Acctivate Database Maintenance Utility

The Acctivate Database Maintenance utility is designed to manage the Acctivate company list, connection to the database server, and enable users to create a new backup or restore an existing backup file.

Database Maintenance is located on the Windows Start menu, in the Acctivate folder. You can open Database Maintenance by selecting Start → All Programs → Acctivate → Database Maintenance.

Database Sources

Selecting Database → Database Sources displays a list of Microsoft SQL Server database servers available to Acctivate. Most companies have one SQL database server that hosts multiple company databases.

To create a new Database Source:

  1. Click New.
  2. Enter a Source ID to identify your data source.
  3. In the Database Type drop down, choose MS SQL Server.
  4. Enter a SQL Server Name.
  5. Optionally, You can enter a Database Prefix. By default, all databases are formatted as Acctivate${YourDatabaseName}, however if a Database Prefix is defined for a source, then all databases using this data source will have the prefix. Prefix should be formatted as "Prefix$".
  6. Choose the SQL Connection method:
    • Use Windows authentication: If your SQL server is configured to allow connections using Windows Authentication, select this option.
    • Use SQL Server authentication: Use this option to connect to the SQL Server using a SQL user's credentials. By default, this method is used with the "sa" user and password.

Database Info

Selecting Database → Database Info will display a list of all current Acctivate companies, along with the corresponding QuickBooks company information.

Use this window if you need to change the database source, point to a QuickBooks Desktop file's new location, or reconnect to a QuickBooks Online company.

You can also create a new Acctivate company entry so that you can restore an Acctivate backup.

To create a new company record:

  1. Click New.
  2. Enter a Company ID to identify the Acctivate company. It's suggested this name has no spaces and is concise.
  3. Enter a Name to be displayed as the user-friendly name.
  4. Acctivate Database
    • Select a Database Source (see Database Source).
    • Enter the Database Name. If the database already exists in the SQL data source, the name entered should match the existing database name. Otherwise, enter a database name. The database name should contain the format of Acctivate${CompanyID} where {CompanyID} is the Company ID setup at the beginning of this process.
  5. QuickBooks Company File: What you see in this section may change depending on whether the Acctivate company is integrated with QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online.
    • QuickBooks Desktop companies:
      • QuickBooks data file is the file path for the .QBW file.
      • Do not convert to Universal name: Acctivate will attempt to convert the .QBW file path to a Universal Name (UNC path). This ensures that other computers on the network can access the .QBW file path and run a sync. If the "Do not convert to Universal name" option is checked, the path entered in the field above will not be converted to a UNC path.
    • QuickBooks Online companies:
      • Connect to QuickBooks: Click this button to re-establish a connection between the Acctivate database and QuickBooks Online.
      • Disconnect: Click the Disconnect button to disconnect the Acctivate company from your QuickBooks Online company. Once Disconnected, certain functions will not work in Acctivate and therefore this is not recommended. After disconnecting, use the "Connect to QuickBooks" to reconnect.
  6. Click Save to save the Acctivate company information.
Note

When creating a new Acctivate company entry in the Database Information window, the QuickBooks Company File section will show the QuickBooks Desktop fields.

If you are creating an Acctivate company entry so that you can restore a QuickBooks Online Acctivate company, leave the QuickBooks Company Files section blank, restore your backup, then return to this screen and use the Connect to QuickBooks button to reconnect to your QuickBooks Online company.

Backup / Restore

This can be accessed by selecting Database → Backup/Restore. If the Backup option is selected, users can create a snapshot of the SQL Server database in a folder on your server. If the Restore options is selected, users can overwrite their current Acctivate company data with the data stored in a previously created backup (.bkf) file.

See the Backup documentation for more information, including detailed steps.

Database Verify

In Database → Database Verify will allow you to run a database verify for a database. The Database Verify process checks and updates the structure of the database to match the current version of Acctivate. This function runs automatically after upgrading to a new version of Acctivate. It is usually not necessary to run this feature and does not typically resolve technical issues.

Admin Login

The File → Admin Login option is a password protected login used by the Acctivate support team. Once accessed, the Acctivate Database Maintenance program can be used as a SQL database query tool.

Exceptions and Statistics

File → Exceptions and Statistics opens a dialogue window.

Transmit Exceptions to Alterity

  • Ask User: The default option. When an exception error occurs, you will receive an on-screen prompt asking if the Exception should be transmitted to Alterity.
  • Never: If set to "Never", the exception errors will not be sent to Alterity.
  • Always: If "Always" is selected, the exception error will be sent automatically to Alterity.

Operational Statistics
When this option is enabled, operational statistics (also referred to as Usage Metrics) will be transmitted to Alterity during a database verify. This information is used by Alterity to improve Acctivate performance.

Users who have the System Administrator permission are able to view the operational statistics by navigating to Help → View Usage Metrics in Acctivate. Clicking Refresh will update these values and transmit them to Alterity, Inc. These statistics are also transmitted when a Database Verify occurs.