Prerequisites

1. Microsoft Windows (tested with Microsoft Windows Server 2022)
2. Quickbooks Desktop (tested with Quickbooks Desktop for Enterprise)
3. AutoHotkey v2
4. Configured Windows to Automatically log in to a user account with adequate permissions on startup

Disable QuickBooks Helper Programs on Startup

1. We do this to prevent the helper programs from starting up which can cause problems auto logging in if there’s an error. Note: the author doesn’t use Intuit Data Protect and takes software updates manually, so has no problem disabling these as potential crashes might interfere with automatic login.
2. Win+i to open Settings App
3. Search for and enter Startup Apps
4. Turn off the following:
   1. Intuit Data Protect
   2. Program (Pretty sure this is the update program)
   3. Quickbooks
   4. Quickbooks Web Connector (we will schedule this to be turned on another way)

Setting up the AutoHotkey Scripts Folder and Script

Create the directory structure C:\AutoHotkey\Scripts and download qbstartup.ahk into this directory. Then edit the qbstartup.ahk to change the following environment variables to match that of your Quickbooks Desktop installation

Path to your QuickBooks executable

qbwPath := "C:\Program Files\Intuit\QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 24.0\QBW.exe"

Path to your QuickBooks Web Connector Executable

qbwcPath := "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Intuit\QuickBooks\QBWebConnector\QBWebConnector.exe"

Path to your QuickBooks Company File

companyFilePath := "C:\Users\Public\Documents\Intuit\QuickBooks\Company Files\enter-company-filename-here.qbw"

QuickBooks Administator Username

username := "enter-admin-username-here"

Quickbooks Administrator Password

password := "enter-admin-password-here"

Create a Task in Task Scheduler

1. Win+R > taskschd.msc > OK
2. Create Task
3. General Tab
   1. Name: qbstartup.ahk
   2. Run with highest privileges
      1. Note: this prevents UAC dialog on bootup
4. Triggers Tab
   1. Click New…
      1. Begin the task: At Startup
      2. Enabled: check
      3. Click OK
5. Actions Tab
   1. Click New…
      1. Action: Start a Program
      2. Program/script
         1. Click Browse…
         2. Select your AutoHotkey Executable
            1. e.g. C:\Program Files\AutoHotkey\v2\AutoHotkey64.exe
            2. Click Open
      3. Add arguments (optional): Add the path of your qbstartup.ahk script here in double quotes
         1. e.g. “C:\AutoHotkey\Scripts\qbstartup.ahk”
      4. Click OK
6. Settings Tab
   1. Uncheck Allow task to be run on demand
   2. Check If the task fails, restart every 1 minute
   3. Attempt to restart up to 3 times
   4. If the running task does not end when requested, force it to stop
   5. If the task is already running, then the following rule applies: Do not start a new instance
   6. Click OK