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Desktop Accounting API

A record is open or locked by another user

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The app tried to change a record, such as an invoice, customer or item, that someone has open in QuickBooks. QuickBooks locks a record while it is being edited, so the app’s change waits.

What you see

Section titled “What you see”

The app shows:

Someone is editing this record in QuickBooks Desktop. Close it in QuickBooks, then try again.

The app’s support team may see the QuickBooks status code 3175 or 3176.

Why it happens

Section titled “Why it happens”

When you open a record for editing in QuickBooks, QuickBooks reserves it for you. In multi-user mode, a record open on any computer is locked for everyone else, including connected apps. This protects you from two people overwriting each other.

The lock covers that record, and sometimes records linked to it. For example, an open invoice can block a change to a payment applied to it. The rest of the connection keeps working.

How to fix it

Section titled “How to fix it”
  1. Look for the record in QuickBooks on every computer that has the file open. Check open windows for the invoice, customer, item or other record the app was changing.
  2. Save or close that window. If you are not sure which window it is, save your work and close all open forms in QuickBooks.
  3. Ask other users to do the same.
  4. Try the action in the app again. Many apps retry on their own after a short wait.

If no window is open anywhere, a lock can be left behind by a QuickBooks session that ended badly, such as a computer that lost its network connection. Have everyone close QuickBooks, then open it again.

When the app was deleting a record, the same status can also mean that other records still use it, such as an account used by a transfer. That does not go away by waiting. Change or remove the records that use it first, or mark the record inactive instead of deleting it.

How to check it worked

Section titled “How to check it worked”

Repeat the action in the app. The change goes through, and the record shows the update when you open it in QuickBooks.

When to contact the app’s support

Section titled “When to contact the app’s support”

Contact them if the error keeps happening when nobody has the record open. Send the time, the exact message, which record the app was changing, and how many people use the file at once.

Section titled “Related pages”

For developers, see QBD_OBJECT_IN_USE.