Intuit Releases R8 for QB 2009, QBES 9

Note: I received the attached notice from Intuit about R8 for QB2009 and QBES9, and thought I should reprint most of the Intuit notice about the included changes for you, the gentle reader.  With the exception of the text in italics,  the text is as it was sent out by Intuit on Saturday.

Intuit will soon be issuing Release 8 to address a variety of issues with QuickBooks Pro 2009, QuickBooks Premier 2009, and Enterprise Solutions 9.0. This is a significant update, and Intuit encourages you to accept this update when it becomes available.  The major changes in the update include the following:

Most significant areas include

• Online Banking
• Payroll
• Multi-Currency
• Database Operations

Changes also affect

• Client Data Review
• Live Community
• Intuit Statement Writer
• Installation
• Help
• Preferences
• Backup and Restore
• Accountants Copy
• and more

Note: All of these updates are briefly identified in the online release notes.

If you do not do so already, Intuit recommends that you ENABLE automatic updates.  (Personally, I do not recommend that sophisticated users or those working in a multi-user environment enable automatic updates, as I prefer to manually update critical apps like QuickBooks so I can know exactly what is changing before the change is made – but you should install them as soon as possible.  To avoid possible database incompatibilities, you will want to coordinate the installation of this patch with other users in your organization to avoid potential database incompatibilities.)

To allow QuickBooks to update automatically, follow these steps:

1. From the QuickBooks Help menu, choose Update QuickBooks.
2. Click the Overview tab and click Update Now.
3. Select the desired downloads in the Update Now window.
4. Click Get Updates to download your selected updates.
5. When the Update Complete message appears, click Close.
6. From the File menu, choose Exit.
7. Start QuickBooks and click Yes to the message to install the update.

For more guidance, see the QuickBooks Product Update site.

If QuickBooks Is on a Network. Special instructions may help if you are using QuickBooks as installed on a network. Check with your friendly neighborhood ProAdvisor or your technology advisor if you are uncertain how to proceed.  Since this release includes changes to so many areas, you should update all of your workstations at the same time to avoid possible database incompatibilities.

Note: Don't worry if you have had updates turned off previously. QuickBooks updates are cumulative. You will only need to update with the most recent release, and you will have all of the code in the current release, plus all previous releases.

Brian Tankersley, CPA.CITP is a speaker and consultant based in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Tankersley is a Certified ProAdvisor in QB 2007-2009 QBES 7.0-9.0, and has work with CPA Firm Technology (including QuickBooks) for over a decade.  You can follow Brian on Twitter at twitter.com/bftcpa