Method:Classic General Q&A

Re: Multiple Synch errors and issues

TogsTeam — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 22:35:57 GMT

That's weird. I replied to Paul's posting this morning - wonder what happened to it?

At this point, we've been synching successfully since Saturday night. Based on what we've learned, we're recognizing and accepting the following points:

+ On the machine running the MI engine, we're going to log into QB as Admin whenever possible. We understand that although logging in as a user with admin-level permissions ("CRM") is supposed to work, that QB doesn't always agree, and we may generate some occasional "permissions" conflicts by using this procedure.

+ We're going to avoid making changes that impact many records during regular operating hours. So all Verify/Rebuilds and customer records changes will be pushed to EOD Fridays.

+ Michael, this caution applies particularly to the custom screens you've designed - we have to be careful not to "Update all" during ops hours, or we're in for a very long synch. (See separate email regarding the custom functions, please.)

+ If performance degrades again due to the volume of synched records, we'll consider cutting back on the history period we're currently maintaining.

Still-0pen Questions:

? Is it possible to configure the Method engine so that it only opens manually, and not automatically when QB is opened? If so, how does one do that?

? In general terms, what is the difference between the Changes synch and the Full synch -- presumably the Changes synchs are keeping the db updated, so what does the Full synch do differently?

Otherwise, we'll keep plugging along until something goes wrong.

Lee

Re: Multiple Synch errors and issues

Method_Paul — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 17:42:44 GMT

I'm going to add to this thread too.

About a year ago we experienced similar problems with our own QuickBooks database (yes we use QuickBooks and Method to run our company too).

The server running QuickBooks was shut down unexpectedly (I believe it was a power failure). After this happened, the sync started failing, and QuickBooks was shutting down regularly by itself. We ran a full verify and rebuild in QuickBooks, and after this happened we experienced symptoms similar to what you are describing.

Since we have access to run this through the source code and see exactly what is going on (being the developers of the sync engine) we discovered that QuickBooks had done a major repair on our QuickBooks file. Almost every invoice in QuickBooks had a modified date of today - and there were 10's of thousands of invoices. The way our sync works is that it looks for records that have been modified since the last successful sync. This is usually a small handful. It processes each one and sends the modified data to QuickBooks. At the same time if there are associated records (like customers because when an invoice changes, so does the customer balance) they also need to get synced too. So in our case the sync was taking forever because QuickBooks had indicated practically every invoice had been modified in the last few minutes - which overwhelmed the sync engine. Eventually, the sync engine synced everything and it got back to normal again.

If you want, you could verify this theory by modifying or creating a new invoice screen and adding the TimeModified column to the Existing Invoices grid. If you check that it shows the modified date. If you see a huge number of recently modified invoices....well my guess is that you are experiencing exactly what we did and you will soon be back to normal...you just need to let Method eventually get through all the records.

I hope that helps,

Paul

Re: Multiple Synch errors and issues

TogsTeam — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 01:55:05 GMT

Saturday 6:50 pm

+ Method engine crashed and displayed the "...encountered a problem and needs to close..." message.

+ Made one more attempt to restart Method and turn on troubleshooting options, but engine locked up again.

+ Re-started Method and just let it run.

+ Method is now churning through "checking desktop" in Invoices 1 of 1.

Re: Multiple Synch errors and issues

TogsTeam — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 01:47:05 GMT

Saturday 15 Jan 6:00 pm Mountain. Another day, more hangups and failures by the Method engine.

+ Both error-checking options are still checked. QB is open on the master/Admin account.

+ Yesterday's Changes-only synch, launched at 6:45, completed at some point in the evening.

+ The Full synch, which was scheduled for 11:30 pm, completed more-or-less successfully at about 11:45 pm last night.

+ I ran both a Changes and a Full synch this morning. The Full synch completed at 8:47 am.

+ Change-only synchs continued every hour until 12:50 pm today (Saturday).

+ At 12:30 I saved qbsdklog.txt and qbsdkold.txt to my desktop. I'll send them to you via email.

+ After the 12:50 Changes synch completed, I made some changes to various transactions and Customers in QB - in most cases, adding a TxRegion value where there wasn't one, trying to clean up a Dec sales report.

+ After reviewing some QB sales reports, I realized that there were transactions that been entered after the last time Michael successfully ran Update Transactions. Since the next synch was scheduled for 60 minutes away, I launched the Update Transactions function from the Method website.

+ I changed one Rep in QB, making him active. (He had been made inactive by staff mistake on Friday, apparently.)

+ Another synch started running at 12:55 (presumably a Changes-only). If it was launched by the PUSH feature, then that suggests that the system will start updating every time changes are made to the database. Given our experience with the MI engine's performance lately, that's not a good thing.

+ At 12:57, the Update Transactions routine completed and gave me a confirmation dialog.

+ For the rest of the afternoon the engine showed it was checking records in the Invoices table. Eventually, about 5:45, it showed signs of life, indicating it was working on other tables.

+ At Jan-15-2011 05:07:43 PM Method logged one conflict. I've left it up in the conflicts listing.

+ At 6:00 pm, the engine crashed and threw this error: "MethodIntegrationEngineForUseWithQuickBooks has encountered a problem and needs to close..."

+ 6:40 pm - restarted QB. Upon loading, Method engine immediately began synching. As before, I disconnected Method so that I could turn the troubleshooting options back on, but this time Method hung up and showed nothing but the hourglass.

+ I exited Method, waited, and reopened the application. As quickly as I could I turned on the options, but it had already started synching again.

HOW IS ONE SUPPOSED TO INVOKE THE TROUBLESHOOTING OPTIONS IF THE ENGINE BEGINS SYNCHING IMMEDIATELY UPON LOADING?

+ 6:45 pm - Method continues to show an hourglass. I'll let it sit there, and post again shortly.

Lee

Re: Multiple Synch errors and issues

TogsTeam — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 01:57:52 GMT

6:45 pm Friday 14th (US Mountain):

I aborted the still-running synch.

Confirmed that QB is completely updated.(Database integrity was Verified this morning.)

Rebooted both the QB server and the CRM machine running Method Integration synch client.

Re-opened QB on the CRM machine, logged in as Master/Admin account.

As soon as it loaded, the MI engine began ONCE AGAIN making 1 change at a time to the 'Entity' table.

I disconnected the engine and turned on the two troubleshooting logging options.

I re-connected the engine and manually started a new Changes-only synch.

The synch progressed through other tables and came to a(n apparent) halt, working on the Entities table.

Method/QuickBooks/Synchronize tab shows no completed syncs since Jan. 13.

There's one (old) conflict dated Jan 13th from the TimeTracking table.

Re: Multiple Synch errors and issues

TogsTeam — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 23:47:06 GMT

I launched a Changes-only synch via the Method website QuickBooks screen, Synchronize tab at about 11:15 am, shortly after we concluded our phone call. This was after it had apparently completed a prior Changes synch, although the previous one never showed up in my Synch preferences window.

It's now 4:30, and this synch is still running, and apparently making 1 change to the 'Entity' table at a time, about every three seconds. Synch preferences window still shows the last completed Changes synch was Thursday at 3:30 pm.

To your comments above:

Method_Denis:
1. Ensure you have the latest update for QB, (Help -> Update QuickBooks) and perform a Verify and rebuild the Data QB file in QB (File -> Utilities -> Verify Data + Rebuild Data). It is possible one corrupt record is causing the issue, and preventing Method from running further.

QB Updates are automatic. The last updates installed were dated Jan 4. I just ran a manual update, and there were no changes installed.

I performed a Verify at 7:30 AM Friday - no issues found.

Method_Denis:
2. Once the above is complete, kindly go to your Method Integration Engine client and under "help" enable the options "Continue On Error" and "Trace for troubleshooting". At this point run a sync.

I haven't been able to do this because the 11:00 am synch IS STILL RUNNING. Needless to say, we'll have to improve on that performance, and up until last week we've never seen this kind of delay.

If the synch is still not completed by 6:30 pm, I'll abort it, enable the troubleshooting options, and start another Changes-only synch to run through the night and all weekend if necessary, and forward you the log files.

Lee

Re: Multiple Synch errors and issues

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:52:49 GMT

Hi Lee,

To answer your question about things being purged, don't worry. In a scenario where you change transaction history from 365 days to a lower number, any records that have custom data that doesn't go over to QB aren't purged, but simply hidden, as there won't be transactions that will link to them. So if this setting is changed to 365 days for example, that data is retained.

Regarding the issue with the "locking up" of the Method engine, we need a couple things.

1. Ensure you have the latest update for QB, (Help -> Update QuickBooks) and perform a Verify and rebuild the Data QB file in QB (File -> Utilities -> Verify Data + Rebuild Data). It is possible one corrupt record is causing the issue, and preventing Method from running further.

2. Once the above is complete, kindly go to your Method Integration Engine client and under "help" enable the options "Continue On Error" and "Trace for troubleshooting". At this point run a sync.

3. Once the sync completes, there will be a log generated. If you are using Windows XP, the Engine Log folder is typically “C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\MethodIntegration”. If you are using Vista or later, the Engine Log folder is typically “C:\ProgramData\MethodIntegration”. Kindly forward us this log file if there is one.

If MethodQBListen is running, but changes are not being written to the ListenLog.txt, there could be a permissions issue.
a. Navigate to C:\ProgramFiles.
b. Right-click on the“Method”folder,and choose Properties.
c. Click on the Security tab.
d. Ensure Full Control is granted to all users on this folder.

We will then use this information to track down the problem on the database end.

Thank you for your continued patience as we try to resolve this issue.

