You can now login to a Company File without having to enter a username and password the whole period! In this article discuss how we can stay logged in preference features Desktop company file (login without entering your password)

You have to log in with your username and password only, once every few days and can open the Company File or switch to another Company File without having to again enter your username and password, as long as you are using the same Windows user account. Required to enter your username and password again only if you have explicitly logged off from the Company File or when the login period has expired.

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Important things you need to know:

As the company Admin, you should carefully evaluate the use of this option and the following points:

When more than one user is accessing the same Company File on the same computer, one user has to explicitly log off before another user can log in. If in case a user by mistake does log off your system, another user can access the Company File without having to enter their username and password, as long as they are using the same Windows user account. we recommend the Admin does not enable this option or requires users to log in using separate Windows user accounts, In these multi-users scenarios.

This choice is NOT available when Credit Card Protection is enabled for the Company File. If you have Credit Card information stored in the Company File and do NOT have Credit Card Protection manually enabled, we recommend that the Admin user DOES NOT enable this option.

Users use this option that has must safeguard their computers and Windows accounts in order to ensure that their Company Files are protected. We also recommend that you use a screen timeout with a lock screen to ensure that access to the computer is controlled.

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Does this apply to all company files?

This is available to files that meet ALL of the following:

Credit Card Protection is NOT active

Only for (.QBW) and (.QBA) files

Pro/Premier/Enterprise 2020 R1, 2019 R9, 2018 R12

Only Company Files in local (i.e. not hosted) environments can use this feature.

How do I turn ‘Keep user logged in for’ feature on in QuickBooks?

This choice is enabled by a Company Preference; it will not be available by default. It can only be enabled by the Company File’s Admin/Owner and will apply to all users. The Admin selects how long the user can remain logged in with a maximum of 90 days (default is 2 days).

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Steps to stay logged in preference features

Pro/Premier files: Go to Company > Setup Users and Passwords > Manage Login Settings Or, go to Or, go to Edit > Preferences > General > Company Preferences

Enterprise files: Go to Company > Users > Manage Login Settings Or, go to Edit > Preferences > General > Company Preferences



If I activate this option. Does logging off change?

There will be a new entry point for logging off if this option is enabled.

Go to File option > Log Off from Company file.

Downside of this feature

Since you are always logged in, whenever you try to back up the QuickBooks company files, you only have two verification options to choose from either ‘quicker’ or ‘no’. It means that the company files you backed up are not completely verified. In addition to this, your transaction log (QBW.tlg) files will not be processed due to this stay logged in option. Also, you may miss some form of data corruption.

When you are always logged in to the QuickBooks company files, the possibilities of cyber attack and data theft also increases. Since, you are already logged in, it will be a lot easier for hackers to access your data.

Note for all the users who are using this feature:

If you have copied the company files from another computer then this feature will not work. In order to access the company files, you have to enter the username and password on the destination computer.

To login to the Windows user account, the user needs to enter the username and password for access.

If two or more users try to access the same company file on the same computer then one of the users has to log off so other users can log in. If a user mistakenly forgot to log off then another user can access the company file without entering the username and password, but only if they are using the same Windows user account.

If users failed to login due to some reasons like (Admin changed the password, the wrong password, logged in period is expired, password reset) then you need to enter the username & password again. Any other saved credentials will be deleted automatically.

In QuickBooks File Manager (QFM), if the user has saved login credentials for another user for the company files then opening the company file from QuickBooks File Manager will delete the login credentials from the Windows vault. The user can still access the company file with QuickBooks File Manager but this time they will be needed to enter username and password if they want to open the company file directly.

Note for the Admin user:

To use this feature, the admin needs to update the QuickBooks Desktop version to at least QuickBooks 2019 R9 or QuickBooks 2018 R12 .

or . And admin also needs to update their software if they want to disable this feature for the users, who have already updated their software.

As soon as admin disable this feature from the company preferences, any credentials that have been saved previously will be deleted automatically. Next time if the user wants to login then they will be required to enter username and password to access the company file.

In the multi-user mode, all the non-admin users will be logged out from the company file as soon as the admin makes changes in the company preferences.

When the admin enables the credit card protection feature, all the previous credentials that were saved for all users will be forgotten or deleted automatically. From the next time on, users need to enter the username and password to access the company files. Also, when the Credit Card Protection feature is enabled, Admin will no more able to access the Company Preferences.

If you are admin and want to delete all company file login credentials at any time then simply go to the Windows Control Panel > Windows Vault. Here, find the credentials for the QuickBooks that start with the prefix ‘Intuit_QBDT’.

QuickBooks Desktop Auto logout

With the help of QuickBooks Desktop Inactivity logout feature, you can prevent unauthorized access to the company files when you are away from the computer. You just have to choose the time of inactivity and QuickBooks will automatically logout you from the company file. You need to have admin credentials to enable this option. Follow the steps mentioned below to turn on QuickBooks auto logout feature.

First, click on the Gear icon.

icon. Then, go the Company option and then select Account and Settings options.

option and then select options. Here, go to the Advanced tab.

tab. In the Other Preferences section, click on the pencil icon to edit.

section, click on the pencil icon to edit. Then, in the Sign Me Out if inactive for and select the time after you want to be logged out automatically.

and select the time after you want to be logged out automatically. After, you are done making the changes click on the Save and then Done.

The Bottom Line

In this article, we have everything you need know about the Stay logged in QuickBooks company file feature (Sign in without entering password). Like how you can turn on this feature & limitations of this feature and many more.

We hoped this article helped you, still if you are having any sort of trouble while using any function of Quickbooks you can get technical support for QuickBooks. The only thing you need to do is to dial our 24/7 toll-free customer support number +1-855-441-4417