When trying to open a company in Sage 50 Payroll, the program may close or display the error message:

'SBDDesktop.exe has stopped working'

Sometimes however, you can still open the company through Demonstration Data. When opened, you may also only be able to see the Tools menu.

This occurs when either of two files within the Company folder have become damaged:

• esubmissions.elog
• SubmissionLog.xml

This issue may only affect some companies in your software.

To resolve this, amend permissions on the Sage Payroll folder in your program directory.

1. Log in to a company as normal in Sage 50 Payroll. 
2. Click Help, then About.
3. Note the path next to Program Directory.
    NOTE: By default, this is normally C:\Program Files (x86)\Sage Payroll.
4. Press the Windows key and R on your keyboard to open the Run window.
5. Enter the path you noted in Step 3, excluding Sage Payroll then click OK.
    NOTE: For example, if your program directory is C:\Program Files (x86)\Sage Payroll, enter C:\Program Files (x86). 
6. Right click the Sage Payroll folder then click Properties.
7. Click Security, then Edit.
8. In the Groups or user names box at the top, select the relevant group, for example, Users.
9. Once selected, in the Permissions for users box at the bottom, tick Allow next to Full Control option.
10. Click Apply then OK. 

Rename files

If the issue persists, you need to browse to the Paydata folder and rename the affected files.

1. Open Sage 50 Payroll.
2. Within the Open Company window, make a note of the path to data for the affected company.
3. Close Sage 50 Payroll.
4. Open Windows Explorer, then browse to the Paydata folder in the directory noted in step 2.
5. Within the Paydata folder, if the below files are present rename as below:
   • If present, rename esubmissions.elog to esubmissions.old
   • Rename SubmissionLog.xml to SubmissionLog.old
6. Close Windows Explorer.
7. Open Sage 50 Payroll, then open the affected company. 

You can now log in as normal. Your software creates a new SubmissionLog.xml file when you log into the company. Your software doesn't create a new esubmission.elog file, as it's no longer needed by Sage 50 Payroll

Issue persists

If the issue still occurs after the steps above, follow the steps using our Sage 50 Payroll closes unexpectedly when attempting to open guide.