Welcome To My Fellow QuickBooks Users
I’m Les Murphy… thanks for making the trip to my QuickBooks section. Although I’m no accountant, I think of myself as somewhat of an expert in QuickBooks software and hardware architecture, networking and operating systems related issues. I hope to provide you with some beneficial QuickBooks information as well as other tech tips. Please consider subscribing for regular updates.
QuickBooks Server Remote Applications On A Shoe String
They say one picture’s worth a thousand words. Check out this screen shot of my QuickBooks Remote Application Server, a QuickBooks multi user terminal server on a shoe string. You can plainly see three users’ remote desktop QuickBooks Multi User sessions and an administrator desktop session simultaneously working on an XP Pro based terminal server. This stuff’s so much fun.
The key to all this fun is a product called Thinstuff, a remarkable tool that changes an XP computer into a multi user terminal server computer. The cost can be as little as $99 for a three user license. Thinstuff uses several license models to help companies save on expense. Try it out by downloading a trial from their product purchase page.
I know you will be as impressed as I am. Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Server Lite and XP Pro saves me a substantial amount of money over Microsoft Server 2008 Standard Terminal Server or utilizing a hosted QuickBooks solution that averages around $50 per user per month. If you need control or have requirements for faxing, label printers, bar coding or other unusual things, this is the way to go.
To gain access from the Internet, port forward remote desktop through the local firewall to the QuickBooks server or avoid any tricky firewall configurations at all by adding another level of security with LogMeIn Hamachi. Install it on the server and any of your remote users including your CPA.
I’m still amazed at the number of times people inquire about purchasing a new XP Pro computer. I see no reason not to buy an XP Pro computer. I use XP Pro commercial desktop computers to build the Holy Grail of QuickBooks setups, QuickBooks Remote Application Servers, multi user terminal servers. I also use them to build QuickBooks Dedicated Production Servers, the standard QuickBooks multi user client-server deployment that I detail in my book.
The Dell summary worksheet details my computer specs for a new QuickBooks server, a great deal considering it has 2gb memory, 3 year on site service and 3 year anti virus software. As a mater of fact, I will use this computer as a multi session terminal server designed for both local access and remote access from a CPA’s office. The entire project costs typically come in under $1000 plus the QuickBooks license.
If you need a new XP Pro computer, all the major players still sell Windows 7 Pro downgrades to XP Pro. It just takes a bit of effort to configure and purchase them. I continually need a steady supply of XP Pro computers for small businesses. If you want to save a good bit of money, try searching Amazon for off lease desktop
QuickBooks Backup Fully Automated
I’ve seen a lot of pain lately. The latest, a small company assuming their nightly backup was working correctly, until they found out the hard way. It seems to me that loss of business data always involves QuickBooks, so I created a short film instructing users on automating their backups.
This process keeps seven days of company files available for recovery in an online location, out of your building. Seven days helps to alleviate the problem of catastrophic data entry errors, allowing a business to revert back to a previous day’s company files.
As I’ve repeatedly said, test your backup at least once a month. Do a complete trial recovery. If you don’t know how to do that, contact me. I can use the work.
Now the film.
Are You Ready For QuickBooks Multi User?
Visit painlessquickbooks.com to find out.
You Can Still Buy A New XP Pro Computer
I’m still amazed at the number of times people inquire about purchasing a new XP Pro computer. I see no reason not to buy an XP Pro computer. I configured a new Dell business desktop computer today for a project I’m working on.
The Dell summary worksheet details my computer specs for a new QuickBooks server, a great deal considering it has 2gb memory, 3 year on site service and 3 year anti virus software. As a mater of fact, I will use this computer as a multi session terminal server designed for both local access and remote access from the CPA’s office. The entire project costs will come in under $1000 plus the QuickBooks license.
If you need a new computer, all the major players still sell Windows 7 Pro downgrades to XP Pro. It just takes a bit of effort to configure and purchase them. I continually need a steady supply of XP Pro computers for small businesses.
If you want to save a good bit of money, try searching Amazon for off lease desktop
They say one picture’s worth a thousand words. Check out this screen shot of my prototype QuickBooks terminal server on a shoe string. You can plainly see three users’ remote desktop QuickBooks Multi User sessions and an administrator desktop session simultaneously working on an XP Pro based terminal server. This stuff’s so much fun.
