14 Nov Maintenance Releases
Maintenance Release Overview & Resources
Intuit seems to be on a cycle of a new version of their QuickBooks® Accounting Software every year. While this author feels that it is always a good idea to upgrade to the most recent version, for some clients this may not make sense. The reason for not upgrading may include: economic constraints, especially when the multi-user version is purchased; interface with an add-on product that has not yet been updated to the most recent version; some change in look and feel that requires a learning curve; etc. Usually there is at least one improvement that makes the upgrade “worth it.” In any event, between the new versions, and even after a new version becomes available there are maintenance releases from time to time. These are free updates that are typically downloaded from the Internet and provide feature enhancements, improve usability and/or fix known problems.
As an example, with the most recent version 2002, the bank reconciliation screens were changed, including the reports. The new reports only show the detail of the cleared items. There was not a listing of the uncleared items on the report. It was possible to work around the problem by creating a report for the uncleared items, but it was not as user friendly as the past. Since that time, there have been two maintenance releases. The first changed the report to include the uncleared checks and deposits. If the maintenance release is not downloaded and installed, the change on the reports would not be fixed.
To determine what version and release are being used, press Ctrl > 1. The very top line will say the product, the version, and the release. To determine if the most recent release is being used, there are two alternatives:
Ø Visit http://www.quickbooks.com/support/updates.html and compare the information found there with what was seen on the screen. This is also where you would go to manually download the update if there were problems when trying to download it from within the QuickBooks software.
Ø Or, it is possible to try to download the update and if nothing new is available, a message will appear stating that fact. Depending on the version used, the keystrokes to find the download or update option may be slightly different: File > Update QuickBooks > Update.
With version 2006, there has already been multiple maintenance releases. When working in a networked environment, be sure to install the maintenance release on the server first, then update the work stations.