Regards,
Denis

Re: Multiple Synch errors and issues

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 19:38:13 GMT

Hi Lee,

As per our phone conversation on this topic, in order for the real-time sync to occur, Method Integration Engine needs to connect to an open QuickBooks file. The user that is logged on that QuickBooks file must be either a) the admin account or b) a user with admin-level settings. Having said this, we have had reports of users experiencing issues with syncing when not using the admin account, even when all permissions seem to be correct on the non-admin account, so best practise if you experience permissions issues upon sync is to have QB open with the admin account.

Denis

Re: Multiple Synch errors and issues

TogsTeam — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 16:15:06 GMT

Thanks, Danny - the clarity helps, but let's dig a little further...

Your point is that the login for the QuickBooks session "under" which Method is running must be for a user with sufficient permissions, or Method/QB will generate conflicts when synching.

My question is whether that QB user/login has to be a) the top-level QB Master/Admin account, or can it be b) a different user account (we call ours "CRM") that has been given administrative-level permissions?

Or does that depend on what our synch settings are, in effect, asking the synch engine to do?

FWIW, we've been running successfully for months under scenario b), but lately we've been having synch lockups and failures. (I'm working with Denis on this.)

Lee

Re: Multiple Synch errors and issues

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:51:43 GMT

TogsTeam:

Denis - One point of clarification for myself and others: if I'm not mistaken, QuickBooks makes a distinction between THE Admin user account (being the top-end "owner" or Master account, required for certain special functions) and an "admin level" user account, which is given all the permissions available. Admin level users do not, however, have *all* of the permissions and functions that THE Admin account does.

Does Method synch successfully when using an admin level user account, or does it require THE Admin account?

(If the latter, that's a bit problematic, in that it means that no one else in the company can perform certain functions while the Method engine is logged on and connected.)

Thanks,

Lee

Hi Lee,

First things first, happy new year!

Okay, now onto the details pertaining to the user login issue. I did some more digging for you on exactly what the user is related to under the Integrated Apps in QuickBooks. Even I was a little confused. This is only important if that Integrated App is attempting to talk to QuickBooks if QuickBooks is closed. Since Method requires that QuickBooks is open, the user you select here doesn't have any relevance.

The user that we care about is the user that is currently logged into QuickBooks while the Method Sync Engine is attempting to talk to QuickBooks. If the user currently logged into QuickBooks does not have sufficient permissions for the entries you are trying to send over from Method, the QuickBooks SDK will reject the entries and not allow them to be sent over. You'll then need to login to QuickBooks with a user that does have sufficient permissions and attempt to send over the appropriate entries again. They will most likely be sitting in your "Resolve Conflicts" list.

I hope this helps!

- Danny

Re: Multiple Synch errors and issues

TogsTeam — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:05:24 GMT

Denis - One point of clarification for myself and others: if I'm not mistaken, QuickBooks makes a distinction between THE Admin user account (being the top-end "owner" or Master account, required for certain special functions) and an "admin level" user account, which is given all the permissions available. Admin level users do not, however, have *all* of the permissions and functions that THE Admin account does.

Does Method synch successfully when using an admin level user account, or does it require THE Admin account?

(If the latter, that's a bit problematic, in that it means that no one else in the company can perform certain functions while the Method engine is logged on and connected.)

UPDATE: Turns out that having Method log into QB as THE Admin does *not* prevent another QB user from logging in also as THE Admin. My bad - I assumed it did. Learn something new every day...

Thanks,

Lee

Re: Multiple Synch errors and issues

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:41:18 GMT

Hi Lee and Method Community,

I wanted to update this forum post to explain some of the quirks that can happen with permissions when setting up Method with Quickbooks.

When setting up Method and giving initial permission to Method Integration Engine and Listener to access your QuickBooks data in the "certificate" screen in QB, it is vital to select both the "Yes, always, allow access even if Quickbooks is not running" option, and the "Allow this application to access personal data such as SIN and credit card information". However one additional note is that if you have permissions already set-up in QuickBooks under Company -> Users, you have to ensure that both Method integrated applications are given admin-level permissions under Edit -> Preferences... -> Integrated Applications -> Company Preferences -> Properties...

Setting this to "admin" does not in any way impact other permission preferences in QB nor Method, but is required in order for Method to sync correctly with QuickBooks.

Regards,
Denis

Re: Multiple Synch errors and issues

TogsTeam — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:04:57 GMT

Denis / Michael:

After successful Changes-Only and Full synchs yesterday, we opened the MI engine this morning and it began the scheduled hourly Changes synch. After working for a few minutes, it is now (45 minutes later) hung on:

"Checking server for changes in Customers/Employees/Vendors/Other Names..."

Due to a deadline, we now have to disconnect the MI engine and let another user have QB in single-user, so we won't have access to the QB database for an hour or so.

What's our next step?

Lee

Re: Multiple Synch errors and issues

TogsTeam — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 20:54:51 GMT

Thanks, Denis. Email enroute.

Re: Multiple Synch errors and issues

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 20:28:14 GMT

Hi Lee,

Again, with out going into your account and having a look, I can't really determine the nature of the problem. Please contact myself or Michael Melo to schedule a GoToMeeting and we should be able to resolve this for you.

Regards,
Denis