QuickBooks 2011 Release R5
Intuit has released the QuickBooks 2011 R5 update to manual update. This is a quick fix to a couple of the problems that were introduced with the recent R4 update. There are only three updates that have been announced at the time that I’m writing this.
This article was updated on 1/7/2011
Verify Error
I’ve previously described the verify failure error in the R4 release (and a quick fix that worked for most people). Essentially, an internal condition would create a notification when you would verify your QuickBooks company file, and this caused Verify to not pass, even though your file may be fine. The R5 release corrects the problem with the erroneous notification, so we won’t have to worry about this.
That doesn’t guarantee that the Verify function will say your file is OK – there could be some real problems in your file that need attention. But this fix will get rid of the bogus message.
Client Data Review
The R4 release caused vendor names to be dropped from the Reclassify Transactions feature of the Client Data Review. The R5 update should fix this.
Sync Manager
A minor fix here – if your company file name had special characters (punctuation, probably, but I’m not sure which) then certain Sync Manager options wouldn’t work. This has been fixed.
Other Errors
(1/7/2011) The following additional fixes have come to light after the initial article was written:
- When trying to edit a template in R4 you may have received an error Unrecoverable Error 14867 99905. This is fixed in R5
- I’m not sure how to evaluate this – Intuit mentions an error, Error in reload.sql, that can occur when upgrading a company file to Quickbooks 2011 or Enterprise 11. They didn’t explicitly say that R5 fixes this, but I’m assuming that is what they mean. But that isn’t clear…
Should You Update?
Always a tough question. I’ve only used R5 for a very short time. No problems detected, but that isn’t a good test. Also, some people (Bill Murphy, for example) are chasing down some other problems that exist in the R4 release (such as some issues with Memorized Transactions). The R5 release probably isn’t addressing these.
My current thoughts on upgrades and updates:
- If you are using a version of QuickBooks prior to the 2011 release: In general, I’m pretty happy with QuickBooks 2011, so I’d go ahead and upgrade as long as you have good backups first. Although there are some nagging concerns in some places, for the most part the problems in 2011 seem to be less problematic than any you see in the older versions. Install a test copy, convert your file and play with it, but still run your older version until you have tested out the newer version.
- If you are using QuickBooks 2011 and have R4: Consider upgrading to R5 but only after the “automatic update” release has been out for a week, so we can see if R5 introduces any new problems.
- If you are using QuickBooks 2011 and have R3: Look at the list of things fixed by R4. If they affect you, update to R5 (but again, wait until Automatic Updates have been out for awhile). If they don’t affect you, and you are OK, then you may want to consider waiting a bit longer.
- If you are using QuickBooks 2011 and have R1: You absolutely want to update. You are already using 2011, you don’t want to stick with R1.
My mind changes on this daily, as we find new things. Lately there have been issues with new bugs released as a part of the bug fixes – so you don’t want to rush this. There are still some nagging details that raise some concerns in the R4 release, but these don’t seem to be causing too many widespread problems.
You can get this update from this link: http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/Support/ProductUpdates.aspx
Category: Program Updates, QuickBooks 2011
About the Author (Author Profile)
Charlie Russell is the founder of CCRSoftware. He’s been involved with the small business software industry since the mid 70’s, focusing on inventory and accounting software for small businesses. Charlie is a Certified Advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor.
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Everyone needs to give Charlie a big ‘pat on the back’ and a ’round of applause’ for, as always, staying right on top of the most current information about QuickBooks. R5 has been on ‘manual release’ for less time then it takes most of us to ‘tie our shoes’ but Charlie has already got his ‘Best Practices’ Blog written and posted so the rest of us can be ‘in the know.’
We all appreciate and thank you bunches.
William “Bill” Murphy – Oklahoma City
Here’s a big ‘pat’ from me Charlie! You’re the man!
Thank you Charlie! You are a true QB Guru !!
Thanks Charlie. Do you know if it fixed exporting & importing templates? I’ve been busy re-creating templates in my clients that I’m setting up new files for. Not an efficient use of my time or their money!
Thanks for keeping us up to date on this and I like hearing your opinions on whether or not to upgrade to the latest patch. Very helpful.
MB – The error with template importing doesn’t appear to be fixed with R5 – but I can’t say I did a really comprehensive test.
I added an “other errors” section based on additional info provided by Intuit today.
Charlie:
Have you heard any work from Intuit on Quickbooks 2011, regarding the excessive growth of the TLG file that many of us are experiencing and trying to manage on our system? I sen my QBW file into the data repair center, which they say they fixed, but I am still seeing excessive growth of out companys TLG file … from our experiments we are seeing a 2.2 megabyte rice in the TLD file per transaction entered…that don’t make sense and We are having a difficult time getting a resonable answer from them, much less an acknowledgement, that a problem exists. Sorry to ask and troubble you, but I am just looking for aome reassurances that they are on the case. I look forward to your reply.
I’ve seen reports of that issue, I’ve not seen it in my test files (but they are low transaction volumes), I’ve not heard anything from Intuit about looking at that. Note that my not hearing anything doesn’t mean that they aren’t looking at it – I rarely get advance notice from them unless it happens to be something I’m directly involved with.
Does anyone know if R5 will correct compatibility issues with Windows 7 64 bit version, for creating PDFs and e-mailing? I’m struggling with that right now…
Mike, R5 doesn’t specifically address anything there. But, I’ll note, you shouldn’t be having problems with PDF’s and emailing with QuickBooks 2011 on Windows 7 64 bit. Supposedly all that is in the past. I’ll note that I’m running on a Windows 7 x64 system and I have absolutely no problem with PDF’s and emailing…
That doesn’t mean that some people don’t have problems, but from what I’ve seen it has to do with specific issues in your installation, not an overall incompatibility in the program.
Thanks Charlie. I just ran the repair function and everything’s fine now, big relief. I appreciate your sharing your expertise with everyone.
Peter (in response to your inquiry about the TLG file):
It is not unusual to see the *.QBW.TLG file outgrow the *.QBW file for each transaction. Most people think it should be a one-to-one ratio, they figure I edited 3 transactions and added 3 transactions, so the QBW file grew by 3 transactions and the TLG should have grown by 3 transactions. But the transaction log file records all the changes to the database including inserts, updates, deletes, commits, rollbacks, and database schema changes. So the TLG file captures much more detail, in this example it would have recorded a minimum of 12 transactions each edited transaction was deleted from actual data row when it was opened into cache, then updated in cache, and then inserted back into the appropriate table (probably at a different row), the 3 new transactions were simply inserted into the appropriate table. Of course what we think of as QB transactions like a check are actually a minimum of two transactions (the header) and (the stub line be that expense line or item line), so in reality each transaction is multiplied by the actual number of inserts into the various tables.
The way to keep the TLG file reduced in size is to regularly perform fully verified backups of the QB data-file. The old TLG is then replaced with a new one since it begins afresh recording all the details of QBW file changes once the fully verified file *.QBW Company (data) file is saved. I would note however, that I always make a windows copy of the current TLG file before doing such a fully verified back-up so that I have the most current ‘old’ file in the event of a data disaster, because the TLG file can be ‘replayed’ using Sybase tools that allow for a new database to be built from the beginning of the TLG log.
William “Bill” Murphy
Oklahoma City
Do the R5P for the 2011 resolve the issue about we had a problem sending your file rto intuit server. you may not be connected to the internet, you connection may have been lost, or the transfer of your file may have taken too long. this is when sending accountant’s copy by the used of email within quickbooks.
Rhaimone, there is no specific mention of this issue being resolved. I don’t use that feature myself so I can’t test it.
Thanks charlie for taking time in replying to my concern but if there will be any updates please inform me i will really appreciate it
In response to Willian (Bill) Murphy:
Thanks for your reply. I am well aware that a TLG file can be much larger than a company database. Prior to switching to V11 we saw the size of our TLG file increase to 2 gigabytes over a 2 year period of time.
What we are seeing now, with V11 Enterprise, is the TLG file average growth per day, of 1.5 gigabytes … Yes, that is per day! This is most unusual, and it pses a significant problem if left unchecked. I also understand that it zeros out when a manual backup with verify is done. Our server, where the file is hosted, backs up to tape everynight and prior to V11 I had nocause for worry of the TLG file growing so rapidly as to overtake and exceed the disk space allotted to the Q-Books files on the server. We do not do manual backups within Quickbooks, nor does Quickbooks recognize that the data is being backup by another application or service.
I have been working with Quickbooks tech support on this problem since it was first discovered (our server sent me an e-mail alert that we were running short on disk space) and it was at that time that I found out, and became alarmed, at the TLG file growth for in the first week of use with V11 Enterprise the TLG file grew to just over 9.5 gigabytes! Imagine my surprise! On the upside, Quickbooks tech support has finally told me that there are aware of this and it is a known issue, that a kb article should be released in the next few weeks and that they are working on a “fix” or patch … in the meantime, I have to do a manual backup with verify every night or manually delete the TLG file which, when Quickbooks is started again, it recreates automatically, effectively zeroing it out. What I am going to end up doing is creating a batch file that runs when our nightly backup runs so that the batch file does this for me automatically each night instead of me having to log in from home and do it manually to keep it managed and in check til a patch is released.
I hope this better explains the scenario and problem we have encountered
Peter Venlet
Some template errors are due to a missing Arial W1 font – try printing a form that uses the template, if you get a message that the Arial W1 font is missing, it’s a quick fix. Open the Template in the Layout Designer and change the font for the “form title” (Invoice, Estimate, Purchase Order, etc.) to something else.
The Arial W1 font is a font that you must purchase – I’d like to know how it got into the templates, because I know I didn’t put it there.
