File locking and exclusive program areas in Sage 50 Accounts

Summary

How file locking works to allow multi-user access to your Sage 50 Accounts.

Description

The multi-user versions of Sage Accounts are designed to allow multiple users to access the data files at the same time. To protect your data from corruption and ensure that everyone accessing Sage Accounts can process data safely, the program uses automatic locking facilities.

This ensures you see a message to inform the user is trying to access an area that's in use by another user.

Sage Accounts uses the following three different types of locking:

  • Exclusive Program Requests
  • Exclusive Zone Requests
  • Partial Zone Requests

Sage Accounts adds the user's name to a request list when they perform a specific action or enter a specific area in the program. The data directory stores the QUEUE.DTA file, which contains the list. Each locking request includes the user name, computer name and the requested action.

Resolution

Exclusive Program Requests

Only one Sage user can log in when accessing areas that require Exclusive Program Requests.

  • Archive
  • Restore
  • Clear Audit Trail
  • Clear Stock
  • Configuration
  • Consolidation
  • Control Accounts
  • Convert data
  • Debt management with Sage Copilot - Manage automated reminders (v32.1 and above)
  • Debt management with Sage Copilot - Manage layouts (v32.1 and above)
  • Deletion of Records, Invoices or Orders
  • Delete Company
  • Delete Company Archive
  • Deposit Cash
  • File, Import
  • File > Maintenance
  • Financial Year Change
  • Fixed Asset Disposal
  • Foreign Trader Setup Wizard
  • Foreign Trader Revaluation Wizard
  • Global Changes
  • Month End
  • Upgrade program
  • Write Off, Refunds and Returns Wizard
  • Year End

Exclusive Zone Requests

Sage Accounts requires Exclusive Zone Requests in the following areas, this means that only one Sage user can access these areas at any time:
  • Access Rights
  • Account Status
  • Accountants Link
  • Accruals
  • Archive Company
  • Bank Defaults
  • Batch Supplier Payments
  • Chart of Accounts
  • Company Preferences
  • Currency
  • Customer Credit Charges
  • Customer Defaults
  • Delete Stock
  • Delivery Addresses
  • Enable 3rd party integration
  • Enable Construction Industry Scheme
  • Finance Rates
  • Fixed Asset Categories
  • Internet Resources
  • Invoice and Order Defaults
  • New Account Wizards
  • Manual creation of new accounts
  • New Company
  • Nominal Journal Reversals
  • Prepayments
  • Price Lists
  • Product Categories
  • Product Defaults
  • Product Shortfall
  • Recurring items
  • Sage Drive setup
  • Sales Order Recall
  • SOP Shortfall
  • Supplier Defaults
  • Tax Codes
  • Transactions > Edit  
  • Transactions > Delete  

Partial Zone Requests

Only one Sage user can access a particular account or record at any time in areas requiring Partial Zone Requests:

  • Allocate Sales Orders
  • Amending a Sales Order
  • Amending a Purchase Order
  • Editing a Customer Record, Supplier Record or Product Record
  • Activity
  • Adjustments of Products In and Out
  • Aged options
  • Bank Reconciliation
  • Check BOM
  • Cheque Printing
  • Contra Entries
  • Customer Receipts
  • Customer Payments
  • Deliver Purchase Order
  • Despatch Sales Order
  • Disputes
  • Invoicing - Editing an existing invoice
  • e-Reconcile
  • e-Payment
  • e-Submit on Invoices, Sales Order Processing, or, Purchase Order Processing
  • Goods Received Notes
  • Phone
  • Place Purchase Order on order
  • POP Update
  • Printing a sales order, purchase order or invoice
  • Product Transfer
  • Remittance
  • Sales Order or Purchase Order
  • Stock Returns
  • Stock Take
  • Supplier Payments
  • Supplier Receipts
  • Editing or deleting transactions 
  • Update Ledgers
  • Wizards

View Program Requests

  1. Click Settings then click User Management then click Active Sessions. 
  2. From the User List window, click the Requests tab.
     TIP: To update either of these lists, click Refresh. 
  3. To close the User List window and return to the program desktop, click Close.

You have now checked the current program requests.

Waiting to lock files

The message 'Waiting to lock files' appears when two or more people are updating or saving to the same area.

If two people update invoices to the Customers ledger, Sage Accounts makes the second person wait until the first person updates the data files successfully.

User name in use

Sage Accounts automatically clears any locking request when a user exits a specific area or logs out. If a PC crash prevents a user from exiting Sage Accounts normally, the request remains, even though the user isn’t in the software.

Log in to Sage Accounts with the same user name, then click Yes when prompted to remove users from the list to clear any requests. Ensure all users log out before performing this action. Pay special attention to warning messages and run a check data immediately.

The Manager username can also remove users from the list.

  1. Log in as Manager.
  2. Click Settings then click User Management then click Active Sessions. 
  3. Click User List, select the user you want to remove and click Remove.

Upgrading your licence

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Solution Properties

Solution ID
200427112155714
Last Modified Date
Mon Sep 08 07:03:49 UTC 2025
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