Resolve QuickBooks performance issues: Identifying types of Performance Problems.

When working with QuickBooks over a network or with a large company file, you may experience certain types of performance issues relating to slowness, taking a long time to open, or other similar behavior. It is important to understand the different types of performance issues that can occur:

Taking a long time to open the file.
Company file tasks slow down as the number of users signing into the file increase (multi-user environment).
Company file runs fine in the morning and slows down as the day progresses.
Performance issues for everyone in the office.
Performance issues for only one or two people in the office.
Intermittent performance issues (certain tasks are quick, while others are slow).
Similar data issues in multiple data files, indicating that the network is damaging your data files.
Be aware that every day you use QuickBooks, your data file grows larger. As your file grows, it requires more resources to operate. It is not unusual for data files to grow too large for the installed network to support it and you will need to enhance your network.



Assure your network setup is within these recommendations:


Enhance your computers
One of the biggest improvements you will see to performance of QuickBooks is based on how much system memory (RAM) you have on the server computer that is hosting the company file. If you have less then 4GB on your server computer, consider upgrading to a higher capacity. See Enhance your computers to resolve performance issues for more information or contact a qualified IT professional for assistance in upgrading your hardware.



Where your company file is stored
Where you store your company data file can have a noticeable effect on the performance of QuickBooks. Ensure that you are using a Windows based server computer, and not a Network Attached Storage Device (NAS Drive). You can read more about the preferred company file location by looking at Optimizing your data file location.



What kind of network do you have?
You will get the best results by having the proper network setup. The following is recommended for your network setup for peak efficiency with QuickBooks:

A hardwired network (not wireless)
Gigabit network cards, Gigabit capable router or switch, and Cat6 networking cables. Note: 10/100 network speeds are supported, but if you have many users, you will greatly benefit from Gigabit network speeds.
How do i know if i have a Gigabit network?

On your keyboard, press and hold the CTRL + SHIFT + Escape keys.
This will open the Task Manager.
Select the Networking tab.
Under Link Speed, see if your Local Area Connection shows 1 Gbps, you have a gigabit network. Note: If it shows 100Mbps, you do not have a gigabit network.


How to fix it
Intuit recommends 5 solutions for resolving performance problems within QuickBooks. The first solution may solve your problem, or you may need to try all possible solutions to resolve the issue. For best results, perform the solutions in the order shown.

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