Thank you for the tip, Nancy. I did see that in your blog (I hadn’t gotten around to adding a link to that). The issue that I see in my system isn’t related to that, as I’ve never seen that particular error message.
Every time I go to print my 941 forms my computer shuts down completely.I have the 2011 version of Quickbooks.I have been trying to have this problem fixed for over a month now.Been on line and phone calls with intuit,they decided it was a computer problem.Took my files to a brand new comuter.Our computer tech installed the program and got the same results.Intuit has install R5 but it still keeps doing the same thing.It shut the computer tecks computer off too.I have to have 941’s printed out by next week and still have not gotten this problem fixed!!!
Charlie: I found the cause/solution the the rampant TLG file growth that I, and many others have been experiencing. I posted my findings in the Intuit forum. Heres a link to those findings:
http://community.intuit.com/posts/tlg-file-grows-very-large-very-fast-enterprise-2011-possible-solution?cid=feed-posts
You,and others, may find it informative and helpful, I hope.
Peter Venlet
Agritek Industries, Inc.
Interesting. I’ll see if I can find out anything about this.
If you want “Search”, which works fast, there has to be data stored somewhere. If the TLG file is the place, and it grows, one would think that it would grow quickly in the first indexing, and then slow down to moderately grow as you add new data. But that is a guess.
If you do a backup with Verify on, the TLG file should be reduced – how much is it reduced? It should keep the index data (if that is what is happening) and not the transaction data.
Hi all, Charlie and others here thank you so much for all the helpful information related to QuickBooks.
I’m curious if there has been resolution for Erica’s issue related to computer shutting down when 941 are prepared? Has anyone else had a similar issue?
Jenny, I don’t have any info on that. I’ve not run into it myself.
Charlie, the link at the end of your blog post no longer provides the R5 manual update, and I’m not getting R5 update through the QuickBooks in-product Updates link either. Do you know if Intuit has recalled it?? I can’t find it anywhere.
Mary, I just downloaded the patch, and it installs as R5 on my system. I tested Premier 2011. Also, they still list “R5” as the current update. Note that if you select “Accountant Edition” from their product list, at this particular moment the web site seems to be broken, and it won’t list any updates. But if you select “Premier” it works, and that patch works with the Accountant Edition.
I don’t see “automatic” updates working for that right now, but that could be an issue with my installation. I’m not clear as to when R5 will go to Automatic Updated status, if it hasn’t already.
Hi Charlie, do you think it is safe to download the R5 updates? Are all the kinks worked out?
Irene, that is a tough question to answer. I’ll give you an answer that, unfortunately, isn’t definitive.
1. I’ve been running R5 since it first came out, and I’ve not had any problems other than ones that I know exist (bugs that have been around for years, and that import/export problem with form templates).
2. I have worked with a small number of clients on R5, none have shown any problems that I’m aware of.
3. I know of at least two ProAdvisors who are certain that problems they have run into are either due to R4, or R5, that they have trouble getting around. I have not had my hands on these files to see what might be going on.
4. I know that there is an R6 update in the works – but that is normal, and not indicative of any urgent issue, by itself.
5. I asked a higher level Intuit employee about a particular problem that has been outlined by some people, and was hoping for feedback, but haven’t heard back about it. But this is an issue that should exist even back to R1.
Not a straight forward answer. I don’t want to say “OK, go for it” as I’m not 100% sure that there isn’t a big issue. But I don’t have any personal direct knowledge of a big problem, I just see reports from a few other people…
I’d say – if you are on R4, go with R5. If you are on R1, go with R5. R3? Tougher call. Pre-2011? Tougher call.
So, I’m curious.. as of R5, is QB Pro 2011 now completely compatible with Office 2010 (32-bit), including Outlook 2010? Perusing the Intuit support & community sites seems to indicate numerous problems yet. I have a couple of customers interested in upgrading to QB 2011 & Office 2010 (including myself), but have been hesitant to make the move yet.
“Completely”? I’m not sure that I would say that, but to be honest I haven’t fully tested that. And you get the issue of 32 bit vs 64 bit computers, and 32 bit vs 64 bit versions of Office.
See the Intuit web site on compatibility at http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/Articles/INF12830 – but I’m not sure that they have updated this lately.
Sorry I don’t have a comprehensive answer on this. I do need to dig in further…
Thanks Charlie, I understand the whole 32 vs 64-bit issue and this is actually a much broader issue for any applications which integrate with Office products. I’ll be sticking with the 32-bit version for quite some time yet.
I think my main concerns, as well as those of my customers, are centered around the compatibility between QB 2011 & Outlook 2010 – primarily the ability to email invoices & statements and the customer/contact synchronization. Word & Excel compatibility seems to be much less of an issue.
And yes, you’re right, I don’t think Intuit has updated the FAQ regarding Office 2010 compatibility – that was the first place I tried looking. I also find their community forums mostly useless – lot’s of questions, but few answers. Amazing how many customers questions go unanswered there…