Install Acctivate on each workstation, and connect to a managed hosted database server
Alterity offers database hosting for both new and existing customers. Organizations with an Acctivate license can install the Acctivate software on each of their Windows desktop or laptop computers and connect to a cloud hosted database server.
The Database Hosting Service is ideal for companies using Acctivate that don’t want to purchase a dedicated Windows server to install and manage the SQL Server software and database files.
Acctivate does not provide hosting for QuickBooks. This service is best suited for Acctivate companies running QuickBooks Online, but also works well for organizations still using QuickBooks Desktop on a local PC.
What does the service specifically provide?
- Our Database Hosting Service provides a dedicated SQL Server Express instance for your organization. Companies with less than 10 users and databases smaller than 10GB are ideal fits, due to SQL Server Express limitations.
- An automated backup plan, consisting of daily, weekly, monthly backups as well as secondary storage.
- The managed SQL Server is securely configured so only certain types of access is granted to users.
- Third party software integration access is available as well (Shipping software, Excel database queries, webstore integrations, Crystal Reports, etc.)
What are some considerations for deploying Acctivate and QuickBooks?
- This service is only available for organizations using QuickBooks as their accounting system.
- If your organization requires many QuickBooks Desktop users to be logged in, it may be best to install both Acctivate and QuickBooks on a dedicated local or virtual server. For these situations, you may want to reach out to a dedicated hosting company which provides a Windows virtual server environment.
- If your organization is using QuickBooks Online, Acctivate will sync from your workstations directly to QuickBooks Online without any additional configuration.
How do our Acctivate users connect and log into Acctivate?
- Acctivate is a Windows desktop application that is installed on each of your user's Windows desktop or laptop computers. Users will not have Remote Desktop (RDP) access to the database server.
- During the installation of Acctivate, users will connect to a database server with connection information provided to their Acctivate admin users.
- Microsoft SQL Server is not installed on your local servers to run Acctivate.
- A VPN connection is not required to connect to the Database Hosting Service.
Are there exclusions in which my organization may not qualify or be an ideal fit for this service?
- Customers with a high sales order or transaction volume (e.g., creating and invoicing hundreds of sales orders per day).
- Acctivate Mobile WMS is supported. However, printing from Acctivate mobile requires an additional, local webservice to be installed and configured.
- Customers with more than 20 active daily users may not qualify at this time due to SQL Server Express bottlenecks.
- Acctivate does NOT host QuickBooks Desktop. Users can install QuickBooks on their workstations and still synchronize QuickBooks and Acctivate, even with your database hosted remotely. If your organization requires remote access to QuickBooks Desktop for some users, we recommend working with a third party hosting company or your IT department to create a Windows virtual server environment where you can deploy QuickBooks Desktop.
What if our Organization has a larger database or requires additional SQL Server resources?
- Customers with a database less than 10GB in size can be hosted on a SQL Express instance. If your organization's database is approaching or larger than 10GB, please contact your Account Executive to discuss SQL Server licensing and associated additional costs.
- Organizations can bring their own SQL Server license in order to reduce hosting costs.
For additional information and pricing, please contact your Account Representative. A technical review by our Support Team may be necessary in order to verify qualification for this hosting service.