Share and Work on QuickBooks Files Without Networking With Qbox
There are many ways that I have seen my clients use to
share
their QuickBooks file with an accountant, CPA, or just themselves so that they can have work done in the file in a location other than their primary workplace. Or course, we are talking about QuickBooks for Desktop, which in order to have multiple people work in the same company file simultaneously, you have to have a hard-line network connection with the file hosted on a server (optimal) or have your file hosted in the cloud with a paid subscription. Sometimes, you may just need work done in a QuickBooks file but not necessarily simultaneously with someone else. In this scenario, I have seen clients send backups to their accountants and then just stop working in their file until they get the changes back and then restore the backup (not very optimal). Rarely do I see clients send accountant's copies electronically to their accountants and I haven't seen anyone use the Send General Journal Entries feature that started in the 2013 version of QuickBooks. Maybe theses processes are too complicated or misunderstand for the average user.
As an avid Dropbox user, I tried accessing my QuickBooks file on multiple computers in the past, but this caused headaches such as conflicting copies of the same file. This was probably a result of syncing issues. Now, I just keep my file in there to keep it "backed up" into the cloud, but only access it and use it on one computer.
Recently, I discovered
. This is a free (using the Basic plan) service that shares your file like Dropbox, but actually locks the QuickBooks file (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files too) when in use so that there aren't any conflicted copies. I tried the whole process from installing on my laptop and opening my existing QuickBooks file and it was a very easy and seamless process. Keep in mind that you still can only have one person open the file and work in it at one time. Once finished, the changes are synced back into the cloud while alerting the other user that the file is currently locked and cannot be used to make changes. There is also a great feature where you can just open the file in read-only mode so that another user can at least look at stuff but any changes won't be saved. I have super fast Internet and my QuickBooks file size is pretty small, so the syncing didn't take that long. However, it didn't sync as fast as Dropbox, which has a preference to not limit bandwidth, so I am wondering if Qbox has some sort of limit in place. Other than that, I'm pretty impressed with this solution to a problem that has existed for a very long time.
Access QuickBooks, Fishbowl, and Other Files from Almost Anywhere with Dropbox
I have been using Dropbox for some time now and it has proven to be extremely useful for my business. Basically, it is a free service (for up to 2GB of storage to start, but can be increased with referrals) that allows you to back up your files online, which then are synced with all of your computers with Dropbox. Or you can access your files online from any computer or even from an iPhone or Android phone!
For example, you can work in a QuickBooks file remotely on a laptop and when you are finished, it will automatically sync your changes so that when you get back to your office, the QuickBooks file you worked on is available on your PC. You can also share folders on your computer to others so that they can drop files into it that they want to share with you. I used to use services like YouSendIt (free version), but Dropbox is better because there is no limit to the size of the file you want to share or how long it is accessible. It works just like a shared folder on a wired network. Therefore, the need to use a thumb drive or flash drive has become obsolete.
For more strict permissions, like view-only, on files, I complement this service with Google Docs. However, the amount of free storage space is only 1GB, so I only use it for these and other special circumstances. But Dropbox works best for backups, file sharing, file syncing between computers, and web and mobile device access.