QuickBooks Desktop Products - QuickBooks Tool Hub

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Intuit recently released the 2021 QuickBooks Desktop Product line-up. Insightful Accountant has been evaluating various pre-release versions of these products for months and has spent hours communicating with Intuit personnel, including product managers and developers, so we can help you learn about the new products. This article is one in a series of individual product features intended to provide additional content to that within our QuickBooks Desktop 2021 product synopsis.

QuickBooks Tool Hub

Rather than search for different tools to fix common QuickBooks problems and errors, now there is a single help resource for troubleshooting. QuickBooks Tool Hub was actually developed and released for download during 2020; however, this is the first year that a link is being included in the Desktop product, so this is being promoted as one of the new features within the 2021 QuickBooks Desktop Product line-up.

With Tool Hub QuickBooks users can find all the available tools they most commonly need to resolve QuickBooks Desktop problems in one place, they can fix many of the most common QuickBooks errors, and they can resolve those errors in some cases with just one-click, saving them considerable time and effort. The tool also provides them with easier and faster access to support if it fails to resolve their problem.

Accessing QuickBooks Tool Hub

All QuickBooks 2021 Desktop users can access QuickBooks Tool Hub from the QuickBooks Menu bar by selecting Help, and then choosing QuickBooks Tool Hub: Fix Setup and File Issues.

This launches your web browser and takes you to the official Intuit QuickBooks Tool Hub website where you can download tool hub.

Alternately, you can download QuickBooks Tool Hub directly from the official Intuit website here.

Install QuickBooks Tool Hub

For the best experience, you should install QuickBooks Tool Hub on a Windows 10, 64-bit computer.

  1. Close QuickBooks on your computer.
  2. Download the most recent version (1.4.0.0) of the QuickBooks Tool Hub if you have not previously done so. Save the file somewhere you can easily find it (like your Downloads folder or your Windows desktop).
  3. Open the file you downloaded (QuickBooksToolHub.exe).
  4. Follow the on-screen steps to install and agree to the terms and conditions.
  5. When the install finishes, double-click the icon on your Windows desktop to open the tool hub.

Note: If you can't find the icon, do a search in Windows for QuickBooks Tool Hub.

Using QuickBooks Tool Hub

QuickBooks Tool Hub can help with problems like Networking errors, Installation issues or errors, Company file issues, H202 and 6123 errors, PDF and printing errors, and even some cases where QuickBooks crashes.

Each tab has a set of tools for addressing different types of problems:

  • Select the Company File Issues tab if you’re having error messages opening your company file or missing or blank lists. This will open the Quick Fix my file and the QuickBooks File Doctor tool. If you need additional assistance, select File Dr Help on the company file tab.
  • Select the Network Issues tab if you’re having problems with your network or your computers over a network such as error H202. You must be on your server computer.
  • Select the Program Problems tab if you notice performance issues, problems opening the program, Error 6123 and program crashing/stopped working. We recommend using the Quick Fix my Program first. You can also use this tab to resolve common PDF and printing related issues.
  • Select the Installation Issues tab if you’re having trouble installing, uninstalling or reinstalling QuickBooks Desktop.  You can also resolve 3371 errors.
  • Select the Password Reset tab if you need to reset your password.
  • Select the Help & Support tab to contact support, manage your Intuit account, or if you're already speaking with an agent.  You can also provide feedback on any of the tools.
  • Select the Advanced Tools tab for common Windows shortcuts used to help troubleshoot common QuickBooks errors.

Editor's Opinion

Personally I think access to this 'tool-set' should be locked away within the 'Accountant toolbox' of 'Non-accountant' versions or be accessible only within the 'Accountant' versions of QuickBooks Desktop. These tools not only are infringing upon the very role of QuickBooks ProAdvisors, but they are also encouraging day-to-day users to 'self-repair' QuickBooks Desktop.

While some of the fixes are somewhat routine and minor, many of these tools are complex and involve troubleshooting not only QuickBooks but Microsoft Windows (or Windows Components). They should not be undertaken without significant understanding and training. The ease of availability of the tools encourage their use, when the only tool most Users need is access to the 'Find a ProAdvisor' website. (And that's my opinion... Murph)

Feature Availability: At the time of initial release QuickBooks Tool Hub will be available in QuickBooks Pro and Premier, QuickBooks Accountant, QuickBooks ProPlus, QuickBooks PremierPlus, and QuickBooks Enterprise (all subscription levels).  The feature is scheduled only for release within the United States.

You will find our summary of QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Enterprise for 2021 along with other related features in the 'Related Links' at the bottom of this feature.

Editor's Acknowledgements

Special thanks go out to my good friend Laura Madeira who allowed me to cross-check my articles with advance copies of her features to make certain that we were consistent in providing accurate information regarding the 2021 release. Laura, and her co-author Karen Siewert, have written three separate articles this year covering different aspects of the QuickBooks 2021 release, please be certain to check them out at Intuit's Firm of the Future blog:

I also want to thank the following Intuit personnel for their dedication in providing information, numerous briefings, and responding to my questions, as well as in guiding the actual product developments within QuickBooks Desktop and this release: Rachna Arya, Nipun Bhatia, Aditya Dixit, Sowmya Murthy, Madhumita Tayade, Muthuraj Thangavel, Tulasi Vijay Kumar Thulluru, and Raman Verma. I also want to say thanks to Michelle Berg, Mindy King, and Shawn Sturgeon from Intuit for additional product briefings and information along with the various members of Intuit's Alpha & Beta Product Testing Teams for QuickBooks 2021.

Of course, there are entire teams, composed of hundreds of Intuit personnel behind all of these people that make the magic happen and we so often forget to say, thank you, to them, so to all involved, “Thank You for Another Great Product"!

Note: Some images used in this feature may have been provided, or conceptualized initially by Intuit. In some instances they are displayed directly as provided by Intuit, in other cases they may have been modified from the source material(s) Intuit provided.