Solutions for Huge QuickBooks File

Being a business owner, you need to process a lot of data on a daily basis. Sometimes it happens when your data increases so much that your QuickBooks file becomes large. This is a very common problem that persists in big scale businesses.

Now when we say “too large” what do you mean by it? The size of the file depends on storage of your hard disk. The definition of “too large” is quite unclear in QuickBooks. Either the size of your file will be in megabytes or mb or it can also vary from what you have stored in the file. Even if you save your files on your hard disk, there is still a limit as to how many you can use on QuickBooks.

There are certain limitations for your QuickBooks file storage. We have mentioned the limitations below:

• File Size: As per the guidelines, there are no such limitations to the size of the file. However, practically when you talk about QuickBooks or QuickBooks premiere, the storage stretches around 150 mb. The QuickBooks software can limit itself to 1GB. After that it becomes extremely slow and can get corrupted easily.
• Number of items: There is a specific limit to the number of items you can store in your QuickBooks file. Depending upon the version of your QuickBooks and the type of product you have, the limit can vary. This limit also changes from year to year. If the total number limits to 10,000, you’re in the safe spot. Reaching till the limit of 100.00 is for the enterprise. Above these numbers, you need to carefully inspect your QuickBooks file. To get a count of all your items, press F2.

How to shrink the size of your QuickBooks file?

Now let’s think it this way that you have already reached the conclusion that your file is exceeding its limit. Do not panic. We’ll guide you on what steps to take.

Firstly check if you maxed out the QuickBooks pro and premiere and if you wish to upgrade it to the Enterprise version. In case if you have reached the limit on the given number of items, you can try to clean up the items that you don’t anymore. However, there are chances that it might not fulfill your requirements. In such cases you can consider the Enterprise version. However, a switch to an Enterprise usually costs a lot so it is also beneficial if you could take help from an expert.

In case you want to take the basic option and decrease your file, you can try these three options:

• “Clean up company data” option: Always begin cleaning up by reading the disclaimer of the option. You don’t know what you’ll be losing so it’s better to confirm first. This feature replaces most of the transactions from your previous years. The details from your previous years will be gone but your P&L and balance sheet will remain the same.
• “Clean up company data’ to remove all transactions: The same clean up is mentioned before but it keeps your transactions intact. With this method you can create a new file but with transactions included. You’ll need to recreate all your accounts again which will require you to deal with invoices, open bills, inventory and a lot of other things. This makes this particular option quite difficult as it requires a lot of work.
• Start with a brand new company file: This is the most rigid option that you can try. Particularly used in extreme situations, this option requires you to start your file again. Using the other two options means surfing among the already existing data. Sometimes it is better to start afresh so you know what you want to keep and what you are planning to remove. Trying to find waste in the already existing data can cause a lot of chaos.

What are the issues related to cleaning up data?

When you’ll be cleaning up your data, you’ll always see a disclaimer. There is always some caution related to cleaning up data. Some of the issues which are connected with cleaning up of data in QuickBooks is stated below:

Sometimes it just alters the information and messes up your data. So you need to make sure that you’re doing the backup carefully. You can also make sure to copy your files at several places before starting the clean up. However small the risk is but it still persists.

Another common issue that comes is that even after the clean up is done, it still doesn’t shrink the file. This happens because the clean up has an algorithm which keeps some of your transactions and invoices in the data.

Conclusion

With all this information provided, you can go on with these options but please make sure to be alert about the cautions. When you create a backup, make sure you rename the file so that you can easily locate it later. Make sure to remember your passwords for QuickBooks pro and premier.