# Connect several company files
Source: https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/guides/multiple-company-files/

> Connect more than one QuickBooks company file to the same app, and avoid conflicts when they share a computer.

Each connection reaches exactly one QuickBooks company file. If your business keeps separate company files, for example one per legal entity or one per client, each file needs its own connection and its own setup link.

## Get one setup link per company file

Ask the app for a separate setup link for each company file. The app usually creates a separate account or workspace for each company, and each one has its own link. The Web Connector then lists one row per company file, named like "App name (Company name)".

Run each link while the matching company file is open in QuickBooks. The steps are the same every time. See [Connect QuickBooks Desktop](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/setup/).

1. Open the first company file in QuickBooks as **Admin**, in single-user mode.
2. Open the first setup link and complete every step, including the password and the connection test.
3. Close that company file with **File › Close Company**.
4. Open the next company file as **Admin**, in single-user mode.
5. Open the next setup link and complete every step.
6. Repeat for each company file.

Each setup gives you a different password. Paste each password into its own row in the Web Connector. A password from one setup does not work for another row.

## Company files on one computer take turns

QuickBooks Desktop opens one company file at a time on a computer. If two company files are connected on the same computer, only the open one can answer the app. The app's requests for the other file fail with a message like this:

> A different company file is open in QuickBooks Desktop. Open the company file you connected, then try again.

The Web Connector also runs one connection at a time, so the rows take turns.

You have two ways to handle this.

### Let the Web Connector open each file when needed

If you chose **Yes, always; allow access even if QuickBooks is not running** during setup for every file, the Web Connector can open whichever file the app asks for, as long as QuickBooks is not already showing a different file.

- When nobody is working in QuickBooks on that computer, leave QuickBooks open with no company file open (**File › Close Company**), or exit QuickBooks. The Web Connector then opens each file when it needs it.
- When you finish working in a file, close the company file.

Requests take longer this way, because QuickBooks has to open the file first. Expect a delay of several seconds or more for the first request after a switch, depending on the file size and the computer.

### Use a separate computer for each busy file

If people keep a company file open all day, and the app needs another file at the same time, put the second connection on a different computer that has QuickBooks and can open that file. Each computer then answers for its own file with no waiting.

## Tips for a smooth setup

- Use a computer that stays on and is not someone's main workstation, such as the office's QuickBooks server, if it has full QuickBooks Desktop installed. See [Use the connection in a multi-user office](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/guides/multi-user-mode/).
- Keep only one QuickBooks version on that computer. See [Keep one QuickBooks version installed](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/guides/one-quickbooks-version/).
- Leave **Every-Min** empty and **Auto-Run** on for every row. See [Web Connector settings to keep](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/guides/change-connection-settings/).

## Check that it worked

- The Web Connector shows one row per company file, each with its box checked and **Auto-Run** on.
- Each setup link ended with **QuickBooks Desktop is connected** and the right company name in "Company identified".

## When to contact the app's support team

Contact them if you need another setup link, if a row in the Web Connector belongs to a company you no longer use, or if one file keeps failing while the others work. Send the company name, the time and exact message of the error, and a screenshot of the Web Connector window.

## Related pages

- [A different company file is open](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/connection-errors/wrong-company-file/)
- [Another update is in progress](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/connection-errors/another-update-in-progress/)
- [Remove the connection](https://www.desktopaccountingapi.com/docs/help/guides/remove-connection/)