Keep one QuickBooks version installed

When a new year’s QuickBooks Desktop is installed, the older year often stays on the computer. QuickBooks allows that, but the Web Connector does not cope well with it. When it needs to start QuickBooks, it can start the older version. The older version may refuse to open a company file that the newer version updated, or show a dialog nobody sees. The app’s requests then fail.

Signs you have more than one version

• The app reports that QuickBooks could not be started, or that QuickBooks is still starting, even though QuickBooks opens fine when you click it.
• A QuickBooks window from an older year appears by itself.
• You see “Unable to cast COM object” in the Web Connector.
• QuickBooks asks to update the company file even though you updated it already.

Find installed versions

1. Open Settings › Apps › Installed apps in Windows 11, or Settings › Apps › Apps & features in Windows 10. You can also use Control Panel › Programs and Features.
2. Type QuickBooks in the search box.
3. Look for entries like “QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2022” and “QuickBooks Desktop Pro 2024”. Different years of the same product, or different products such as Premier and Enterprise, count as separate versions.

Entries such as “QuickBooks Web Connector”, “QuickBooks Database Server Manager” or tools from Intuit are not QuickBooks versions. Leave them alone.

Remove the older versions

Before you remove anything, check that everyone opens the company file in the newest version, and that no other company file still needs the older year.

1. Close QuickBooks and the Web Connector.
2. In the list of apps, select the older QuickBooks version and choose Uninstall. Follow the prompts.
3. Repeat for any other older versions.
4. Restart the computer.
5. Open the remaining QuickBooks version. If it offers to repair or finish its installation, let it.
6. Open the company file and then the Web Connector with File › App Management › Update Web Services.

Uninstalling QuickBooks does not delete company files.

Caution

Keep the installer or license details for the version you keep. If removing the old version damages shared components, you may need to repair the remaining QuickBooks install from Settings › Apps.

Check that it worked

1. The installed apps list shows a single QuickBooks Desktop version.
2. Close QuickBooks, then do something in the app that needs QuickBooks. The request succeeds and QuickBooks starts in the background.

When to contact the app’s support team

Contact them if requests still fail with one version installed. Send the QuickBooks version and year, the time and the exact message, and a screenshot of the app’s row in the Web Connector.

Related pages

• Upgrade QuickBooks Desktop
• QuickBooks could not be started
• Unable to cast COM object