How can I have simultaneous access to a single company file in real time?

SOLVED

Hi I'm a It guy trying to get my employers Sage 50 Accounting Multi-user set up to run off an single company file.......in the past trying to run and save from several users and computers in real time has caused some discrepancy's in the database. For example, one guy enters in one customers data.. and at the same time another accountant updates billing; Depending on who saves first the one of them will be over written, because the file they have open is not being synced (metaphorically, blow by blow).

Is there a way to have a company file and subsequent accompanying data sync in real time over several computers with active users (multi-user mode) on them?    

  • 0

    And Sage drive acts the same way onedrive will, but in (almost but not) real time and will not modify anything that is already open somewhere else without overwriting..

  • 0 in reply to Sean21

    It would be useful to know what year and version of Sage 50 you have (Pro,Premium,Quantum) and where the data files are located (Server, file share,individual computer).  Without this information it is not possible to provide any suggestions.

  • 0 in reply to Ginkgo Bike

    Sage 50 Premium accounting + payroll, 2018, the data is stored on a computer in the office, (not a server...looking into one though)

  • 0 in reply to Sean21

    I am presuming that you have enough licensed user enabled for the number of people who need access.  If the company file can be accessed from each of the other computers there should be no issues with multiple users, the program should look after record locking and other conflicts from multiple users; this is the same setup that I use regularly with 2 users.  I am not sure what issue you are having, you do mention about keeping the files in sync, but there really should only be one set of database files that all the users access on the shared computer.  Did you read the document about setting up shared accees etc the comes with the Sage 50 program.

  • 0 in reply to Ginkgo Bike

    Yes, we have enough licensed users. However this is not on a single computer (company file is one of them and shared through the network to others), we have 3 desktops with sage.

  • +1 in reply to Sean21
    verified answer

    Here are two documents that explain how to set things up correctly

    https://help-sage50.na.sage.com/en-ca/accted/2017/Content/Installation/WindowsConfiguration.htm

    https://help-sage50.na.sage.com/en-ca/core/2018/Content/Installation/InstallOnServer.htm

    The computer that has the data files is essentially your server, and the other users should be accessing it through a mapped drive to the file share that you created on the "Server".  It is good practice to have all users use the same drive letter for the persistent drive mapping

    Is the computer that has the shared data also used for Sage50 data access ie 4 total possible users at the same time?

    If two people try to open the same record one of them will be prevented from editing the particular record.  The MYSQL database engine should be handling any multi-user access conflicts if the program is setting the record locks correctly

  • 0 in reply to Ginkgo Bike

    yep I have gotten quite a few MYSQL errors, thanks for the advice

  • 0 in reply to Sean21

    It sounds like perhaps you don't have the "Server" configured correctly.  Check the documents and see if you have set up things properly.  You should not be getting MySQL errors on a regular basis, you should also know that there is an error log file located in the company file folder on your server, it might be worth taking a look at it;  it will be located in the root of the folder with the company_name.SAJ extension and it is called "errorlog.txt".

  • 0 in reply to Sean21

    Sean21

    I agree with Ginkgo Bike, you should not be getting errors.  However, you have not told us what the errors are.  Sometimes they help us know what is wrong.  Sometimes they don't but it's better to give it to us than not (just the basic message text at first, not all the details unless we ask).

    In addition, you have not completely told us how your files are set up to share from the server (Computer A, where the data files are located, whatever you want to call the computer where the *.sai file and *.saj folder are).

    What path have you shared for use with another computer on Computer A.  Can you see the data from Computer B in Windows Explorer.

    On Computer B how are you accessing that path on Computer A?  I normally set up an S: drive to access the Sage 50 data on another computer.  Can you see the data from Computer B.

    When you are logged in from both computers to what you think is the same file, are you in Multi-user mode on both computers (see the bottom right-hand corner of the Home Screen)?  You have to be to use the same file.  And you have to be using different usernames to log in.

    What do you see under File, Properties?  You should see two filenames from two different computers if two people are supposed to be logged into the same file.  The path will be different on each computer in this case.

    I've never used Sage Drive, but the last I heard there was not simultaneous access for doing data entry.  It's my understanding, only one person can do data entry at a time.  In addition, it is not designed to share the file within the same building on the same network.  It is designed so that if you have your file in Ottawa and a bookkeeper or accountant in Toronto, you can share the file located on your computer in Ottawa and the people in Toronto can see the data and if you are not logged in, can also do data entry.

    Are you only trying to share the file through Sage Drive?

    Also, have you installed Sage 50 2018.2?  I have been seeing reports here on the forum of problems.  See Help, About Sage 50..... for the version installed.  They may be the root of your problem.  But how long has this issue been going on?  The 2018.2 update just came out last week.

  • 0 in reply to Sean21

    this is past tense,fixed that issue last month.