many, many problems

[bowmanc]

We got a new computer in December (Windows XP). At the time, we were using QB 2001. It took FOREVER to get QB to work correctly...we encountered one problem after another (many of which I've seen posts about by other people).

Just when we thought everything was fine, we switched to 2002. What a NIGHTMARE! We have most of the problems fixed, but the one we still have is MAJOR! We can not get any updates. When we go to employee, update payroll, we get a error 126. If we go to file, update QuickBooks, we get another error message.

Since Intuit requries you to update the payroll by a certain date (in our case Jan. 29), we are at our wits end.

I have seen some suggestions on this forum that I plan to try, but after everything I have been through, I can not get my hopes up.

Let me just say that the person who actually uses the software runs a very small business. Although she has learned a great deal about computers over the last few years, most technical stuff overwhelms her. I am her daughter-in-law - I happen to work in the Tech. Support field and so I am helping her as much as I can. I am furious about Intuit's treatment of its customers. The fees they charge for tech. support are excessive. When my mother-in-law finally did break down and call, she she talked to a rep. that was VERY RUDE. He told her that the problem was not with his software, but with her machine. If that's the case, then why are so many people on this forum having similar problems. Plus, she is able to get updates for ALL of her other programs (including Pro Series which is made by Intuit). Oh yeah, one more thing...I know her computer is set up properly because I did it, and I do that for a living.

Anyway, (sorry for the rant) I would appreciate any suggestions from anyone who knows what could be keping us from receiving updates.

Thanks-so-much,
C.

[thymed]

I too just switched to a new computer with XP, I am running Quickbooks 5.0. My biggest obstacle was trying to get re-registered, after that all seemed fine. Now, all of a sudden my invoices are showing repeated words or parts of words and weird symbols they don't show when I print the invoice but they stay on the invoice and are very annoying.
Example :
Oatmeal Tart & Chocolate Chip nch !!
Oatmeal cookiesd Chocolate Chip nch !!
Drink ServiceXyI>0&*

Has anyone else encountered this type of problem? I am worried it is only going to get worse.

[lbisel]

RE: not getting any updates for payroll. When you go to employee, update payroll, you get a error 126. If you go to file, update QuickBooks, you get another error message.

Are you networked or are you using any programs that require Proxy Server?

The payroll update is encoded and firewalls won't allow it through. Firewall must be turned off first.

[bbender]

Originally posted by thymed
I too just switched to a new computer with XP, I am running Quickbooks 5.0. My biggest obstacle was trying to get re-registered, after that all seemed fine. Now, all of a sudden my invoices are showing repeated words or parts of words and weird symbols they don't show when I print the invoice but they stay on the invoice and are very annoying.
Example :
Oatmeal Tart & Chocolate Chip nch !!
Oatmeal cookiesd Chocolate Chip nch !!
Drink ServiceXyI>0&*

Has anyone else encountered this type of problem? I am worried it is only going to get worse.

I'm also getting these, I can't even duplicate them from my keyboard.

[Joey]

Bowmanc, if you just invested in a new XP computer, why on earth did you update your QuickBooks program to an obsolete version? The 2002 version is going to Sunset (no longer be supported) as of April 30, 2005. That's about three weeks from now. You can no longer purchase a payroll subscription and your 2001 subscription will not work. When you change versions, you need to contact the payroll service people and have your subscription switched to whatever new version you purchase. They won't switch you to a version that they no longer support.
Payroll hasn't been supported in the 2001 version since April of last year.
Why don't you consider upgrading to a supported version of the program and get your payroll subscription updated properly? By the way, the 2005 version is Excellent!

[Donatmontana]

I concur with Joey on updating your software. It is too old for Intuit to support any longer. WE were using QB Pro 2002 until we could no longer get payroll updates for it. We upgraded to 2005 about a month ago and as far as I can tell everything is working okay.

I do have a complaint about tech support though. After having a problem recording a JE involving Cost of Goods Sold I have called tech suppport on advice on how to record some entries. The latest being having made an error inputting an inventory invoice back in Dec 2004 when I was new to the company I work for and Quickbooks. Instead of setting up a new inventory item and then going to item receipt to put the inventory item in, I made the mistake of putting the inventory item in at the create new item section with the Qty on hand. This put the item into inventory, but the offsetting entry went to opening bal equity, not accts payable. My question to tech support was how do I correct the entry. He couldn't answer right away, put me on hold, then disconnected me. I had waited over an hour to talk to someone. The same thing happened twice.

When I called another number to get someone quicker and complain about the support, the individual said "I'll get someone that can help you." Then he put me on hold and put me into the que for tech support again. lol. :( Does anyone get it that that infuriates someone?

One last comment: can we get someone from the U.S. to talk to and not someone from India so that we can understand what they are saying?

[Joseph Upton]

Maybe I am WAY off base. But in my humble opinion when people have computer problems with quickbooks, the FIRST thing they should do is to try to load it into another computer that uses a DIFFERENT operatiing system (ME instead of XP or WIN98 instead of NT, etc.). That simple step can immediately tell you ALOT.
Used computers are CHEAPER than the cost of one or two phone calls to INTUIT.

[suzannemead]

Tech support is hit or miss for tech problems, but they should never be called for data input problems. Supposedly they are there for actual operating problems, not accounts or data entry. Don't waste your dime!

[Joey]

I agree with Suzanne, Intuit support reps (if you can understand them) don't know beans about accounting or how to record accounting corrections. And they definately don't know anything about US tax law. They aren't even very good on the operations that they are semi trained to do. You are much better off to find a Certified Pro Advisor in your area or get to one of the regulars in the forum to help with those issues. Just remember one thing. The forum is a free area and you can't completely rely on everyone that posts answers in here. They don't always know what they are talking about. By watching regularly, you will begin to see the more reliable persons. They are usually here on a regular basis.
To Joseph, I have personally never found it particularly useful to change computers to solve problems. If I have the program running on my main computer, I want it to run on that computer. I have used all Windows versions of QuickBooks on many Windows operating systems and never had a problem that was connected to the operating system of the computer at all. I have all versions since 6.0 running on an XP machine right now with no problems. The problems are usually incorrect setup or data corruption problems and changing computer operating systems won't solve either one. This is just my opinion. Whatever works for you is fine.

[Donatmontana]

If you read the terms of service for Tech Support, it specifically states: "Intuit reserves the right to limit each telephone call to one hour and each contact to one question or issue ("incident"). An incident is defined as (a) a single issue or problem that a Plan member asks a support representative to analyze or resolve; (b) a product usage question that involves a single topic on a drop down menu or one Quickbooks report, or (c) a single question on a specific bookkeeping topic...... Support is limited to Quickbooks installation and basic functionality."

Before signing up for the support plan I told them (Intuit) what my problem was, i.e. accounting issues. They recommended the support plan. You can fault me for thinking it could be resolved through support, but that is what I was led to believe by Intuit. Their terms of service speaks of "a specific bookkeeping topic". Why mention it if they aren't trained to cover it? There is no disclaimer that I see anywhere, disclaiming that we should not ask bookkeeping questions. But if the reps are not trained to do so, there should be a disclaimer warning the client that these folks don't know beans about bean counting, i.e. bookkeeping or accounting issues. I know now that what you are saying is true. But I didn't know it before signing up for support.