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:
- Click New.
- Enter a Source ID to identify your data source.
- In the Database Type drop down, choose MS SQL Server.
- Enter a SQL Server Name.
- Optionally, You can enter a Database Prefix. By default, all databases are formatted as Acctivate${YourDatabaseName}, however if a Database Prefix is defined for a source, then all databases using this data source will have the prefix. Prefix should be formatted as "Prefix$".
- 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 file (QBW).
To create a new company record:
- Click New.
- Enter a Company ID to identify the Acctivate company. It's suggested this name has no spaces and is concise.
- Enter a Name to be displayed as the user-friendly name.
- 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.
- Optionally, enter the Quickbooks data file path for the .QBW file. For QuickBooks Online companies, leave this field blank.
- Do not convert to Universal name: This option applies to Acctivate companies integrated with QuickBooks Desktop. 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.
- Reset Link: This function is not available to Acctivate users for QuickBooks Desktop. QuickBooks Online users can click the Rest Link button in order to re-link Acctivate to their QuickBooks Online company.
- Click Save to save the source.
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.