A QuickBooks window is blocking the connection

A pop-up window in QuickBooks is waiting for someone to click it. Until someone does, QuickBooks turns away every connected app, including this one.

What you see

The app shows one of these messages:

QuickBooks Desktop is not responding. Close any open QuickBooks window or dialog on the computer that runs QuickBooks, then try again.

QuickBooks Desktop has a window open that needs attention. Close any open QuickBooks dialog on the computer that runs QuickBooks, then try again.

The first one is the most common. The Web Connector does not tell us about the open window; it only shows it in its own window and keeps retrying, so all we see is that QuickBooks stopped answering.

The Web Connector may show QBWC1053 in its Last Result column, and the app’s support team may see the code 0x80040414. During setup, the title is “QuickBooks has a window open”.

Why it happens

Some QuickBooks windows lock the whole program until you answer them. Examples are:

• a backup reminder or a “back up before closing” prompt
• a QuickBooks update or release notes window
• a payroll or service subscription message
• a “Save changes?” or error message box waiting for OK
• a password expiry prompt or a sensitive data warning
• the window that asks for the company file password
• a preferences window you left open (Edit › Preferences)
• a usage study, survey or product announcement that QuickBooks shows at startup

While one of these is open, QuickBooks cannot answer any app. Normal windows such as an open invoice or report do not block the connection. They can block changes to that one record, which is a different problem covered in A record is open or locked by another user.

How to fix it

1. Go to the computer that runs QuickBooks and the Web Connector. In a hosted setup, sign in to your hosted desktop session.
2. Bring QuickBooks to the front. Look at the taskbar for a QuickBooks button with more than one window, because the pop-up can hide behind the main window or behind other programs.
3. Read the pop-up and answer it. For a backup reminder, choose to back up later or set a schedule. For an update prompt, choose to install later or install it now if you can spare the time.
4. Check for a second pop-up. Some prompts open another one as soon as you close the first.
5. Try the action in the app again.

If no pop-up is visible but QuickBooks does not respond

QuickBooks sometimes opens a startup notice, such as a usage study invitation, where you cannot see it. The main QuickBooks window then looks normal but ignores every click. Press Alt+Tab and Esc to find it. If nothing appears:

1. Save any open work you can.
2. Close QuickBooks. If it does not close, end QuickBooks in Task Manager.
3. Start QuickBooks again and open the company file. Answer every notice it shows. For usage studies, choose the option to stop taking part (in recent versions, Help › Usage and Analytics Study › Discontinue), so the notice does not return.

If it keeps coming back

• Turn off reminders you do not need. Backup reminders and update notices can be scheduled or turned off in QuickBooks preferences.
• Install pending QuickBooks updates outside working hours, so the update prompt does not sit open all day.
• If the window appears when QuickBooks starts on its own in the background, start QuickBooks yourself once and answer it.

How to check it worked

Try the action in the app again. In the Web Connector, the app’s row no longer shows QBWC1053 after the next check-in. During setup, click Check again.

When to contact the app’s support

Contact them if no window is visible in QuickBooks and the error continues for more than a few minutes. Send the time, the exact message, a screenshot of the whole screen showing QuickBooks, and a screenshot of the app’s row in the Web Connector window.

Related pages

• QuickBooks could not be started
• Connection not active

For developers, see QBD_QUICKBOOKS_NOT_RESPONDING, QBD_MODAL_DIALOG_OPEN and the diagnosis cause quickbooks_modal_dialog.