Method Community

Our synch efforts have gone haywire. Three main problems, and a question.  If you want to handle these in individual threads, we can certainly do that.

1) The Changes Only synch keeps repeating one single change, typically in the Invoices table. I can't complete a Changes Only or Full Synch. I launched a Full Synch and it started in-between the single-change synch statements, and is now hung on the Invoices table for the last :15 minutes.


2) We've had several conflicts crop up in the last two days having to do with the Invoices file. Message headers are:

    * Jan-06-2011 07:15:37 PMModificationEntity7095 QuickBooks returned an error when adding/modifying a accEntity record. The error was: The request has not been processed.. The Request was: Success
    * Jan-10-2011 10:09:38 AMAdditionInvoice205  The Invoice could not be added for RecordID ''205'', since the customer does not yet exist in QuickBooks or is a different entity type than ''Customer''.
    * Jan-10-2011 12:16:57 PMModificationInvoice2716  QuickBooks returned an error when adding/modifying a accInvoice record. The error was: The item "7FF81-1271450249" is placed in the request in incorrect order..
    * Jan-10-2011 11:39:17 AMModificationInvoice2403  QuickBooks returned an error when adding/modifying a accInvoice record. The error was: The item "79DC7-1266512828" is placed in the request in incorrect order..
    * Jan-10-2011 11:41:44 AMModificationInvoice2426 QuickBooks returned an error when adding/modifying a accInvoice record. The error was: The item "79CBB-1266965385" is placed in the request in incorrect order..
    * Jan-10-2011 11:45:50 AMModificationInvoice2463 QuickBooks returned an error when adding/modifying a accInvoice record. The error was: The item "7A37F-1267721730" is placed in the request in incorrect order..
    * Jan-10-2011 11:58:28 AMModificationInvoice2563  QuickBooks returned an error when adding/modifying a accInvoice record. The error was: The item "7E1BA-1269032040" is placed in the request in incorrect order..

3) We continue to get this synch error regarding TimeTracking. We don't use TimeTracking, so this is particularly frustrating. I have explored the permissions for the "CRM" user (which was defined as a full-on QB admin) and can find no setting regarding permissions re: time tracking at the company or user level. How do we make this conflict stop happening?

4) Is there a resource or reference regarding "resolving conflicts, how to" that you can point me to? Occasionally I can figure out what's being said, but most of the time I don't understand what the conflict text means, and don't know how to fix it.

Thanks.

Hi TogstTeam,

Given the nature of the issues you mentioned, this is not a sync issue but a transaction-level issue. I can't really assist you over the forum here, as I need to actually go into your account and figure out what is happenig. Please contact me to schedule a GoToMeeting session, and we will go over these issues. Please note, as this is outside of the scope of the forum, we charge a premium support consulting fee of $125 an hour for this service.

Regards,
Denis

Attempted to synch again at EOD yesterday, and the synch did not complete. I got four conflicts about 2.5 hours into the synch, all with the same basic message:

• QuickBooks returned an error when adding/modifying a accInvoice record. The error was: The item "8A0A0-1285783975" is placed in the request in incorrect order..
• QuickBooks returned an error when adding/modifying a accInvoice record. The error was: The item "8D3BB-1289501655" is placed in the request in incorrect order..
• QuickBooks returned an error when adding/modifying a accInvoice record. The error was: The item "8ED23-1291658222" is placed in the request in incorrect order..
• QuickBooks returned an error when adding/modifying a accInvoice record. The error was: The item "8FE58-1292339245" is placed in the request in incorrect order..

Why would a full synch take over 2.5 hours when no one else was on the system?

What does it mean to have a request in incorrect order?

Lee @ TogsTeam

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

Thanks, Denis. Email enroute.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.