ActiveBooks
Answers to the most commonly asked questions
CONTENTS
What is ActiveBooks?
What is a Notification?
What notifications are available?
What does <this error> mean?
I don't know my email settings. Help!
How do I send a notification to multiple email addresses?
How much does ActiveBooks cost?
How do I find my ActiveBooks serial number?
ActiveBooks suddenly stopped working. What happened?
I have upgraded/re-installed QuickBooks and ActiveBooks no longer works. Help!
ActiveBooks doesn't support my report. Can you add it?
Can ActiveBooks email my memorized reports?
What are the various dates that can be specified when creating a report?
Does QuickBooks need to be running for ActiveBooks to work? Will I need to keep QuickBooks open?
Can ActiveBooks work in an environment where multiple QuickBooks company files are used?
Is ActiveBooks compatible with Windows 7?
Is ActiveBooks compatible with Windows Server 2008? R2?
Does ActiveBooks work with QuickBooks 2010? 2011?
My question has not been answered here. Can you please help?
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ActiveBooks is an award-winning QuickBooks add-on that monitors your QuickBooks accounting records and emails you useful, actionable financial reports. For example, if you tell ActiveBooks to email your Profit and Loss statement to you every morning, that report will be delivered to your Inbox each day, automatically!
The ActiveBooks Home Page and the Learn More Page describe ActiveBooks in greater detail.
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A notification is simply any QuickBooks information that is sent to you by email. Notifications come in two flavors - reports (emails sent at a specified time) and alerts (emails sent when something happens).
ActiveBooks supports over 70 notifications, including:
- A/R Aging Report: How much does each customer owe? How much of each customer's balance is overdue?
- Open Invoices Report: Which invoices or statement charges haven't been paid and when are they due?
- Overdue Invoices Report: Which unpaid invoices or statement charges are past due?
- Customer Balance Summary: How much does each customer owe?
- Payment Received Alert: Would you like to get a message whenever a payment has been received?
- Vendor Balance Summary: What is your company's current balance with each vendor?
- Bills To Pay Alert: Would you like to get a message when a new bill is entered into QuickBooks?
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What notifications are available?
The Notifications Page describes the 70+ reports and alerts currently available in ActiveBooks.
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The Errors Page lists common problem situations and offers suggestions for how to remedy them.
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I don't know my email settings. Help!
The Email Settings Page reviews what is needed to properly setup mail.
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How do I send a notification to multiple email addresses?
Simply specify multiple addresses on the "To" line when creating your notification, separating each address with a comma (,).
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How much does ActiveBooks cost?
ActiveBooks costs $99 USD for use on a single machine with QuickBooks Pro or Premier installed, and $199 on a machine with QuickBooks Enterprise installed.
Purchase ActiveBooks here using PayPal, Google Checkout or Regsoft.com, which all accept major credit cards.
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How do I find my ActiveBooks serial number?
To find your ActiveBooks serial number (which is unique for every computer):
- Install ActiveBooks, if necessary. The latest version can always be downloaded from http://www.activebooks.net/download/ActiveBooks_Installer.exe.
- Start ActiveBooks. The "ActiveBooks: Registration" window will come up:
- Click on the "Register Now >>" button to display the serial number:
ActiveBooks suddenly stopped working. What happened?
First, consult this entry if you have upgraded or re-installed QuickBooks.
Next, please ensure that you have specified a Windows user account on the Configure ActiveBooks... window, available during the Initial Setup or from the Tools menu. ActiveBooks may need to use that information to communicate with QuickBooks when no one is logged on to the PC.
If that doesn't help, then in all likelihood QuickBooks has gotten itself in a bind. A reboot will probably remedy the situation, but please send us the following information before you reboot:
- The error message coming up when the notification fails;
- The contents of the QuickBooks SDK log file, accessible from the Tools menu.
This information will help us to narrow down the problem and potentially fix the issue in a future version of ActiveBooks.
I have upgraded/re-installed QuickBooks and ActiveBooks no longer works. Help!
Unfortunately upgrading or re-installing QuickBooks can sometimes break its connection to ActiveBooks. You will need to re-authorize that connection to restore ActiveBooks functionality as follows:
- Start ActiveBooks if necessary.
- Choose "Configure QuickBooks..." from the "Tools" menu to open the Configure QuickBooks window.
- Highlight the appropriate company file.
- Click the "Edit >>" button.
- Follow the instructions to re-authorize ActiveBooks (the same procedure you went through to initially set up your company file).
ActiveBooks doesn't support my report. Can you add it?
Probably, yes. We are constantly adding new reports, so please contact us and let us know what you need!
Can ActiveBooks email my memorized reports?
Unfortunately QuickBooks does not allow third-party applications to directly access its memorized reports, so those are not available to ActiveBooks. However, you may be able to re-construct your memorized report directly in ActiveBooks by selecting the appropriate settings. Version 4.0 introduced support for date ranges, filtering by class, customer, job, and much more, but we are busy working on making other QuickBooks Report Filters available in upcoming releases.
What filters do you use to construct your memorized reports? Please let us know so that we can prioritize our work accordingly.
What are the various dates that can be specified when creating a report?
The Dates for ActiveBooks Reports page describes the dates that can be applied to reports.
Does QuickBooks need to be running for ActiveBooks to work? Will I need to keep QuickBooks open?
No. ActiveBooks will start QuickBooks as needed, even when no one is logged on to your PC. Be sure to specify a Windows user account on the Configure ActiveBooks... window, available during the Initial Setup or from the Tools menu.
Can ActiveBooks work in an environment where multiple QuickBooks company files are used?
Yes, ActiveBooks will work with multiple company files. You can set up as many company files as you like (select "Configure QuickBooks..." from the "Tools" menu). However, there is one wrinkle...
When ActiveBooks needs to get at your financial data, it must talk to QuickBooks. If QuickBooks is not running, it will be started and opened to whatever company file is provided by ActiveBooks. However, if QuickBooks is already running, ActiveBooks is only able to access the one company file already open in QuickBooks. Unfortunately, this is a limitation of QuickBooks.
Is ActiveBooks compatible with Windows 7?
Absolutely! ActiveBooks has passed the Windows 7 compatibility tests and has earned the Compatible with Windows 7 designation from Microsoft.
Is ActiveBooks compatible with Windows Server 2008? R2?
Yes. ActiveBooks has been extensively tested on Windows Server 2008 and has earned the Works with Windows Server 2008 R2 designation from Microsoft.
Does ActiveBooks work with QuickBooks 2010? 2011? 2012?
Absolutely! ActiveBooks works very well with QuickBooks Enterprise/Premier/Pro, U.S. and Canadian Versions 2008-2012.
My question has not been answered here. Can you please help?
Of course! Please contact us via email or phone or fill in our feedback form and we will get back to you ASAP, within one business day.
