Here is how you can fix the Company File Not Found QuickBooks error
Intuit’s QuickBooks is one of the most popular financial accounting software available across the world. This new age application manages an organization’s accounts to payrolls to inventory to all important data. That’s the reason why small and medium sized organizations depend on this software. QuickBooks is easy use and every year a new version of it are launched with improved and new features.
QuickBooks is the most dependable software for companies, but at times users do face technical glitches which affects their operation. One such issue is the company file is missing or cannot be found. So, in this article we will in details discuss about this problem, right from its causes to its solution.
You may also see: How to Fix QuickBooks rebuilding not responding issue?
When this problem occurs you may see the following messages if you try to open your company file:
Warning: The company file you selected could not be found. You can try one of the following:
- Choose the ‘Open or Restore Company…‘ command from the ‘File‘ menu to look for this file in a different directory.
or
- Use the ‘Search‘ tool from the Windows ‘Start Menu‘ to search for this file in your computer.
Causes of Company File is Missing or Cannot be found in QuickBooks
Before trying out various solutions to the problem, it is very important to understand why they are happening. Below are the reasons why this issue occurs.
- When the file is moved to a different location on the computer then the path of .QBW might change
- The file might have been removed unknowingly from the local or network storage
- When use QuickBooks in multi-user mode there can be some network connectivity problems
- Choosing the wrong option to open a file.
Solutions to resolve the company file is missing or cannot be found in QuickBooks
There can be two conditions on which the solutions might depend. Below we will be exploring each of the situations one by one:
Condition 1: In case the user is not accessing the QuickBooks file over the network
Follow the below given steps if your company file is missing or can’t be found in QuickBooks Desktop:
Solution 1: Verify Network Connectivity
- The user needs to identify the name of the server system
- Firstly, press on Windows + R keys together on your keyboard and this will open the Run dialog box.
- Now type CMD in that box and then click on Enter in order to open the command prompt window.
- After that type ipconfig/all and then click on Enter
- Once down keep a note of the server names
- Now type Ping and then the name of your server in the next Window and then click on the Enter key
- The user should see a reply for each pocket.
- In case, you get any packet loss then it means that there are some issues with your network connection. You must use the QuickBooks File Doctor to remove this issue.
Solution 2: Find the QuickBooks Company File
In case you are trying to access the file through a network then follow the below steps on the server that has company file. If the file is stored on a local computer, then also perform the steps mentioned on the same computer.
- First thing to do is use the Windows feature to look for the file type
- Now click on Windows Start button and then type the extension of the company file along with an Asterisk sign in the Search Programs and the Files search box
- *.qbw (Working Files)
- *.qbb (Back Up Files)
- *.qba (Accountants Copy Files)
- *.qbx (Accountant Transfer Files)
- *.qby (Accountants Changes Files)
- After you have found the file right click on it and choose the ‘Open File Location’ button
- Open the file from the right location to remove the error message QuickBooks file is missing
Read this also: Steps to create a refund receipt in QuickBooks desktop?
Solution 3: Select the right way to open the file in QuickBooks
You need to always try to open the company file in the right way irrespective of the type of QuickBooks you use. Below are the steps to do it.
Step 1. Open a Backup file
- Firstly, go to the ‘File’ menu and then choose ‘Open or Restore Company’
- Once done select the option ‘Restore a Backup File’ and then click on ‘Next’
- Now search for the QuickBooks backup file and the qbb extension
- After this select the company file and click on the Next tab to open the backup file with ease
Step 2. Open the Company File
- From the File tab click on the ‘Open or Restore Company’
- Now tap on ‘Open a Company File’ and then again tap on Next tab
- Once done browse the company file by adding .qbw extension and the choose the Open option
Step 3. Open an Accountants copy transfer file
- Firstly, go to the tab File and then select the option Open or Restore a Company
- Now choose the Convert an Accountant’s Copy Transfer File and then click on Next
- Click on Next on the What the Accountant’s copy Can and Can’t Do window
- Choose the particular file that has. qbx extension and then tap on Open
- After its done save the file on your computer by choosing the Save tab.
See Also: Resolve QuickBooks unable to backup the company file problem
Condition 2: In case you are accessing the QuickBooks file saved locally on the same system
Solution 1: Searching for all company files
The user needs to navigate to the server system and then perform a wildcard search for all company files by typing one of the following into the search bar.
It should be noted that, the user needs to ensure to include the Asterisk, before the extension type to ensure the search works correctly. The below are the file extensions:
- *.qbw (Working files)
- *.qbb (Back up files)
- *.qba (Accountants Copy Files)
- *.qbx (Accountant Transfer Files)
- *.qby (Accountant changes files)
Once the file is detected, also note the file’s location and move to the solution. Also, if the file is not detected, then make sure to contact an IT professionals.
Solution 2: Opening the file in QuickBooks
The user needs to open the file depending on the type of the QuickBooks file.
- The user needs to open the company file (.qbw) or an accountant’s copy
- Now, from the file menu, the user needs to select the open or restore company
- Followed by selecting open a company file and then hitting next
- The next step is to select the company file
- And also, choosing open
- Restoring the backup of .qbb file extension
- The user is supposed to select open or restore company from the file menu
- And then choose the restore a backup file and then hit next
- After that, the user needs to select a local backup
- Also, select the company file and hit next
- The last step is to select the location where the restored file is to be saved
- Restoring an Accountant’s copy transfer file (.qbx)
- The user should select the open or restore a company from the file menu
- After that, select the convert and accountant’s copy transfer file and hit next
- The next step is to select next, if the what the accountant’s copy can and can’t do window is displayed
- The last step is to select the transfer file and then open it
To end the entire process, the user will have to select the location where the Accountant’s copy file will be saved and then hit save.
Fixing the QuickBooks company file not found error is easy with the above-mentioned solutions. However, if you get stuck you can always seek assistance from QuickBooks enterprise technical support team who are available 24/7 to guide you.
Give us a call right away at our toll-free support number i.e. 1-844-521-0490, and our experts and certified accounting professionals will be there to assist you.
Other helpful articles to read:
How to reinstall the QuickBooks PDF converter?
How to find your QuickBooks desktop product number, licence number and release date?