Skip to main content
A
acbk
November 11, 2020
Solved

data corruption - community experts out there?

  • November 11, 2020
  • 2 replies
  • 0 views

Instead of posting a REALLY long thing...if community experts are watching these boards...and have sizeable experience with data corruption errors (the ones that go beyond rebuilds, basic trouble shooting, file doctor, etc)...could you reply?   I've already received priceless advice from local peers/proadvisors that focus on desktop.  I've already done the support calls with Intuit.  I'm looking to bounce some ideas off a few more expert sources as I'm trying to understand issues associated with desktop files as they grow larger and start having the errors that aren't easy fixes.  Are there any out there that would entertain some Q and A back and forth?  Intuit employees...I think the only contribution that would be helpful is if you really understand the nuts and bolts of the "data services" process.  Other than that...I'm more hoping to connect with experienced community members.  Thanks in advance.

 

Best answer by Fiat Lux - ASIA

@acbk 

Our experience is that Pro and Premier data files start to take a long time to run reports at the 150-200 MB size. In addition, Pro and Premier become more susceptible to data corruption and other funky issues if they get to be too large. The Enterprise version was designed to handle a much larger data file. There are some businesses running smoothly today with data files over 1 GB. 


There is no hard and fast rule on this topic. Nor is there any way to know exactly how many invoices, estimates, etc. will get your data file to become “too big”. However, these rules of thumb relating to the 150–200 MB max file size for Pro and Premier have served our clients very well.

 

The question is which QBD year version you have now. If you are using QBD 2019 or later, you may have better options to condense your file.

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/data-utilities/use-the-condense-data-utility/01/203359#M127

 

2 replies

MariaSoledadG
MariaSoledadG
November 11, 2020

Allow me to share some information about what leads to data corruption, acbk.

 

The QuickBooks Data file is a big database. In order to be fed and read correctly by the program, the data has to be ordered and sequenced correctly in the file.

 

It's easier to keep the data in the correct order when they're small. When the data file grows large, the software struggles to keep all your data which results in data issues or corrupted files.

 

The utility tools you've mentioned above are some of the most effective tools that resolve any data issues. You can also check out the top data damage errors in QuickBooks Desktop.

 

You can visit these help articles in case you have questions about QuickBooks. 

 

I'll be right here to help you in any way. Keep in touch if you need anything else.

Fiat Lux - ASIA
Fiat Lux - ASIA
November 12, 2020

@acbk 

Which QBD version do you have? Pro/Premier or Enterprise?

How big is your file size?

Most of the cases, you may have 3 options:

1. Split the data and create a new company file

2. Purchase a 3rd party file repair service

3. Purchase a 3rd party condense service

 

Check our profile name and send your business email address in a private message to us.

A
acbkAuthor
November 12, 2020

@MariaSoledadG  @Fiat Lux - ASIA 

 

Thanks for replying.

Fiat...

The file in question is Pro. It is about 280K/300 targets. This file has been in use 20 years.

I can list all the troubleshooting things we've tried (extensive).

The errors are not stopping us from doing work. We've actually gone almost a week without any errors. But I am not confident that they won't start again (we have gone a while without errors before - but they came back). Example of errors are QB found a problem with Employee SS # field for Employee X, QB found a problem with Bank Account X, QB found a problem with CC Account X. Additionally many times that we try to do a backup it says QB found some problems with your company file, but don't worry - run Rebuild will fix. We've done rebuild many times and it always says it fixes things. I could list things it fixes.

Point being, unlike other data corruption errors...they aren't DIRE. They all "resolve" and allow work to continue.

We've done File doctor on our own and with Intuit. Intuit says...if errors start again, we need to send the file to "data services". We would be without the file for 1 to 2 weeks and we can't enter anything during that time.

The bigger question is...given that size and age, would sending it to Intuit "data services" just be putting off the inevitable (errors will begin again)...or might it really buy us a significant amount of time?

If the majority of opinion is....its just kicking the can down the road and shortly we will get errors again solely based on the size and age of the file, should we skip data services and simply condense the file?

If we condense the file...are there pros and cons to the various options of condensing?
1. Condense transactions before a specific date (one summary JE or summary JE for each month?).
2. Period Copy (using QB for Accountants)

Finally - the other question that we've asked Intuit, but front line support couldn't answer was...if we send the file to "data services", might they advise based on size and age to do condensing? Might they do the condensing? Will they communicate with us while they have the file? The rep had no idea but guessed that there would be no communication; we'd send the file and the file would be returned (hopefully allowing no errors for some period of time) and they wouldn't discuss with us condensing options.

 

@Fiat Lux - ASIA 

  • If you have any opinion or advice about the next step being 1.  Condense or the next step being 2.  Intuit Data services, I would love input. 
  • If you have any knowledge of pros and cons of the different condensing options, I would love input.

 

@MariaSoledadG  do you have any specific knowledge about "data services" and could you answer the questions that the support rep was unable to answer?

N
Nick_M
November 12, 2020

Hi there, acbk. 

 

Thank you for dropping by the Community. You raise some excellent questions and based off of your description of what's going on, I absolutely think looking further into the Data Services feature is a good idea. If you company file is damaged they will be able to restore it for you. I also would highly recommend reaching out to our Data Services Chat Support team during the hours of 7AM PT - 5PM PT. As they are experts in the product and can answer any additional questions you may have for them. I'm also going to include a few really helpful links below for you to check out regarding the process, fees, where to begin and much more. 

Thank you for your time and if you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to post here, rain or shine. Thanks again and have a lovely Thursday. 

Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement