedure for sending an Accountant's Copy.

That's why I'm now here and asking if it is possible to send an Accountant's Copy while it is located on a file server or if the company file must be located on the local PC; and if it is supposed to be sendable while the file is stored on a network file server, then are there specific settings to make on the PC or file server? I have not found anything in official Intuit documentation that talks about this.

I've attached a screenshot of the error message that appears when trying to send an Accountant's Copy. It's very obtuse and un-revealing. My research has shown that other people have received this same error and out of all the replies to the several discussions I read, the only thing that worked for me as it did for the poster was to copy the company file to the local PC, open that copy of the company file and send it.

So I am wanting to know specifically these 2 things.

1. Can an Accountant's Copy be sent when the company file is located on a file server on the local network or does the company file have to be located on the user's PC?

2. If the company file can be on a network file server, what specific settings must be made to the file server and/or QuickBooks to be able to send an Accountant's Copy.

Jonathan

I appreciate you getting back to us and providing more information about your concern, Jonathan.

At this time, you can only send an Accountant's Copy through a USB drive or online hosting service called "Accountant's Copy File Transfer Service."  

I can see how easy your work will be if you can send the Accountant's Copy via a file server on your local network. As another alternative, you can consider putting the file on a USB drive and give it to your accountant.

Here's how:

1. Go to the File menu, then select Send Company File.
2. Click Accountant's Copy, then choose Client Activities.
3. Select Save File and click Next.
4. Choose Accountant's Copy, then Next.
5. Enter the dividing date.

Once saved, you can now put the file (.QBX) on a USB drive.

Here's an article you can read for more details: Create an Accountant's Copy.

You might also want to check out this article for more information about Accountant's Copy: Use the Accountant's Copy.

Please know you can continue to reach me here with any additional questions. Thanks for coming to the Community, wishing you continued success.

I realize it can be sent only through a USB drive or the online hosting service. That is NOT my question NOR my problem. I'll try to re-state it so it is clearer.

The customer IS using the online hosting service "Accountant's Copy File Transfer Service". The directions for using that service are being used as provided by Intuit. HOWEVER, it is not working when telling the process to use the company file located out on the local network on a file server. When trying to do that, a very cryptic error is received as seen in the screenshot I previously provided.

The only way the customer has been able to utilize the online hosting service is to first copy the company file (the file with a .qbw extension) from the file server to the customer's own PC that they are sitting at and where QuickBooks is installed. Then when going through the online hosting service procedure, when it asks for the company file, the one located ON the customer's PC is selected. This works.

So HERE is my question which I have NOT been able to find an answer to anywhere. 

Does the company file, (file with .qbw extension) that is accessed for sending via the online host service, have to be located on the user's local PC? Or can it be located on another computer on the same local network? If it can be located on another computer then what needs to be done (presumably on the other computer) to allow the online hosting service to access and process it for sending?

Jonathan

Hi SmlBizAdmin,

You'll want to make sure that you've set up a multi-user network in which one computer will host your company files. This way, it will be easier to share files over your network. After that, turn on Multi-user Access on your server computer.

1. In QuickBooks Desktop, go to the File menu and hover over Utilities.
2. Select Host Multi-User Access. Then select Yes to confirm.

Please check these articles for more information:

• How Do I Map A Network Drive In Windows?
• Set Up and Install A Multi-User Network for QuickBooks Desktop

If there are questions that you have in mind, let me know so we can help. We'll always want to ensure that we'll get you covered.

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@SmlBizAdmin wrote:

The customer IS using the online hosting service "Accountant's Copy File Transfer Service". The directions for using that service are being used as provided by Intuit. HOWEVER, it is not working when telling the process to use the company file located out on the local network on a file server. When trying to do that, a very cryptic error is received as seen in the screenshot I previously provided.

 

The only way the customer has been able to utilize the online hosting service is to first copy the company file (the file with a .qbw extension) from the file server to the customer's own PC that they are sitting at and where QuickBooks is installed. Then when going through the online hosting service procedure, when it asks for the company file, the one located ON the customer's PC is selected. This works.

 

So HERE is my question which I have NOT been able to find an answer to anywhere. 

 

Does the company file, (file with .qbw extension) that is accessed for sending via the online host service, have to be located on the user's local PC? Or can it be located on another computer on the same local network? If it can be located on another computer then what needs to be done (presumably on the other computer) to allow the online hosting service to access and process it for sending?

 

Jonathan

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Some uncritical service may be unallowed to run (e.g certain ports are blocked) as the policy of the hosting provider to protect their environment. It is why we recommend our clients to host the data locally and deploy a private cloud.

All that you suggested was done a long time ago. The only way QuickBooks works in a multi-user environment is to set it up that way with the computer hosting the company file to have at least the DB Manager part installed and then to have the clients have multi-user turned on.

However, there is no way to turn on multi-user access on the hosting computer when all that's installed is the DB Manager.  But installing the DB Manager is supposed to do the same thing, allow users throughout the network to access the company file.

What you suggest as a possible cause is exactly what I'm asking. All of the usual QuickBooks ports have been opened in the firewall on the server. So I'm trying to find out if there is something else on the server that needs to be done to allow the online hosting service to access the company file when it's hosted on a computer other than the one the user is sitting at and trying to perform the Accountant's Copy process.

But there is nothing in any documentation that I have looked at that says anything at all about that. All that's stated are the directions for performing the procedure. No requirements at all are stated. To me that is a considerable oversight and lack on the part of Intuit. 

Since no concrete assistance seems to be available regarding this issue, I'm going to inform the customer that they will simply have to go to the extra length of copying the company file from the server to her PC, open it there, send the file, close the company file, remove it from the QB menu to avoid confusion, and then delete the file from her PC -EVERY time- she needs to send an Accountant's Copy.

Hosting the company file on a server is what a lot of businesses do. That's the whole point of having a server so multiple users can access the same file, and that file needs to be backed up on at least a daily basis.