Why QuickBooks cannot communicate with the company file and countermeasures

QuickBooks is a bookkeeping software that helps business owners track their sales and organize their inventory according to customer needs. All the financial data in the software is stored in the form of company files that can be shared with designated users and accessed portably. QuickBooks sometimes fails to access these files, leading to internal errors in the software. QuickBooks cannot communicate with the company file message that appears on the screen when the software fails to connect with the company file due to restrictions from the firewall. If you are facing a similar issue, keep reading the blog to know about its reasons and the user actions needed against it.

Troubleshooting for QB-related issues is available by calling a QB support team at 1-855-856-0042.

About the issue

Company files can be considered storage files for the financial data generated by QuickBooks. Whenever you run QuickBooks and try to access a company file, the software establishes a connection with the file for data transmission. An error message, “QuickBooks cannot communicate with the company file due to firewall,” on the screen indicates that the connection to the company cannot be set up due to restrictions from the Windows Firewall active on your computer. There will be no harm to your company file, but you’ll have to fix the error before accessing it again.

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Reasons

Some reasons for this company file error to develop are compiled underneath-

The Firewall has blocked QuickBooks functions and doesn’t let it connect to the company file on the server or the multi-user network.
QuickBooks is denied the folder permissions required to access the company file.
The company file has been corrupted, or the software has developed issues due to a faulty installation on your PC.

Solutions

The methods that can be used to eliminate this error from QuickBooks are-

Solution 1- Allow QuickBooks to bypass the Windows Firewall

The most significant reason for this error is the Windows Firewall blocking QuickBooks background processes, assuming them as a threat to the system. This causes the software to malfunction and starts to develop errors when you try to access the company file. Follow the steps given below to let QuickBooks bypass the firewall-

Use the search panel located on the taskbar to open Windows Defender Firewall.
Click Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall.
Tap Change settings in the next window andsearch the program list for QuickBooks.
Click on the checkbox for Allow Accessto mark QuickBooks safe.
Save the settings and retry opening your company file in QuickBooks.

If the error pops up again, try the following method.

Solution 2- Use QuickBooks in Administrator mode

Running QuickBooks in Administrator mode prevents it from getting blocked by the firewall or folder permissions. The software can access any file without any issues and gets priority over any other program. Follow the steps given below-

Go to the search panel and type QuickBooks.
Right-click on the QuickBooks icon and click on Run as Administrator.

The issue will be fixed, and you’ll be able to open the company file.

Conclusion

This is the farthest limit of our blog that tries to explain why you received a QuickBooks cannot communicate with the company file due to a firewall message in your PC. The reasons for this issue and some effective methods are present in the blog that’ll help you fix this error from QuickBooks.

In case the issue is still not fixed, give a call to a QB ProAdvisor support team at 1-855-856-0042.

Also read: QuickBooks Error H505: Most Reliable Technical Guide