Beyond the specifics of updating QuickBooks in a single user environment, the update process in a multi-user environment involves first updating the QuickBooks server and then, one by one, updating each workstation.
Of course, until the QuickBooks server has been updated, all workstations should exit QuickBooks. Moreover, no workstation should resume using QuickBooks until both that workstation and the server have been updated to the same release.
Here’s our recommended steps to perform an update in a multi-user environment:
- Start by having all QuickBooks users exit QuickBooks
- Update the file server, reboot it, and load the database server manager
- Load QuickBooks and open each of the company files maintained by the QuickBooks version just updated
- Verify that the installed release on the server matches the release of the intended update
- Update 1 workstation, reboot after the update is complete, and open a company file
- Verify that the installed release on this workstation matches the release of the intended update
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each workstation
It’s not recommended to run different releases on workstations in the same network. Therefore, once the update process has been started, it’s important to successfully complete it on all workstations in the network.
Updates sometimes (but not always) involve updates to the underlying database structure of the QuickBooks company file (.qbw). That’s why it’s important to open each company file on the server once the new release is installed, because that step updates the company file.