Dealing with User Permissions and Third Party Applications in QuickBooks Financial Software

By Nancy Smyth, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor^SM

This article was originally published in the Intuit ProConnections April 2004 Newsletter and has been modified to reflect current methods (as of December 2010) of granting permissions for third party applications.

Situation

In QuickBooks Financial Software, issues about user permissions can arise especially when dealing with third party applications.  In some cases, it appears that all users need to have the same administrative rights when they sign into QuickBooks as when the software was installed.

Response

Better understanding the process may help reduce some of the frustration and allow you to assist your clients in installing third party applications satisfactorily.

The Process

When a third party software program is initially installed, and sends its first request for data to QuickBooks, the person who is the QB Administrator must be logged into QuickBooks in Single User Mode to grant permissions.

This logging in is a two-step process in QuickBooks Pro/Premier 2004 and Enterprise Solutions 4.0 (a single step in Pro/Premier 2005-2011 and Enterprise 5.0-11.0).

EXAMPLE:

Larry is the QuickBooks Administrator and Karen is an employee who will be using the third party application.  Karen does not have the same user rights in QuickBooks as Larry.

Step 1 - Larry would initially grant permission to the third party application, and after selecting Yes, Always in the dialogue box to grant permissions, and clicking the OK button, he is taken back tot he main QuickBooks screen.

Step 2 - Larry would then choose Edit, Preferences, scroll to the Integrated Applications Preference, select the Company Preferences tab, click on the app in question and select Properties.  There is a middle section that has a checkbox for "Allow this application to log in automatically" and a drop down for the login as.

In an example like this Larry would place a checkmark in the Allow this application to login automatically, and in the login as he would select himself (or create a new user with the applications name with access to ALL required portions of the QB file that the application must access), setting permissions like this - Karen would need to run the application with QuickBooks closed and use the program even though she does not have the same QB user rights - because the program would log in as Larry or someone with the necessary permissions.

In QuickBooks Pro/Premier 2005-2011 and Enterprise 5.0-11.0 steps 1 & 2 have been combined so that the permission granting process is simpler.

So while essentially what you are saying is correct - completing the Permissions settings as described will allow you to avoid the problem that you are describing.

I hope this is helpful & not confusing.

Important Note added December 2010: With Enterprise Editions tighter security settings QuickBooks Administrators, IT Consultants, ProAdvisors and Accountants should take special care when setting up user permissions as they can effectively prevent people from performing their job duties.  Please take the necessary time up front to make sure that the required permission settings for the third party application exist.  The time you spend initially will save someone a call to the third party applications Technical Support and eliminate the need to call you back to correct any problems. The developer of the third party program should provide (or be able to provide) you with the required minimum permissions necessary for the application to be used, if not contact their Technical Support team and ask them what the minimum user permissions for their product(s) are.

Enterprise Permission Settings for our software:

 Certified Payroll Solution - Enterprise Minimum User Permissions

 Construction Application for Payment - Enterprise 6.0-11.0 Minimum Permission Settings