Virtual QuickBooks Multi User Into The Cloud
Extending our understanding of routine software tools such as QuickBooks Multi User sets the stage for us to profit from new technologies. Most of us know the QuickBooks icon well. Our common frame of reference allows us to explore over-used, over-hyped technology terms like virtual computing, virtualization, cloud computing, cloud services and the cloud, in a way that guides us to a solid business decision.
In an article I wrote for my business, the last server you will ever need may very well be the server that contains your QuickBooks multi user application. I’ll show you one way that QuickBooks might be moved into the Cloud, explaining the terminology as we go. Consider this pathway as evolving from one configuration to the next logical step and so on. Chances are, your QuickBooks environment may reflect one on the steps along the path. Also consider that the entire point of this exercise, to replace the high cost of local infrastructure with the low cost of cloud resources motivates our journey down this path.
You may not be using QuickBooks in your business, but you probably understand that networked QuickBooks multi user requires networked server or desktop resources to share company files with other computers that have QuickBooks installed on them. Larger QuickBooks environments can have as many as thirty users. So you may have something like this illustration with PC1 hosting QuickBooks company files for PC2 through however many computers you have QuickBooks installed on.
Now, consider the very next step. Suppose you’ve reached the point in your business that you have more than a few users, you also have some automation going on with QuickBooks, you’ve purchased my “Build Your Own QuickBooks Production Server” book and you’ve replaced PC1 with a QuickBooks server. You now have the classic QuickBooks client/server environment that the majority of businesses find themselves inextricably bound to. That may sound negative, but it’s predicated on a business decision. Perhaps the classic QuickBooks client/server environment returns the best benefit for your investment.
Or, perhaps you require several servers, one for QuickBooks, one for your Goldmine CRM system and one for your email system. Enter virtual computing and virtualization, a popular “new” systems concept that’s been around for many, many years. I explored the costs of virtualization in a previous post.
Essentially, virtualization uses massive physical resources to create virtual resources. In other words, use one server to create three virtual servers. Then, instead of using three physical servers for your QuickBooks, Goldmine and email, you can use one physical server, much like this illustration.
The point of my previous post focuses on cost and how very difficult it becomes to make a business case for virtual computing and virtualization. But if you can make the business case, then by all means, utilize virtualization in your business, which brings us to the next step in our journey down this path.
Consider for a moment that your new massive physical server, now the most mission critical physical device in your inventory of business tools requires a more stable physical environment in which to operate and your employees desperately need remote access to QuickBooks, Goldmine and email from home and at customer locations.
Your choices require you to make software changes and place your hardware into a data center environment, either in your present offices or a datacenter. You’ve now entered a world of remote services utilizing Internet communications resources to access QuickBooks, Goldmine and email.
You own the server and other hardware as well as the hardware life cycle that dictates periodic replacement. You pay the monthly datacenter charges and equipment notes. You’re responsible to your employees, customers and vendors for uptime and service quality, even though you may have hired several IT people to keep things running. You know the costs and you’ve carefully considered ROI. You continue to pay for your computing resources 24/7 whether your employees, customers and vendors utilize them or not.
So, I want to introduce a new notion. Cloud computing covers a lot of ground, but the primary distinction rests with money. It’s a pay as you go program and has much in common with time shared computing introduced in the 1960s. You pay for only the computing resources that you use, and you can scale up or down as needed. “The very concept of cloud computing, and of cloud services, has been a long time in the making” but the name’s not important, the concept is. Yes, it’s datacenter and Internet based computing, using terminal services, web applications and Internet communications, but so is your own datacenter focused, virtualized computing environment.
So let’s unwind a bit. Some new ROI calculations comparing your own datacenter focused, virtualized computing environment and a Cloud computing environment are in order. Focus on the primary distinction of Cloud computing, paying for only the computing resources that you use, and scalability as needed.
Consider the three simple business necessities from the examples I’ve used above; accounting, CRM and email. Although your situation differs from my example, the logic aligns. QuickBooks alternatives exist, anywhere from utilizing RackSpace Windows Server instances to various QuickBooks hosted solutions certified by Intuit. CRM from 37signals continually receives rave reviews and easily replaces Goldmine. Email lives anywhere from an Amazon server instance or a cheap BlueHost web hosting account to a hosted Exchange Server account from Intermedia.
Research your own alternatives. You could save a boat load of money, returning it straight to the bottom line.
