Why is ESC running slow and showing QuickBooks errors?

When a user tries to access data on any of the following screens, ESC is very slow to return information or appears to freeze for awhile:

• Qualifications Screen
• Dispatch Entry Screen
• Sales Invoice Screen
• Display Statements Screen

Additionally, the QuickBooks accounts receivable balances may not be available in ESC and the following errors may also be returned when saving customers or posting information to QuickBooks:

• Could not connect to QuickBooks. The customer will not be exported to QuickBooks until a transaction is applied to it or it is modified and saved.
• Object variable or With Block variable not set.
• Connection Forcefully Rejected.
• Could not transmit XML to server.
• Time out while waiting for reply from server.

There may be other errors related to this problem depending upon what function is being accessed in ESC.

Cause of Issue:

The slow resolving of the stated screens in ESC as well as the errors indicated all stem from a problem with the integration between ESC and QuickBooks. There is either a problem with the ESC Accounting Server (this is a software product that we produce and support) or the ESC workstations are not properly set to integrate to the ESC Accounting Server or through the Direct Connect method.

Resolution:

• If you are using the ESC Accounting Server to integrate to your QuickBooks database, go to whichever computer that it runs on and ensure that it is started and showing connected to the correct QuickBooks company. If the ESC Accounting Server is not running or is running but paused, the integration will be interrupted. Also, if any changes have been made to the location of the QuickBooks database, you must also update the ESC Accounting Server to that new location as well or you will potentially get the same error messages.
• If the ESC Accounting Server is setup properly and running, then the next thing to check is the individual ESC workstations to verify that they are setup properly to connect to the ESC Accounting Server. To do this, log into ESC and select the QuickBooks Connection Wizard from the File menu. Run through the wizard and make sure that it is set to connect through the "ESC Accounting Server" and that the correct server name is entered on the following screen. If you are not sure what the server name is, simply go to the ESC Accounting Server program and on the top-left of the screen you will see the server name to use. Clicking next should verify a successful connection and if you are able to match the chart of accounts then you can exit out of the wizard as you are now properly integrated. Repeat this on all workstations that may not be connecting properly.
• If you are using the Direct Connect method (most users will use the ESC Accounting Server and not this method), then you must first log into QuickBooks and then log into ESC. This order of execution is required for ESC to properly connect to QuickBooks. After the programs are up and running, run the QuickBooks Connection Wizard from the File menu in ESC and verify that the "Connect directly to QuickBooks" option is selected. Clicking next should verify a successful connection and if you are able to match the chart of accounts then you can exit out of the wizard as you are now properly integrated. Repeat this on all workstations that may not be connecting properly.
• If the integration is still slow you can try disabling the automatic display of customer's balances in ESC. This task can slow down the integration, particularly when dealing with a large QuickBooks database or a customer that has a lot of open invoices. To disable this, select System Setup from the Company menu within ESC. Click the Receivables tab and place a check mark in "Manually retrieve aging balances on screen".
• If other changes have been made to your network such as relocating the ESC Accounting Server or the QuickBooks database file, you will need to update ESC depending upon the connectivity method being used.
• If the ESC Accounting Server is installed and running on a workstation computer, try reinstalling and connecting it on the computer that houses the QuickBooks database. Be sure to redirect all workstation computers to point to the new computer name by running the QuickBooks Connection Wizard in ESC's File menu. This would help to eliminate any connectivity issues between the ESC Accounting Server and the QuickBooks database.
• Problems existing within the QuickBooks database may also have adverse effects on the integration with ESC. To address these types of issues, have all users log out of QuickBooks and run the Rebuild Data utility (found in the QuickBooks File menu in the Utilities section). Intuit Support recommends that this utility be run three consecutive times to address any issues within the database.