Windows Service

Running Syntra ODBC as a Windows service ensures it starts automatically on boot and runs in the background without requiring a user to be logged in.

Installing the Service

The Syntra installer can register the Windows service automatically. If you need to install it manually:

sc.exe create SyntraODBC binPath= "C:\Program Files\SyntraODBC\syntra-server.exe --service" start= auto displayname= "Syntra ODBC Server"
sc.exe description SyntraODBC "Syntra ODBC - QuickBooks Desktop ODBC Driver"

Starting and Stopping

Using Services Manager (GUI)

1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
2. Find Syntra ODBC Server in the list.
3. Right-click to Start, Stop, or Restart.

Using Command Line

# Start the service
net start SyntraODBC

# Stop the service
net stop SyntraODBC

# Restart the service
net stop SyntraODBC && net start SyntraODBC

Using PowerShell

Start-Service SyntraODBC
Stop-Service SyntraODBC
Restart-Service SyntraODBC
Get-Service SyntraODBC | Select-Object Status, StartType

Service Account

By default, the service runs as Local System. For QuickBooks integration, the service account needs:

• Access to QuickBooks: The service account must be authorized in QuickBooks Desktop. QuickBooks authorization is tied to the Windows user, so you may need to configure the service to run as a specific user account.
• Access to the company file: The account must have read access to the QuickBooks company file (.QBW).

Changing the Service Account

1. Open services.msc.
2. Double-click Syntra ODBC Server.
3. Go to the Log On tab.
4. Select This account and enter the credentials of the Windows user authorized in QuickBooks.
5. Click Apply, then restart the service.

Startup Type

Type	Behavior
Automatic	Starts when Windows boots (recommended)
Automatic (Delayed Start)	Starts after other services finish loading
Manual	Must be started manually
Disabled	Cannot be started

Set the startup type:

sc.exe config SyntraODBC start= delayed-auto

QuickBooks Desktop Considerations

QuickBooks Desktop must be running with the company file open for write operations and QBFC live fetches. For the service to work unattended:

1. Configure QuickBooks to run in multi-user mode.
2. Set QuickBooks to allow access for the Syntra application (under Edit > Preferences > Integrated Applications).
3. Ensure the company file opens automatically when the QuickBooks user logs in, or use the local cache for read-only access when QuickBooks is closed.

Logs

Service logs are written to:

C:\ProgramData\SyntraODBC\logs\syntra.log

Log rotation is automatic. Check these logs if the service fails to start or behaves unexpectedly.

Recovery Options

Configure automatic restart on failure:

1. Open services.msc.
2. Double-click Syntra ODBC Server.
3. Go to the Recovery tab.
4. Set First failure, Second failure, and Subsequent failures to Restart the Service.
5. Set Reset fail count after to 1 day.
6. Set Restart service after to 60 seconds.

Or via command line:

sc.exe failure SyntraODBC reset= 86400 actions= restart/60000/restart/60000/restart/60000

Uninstalling the Service

net stop SyntraODBC
sc.exe delete SyntraODBC