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This guide is provided by Conductor, the service that powers the QuickBooks Desktop integration for many business tools, including the one that sent you here.

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Keep the connection fast and reliable

Your QuickBooks Desktop connection runs on one Windows computer. Follow these steps so syncs are fast and run unattended.
Set up the connection on one computer, in this order of preference:
  1. Your QuickBooks server, if you have one. This is the Windows computer that stores the company file and that everyone else opens it from, not an employee’s workstation. It is always on, nobody works on it directly, and QuickBooks opens the file fastest there.
  2. Otherwise, the computer that stays on, online, and has QuickBooks open the most.
If your QuickBooks Desktop is hosted on Rightworks, complete our Rightworks guide first. Rightworks stops background programs when you disconnect from the remote desktop, so the Web Connector only runs while someone is connected.To move an existing connection from a workstation to the server, follow our guide to moving the connection to a different computer.
The Web Connector only runs while the computer is powered on, connected to the internet, and signed in to the Windows user that runs QuickBooks Desktop and the Web Connector. A computer waiting at the Windows sign-in screen cannot sync.Ask your IT team to:
  1. Turn off sleep and hibernation in the Windows power settings so the computer never sleeps.
  2. Configure the Windows user to sign in automatically after a restart, so Windows Updates do not leave the computer waiting at the sign-in screen.
Restart the computer once afterward to confirm it signs in automatically.
Keep QuickBooks Desktop open and signed in to your company file with a dedicated QuickBooks user. This makes syncs as fast as possible, often well under a second.This uses one QuickBooks license seat at all times. If you do not want to keep a seat occupied, leave QuickBooks at the “No Company Open” screen as described next.With either option, keep QuickBooks open. See “Never close QuickBooks Desktop” below.
Leave QuickBooks Desktop open with no company file loaded. This uses a license seat only during syncs and allows you to open the company file in Single-user Mode from other computers.Go to “File” → “Close Company” to show the “No Company Open” screen.The Web Connector signs in with the connection’s Login as user for each sync and signs out afterward. The first sync after a period without syncs takes 30 to 45 seconds longer while QuickBooks loads the company file. Syncs shortly afterward reuse the open file.This option is as reliable as staying signed in and is what most companies choose.
If this computer syncs more than one company file, the “No Company Open” screen is required. See our guide to connecting multiple company files on one computer.
  1. QuickBooks Desktop does not reopen after a restart on its own. Add it to the Windows user’s Startup folder by following our guide to ensure QuickBooks Desktop opens at startup.
  2. The Web Connector almost always relaunches on its own after a restart and Windows sign-in, so no setup is usually needed. If syncs stop working after a restart, check that QBWebConnector.exe appears in Task Manager → Details. If it is missing, follow our guide to ensure the Web Connector opens at startup.
Create a dedicated Full Access QuickBooks Desktop user and set it as the connection’s Login as user. QuickBooks allows each user to sign in from only one place at a time. If the connection shares an employee’s login, every sync fails while that employee is signed in on another computer.Follow our guide to creating a dedicated QuickBooks Desktop user. A dedicated user only counts against your seat limit while a sync is running.

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Prevent common sync blockers

These steps address the most common reasons the Web Connector cannot reach QuickBooks, even after the setup above.
There is no downside to keeping QuickBooks Desktop open, and there is a real cost to closing it. If it is closed, the Web Connector has to launch it for every sync, which adds a variable delay while QuickBooks starts, often 30 seconds or more, and launching and closing QuickBooks hundreds of times a day can cause Windows issues.Keep it open in one of two states: signed in to your company file, or at the “No Company Open” screen. Either is fine. To ensure it reopens after a restart, follow our guide to ensure QuickBooks Desktop opens at startup.
Close any pop-up dialogs in QuickBooks Desktop on this computer. Reminders, update prompts, and Intuit sign-in windows pause syncing until someone closes them.For an unattended computer, consider a tool that closes them automatically. See how to prevent pop-ups from interrupting the Web Connector.
Do not open a different company file in QuickBooks Desktop on this computer. The Web Connector can only sync the company file currently open. If a different file is open, every sync for this connection fails until you reopen the correct file or return QuickBooks to the “No Company Open” screen.
Uninstall every version of QuickBooks Desktop except the one you use. Only one version can be installed. With two versions installed, the Web Connector cannot connect to the correct one and crashes during syncs.An older version is often left behind after an upgrade. Follow our guide to ensuring only one version is installed.
If a sync still fails after this setup, check the error message in your app. It names the cause and links to the fix. The two most common errors are: