QuickBooks-Blog.com

Florida Unemployment Tax Insanity (2)

I previously wrote about Florida Unemployment Tax Insanity. This Florida Unemployment Tax Insanity letter, to Florida Governor Crist, is four pages with narrow margins. The total Florida Unemployment Tax Insanity package. to our Department of Revenue, was about 50 pages. So if you want to help appeal, repeal or litigate the Florida Unemployment Tax Insanity, or have a Tax Cut CPA, to really fight these and other outrageous taxes for you, please let me know.

MICHAEL BLOCK CPA

14 E Oakland Park Blvd

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334

 

 (954) 566-7540, FAX 566-7541

October 26, 2009

The Honorable Governor

    Mr. Charlie Crist

PL-05, The Capitol

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

Re: Florida Unemployment Tax Insanity

    2,600% tax increases, unconstitutional penalties and interest.

I wrote to you about Florida Unemployment Tax Insanity on April 9 (attached A).

Many years ago, in only six weeks, you created a lifetime supporter by turning a Senate Committee 13-2 vote (for a useless container tax) into a 14-1 rejection. You may not recall our Trojan horse, but you courteously accepted petitions and closely listened to long arguments from supporters and me. That tax made small stores, with local suppliers, not competitive with large ones (due to paperwork and suppliers claiming unverifiable out-of-state recycling). The approach that got you a #1 Cato Institute rating also should make you recoil from 2,600% tax increases.

 

James Evers (Evers), Department of Revenue (DOR), Director, General Tax Administration, sent me a good response on June 2 (attached B), but could solve nothing. Other good employees helped. My Florida Unemployment Tax Insanity blog article (http://ow.ly/vgNc) appeared on September 6. A web search then had around 7,000 links to these words. Yahoo now has 278,000 such links, with my posts first (except for a malware site).

The key Florida Unemployment Tax Insanity relates to outrageous penalties, hiding as 2,600% tax increases. In almost 50 years in public accounting, with occasional clients in most states, there was only one way to calculate unemployment tax rates. Add a base rate to an experience rate for each employer. Experience rates reflect unemployment tax collected on an employer account, versus unemployment benefits paid on it. Recent combined Florida rates have been 0.2% to 5.4%. Low rates are important during hard economic times. Responsible employers get them by keeping employees, so unemployment benefits are low. The new insanity damages the best employers, by raising all rates to 5.4%. It has little or no effect on the worst employees, who hire and fire indiscriminately, as rates are already at or close to 5.4%.

Here is how DOR hides these 2,600% tax increases. Near the end of each year, employers get standard notices advising them of their new combined Unemployment rate for the next year. Few employers question accountants about this. For example, we often say there is no use arguing this mechanical computation, when the only change can be to the already final unemployment benefits.

Now, however, it takes one unpaid bill, or one unresolved missing return notice, on one unknown date, to change experience rates. All rates affected become 5.4% for a full year. For the many employers, who otherwise had 0.2% rates, the 5.4% rate is a 2,600% increase. It applies to the first $7,000 or wages, so the tax goes from $14 to $378 per employee.

DOR balance due or missing return notices seem wrong or waived more than 90% of the time. Any litigation will ask the court to take judicial notice of prior extraordinary DOR incompetence. We had to file SEVEN sets of duplicate returns (for around SEVEN clients) for one 2007 quarter alone. Most originals and duplicates went certified mail (return receipt, combined). I also personally gave a set with an experienced Coral Springs DOR agent. Nothing helped. The agent said she was leaving soon due to terrible Unemployment system problems. A letter to the Governor and a call from a senior Tallahassee DOR supervisor let us fax a set. He agreed to accept all returns as timely filed, waiving all penalties and interest and refunding penalty payments made. Fortunately, he gave me his name and number, as two months later all clients got new penalty notices for this SAME quarter!

Multiply this disaster by what happens with DOR almost every quarter and you will know why these small payroll clients can only pay me a tiny fraction of the value of the time we spend. It is Florida Unemployment Tax Insanity for me to spend $7,000+ more unpaid time on this letter and a few related notices alone, but that is what it took. Therefore, it is patently outrageous for Florida to use its notoriously ineffective return processing system as a basis for hidden taxes and penalties of up to 2,600%.

Under the fourteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution, no State shall deprive one of property without due process, or deny equal protection of law. Valid notices do not hide big penalties as 2,600% tax increases. Therefore, concealing the reason for the increase makes such notices legally invalid. There can be no defense or tolling of a statute of limitations in such cases. This also violates federal equal protection. It does not matter if it applies to those with 0.2% rates, 5.2% rates, or anything between. Increasing all rates to a 5.4% rate means one offense gives some 5.2% rate increases and others no rate increase, with many between these amounts. Zero to 2,600% tax increases are not equal protection for the same offense. It also does not matter if notices are outstanding for two days or 11 months. It only matters if they are outstanding on one date. This too is not equal protection. A federal Civil Rights Act class action suit, with an emergency temporary restraining order, should make Florida pay legal fees and costs.

 

The 2,600% increase probably violates one other federal law. The federal government partly funds Florida unemployment benefits. It is likely that that formula depends on the tax Florida charges. It is unlikely it contemplates 2,600% increases based on paperwork. This may cost Florida far more than these outrageous hidden tax / penalty increases. It may cost substantial federal funds.

DOR compounds these outrageous hidden penalty taxes with more newly enacted penalties. How can a system generating massive erroneous paperwork get better by adding more?

 

Evers mentions having local personnel process returns and payments. That will be good, as locally filed returns and payments are now in limbo for months. Final bills also rarely match local agreements. Did my prior letter help stop the ridiculous local use of automatic dialers? They left messages telling us to call, with no client name, tax period or unemployment number.  Local agents did not know the company, even if called at once. Then they add penalties and file liens, since one “calls back.” Please stop this.

 

The electronic filing and payment Evers mentions is good, but NOT for those with less than ten employees. Despite this, DOR notices improperly say DOR did not get EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) payments or E-file. Many notices also impose penalties for not filing or paying electronically on a company with nine employees. Half of all returns are still paper, so such EFT notices are insanity.

 

Evers checked E-filing status for companies on my schedule attached (updated C), but did not detail Florida E-file numbers and other changes on a schedule previously sent and now updated. We urgently need this for current returns. We also sent Minutes for all companies (D). They make me a Vice President. It is insanity for DOR employees to say one must be in the Secretary of State Sunbiz database to be an officer. Secretary of State instructions say, at https://efile.sunbiz.orgsbs_ar_instr.html “Step 10: You may list up to six (6) principals (i.e., officers, directors, managers, managing members, etc.) on our computer database… At least 1 principal must be provided (FS Sec 607).”

Evers and other DOR employees also did not change company addresses, after two years of Forms UCT6 and correspondence with only my address. This probably resulted in many missing return notices. Form DR1does not require a new DR1 to report address changes. We need not use corresponding Internal Revenue Forms 8822 to change addresses if we file returns with a new address. As a result, all DOR notices were invalid because it did not send them to this last known address. Accordingly, no notice tolled a statute of limitations on appeals, so we can still contest all assessments and notices. Likewise, DOR cannot legally file or enforce liens. DOR should promptly change all company addresses to my address.

Attached are the private details of recent pending Unemployment tax notices (attached E). I trust some good DOR employee will correct DOR records for these notices.

Governor (most respectfully and affectionately), YOUR DOR SYSTEM creates Florida Unemployment Tax Insanity. No one I spoke to even knew about the 2,600% tax increase. It shocks and outrages all who understand. A Census Bureau table tells me you can cut DOR paperwork, delays and costs, on 300,000 returns and notices a year, by letting those who only pay once per year not file quarters without payroll. You can do this without legislation or Internal Revenue approval.

Even my non-payroll clients will get copies of this letter and related material. We will do everything possible to insure many clients and non-clients consider this when voting and making political contributions. My websites, blogs and Twitter posts have around 50,000+ page views a month. Close friends have many millions more page views. Even without this readership, millions of my tax limit petitions once helped me change Florida law and our Constitution. They let me personally successfully argue a petition before the Florida Supreme Court and win election to the Port Everglades Commission (gave my salary back and never let a lobbyist buy me lunch).

This means that a Constitutional petition and lawsuit will soon add publicity if this letter, plus visits to the Senators and Representatives below, does not help.

Sincerely yours,

Michael Block

cc: James Evers, Florida Department of Revenue, Tallahassee
  Paul Stewart, Florida Department of Revenue, Coral Springs, 954-346-2822
  Sen. Chris Smith, #29, 954-267-2116
  Sen. Jeremy Ring (tax / finance committee), 954-917-1394
  Rep Perry Thurston, #93,
  Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff (tax / finance committee) 954-762-3759

 

Speeding Up QuickBooks Performance, QuickBooks-Wiki.com (2)

I was a Speeding Up QuickBooks Performance expert long before Intuit (and others) copied my Speeding Up QuickBooks and QuickBooks Shortcuts web pages to their websites. Even that was long before my two recent Intuit Ask the Expert vists on QuickBooks Errors and Speeding Up QuickBooks Performance. Here is my latest effort, which will never be complete.

1. PROFESSIONAL HELP, UNDERSTANDING THIS DOCUMENT: The fastest and easiest way of speeding up QuickBooks performance is to let us or other QuickBooks Experts do this for you. I have been using QuickBooks and Quicken and working with users of them almost full-time, since their introduction. No matter how hard you try to learn, what QuickBooks and computer experts know, you will not master it until years after speeding up QuickBooks performance becomes your full time business.
1. Do not compare Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors, like us, to unqualified QuickBooks ProAdvisors. I really like Intuit, but it has QuickBooks users waste over a billion dollars a year because 42,000 so-called QuickBooks ProAdvisors each pay $449 a year (about $19 million). These untested unscreened Advisors average an extra $20/hour, for around 1,500 hours a year, though they need know nothing about QuickBooks, or even use it.
2. Your personal speeding up QuickBooks performance efforts may be handicapped. I took all accounting and computer courses my university had, at the bachelors and masters level. Then I spent 50 years working with computers and accounting and taking advanced courses. Close friends include many who created the IBM PC, including one who got Bill Gates to stop giving away BASIC and make it a business. He also got IBM to buy an operating system from Gates (Microsoft) when Gates did not have one. So let me know if you want a real computer pro.
3. Other close friends include the current and former Intuit CEOs, who wrote, “You’re fantastic Mike. Absolutely fantastic… Keep raising hell when Intuit does something wrong.” The former CEO even told the current CEO to contact me before reporting to work. Two new websites quickly resulted and he has since read all I wrote to Intuit. He once got a QuickBooks problem fixed in five days, the week before Christmas, though it only affected one of my QuickBooks add-ons.
4. I began writing a book for Intuit on Speeding Up QuickBooks Performance long before they copied my Speeding Up QuickBooks and QuickBooks Shortcuts web pages to their QuickBooks Community Library. My recent second QuickBooks Ask the Expert appearance was on QuickBooks Errors and speeding up QuickBooks performance. This is my latest effort, but there is much to do. This will soon be at http://QuickBooks-Wiki.com/ so you can change it, contribute to it and get help there.
5. We save typing time and you save reading time if you understand a one way experienced computer users tend to give instructions. It involves giving successive commands by simply specifying the first command and then separating other commands with commas. You often cannot see later choices until you enter prior ones. For example, in QuickBooks, File, Utilities, Restore means first enter the File command on the top left menu (many often omit the top or top left reference). Then you enter Utilities and then restore.
2. IDENTIFY YOUR BOTTLENECK: Begin speeding up QuickBooks performance by identifying bottlenecks with exact measurements. Speeding up QuickBooks performance needs specific signs (it takes 70 seconds to run a balance sheet), not symptoms (it’s slow). Write down the exact steps to reproduce each exact measurement. You can give these to others, so they can make the problem happen at will. Localize problems this way when speeding up QuickBooks performance:
1. There is SYSTEM damage or improper configuration of the Windows Operating system, companion programs or the network. The fastest and easiest way to detect that is to run QuickBooks data on a new computer.
2. A USER improperly used or understood QuickBooks.
3. There is DATA file damage.
4. The QuickBooks APPLICATION (program) has a defect.
3. SYSTEM:
1. This includes the environment, equipment and operating system. It involves all computer components, your network and your server. Any one of these can have a bottleneck that restricts data flow. Finding system problems involve finding bottlenecks. It can also include problems caused by software other than QuickBooks and related apps.
2. Refer to these Multi-user setup guides:

  i.    QB07netinstall.pdf.

    ii.    Netinstalltech.pdf

   iii.    QB07-network-install_faqs.pdf

3. Incorrect configuration can cause severe performance problems with:

  i.    alternate hosting mode.

    ii.    enabling hosting on more than one computer.

   iii.    running hosting on the wrong computer.

4. Do not use your QuickBooks server as a network workstation. Using a PC with QuickBooks as a workstation slows QuickBooks down.
5. The first step is to check the system requirements. Are all computers up to these recommended requirements?
6. QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 6.0

  i.    Minimum 1 GHz Intel® Pentium® (or equivalent) computer Recommended: (Client 1 GHz Intel Pentium III) (Server: 2 GHz Intel Pentium 4)

    ii.    Minimum RAM: Client: 256 MB Server: 512 MB Recommended RAM: Client: 512 MB Server: 1 GB

   iii.    1 GB Hard Disk space required to install the application. Additional space required for data files

   iv.    100 Mb/s or faster network (wired network only; wireless networks are not supported as they are a slower connection and will cause performance problems.)

7. QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 7.0 Minimum System Requirements

  i.    At least 1.2GHz Intel Pentium III (2GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent recommended) for a client and server

    ii.    At least 512MB (more strongly recommended as file size increases) for a client

   iii.    At least 1 GB (more strongly recommended as file size increases) for a server

   iv.    1 GB of disk space (additional space required for data files)

    v.    100 Mb/s or faster network (wired network only; wireless networks are not supported as they are a slower connection and will cause performance problems.)

8. For large files with many simultaneous users, even the recommended requirements will not be sufficient for optimal performance. As your file size grows and you add more QuickBooks users, you will make sure your hardware can support the added load, especially with respect to the amount of RAM.
9. You can check you system resources two ways. Go to the Task Manager or look at the Tech Help screen in QuickBooks. Here are steps to get to these screens:

  i.    Task Manager Method:

1.    Hit Ctrl + Alt + Del on the keyboard

2.    Click the Task Manager button

3.    Click the Performance tab

4.    The Physical Memory box will contain the total memory and the available memory.

5.    Find the processor speed in My Computer properties.

    ii.    Tech Help Screen Method

1.    Hit F2(or CTRL +1) on the keyboard with QuickBooks open, the F3(or CTRL+ 2).

2.    Click on the System Info tab in the Memory box.

3.    The Processor info is in the System information tab in the Processor Information box.

10. Next, you should check the network. Are you using a switch or a hub? A hub is a shared line that everyone talks on at once, so there can be collisions when two computers are trying to talk on the network at exactly the same time. A switch creates a dedicated circuit for each connection path, allowing many computers to talk on the network at once without interfering with each other. Switches were once much more expensive than hubs, but this is no longer true. Be sure there are no hubs in your network.
11. Test the throughput of your network. This can be done with complex and expensive tools, but the best method to start with is a quick and dirty measurement of how quickly files traverse your network, called the Field Network Bandwidth Test:

  i.    How to Measure Network Bandwidth (Field Network Bandwidth Test):

    ii.    Create a copy of your data file so other users can work while you are testing. You can also use any large file on your system. One good candidate is the data1.cab file that can be found under your QuickBooks installation folder. This file is usually around 300MB in size.

   iii.    For more realistic results, run this test while others are on the network

   iv.    Copy the file from the server to the local desktop.

    v.    In QBES, click File / Open Company.

   vi.    Right click on the file and click Copy.

  vii.    Paste the data file into the Desktop.

    viii.    Time how long the copying takes.

   ix.    Calculate the transfer rate: Bandwidth = (File size * 8) / (time * 1024) Where:

    x.    Bandwidth = transfer rate in Megabits per second (Mbps).

   xi.    File size = size of the file in Kilobytes (KB).

  xii.    Time   = transfer time in seconds (sec).

    xiii.    The factor 1024 converts Kilobytes to Megabytes.

    xiv.    The factor 8 converts Megabytes to Megabits.

  xv.    Results. A bandwidth of:

    xvi.    Less than or equal to 10 Mbps is insufficient to run QBES.

   xvii.    Between 10 Mbps and 40 Mbps is a gray area; QBES may or may not run well. Greater than 40 Mbps will support QBES.

  xviii.    To be thorough, you will want to run the test in both directions from each client to the server. It could be that only one port is bad on a switch, on network card is bad, or one cable is damaged in your office. One slow computer can slow down all the other users. If you only notice performance problems when a particular user logs on, this is a clue that their hardware may be at fault.

12. If you find a network speed problem using the Field Network Bandwidth Test, check the settings of your network cards:

  i.    A network connection integrated on the motherboard can slow your transfer rate. A Network Interface Card (NIC) has a separate processor; an integrated connection requires the CPU to perform the network operations.

    ii.    NIC’s that create “duplex mismatches” can slow your transfer rate. A duplex mismatch occurs when a NIC is set to a specific speed and duplex and it is connected to a NIC with another setting. This mismatch turns your network into mush and your bandwidth will be only a few Mbps. Your best option is to set all NIC’s to “auto detect.”

   iii.    To see/edit your NIC:

   iv.    Right Click on My Computer.

    v.    Click Properties / Hardware / Device Manager.

   vi.    Click the (+) sign by the Network Interfaces.

  vii.    Right Click on the NIC and click Properties.

    viii.    For Intel: Click Advanced and then find Link Speed and Duplex, select Auto Detect.

13. Calculate your bandwidth to determine if your network and connected computers are fast enough to run QuickBooks quickly.
14. If you find any network issues, or suspect that network problems are slowing down QuickBooks, the following chart has further resources:
15. The next step is a more thorough check of your resources. The recommended system requirements are generally sufficient, but some of factors that can increase system needs. If your file or your lists are very large, you will need more resources. If your network, server or client computers are running other resource intensive applications, those applications will be competing with QuickBooks for resources, so you must increase the system specifications accordingly.
16. Before throwing hardware at a problem, you want to make sure you are increasing the right component. For example, there is no use adding memory if the bottleneck is in the network, for example. Use the following tools to identify the bottleneck. You must check these while your system is being loaded by typical QuickBooks (and other application) usage:
17. To check the memory, run the Task Manager and go to the Performance tab (See Figure 7). Look at the Physical Memory section and see what the Available memory is showing. If the Available memory is bottoming out, then you know that increasing the memory can help. When Windows runs out of memory, it will save portions of the data and applications it has in memory to the hard drive, which slows things down. Another clue to memory issues is excessive hard drive access.

  i.    To check for CPU bottlenecks, look at the same Performance tab and observe the CPU usage. If it is maxing out at 100% regularly, then this could be the bottleneck.

    ii.    You can check the Processes tab of the Task Manager to see which processes are using the most memory and CPU time. QBW32.EXE is the QuickBooks program, and QBDBMgrN.exe is the hosting process.

18. To check for hard drive bottlenecks, run a system diagnostic program to test drive access. Programs such as Sisoft Sandra provide this information. If the hard drive is slower than your Field Network Bandwidth Test, then a slow hard drive is having an effect. Usually hard drives are faster than networks, but if multiple users request data from the server at once then a hard drive can be a bottleneck. Generally, 7200-RPM hard drives are fast enough for satisfactory performance, but look at higher drive speeds if you find the bottleneck is the hard drive.
19. Other factors that can affect drive speed include cache, which is the amount of memory the hard drive has available to temporarily store data on its way to and from the drive (generally 2 to 16 MB), and the interface (SCSI, SATA or PATA), which is the method by which the hard drive communicates with the motherboard.
20. RAID (Redundant Array of independent drives):

  i.    The interface limits maximum hard drive transfer speed. However, you can combine several hard drives together in a RAID setup, which performs much better than the individual drives.

    ii.    Several RAID varieties can improve hard drive access, but some increase the potential for data loss. Only use RAID that employs some fault tolerance, with performance gains, for  systems that will host the QuickBooks data file. (RAID 0+1 or RAID 5).

   iii.    Before implementing RAID you should consult a computer technician or manufacturer for guidance. Some new motherboards and computers support some RAID types natively. For older motherboards, or new motherboards that do not support RAID, you can purchase a RAID card to use RAID on your system by buying additional hard drives.

21. Hyperthreading:

  i.    The database server may run more efficiently with hyperthreading turned off. If you are experiencing performances problems, and the server processor supports

    ii.    hyperthreading, try turning off hyperthreading in the BIOS.See this for details: http://www.sybase.com/detail?id=1025313

22. File Fragmentation:

  i.    Fragmentation can slow down hard drive performance. Make sure your drive is at least 20% empty, and that the DB File Fragments on the Product Information screen (F2 or Ctrl-1) are low. If you have high DB File Fragments (double digits or higher), then defragment your hard drive.

    ii.   

The entry for DB File Fragments gives you the number of file fragments in the currently open company file. If this number is over 100 then this could be the cause of performance issues. Here are steps to repair file fragmentation:

   iii.    Have all users logout of QuickBooks

   iv.    Create a portable company file

    v.    Open the portable company file with a different name

   vi.    Then attempt the same actions that were slow. If it improves, you found one problem. Otherwise, continue to the next step.

23. Go to the server where you keep the file and run Defragment the disk.

  i.    Go to the Start menu and choose Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter.

    ii.    Once the defragmenter completes, restart the computer.

   iii.    Then open QuickBooks in single user mode.

   iv.    Rebuild the company file.

    v.    Close QuickBooks, reopen it and check the number of DB File Fragments.

   vi.    If the number of file fragments has not changed, the drive the file is on may not have enough space available to defrag the company file. You would then move the company file to a larger drive and run defragment on that drive. Then move the file back to the original drive and rebuild it. If the file fragments become single digits or start that low, then the next thing to check is the size of the entry log file (.tlg).

24. Entry Log file (.TLG):

  i.    The entry log file is basically a log of every entry that is entered into a company file. This file was designed to be used by the Data Services team to recover lost data. The Performance Virtual team has found that the size of this file can cause a slow down in QuickBooks as well. Here are steps to check the size of this file:

    ii.    Go to the Start menu and choose Search

   iii.    Select All Files and Folders

   iv.    Type in *.tlg and click search

    v.    You should find a file of the same name as the company file in question, get properties on that file and get the file size.

   vi.    If the file is either more than 100 MB in size, more than half the size of the company file, or larger than the company file, this could be the cause of the performance issue. The easiest and best way to reduce the size of the .tlg file is to make a manual back up of the file through QBES. Remember, the auto and scheduled backup options do not reset the .tlg file.

25. Terminal server removes the network, so it can be a good diagnostic tool for network problems. On the flip side, it increases server processing and memory requirements, so you will want to make sure that you aren’t maxing out the memory or CPU when running Terminal Server.
26. Viruses and malware: Any virus or spyware on a network slows down performance. Run regular virus and spyware scans to keep systems clean. Correspondingly, virus scanning software and firewalls can slow down your network, so try turning them off to see if performance improves. Life is full of paradoxes.
27. Startup Items: (Applications that load automatically on startup)

  i.    Some applications you install load items on Windows startup to facilitate the application. These startup items may not be necessary and can be excluded from launching when Windows loads, increasing system performance. Determining which startup items are necessary and what their function is can be unclear. You should consult a computer technician and/or research through the Internet for this.

    ii.    You can view startup items by going to the Windows Start button (the Vista logo button in the Vista Operating System), go to Run, type MSCONFIG, and going to the Startup tab. The items in this tab are all items that load when Windows starts up. You can remove items from startup on this screen. However, keep track of which items you remove in case you must turn them back on for proper operation of applications.

28. Separating System and Data:

  i.    Separating System and Data problems can be a challenge. If you are not sure after working through the System and Data sections, then tell is to separate them. Take your data file and try it on a different system, preferably a known good system. Compare the performance of your data file on each system – if the problem is the same, you know it is a factor of the data file. If performance changes depending on what system you are on, then you know it is a system problem.

    ii.    C) Most small businesses do not have a separate test network for us to test on. If trying a different computer gives the same problem, it might be a problem with the network. There are two ways of working around this issue.

   iii.    The first method is to take the file to another system.

   iv.    The second method is to use a test file of equivalent size and complexity on your system.

29.  Analyze Computers

  i.    Inadequate or obsolete hardware and insufficient memory can slow down QuickBooks. Your computer may be older than your QuickBooks, or you may have minimum memory, slow or full drives, or a slow connection.

    ii.    Intuit has a network analysis Tool to help with this. Other tools can provide reports or even automated reports.

30. Switch to the Operating System that is best for QuickBooks and your PCs.

  i.    Depending on how many QuickBooks systems you have, you can use Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server, Windows Terminal Server, Citrix, Linux and Unix, local or remote, to Speed Up QuickBooks.

31. Analyze Electrical Quality and Temperature.
32. Install Free QuickBooks Enterprise Server Software.

  i.    Intuit designed QBE server software to be able to serve up to 30 users. It is faster than the comparable server software that comes with QuickBooks Pro and Premier. This QBE server software will Speed Up QuickBooks for both Pro and Premier network users, without changing their file format. (The former CEO of Intuit personally assured me I could legally give clients copies of QBE server software.) Or you could even use a Linux server to Speed Up QuickBooks even more!

33. Hosting Configuration

hh.Incorrect hosting configuration can cause severe performance problems in the following cases:

ii.    Using Alternate hosting mode

jj.    Having hosting enabled on more than one computer

kk.  Having hosting running on the wrong computer

4. USER
1. Check your work: Have someone you trust double-check your work. That can be a real help. When you first call Intuit for support, they often ask that. Please do not let this offend you. It is a standard procedure, as everyone makes mistakes, no matter what our experience.
2. If reports take a long time, try speeding up QuickBooks performance by:

  i.    Make sure print spooling is on.

    ii.    Try breaking print runs into smaller batches.

   iii.    Wait until no other user is using QuickBooks.

   iv.    Run the report on the server to minimize network traffic and make it run faster.

    v.    Make a local copy of the file for report purposes. This is good for end of month reports. You can restore this copy from the end of month backup, as the reports only need data through the end of the month. Other users can keep working in the main copy of the file while you run reports using the local copy.

   vi.    Get the inexpensive Autoreporter QuickBooks add-on. It can automatically run any combination of QuickBooks reports, on any schedule or schedules, from any combination of QuickBooks files or versions of QuickBooks, even if you closed them. It can print these on any printer or in Excel or PDF format. It also can mail these files to any combination or email addresses. It can do this at night, when no one uses the main QuickBooks file, or use the above local file.

5. DATA:
1. Data file problems can cause big problems with speeding up QuickBooks performance. Damaged entries or links can make QuickBooks lag or hang completely.
2. Fix Inappropriate filenames: QuickBooks can use long filenames or filenames with embedded blanks or other improper characters for many operations. However, this causes occasional problems in some operations. QuickBooks often runs such files well, but may suddenly hang or crash when encountering these problems. Speeding up QuickBooks performance includes finding and correcting such problem files and accounts.
3. Remove old QuickBooks data that slows current operations. Old data detail is always available in old files when needed, so do not let it slow down current work. Shrinking your current file is a good way of speeding up QuickBooks performance. QuickBooks 2010 is very good for this, but there are specialists that can do far more.
4. Repair Damaged Data Files: File problems can include hidden duplicate names, faulty account grouping, and out-of-balance entries.
5. The first step is an automated check of your data. You do this on the server or on a copy the data on your local client before proceeding. The Verify utility automatically checks all of the entries and links in the file. If Verify finds any problems, you will get a message recommending a Rebuild. Rebuild will attempt to fix whatever issues the Verify found.
6. The results of Verify and the Rebuild are in the file QBWIN.LOG. You should be able to look at this file using the F2 key, then the F3 key, File Open tab, go down to QBwin.log and enter File Open. You may, occasionally not find this file or find it open. You then must search for this file using the Windows Search feature and open the file in notepad. Sometime you must search for hidden files or folders, depending on where you install QuickBooks. After you do a Verify and a Rebuild, save a copy of the QBwin.log file with a new name. This way, if tech support needs to see the file you will have it handy and will not have to run a fresh Verify.
7. For serious file problems run Rebuild three times, especially if it finds errors, because sometimes it skips some problems while fixing others. The Verify command also finds some errors that Rebuild cannot fix, so it is important to Verify after Rebuild, to make sure there are no more problems. For example, Rebuild cannot fix duplicate names. Normally each Name (Customer, Vendor, Employee or Other Name) must be unique. Each of those lists is part of a master Name List. With two names that are identical, due to data damage, QuickBooks reports the problem in the Verify, but does not fix it in Rebuild (since it is ambiguous). You must see if the names are different, and must stay separate, or you must merge them in one name.
8. QuickBooks can’t make this decision, so it is up to us to fix it. To do so, follow this KnowleprefdgeBase article, Verify results are Data has lost integrity but the QBWIN.LOG file shows duplicate names. See the QuickBooks Knowledge Base, #1003342, for this.
9. Settings in the file: These settings control how QuickBooks behaves. Adjusting them can help speeding up QuickBooks performance. Normally you would include program settings in a System section, but QuickBooks stores them in the data file. This makes settings go with the file when you copy it, so they are in the Data section.

  i.    The most important setting is Desktop View. It decides whether QuickBooks remembers what windows you had open. If it is set to remember, then QuickBooks loads all windows and reports that were open when you saved the desktop or closed the program. If you had large comparative reports open, re-running them when you login slows you down. To ensure nothing opens at login, go to Edit, Preferences, Desktop View and My Preferences. Set Desktop to “Don’t save the desktop” and uncheck “Show Home page when opening a company file.”

    ii.    Turn off Reminders.

   iii.    Turn off duplicate number warnings for Checks, Purchase Oreders, Invoices, Estimates and Sales Orders.

   iv.    Turn off the spell checker.

    v.    Set the Report Preference to Prompt to Refresh or Do Not Refresh.

   vi.    Turn off Automatically open drop-down lists when typing.

  vii.    Change the performance preference (5.0/2005 only) with Edit, Preferences, General, Company Preferences tab, Optimize multi-user performance for Entering Data/Running Reports

j.   Create New Users in the data file if a damaged user list causes slow performance. Do this if:

  i.    All users experience slow performance.

    ii.    Performance is slow in single user mode.

   iii.    Performance is slow when the file on a local drive.

11. If you have the above problem, create a new user name and log in as that user. If performance improves for the new user, then create new names for all users.
12. Run File, Utilities, Clean Up to reduce file and list size, speeding up QuickBooks performance. The effectiveness of this varies greatly depending on the makeup of your file and the version of QuickBooks used. QuickBooks 2010 is the only of QuickBooks where it makes a big difference. Cleanup summarizes closed entries into monthly journal entries. The problem is defining “closed”. If you elect to archive all entries before a date, there is no guarantee QuickBooks will remove a given entry. An entry qualifies as closed if it has no remaining balance on it, and you can close all entries linked to it. This is a recursive situation. Cleanup must scan each entry and each entry linked to it, and each entry linked to those, etc. One open entry can stop hundreds of entries from condensing. For instance, an invoice links to a payment, which has links to a deposit. A deposit can have dozens of payments, all of which link to invoices. A payment can link to several invoices and so on. This result is a web of interlocking dependencies, which do not condense.
13. QuickBooks got a new SQL Sybase iAnywhere database in 2005.* List size now has more impact on speed than number of entries. If all Customer:Job entries condense, you can remove the Customer:Job. To do so, check the “Unused customers” on the “Select Unused List Items to Remove” window during the cleanup interview. Again, the removal of a customer depends on the many entries associated with it. Only if all of entries associated with a Customer:Job get removed will the Customer:Job itself get removed.
14. Once you finish a Cleanup, you must create and restore a portable company file to remove entries. A File, Save or Copy, Backup, Portable backup, stores a file without an index.* Restoring it forces creation of a new index from scratch, with no empty space. This is like defragmenting a disk. It has the extra benefit of recreating your data file with one or a few file fragments (if you have enough contiguous drive space).
15. The Data step is to get information about the file. It helps to compare your performance to files of equivalent size and composition. Get this from the Product Information screen, by hitting F2 or Ctrl-1:

  i.    File Size:

    ii.    DB File Fragments: Total Entries: Total Links:

   iii.    Total Accounts:

   iv.    Total Names:

    v.    Customer:

   vi.    Vendors:

  vii.    Employees:

    viii.    Other Names:

   ix.    Total Items:

    x.     Total Classes:

   xi.    Any other lists in that exceed 99. Usually the other lists are too small to consider.

6. APPLICATIONS
1. Once you rule out System, Data, and User problems, what remains are Application problems. An Application problem either means that the QuickBooks program has a bug or defect, or that it is working as designed, but that the design does not live up to your expectations. Once you eliminate other problems, what is left must be an Application problem. This is last because you must rule out other possibilities before deciding a problem is due to a QuickBooks defect.
2. No change in your system or data can help. For example, there was bug in QuickBooks 2007/QBES 7.0. Any list that had could have nesting, such as the Customer - Job or Item list could cause this. A lot of nesting, with many jobs or sub-items, affected performance. This was due to a problem in the list sort routine, which the R6 update fixed. The first troubleshooting step when you suspect an Application error is to make sure you update all your systems, including the server, to the latest release. To find the release on a client system, go the Product Information screen by pressing F2 or Ctrl-1. To find the release on the server, go to the QuickBooks Database Manager and select the Update tab.

  i.    Update through the program (Help, Update QuickBooks) or at: http://www.quickbooks.com/Helpcenter/ProductUpdates.aspx

    ii.    For server-only installation, you must download a manual patch from the above link and run qbwebpatch.exe file on the server. This may require a reboot, so run the update when your business is not using the server.

3. Once you make it this far, Intuit would like a copy of your data file and the steps to reproduce the problem. It engineers can then reproduce the problem and find out where it exists. They also can use your file to test and confirm that they resolved the problem.

  i.     Like any software, QuickBooks can have many bugs. In deciding which bugs to fix first, Intuit considers the severity of the impact, the number of users affected, and the difficulty of fixing the bug. Resource allocation determines which bugs take priority. Due to the software complexity, even high priority bugs fixes can take some time to implement. There must be a thorough testing of changes to make sure they do not cause other problems elsewhere. There is no point fixing a bug if it makes three new bugs appear. This testing takes time, so QuickBooks only releases updates every month or two.

    ii.    Information to gather:

1.    Exact steps to reproduce the problem A copy of your data file

2.    Impact of this bug upon your business Avoiding slow areas in QuickBooks:

3.    If you encounter a performance issue that you determine to be the application, you may be able to avoid or work around that area:

7. Items still needing integration above:
1. Analyze QuickBooks: Inadequate or obsolete hardware and insufficient memory can slow down QuickBooks. Your computer may be older than your QuickBooks, or you may have minimum memory, slow or full drives, or a slow connection.
2. Configure and Update QuickBooks.

  i.    If you do not configure QuickBooks properly it may work, but will not work well.

1.    Turn Off Features That Slow Down QuickBooks.

2.    Automatic updates, warnings, reminders, and other memory-hogging features can slow QuickBooks to a crawl. These functions are usually a waste of your time and resources. For example, QuickBooks has about 10 free updates a year, so it is foolish to check for updates daily.

    ii.    Regularly optimize systems, including defrag drives, check for viruses and spyware, remove corrupt indexes and create new ones, while making sure you have plenty of free drive space (ideally 20%+), all of which help to Speed Up QuickBooks.

   iii.    Consider upgrades based on current and projected workload.

   iv.    Increase Speed and Capabilities, While Saving Time and Increasing Accuracy, With Green QuickBooks Add-Ons.

    v.    You should never waste resources: natural, human, or computer! Any of thousands of QuickBooks add-ons can quickly and easily help with Speeding Up QuickBooks. They reduce errors and provide specialized capabilities, while saving time and money. See http://marketplace.intuit.com and http://quickbooks-ad-ons.com/

   vi.    Never Outgrow QuickBooks

  vii.    Set More Than 100 QuickBooks Preferences.

1.    There are many QuickBooks Preferences that affect your performance,

2.    There are more than a hundred preference settings in QuickBooks that, when set properly, can Speed Up QuickBooks, increase you accuracy, and minimize QuickBooks errors.

    viii.    Rebuild QuickBooks File.

   ix.    Make and restore a portable QuickBooks file.

    x.    Follow Up Services a Insider Tips and News to Speed Up QuickBooks

   xi.    Improve your QuickBooks Practices

1.    Change your procedure to use shorter print runs and run long reports when no other users are online, Speeding up QuickBooks Performance.

  xii.    Preventing unnecessary programs from starting when booting your computers can make a noticeable difference in performance. Such programs are a huge drain on memory and resources.

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