QuickBooks Connection Error Messages 

The solutions below are used to diagnose and solve the following QuickBooks Error Codes:  80040401, 80040402, 80040403, 80040404, 80040405, 80040406, 80040407, 80040408, 80040409, 8004040A, 8004040B, 8004040C, 80040416, 80040417, 80040418, 8004041B, 8004041C, and 8004041D.

• Make sure you have the correct QuickBooks file specified.  All third party applications need to know which QuickBooks file it's supposed to be working with.  Perhaps you initially created a test file to experiment with, or you have recently upgraded to a new version of QuickBooks.
  • For Certified Payroll Solution - Open QuickBooks with the correct data file and from the Certified Payroll Solution System Setup Menu choose System Preferences and the Data Locations Tab.  Delete all of the information in the white box below where it says "QuickBooks File"; click OK; and try again.  Making the QuickBooks File location "blank" tells CPS to work with the open company file.
  • For Construction Application for Payment Solution - Open QuickBooks with the correct data file and from the Construction Application for Payment Solution System Setup Menu choose Data Locations.  Delete all of the information in the white box next to where it says "QuickBooks File"; click OK, and try again.  Making the QuickBooks File location "blank" tells CAPS to work with the open company file.
  • For Wage Manager Solution - Open QuickBooks with the correct data file and click the button titled "Use Open QuickBooks File"
• Make sure you have the proper version of QuickBooks running.
  • Make sure you have the correct QuickBooks file open and with the proper version of QuickBooks.
  • Have you applied all of the QuickBooks Maintenance Releases or "patches"?
• Make sure permissions are set so the application can access the QuickBooks data.
  • Permission in QuickBooks are set by the QuickBooks Administrator in Single-User Mode under Edit->
    Preferences->Integrated Applications->Company Preferences; and are further documented in the manual provided with your software.  Enterprise users may have specific instruction depending upon the version.
  • Be sure that permission is granted to access SSN and other sensitive data, for Certified Payroll Solution and Wage Manager Solution, because wages are considered "other" sensitive data.  This only applies to QuickBooks 2003/2004 and Enterprise 3.0/4.0 - any flavor.
• Do you have multiple versions of QuickBooks installed on your computer?  Having multiple versions of QuickBooks installed on your computer causes problems with integrated applications and is a known problem at Intuit.
  • For Certified Payroll Solution from the Help Menu, choose Help, Repair, and Reset QuickBooks after update.
  • For Construction Application for Payment Solution from the Help Menu, choose Help, Repair, and Reset QuickBooks after update.

Special Note for Certified Payroll Solution & Construction Application for Payment Solution.
While both of these programs are multi-company compatible; each company should have it's own license.  If you have multiple QuickBooks companies that you are using under 1 CPS and/or CAPS license, erroneous certified payroll reports or AIA billings are extremely likely to occur.  If you have multiple companies, you should have multiple CPS and/or CAPS licenses; contact us for details and discount pricing.

Once the basics are covered and the error persists; there are further steps that can be taken, each of which has a good chance of solving the error.  Try each suggested resolution individually and in the order shown.

• Close QuickBooks, the integrated application, and all other open programs.  Using "My Computer" or "Windows Explorer" and navigate to the folder where this QuickBooks version is installed.  By default this folder is C:\Program Files\Intuit\QuickBooks Pro (or whichever edition you originally installed).  When you get to the Program Files Folder you may need to click on the "Show Contents" option.  Once you have found this folder which contains hundreds of files, scroll down to locate the file named "reboot" or "reboot.bat" and double-click on this file.  A black box will come up and after several seconds disappears.  Once it has disappeared, try the connection process again.
• Close all running programs, remove any diskettes or CD's from all drives, and reboot your computer.  While your computer is starting up, press the F8 key (on the top row of your keyboard) ever 2 seconds, until a simple text menu appears.  If Windows boot normally, try again; this time pressing the F8 key more frequently than before.  Depending upon your version of Windows 2 or 3 different menus will appear. Using your arrow keys, select to boot in "Safe Mode with Networking".  You may also need to specify which device you wish to boot to; and usually the first or highlighted option is correct.  Once Windows boots in safe mode, start QuickBooks - giving it a few minutes to load completely; then close QuickBooks and reboot Windows normally.
• Rebuild the QuickBooks data file.  In QuickBooks, switch to single-user mode, from the Window Menu choose Close All.  From the File Menu, choose Utilities and Rebuild Data.  You will be forced to make a backup of your data (save this somewhere that it can be easily found and deleted; like "My Documents") and then the rebuild process will start.  This process may take quite awhile depending upon the size of your QuickBooks data file and the speed of your computer.
• As the last resort; QuickBooks needs to be un-installed and then re-installed.
  • Backup your QuickBooks file
  • Un-install QuickBooks; by clicking on your Start Button, choose Control Panel, and Add/Remove Programs
  • Using "My Computer" or "Windows Explorer" navigate to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Intuit folder; right click on the QuickBooks Folder and choose delete.
  • Reboot your computer
  • Install QuickBooks
  • Update QuickBooks with all applicable updates
  • Open your company data file
  • Try again