Troubleshooting a lost or forgotten QuickBooks password

A forgotten or unaccepted password prevents the QuickBooks company file from opening.

• If the lost or forgotten password is that of a user and not the Admin, then have the QuickBooks Admin reset the password by going to the Company menu and choosing Set Up Users

• Passwords are case sensitive. password, . Check the Caps Lock and Num Lock keys. password, . Could one of them have been on when you created the password?

• Be sure that the embedded number pad is not engaged on laptop computers. password, . To check:
  1. Click the Windows Start button and select Run.
  2. In the Open field, enter notepad and click OK.
  3. Type the password with which you are experiencing difficulty. password, . If you see that some letters have been replaced by numbers, your embedded number pad is engaged. password, . Consult your laptop documentation for instructions on how to disengage it.
     
• Accessibility Settings can stop a password from being accepted. password, . Click the Windows Start button and select Control Panel. password, . Select Accessibility Option. password, . Be sure none of the boxes on any of the tabs are checked.
  
• Password contains spaces. password, . Passwords cannot contain spaces. password, . Be sure a space was not entered.
  
• The keyboard might not be functioning correctly. password, . Enter the password in a text editor, such as Notepad to be sure the keyboard works properly.
  
• An incorrect login screen appears. password, . A login screen that asks for a password but does not ask for a user name is the administrator's login screen. password, . If the administrator's login screen appears, close QuickBooks, and then reopen it.

Troubleshooting the Administrator password

• QuickBooks 2009 or QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 9.0 and QuickBooks 2008 or QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 8.0:
  
  
  1. When prompted for the password on the QuickBooks Login Screen, click Reset Password.
  2. Answer the security question.
     
• QuickBooks 2007 and earlier or QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 7.0 and earlier:
  
  
  1. Be sure you are opening the company file associated with the password.
     1. Click the Cancel button on the login screen.
     2. Select the QuickBooks File menu and select Open Previous Company.
     3. Try to open several files to see if your password works in any of them.

Administrator password still does not work

If the QuickBooks administrator password still does not work, refer to the QuickBooks Automated Password Reset tool. password, .