5 Easy Fix to “Quickbooks Company File in use please wait”

The QuickBooks application may often display an error message saying, “Quickbooks Company File in use please wait.” And you may struggle to open the Company File in the QuickBooks Desktop application. This might happen because you are running QuickBooks in multi-user mode, or QuickBooks already has a company file open by any other user or application. However, there is no need to panic in this situation, as resolving this issue is easy and requires a few simple troubleshooting methods. Follow the complete article if you are also concerned about the Company File in use error in QuickBooks.

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What Does “Quickbooks Company File in use please wait” Imply.

When the QuickBooks software locks you out and does not enable you to open the company file because of the “Company File in use error” in QuickBooks. It will display the detailed error message saying:

“Another QuickBooks user (Unknown user) is currently performing a task which must finish before you can continue. QuickBooks will resume automatically when the other user’s task has been completed.

We recommend that you continue to wait for the other user to finish. You can, however, press the ESC key to quit QuickBooks rather than keep waiting. If you choose to quit, QuickBooks will close your data file and shut down.”

This “Company File in Use” QuickBooks Error Message signifies that the 

• The company file is already in use, and you have to wait.
• Some other user is performing some task, and it must get finished before you can continue.
• You can not close the company file at the moment because another application is currently using it.

Possible Causes for Quickbooks Company File in use please wait

QuickBooks allows you to give permission to different users to access, view, and edit your company files. But if you are having some hosting setup issues, QuickBooks may prompt you with the “Quickbooks Company File in use please wait” error. These reasons include:

• Another application running in the background on your system is using the company file.
• The hosting settings of your QuickBooks desktop are not correctly configured on the workstation.
• If the file is hosted on the multi-user mode, and someone is performing some task on the company file, which is set to a specific user at a time setting. In this case, you may face the Company File in use error in QuickBooks.
• The settings for QuickBooks Database Server Manager are not correctly configured.
• You are having some issue with the company file, or it has been corrupted.

5 Easy Fixes for Quickbooks Company File in use please wait

To rectify the “Company File in use error in QuickBooks,” you need to check the hosting settings on every system on which you use QuickBooks. You can also use QuickBooks Database Server Manager to rectify the error.

Fix 1: Verifying if the Hosting Settings are correctly configured on Each Workstation

When you have hosted the company file on more than one system or workstation on a server, the “Quickbooks Company File in use please wait” error may appear. To resolve this, manually check the hosting setting on each workstation.

1. First, open the File menu and select the Utilities option.
2. If the Stop Hosting Multi-User Access option is displayed there, click on it and press YES.
3. If the Host Multi-User Access option is displayed there, then the hosting settings are correct for that workstation.
4. Now, close your QuickBooks application and follow the same steps for all the computers that do not have the Host Multi-User Access option enabled.

Remember, this solution for “Company File in use Quickbooks Company File in use please wait” error is only applicable if you are getting this error on multiple workstations.

Fix 2: Running the QuickBooks Database Server Manager from the Task Manager

The QuickBooks Database Server Manager enables you to share your company file with the other workstations hosted over the network. If you have not set up your settings properly, you will not be able to access the company file on the other computer, and you may face the “Quickbooks Company File in use please wait” error message. To rectify this error, restart your QuickBooks Database Server Manager on your server computer hosting your company file and follow the given steps.

1. Right-click and open the taskbar and click on the Start Task Manager.
2. Go to the Processes tab and locate and click right on the QuickBooks DBXX. (Here, XX means the version of QuickBooks desktop version you are using.)
3. Now, choose the End Proces option from the menu.
4. Tap Yes to confirm the changes.

You can also Backup QuickBooks Desktop company file, know how.

Fix 3: Sign Out the User Referred to in the Error message to rectify the “QuickBooks company file in use unknown user” error.

If the error message refers to a specific user, but the user is currently not performing any task in the QuickBooks, then you need to sign the user off out of the QB.

1. First, close the QuickBooks Desktop application on the system of the user referred to in the error message and reopen it again.
2. Now, from any other system, open the QuickBooks application. Next, click on the Company menu option, scroll down to the Users tab and click on the View Users option.
3. Now, sign out the referred user from the QB on their workstation.

If you don’t find the specified user in the list of the users that signed in the QB, try opening the company file.

This time, you won’t see the error message on your screen and will be able to open the company file easily.

Fix 4: Setting Up the Permissions to other Users in QuickBooks to fix the “Quickbooks Company File in use please wait” error.

The user having admin rights in QuickBooks can assign adequate admin rights to the other users to access the company file without any restrictions.

1. Open the QuickBooks application on the system that is not facing the error.
2. Open the Company File and navigate to the View Users option under the Users section.
3. Now, ensure that the user-facing the Company File in use error in QuickBooks is not accessing the company file.
4. Now, go to the Users tab from the Company option and choose the Set UP Users and Roles option.
5. Now, tap on New and type the name of the new user.
6. After typing the name, hit Add and now add a role to the new account from the Roles section.
7. In the end, hit OK and then Close.

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Fix 5: Using the QuickBooks Tool Hub to rectify the Quickbooks Company File in use please wait to fix the “Quickbooks Company File in use please wait” error.

QuickBooks Tool Hub is an all-in-one solution to fix some minor issues with the QuickBooks desktop application. For this, you can download the QuickBooks Tool hub and use it to rectify the other errors as well.

1. Open and Launch the tool hub.
2. Click the Program Problems tab from the tool hub dialog box.
3. Now, one by one, run each of the tools given under the Program Problems window.
4.  After that, check the company file in the QuickBooks application.

The Final Note

Sometimes, you may encounter the “Quickbooks Company File in use please wait” error because an unknown application uses the company file in the background. So you can also choose the End Task option from the Task Manager to close the applications one by one. Also, you can perform a clean installation of the QuickBooks desktop application on the server to ensure that you don’t face any errors in the future. Apart from this, also ensure to timely update the QB application to avoid facing any errors. For any other , you can contact our support team directly.

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Frequently Asked Questions