QB for Mac QuickBooks.log
Using the QuickBooks for Mac Verify Utility and QuickBooks.log file
I spend a lot of time talking about data corruption and repair for QuickBooks, but hardly ever apply any of the principles I write about to our QuickBooks for Mac clients. In this article we will look at the Verify Data Utility for QB-Mac, and its related QuickBooks.log file.
As with QuickBooks for Windows, it is a 'best practice' to run the Verify Data utility on a regular basis (not less than once per month). To run the Verify utility, from the File menu select Utilities, and then select Verify Data.
When the Verify utility completes, you should proceed to reviewing the QuickBooks.log file. To find the log, go to Hard drive, then Users, then Library, then Logs and then QuickBooks.log. (Lion users should click on the Access hidden user library files in Lion to find the QuickBooks log.) QuickBooks for Mac creates a unique QuickBooks.log file for each user.
The QuickBooks.log file is appended when QuickBooks for Mac starts up, unlike the Windows version of QuickBooks which begins a new log every time the program is started. Also unlike its 'windows cousin', QuickBooks for Mac does not create sections of the QuickBooks.log file for the Verify (or Rebuild) Utility; you must therefore review or search the entire log for key worrds. (Hint: If you have just completed either the Verify or Rebuild, search the log for the most recent activity, and then key words.)
Look for key words like “Error” or “Verify”; make sure to note the specific information about each error. For example, in the QuickBooks.log example shown at the start of this blog, you see:
- Verify Item History: Quantity-on-hand doesn’t match. Item = ####.
- Verify Item History: Value-on-hand doesn’t match. Item = ####.
- Verify Item History: Invalid inventory data. Rcrd = ## (in this case 71)
If errors are present, you can frequently find out what they mean by researching the QuickBooks Support site for the specific error messages.
In the example, an Inventory Item is ‘out-of-balance’ (both quantity and value). The specific Item is Record 71. (Hint: To find this Item you can export your Item list and search for the Item record number, when you find record 71 you will know that is the Item which is ‘out-of-balance’.) You can then research the history of that item by running an Item QuickReport to identify offending transactions that maybe the source of the data corruption.
On many occasions fixing the transactions associated with such errors will resolve the data damage and yield a Verify that passes without error. The methods for fixing these transactions remain the same between QuickBooks for Mac and QuickBooks for Windows, so you can pretty well follow the same steps outlined in either the technical support articles or forum/blog postings I have written on these types of errors.
In a future blog we will discuss the QuickBooks for Mac Rebuild Data Utility and steps you should take prior to, and after, running that utility.