# Move the connection to a new computer
Source: https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/guides/move-to-new-computer/

> Connect the same QuickBooks company file from a different Windows computer and retire the old one.

The connection runs on one Windows computer: the one where the QuickBooks Web Connector checks in. When you replace that computer, or decide another computer in the office should run the connection, you set the connection up again on the new computer. The app keeps the same connection to your company file. Only the computer changes.

You do not need to remove anything first. When setup finishes on the new computer, the old computer's connector stops working automatically.

## Before you start

- Ask the app for a new setup link. A link from your first setup has expired by now, and the app's support team can create a fresh one.
- Have the QuickBooks Admin password ready. You need it to allow access on the new computer.
- Pick the right computer. It should stay on, stay signed in to Windows, and open the company file in QuickBooks Desktop. In a multi-user office, this is usually the computer that hosts the company file. See [Use the connection in a multi-user office](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/guides/multi-user-mode/).
- Install QuickBooks Desktop on the new computer if it is not there yet. Install only one QuickBooks version. See [Keep one QuickBooks version installed](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/guides/one-quickbooks-version/).

## Set up the new computer

1. On the new computer, open QuickBooks Desktop and open the same company file the app was connected to. The file can be in a different folder than before. It must be the same company.
2. Sign in to the company file as **Admin** and switch to single-user mode with **File › Switch to Single-user Mode** if that option is shown.
3. Open the new setup link on the new computer. Because the company is already connected, the first page asks **What changed?** Choose **I'm moving to a different computer**, then follow every step. The steps are the same as your first setup. See [Connect QuickBooks Desktop](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/setup/).
4. Paste the new password into the Web Connector on the new computer. The old password does not work here, because each setup creates a new connector with its own password.
5. Wait on the **Test the connection** step until all four checks pass and you see **QuickBooks Desktop is connected**.

> **Note:**
> QuickBooks may skip the Application Certificate window on the new computer, because the company file can remember that it already allowed the app. If the window does not appear, continue to the password step.

## Clean up the old computer

As soon as the new computer passes the connection test, the old connector is revoked. If the old computer is still running, its Web Connector keeps trying and the server refuses it. Nothing reaches your company file from there, but the old computer may show errors, so remove the entry:

1. On the old computer, open the QuickBooks Web Connector.
2. Find the row for the app and click **Remove**, then confirm.

The full steps are in [Remove the connection](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/guides/remove-connection/). If you are throwing the old computer away or wiping it, you can skip this.

## If the company file moved too

If you copied the company file to the new computer, open the copy in QuickBooks before you run the setup link, and keep using that copy from now on. Do not let people keep working in the old copy. Two copies of the same company drift apart, and the app only reads and writes one of them.

If the app later says it cannot find the company file, see [Fix a moved, renamed or restored company file](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/guides/moved-or-renamed-file/).

## Check that it worked

- The setup page on the new computer shows **QuickBooks Desktop is connected**.
- In the new computer's Web Connector, the app's row has its box checked and **Auto-Run** on.
- Something you do in the app that needs QuickBooks works without an error.

## When to contact the app's support team

Contact them if the connection test does not pass on the new computer, or if the app still reports the connection as not active after setup. Send them:

- the time you finished setup,
- the exact error message you see, if any,
- a screenshot of the app's row in the new computer's Web Connector.

The app's support team can see your connection status and create a new setup link.

## Related pages

- [Connect QuickBooks Desktop](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/setup/)
- [Requirements](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/requirements/)
- [Start QuickBooks and the Web Connector at sign-in](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/guides/start-automatically/)
- [Connection not active](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/connection-errors/connection-not-active/)