How should I set up QuickBooks 2006 or 2007 in my CPA firm where I have several professionals and several client data files?
In our firm, we have several client QuickBooks files, and several professionals who access the data files. We rarely need multi-user access to any of the data files.
I heard I can set QuickBooks 2006 (and above) up on a server and have clients access it remotely, is this true?
I also heard you can access QuickBooks over the Internet now. Is this true?
QuickBooks can now be set up on a local server and the users within the office can use it correct?
Answer:Yes. However, if you're implying that you won't have to install QB locally on each client, that is not true. QuickBooks 2006 (and above) must be installed on all computers, just as it always has. This is true for all editions including Enterprise. Each computer (server or client) must have a license for the software, except that with 2006, you can (and should) install an additional copy on the server if it's not also being used as a client. The software enforces this by disallowing a 6th login (on a given data file) if you have only 5 licenses. The reason you should install on the server is so that the "server service" will be local to the data file (which should be stored on this server), because this provides the best multi-user performance.
You should install QB wherever the data files are stored because in 2006, the client-server architecture splits the server and the client behind the scenes. So, if you're setting up for multi-user on a network, you should designate one of the computers to be the server. It doesn't have to be your network server, but it should be the fastest, most capable machine. On that "server", you should install QB, and set it up to "host multi-user access" as discussed in the my article at CPA Technology Advisor
http://www.cpatechnologyadvisor.com/publication/article.jsp?pubId=1&id=1136,
and in the expanded version (updated for 2007) on Intuit's web site at
http://www.quickbooks.com/support/networking/?priorityCode=3972100000&priorityCode=3972100000.
Our Consultant's Reference Guide has it completely expanded in a separate chapter
http://www.sleeterstore.com/servlet/Detail?no=83
2) You asked: I also heard you can access QuickBooks over the Internet. Is this true?
Answer: I'm a bit confused by this question. With either Premier or Enterprise, you can, but probably should not, run Windows Terminal Services and access the "hosting computer" via the Internet. Some companies such as Personable.com, Realtimeaccounting.com, and cpaasp.com provide "ASP" services which are essentially hosted computers to which you connect via the Internet. However, if you're talking about doing this yourself, that's what I would caution you against, except for very short sessions and only occassionally. What I'm saying is that if you're setting up a system whereby the users always access QB via the Internet, you should use one of the ASP companies, and not try to do it yourself unless you have good IT staff.
3) You asked: What would the real benefit be for our firm to have QuickBooks in a network environment? Our users all tend to different clients most are not shared. Sometimes the directors (partners) use the same files but not that often.
Answer: Several benefits of centralizing the data files: (a) Centralizing data within the firm, (b) ease of backing up all client data because it's centralized, (c) all members of your firm can access all client data as permissions allow, and (d) improved mulit-user performance if you install QB on the server and "host" from there (assuming a powerful server).
However, since you don't need your staff to have "multi-user" access to client files, you don't really care about the multi-user performance. So, I would still recommend storing the client data files on the server, but maybe you don't really need to install QB on the server since you won't be doing multi-user. Still, it doesn't hurt to go ahead and install QB on the server. If you only have a few data files open at a time, you could set up the server as the host. However, if you have 10 users always accessing separate data files on this server, I would suggest you turn OFF the hosting on the server, and have each client be their own host of their data files.
These decisions and configurations are dependent on your particular network, computer performance and RAM, mulit-user demands, and usage patterns, so each firm may elect different settings. The main thing is to understand what the options are and how the choices affect performance.
To learn about tuning performance of QuickBooks in a networked environment, see Tuning Performance of QuickBooks in a Network