Being a QuickBooks user, did you stumble upon the “file in use” error or ancillary locked file errors in QuickBooks? These errors are generally caused when the company file which you are trying to get access to is being used by some other program. This blog contains easy to follow remedial troubleshooting techniques that shall aid you in fixing this issue so that you can access your company files without any technical issues.

Different locked file errors in QuickBooks Desktop

Some of the most common file errors in the QuickBooks program are:

• “Company File in use. Please wait.”
• “Only one user at a time is allowed to do (a task).”
• “Another QuickBooks user is currently performing a task which must finish before you can continue.”
• “Sorry, you cannot change this (transaction) now. (Another user) is currently doing a task that uses that in this transaction.”

Procedure for fixing locked file errors in QuickBooks Desktop

Steps to follow if the locked file error refers to a specific user

If the error consistently refers to a specific user, and that user is not actually doing a task in QuickBooks, try these steps:

• Go to the user that is mentioned I the error message, and run QuickBooks on that user’s workstation.
• Now, on other workstation, the user needs to run QuickBooks. After wards, make a move onto the Company tab.
• Follow up by heading to the Users tab, and afterwards, hit on the option to View Users.
• Now, sign out of the user workstation that is being mentioned in the error message.
• After doing that, the next step requires heading back to the list of users. In case the user does not appears when signing in, perform your task as usual.
• However, if the user still shows up upon signing in, then perform the procedure for “Waiting for Company File” and “error on multiple workstations” discussed below.

Case : In case the error states, “Waiting for company file” or “Company File in Use. Please Wait”

This error message reflects some network related or database issues within QuickBooks. This is generally a result of incompatibility or the system not meeting the minimum requirements needed for running QuickBooks.  The solutions to this error are enumerated below:

Solution 1: Terminating hosting on all workstations

Perform the below given steps to end hosting on the different workstations:

• Start right-away by opening QuickBooks as an admin.
• Follow up to the File menu, and from there, advance to Utilities.
• In case the option to Stop Hosting Multi-User Access shows up, tap on it, and following that, hit on Yes for confirming the change.
• On the other hand, in case, the option to Host Multi-User Access appears, make a move to the next step.
• Now, make an exit from QuickBooks.

Solution 2: Stop and restart QuickBooks services on the server

• The user first needs to navigate to the server and also shutdown QuickBooks on each workstation.
• Now, access the Run window via the Start menu, or else press the Short key “Win + R”.
• Within Run, type in services.msc and then hit on Ok.
• Now, in the Name column, the user is required to opt for QuickBooksDBXX.
• Upon clicking on the service, hit on the Stop button. By doing this, no user will be able to access the company file.
• Afterwards, again sign in and try accessing the Company file once again. The file should be accessible this time around without the occurrence of locked file errors.

Solution 3: Run QuickBooks Tool Hub

QB Tool Hub houses multiple troubleshooting tools to fix diversified QuickBooks malfunctioning issues. These tools include Quick Fix My Program, QuickBooks File Doctor Tool, QB Install Diagnostic Tool, QB Clean Install Tool, etc. To use the tool for fixing the locked file errors in QuickBooks Desktop, perform the following procedure:

• Initially, get QuickBooks Tool Hub downloaded and installed from the website of Intuit.
• Now, run the tool and then make a move to the Program Problems tab.
• Now, use the different tools available in this tool to check for any issues and fix them instantly.

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