AcctVantage ERP Server Install Instructions (Windows)
Revised: 02/19/2025
AcctVantage 2025 introduces a great new feature for exporting data to a MySQL database. The upgrade to this version will take longer than usual as the system indexes the data to support this feature. We highly recommend you begin the upgrade at the end of the business day and allow to run after hours to minimize disruption. The actual time required for this process is dependent on your database size and server hardware.
1. Make a backup of your data.
On the AV Server App select the Maintenance tab and click the Start Backup button.
After the backup is complete, verify all users are logged out of the system and shut down the AcctVantage Server application.
2. Unzip and run the installer.
Right-click on the ZIP file and choose Extract All to unzip the file.
With the file unzipped, double-click the AV Server Installer. You may see the following message (Windows 10 and above). Click Yes to proceed.
Read the license agreement and click I Agree when finished.
Verify the Destination Folder is C:\AcctVantage ERP Server and then click the Install button.
AcctVantage Server will not run correctly if you install it in the Program Files folder; it must be installed directly on the C: drive.
Click OK to approve the following prompt.
The installation was successful when you see the following screen! Click Close on this installer window.
3. Prepare the new key file (if necessary).
Navigate to the folder where the data file (4DD) is stored, delete the old key file (AKF) from this folder and place your new key file into this folder.
The 4DD file should be located at the path below (<your_company_data> is a generic name of the folder where the 4DD file is located):
C:\AcctVantage ERP Server\<your_company_data>
New key files are only necessary when the year changes (e.g when upgrading from 2021.x.x to 2023.x.x)
4. Launch the AV Server app.
- If you are launching AcctVantage from an icon in the Task Bar, you may need to replace the old icon with the one for the new version.
- When you first launch a new version of AcctVantage, the system will need to know which database to connect to.
- You will see a prompt -- Cancel, Create or Open -- Select Open and then navigate to the data file (4DD).
- AcctVantage will remember the location of the database and will open it automatically the next time you restart the AV Server (as long as the file and folder names have not changed.)
- If you see a message stating Version numbers do not match you can safely click past it. (Remember to delete your old key file or else you won't be able to get past this message.)
- If you see a prompt to install a key file, click the install button and point to the key file from Step 4.
Important notes:
- If you have the AV Server set to launch at startup or run as a service you may need to reinstate that setting for the new version of the AV Server.
- If you have Windows Firewall enabled, you will need to allow the new version of AV Server through the firewall before any AV Clients can connect to the server.
- You may run into an instance where the AV server does not remember the location of the data file each time you start up. In these cases, it's usually an issue with Windows user permissions on the server. You can avoid this when you launch the AV server application by right-clicking on the EXE file and selecting "Run as Administrator".
5. Verify your backup settings are in place.
Below is a quick refresher on backup settings. See here for more details -> AcctVantage Backup Settings
Go to the Maintenance tab and click on the Backup settings button.
5.1. Scheduler
Set the Automatic Backup setting to Every Day. It's best to leave the backup time to the default (midnight) unless you have a compelling reason to do otherwise.
5.2. Configuration
Leave only the Data File box checked. Uncheck everything else and remove any files that are listed under Attachments.
Under Backup File Destination Folder, select the folder where you want to store your data backups (this can be a local or network drive).
It is not a good idea to backup your AcctVantage-related Documents and Pictures folders here. This will slow down the backup utility and the backup files will become prohibitively large. Consider a different backup strategy if you need to backup files attached in AcctVantage.
5.3. Backup & Restore
Enter a number for the Keep only the last <x> backup files setting. It's a good idea to leave this number somewhere between 7 and 14 (so you keep the last one to two weeks of backups).
Leave everything else on this tab at the default settings.
6. Enjoy using AcctVantage ERP!
Submit a ticket to AV Support if you have any further questions: [email protected]