7.x Synching Your QuickBooks Data | CLEARIFY

Data Synchronization - Everything You Need To Know

Intuit does not give developers direct access to the database, and instead uses a Software Development Kit (SDK) which requires developers to extract data via the QuickBooks client interface.

ALL synch errors - with the exception of abnormal QB corruption - come directly from the SDK

How it Works

When you kick off the synchronizer, either through the automatic scheduling mechanism, or via manual control, QQube will invoke the Intuit SDK to open up the QuickBooks file - if it isn't already open, and extract the data you requested.

If you have multiple QuickBooks company files, you will leave QuickBooks open to NO company file, and QQube will again invoke the Intuit SDK to open the first QuickBooks file in your list, extract the data, and then shut it down; and then moves on to the next file, and the next, etc.  There is no manual intervention necessary.

Notable Synch Options

You can:

• Choose which file(s) to skip during a scheduled synch
• Skip QuickBooks Files that are unchanged for either scheduled synchs or manual refresh
• Automatically clear all data on new synch start
• Automatically clear all data for specific files during a scheduled synch (Ver 10) only

QQube logs into QuickBooks in only two ways:

1. With QuickBooks open to NO company file, it will use the QB user you created in the initial setup.
2. If QuickBooks is already open under a particular user, it will then use the permissions assigned to that user.  (You can only have one person logged in at a time during that instance).

Do's and Don'ts

Aside from the "Preparing Your QuickBooks File" you should remember a few things:

• QQube requires that the QuickBooks file be opened in multi-user mode.
• You can't have more than one QuickBooks file open while the sync is taking place.
• You can't have QuickBooks open to a file that you are not intending to sync
• You should avoid having backups run at the time.
• QQube (because of the Intuit SDK) cannot close a file that you open.  QQube can only close a file IT opens programmatically.  This is necessary for multiple company operations.

Synch Time Expectations

Since there is no direct connection to the database, the data extraction process using the Intuit Software Development Kit (SDK) can appear to be laboriously slow.  Second, we extract data and details that no other data extraction developers even consider.

The first synch - can range from a few minutes to a few hours, with subsequent data extraction taking only a few minutes. 

The time it takes to sync depends upon:

• One QB company or multiple QB companies
• Size of the QuickBooks file (a 450 Meg QuickBooks Enterprise file can take an hour or more, for the first data extraction)
• The speed of the machine processor
• The amount of memory
• Type of analytic chosen
  • Detail analytics such as g/l detail, job costing, inventory - all of which take longer
  • Summary analytics such as financial summary, Financial for QB Enterprise Only - are reloaded each time, but should never take more than a few minutes to extract, unless you have a lot of classes in your file.
• Specific potential time consuming analytics
  • Balance Sheet by Class where there are dozens, or even hundreds of classes, as each is extracted one class at a time.
  • Profit and Loss by Job where there are large numbers of jobs, accounts and classes as it requires a "cross join" which can be very time intensive.

We strongly advise that you load only the analytics you need. You control this by checking or un-checking the analytic from the main Available Analytic Areas in the QQube Configuration Tool.

Added in Version 7.3:

NOTE: Whatever you choose in the manual refresh area has no effect on what gets loaded in the scheduled synch.

Synch Options

Automatic Synch Scheduler, which is designed for Multi-User versions.

Manual Synch option for on demand data extraction, or a Single-User implementation on a workstation or laptop.

Synch Logs to Determine Success or Failure

The Synch Logs section of the QQube Configuration Tool is the gateway to communicating to you, or our engineers, whether the data extraction process is working or not.

Each synch log entry:

• Shows whether the operation was a success or a failure
• If it shows to be a failure, allows you to click on the error description to direct you to a How-To Guide to fix the issue
• Contains advanced information about your machine, QuickBooks file size and preferences, and detailed data extraction information.

More information on Synch Logs