Method:API Q&A

Re: Speeding up synchronization for accurate inventory data when processing complex API functions

furrywombat — Mon, 05 May 2014 23:19:18 GMT

Hello V.Cameron,

Thanks for this. I followed all steps, and I have noticed an increase in synchronization performance. After running the doctor, I also uninstalled QB and cleaned innocuous registry entries with CC Cleaner after reboot. Then, reinstalled fresh. Moved my QB file to a location on the same drive as the program itself and assigned a "force realtime" status on all QB and Method-Related processes with Process Tamer. Changed QB from single-user to multi-user and modified (added) the DB server cache options in the QBW.ini file (there was only one entry in the initial QBW.ini file which seemed strange to me).

Now, it's synchronizing everything about 4X as fast as it was before. Awesome!!

Best,

Re: Speeding up synchronization for accurate inventory data when processing complex API functions

v.cameron — Thu, 01 May 2014 05:37:50 GMT

Furrywombat,

The key here is your statment, "we still need to wait as long as 60-90 seconds for QB to finish processing the data before we are able to calculate outbound orders" This indicates to me that this is a QB issue, not a Method one, which is more often than not the case/. The problem is that QB is a really inefficiently designed database, especially where inventory in concerned. You'll want to make sure that your QB database is really healthy and as streamlined as possible, in addtion to the physical resources available to the host machine. Here are some resources to review, to make sure that QB is performing at top speed ( these are the current links - Intuit moves their KB article around all the time and these may not be working in a couple of months):

http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/articles/SLN54633
http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/articles/HOW12158
http://www.intuitiveaccountant.com/general-ledger/techno-topic%3A-diagnosing-quickbooks-performance/#.U2HbRlFdWNM

If your file is too large (the rule of thumb is 250MB for Premier and 1G for Enterprise) then it may be time to clean it up. We don't recommend using the QB "condense" utility. Instead we use Matt Clark of QB or not QB to shrink files, or we start new ones.

If this is outside your comfort zone, you may want to have a QB ProAdvisor reviw the file to make sure that it is healthly. Inventory is a really delicate part of QB and using Method (or any third party prgram like a shopping card sync) puts extra stresses on it. Think of it as trying to start running 7 miles a day - if you aren't healthy and wel-trained - you are going to be really slow and probably get injured.

[Edit] Forgot one - http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/articles/SLN65343

Speeding up synchronization for accurate inventory data when processing complex API functions

furrywombat — Thu, 01 May 2014 03:21:37 GMT

We're digging deeper into utilization of the Method API for complex data analysis and streamlining our internal processes. One MAJOR issue that I'm running into is the lag time associated with inventory updates when performing tasks such as item receipt creation, sales order to invoice conversion, et al... essentially, any task that requires QuickBooks to first RECEIVE the sync from Method, then spit the updated inventory item back to Method. One process that we've created is a streamlined RECEIVE INVENTORY >> CALCULATE READY ORDERS >> CONVERT TO INVOICES >> PRINT. The major issue I'm having is that oftentimes even after receiving the inventory (and using the MethodAPIActionSendToDesktopV2 function even more than logic would dictate is necessary), we still need to wait as long as 60-90 seconds for QB to finish processing the data before we are able to calculate outbound orders. We're not talking about hundreds of item receipts here... we're talking about 30-50. Tops.

I have had to go so far as creating a WAIT function in our API that is called after performing such operations based on the number of operations performed. I believe there has to be a better method... here are my initial thoughts/guesses:

A) The machine that the QB file is hosted on is about as fast as a workstation computer can get. Best of everything... and a 100MB Internet connection to boot. Would we benefit from placing the primary QB file on a powerful SERVER platform? Would this improve the speed at which QB synchronizes data back & forth with Method?

B) I did some searching in the forums and came up with a number of "recommended services" for remote QB servers, but my gut tells me that these are all essentially just like having GoToMyPC access to another computer that is dedicated to QuickBooks. Is there a different service that would be more like a strictly server-based platform with the kind of power we might expect from a Linux-hosted MySQL database? Something far more powerful than simply remote desktop access?

It would be great if we could speed up the sync processes, which would increase the accuracy of the operations we are performing. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.