QuickBooks Over VPN Runs Slow

If you go by what has been said by the popular communities, then you will find that most people believe that QuickBooks cannot be run over a VPN connection. But in reality, you can, though it is not generally recommended, which is another thing. Let’s have a look at the things that you should know if you want to use QuickBooks over VPN.

A small business owner called us to ask about giving his team access to QuickBooks Desktop Software over a VPN. He was unable to switch to QuickBooks Online due to the lack of required features for his type of business. VPN issues for QuickBooks are not uncommon, and we do not recommend such quick and dirty setups. Instead, we recommend Remote Desktop Services for QuickBooks, which is more reliable.

What is a VPN?

Here we will try to understand what a is VPN and what are its potential benefits. VPN also termed as Virtual Private Network is a kind of technology that allows you to connect remotely two computers.

• If we take an example then, say, you are not in town and willing to access the files on your office network of yours, by using the VPN connection you can get easy access to the files, as if you are using them in your office. Keep in mind this doesn’t mean that you can access the QuickBooks file while you are not in the office.
• The second important thing that you should keep in mind is that you can use QuickBooks over VPN connection, but it is not technically supported. In this case, you may face some issues and Intuit won’t be able to help you with the problems related to QuickBooks over VPN. Now this doesn’t mean that QuickBooks can’t be used over VPN, it's just that the problems you are going to face won’t come under the scope of support provided by QuickBooks.

Make Sure that you keep the following things in mind while you plan to use QuickBooks over VPN connection

1. When you plan to use QuickBooks over VPN, the most important thing that you should consider is the speed of the internet both at the remote location, from where you are going to connect as well as in your office. Ensure that the speed of the internet is high on both sides otherwise, the performance will suffer for sure. No matter how good the internet speed is, by connecting QuickBooks over VPN, the speed will surely slow down.
2. The second important thing is the number of users getting connected through VPN. As more users get connected with QuickBooks over VPN, you will need a greater as well as faster internet connection to ensure that things work well. In case two users are going to get connected through VPN, then you should have a faster connection.

QuickBooks Desktop Isn’t Designed For Remote Access

QuickBooks is primarily intended to be used remotely through the use of Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). Although the term VPN (Virtual Private Network) is often used interchangeably by IT professionals when discussing remote network access, it's important to note that most VPNs are better suited for transferring data files such as Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDFs, etc. They are typically not optimized for live database applications like QuickBooks, which require fast and reliable connectivity.

Connect QuickBooks Not Via VPN

One common error is installing the QuickBooks client on a laptop and attempting to establish a connection to the business server through a VPN. VPN connections typically offer upload speeds ranging from 5 to 85 megabits per second (mbps), while download speeds can reach 50 to 100 mbps. However, QuickBooks requires a continuous and fast communication rate of at least 90 mbps, both for data sharing up and down. Most Local Area Network (LAN) systems operate at speeds of 100 mbps or higher, even reaching gigabit speeds.

Using a VPN for QuickBooks can introduce delays in data transmission, which in turn increases the risk of data errors and corruption. If you require remote access to QuickBooks for working from home, it is advisable to avoid relying on a VPN. VPN connections have two primary limitations:

• Unreliable
• Too slow

QuickBooks data files will be corrupted if you attempt to use them over a VPN line. It may not occur immediately, but it will happen.

Due to Memory and latency issues, QuickBooks is slow on VPN

When QuickBooks is launched on a laptop, the daemon's main function is to redirect file share traffic through a designated 'QB managed' port. However, it still relies on a file share and the client software to download and load the QuickBooks data file into local memory. Now, envision multiple individuals attempting to simultaneously access the same shared file over a VPN. This scenario involves continuous reading and writing operations, creating a significant potential for errors and complications.

It's important to acknowledge the additional encryption introduced by a VPN tunnel for file share traffic. While this encryption enhances security, it also leads to increased latency, which refers to the time it takes for a packet to travel to its destination and back. In a local area network (LAN) environment, latency is typically under 1 millisecond (ms). However, when utilizing a VPN, latency can extend to 100 ms or more. Considering that a 40MB QuickBooks file can consist of millions of packets, the impact on user experience becomes evident. The increased latency places a significant burden on both ends of the VPN tunnel, resulting in slower processing and potential dissatisfaction among users.

When opting for Remote Desktop Services to access QuickBooks, the traffic between the user's laptop running the QuickBooks application and the shared QuickBooks database is not routed or encrypted through a tunnel. Instead, it remains within the local area network (LAN), potentially even on the same physical machine via Hyper-V VLAN switches. This setup offers several advantages: it is faster, more stable, and provides enhanced security compared to VPN usage. By keeping the data transmission local, the overall performance is improved, ensuring a smoother and more reliable experience for users.

Issues and Commonly Asked Questions

Why using VPN is not recommended for accessing the database server in the network?
You are willing to access the QB Point of Sale v12 remotely from home and you are also trying to use the GoToMyPC but need to know whether one can run QBPOS successfully on the laptop by connecting the server through the VPN software.

There might be other issues as well apart from what we have discussed above. So, no matter what type of issues you face, you can always get in touch with our SMB QuickBooks tech support team to get the best solutions.

Frequently Asked Questions