The CData QuickBooks Desktop Gateway is a simple application that facilitates connections to company files from your application. The Desktop Gateway accepts connections via a lightweight embedded Web server that runs on the machine where QuickBooks Desktop is installed. The server supports SSL/TLS, enabling users to connect securely from remote machines.

The first time you connect to QuickBooks Desktop, you must authorize your application. Complementing the per-application authentication of QuickBooks Desktop, the Desktop Gateway has per-user authentication. Before connecting to QuickBooks Desktop for the first time, configure at least one Desktop Gateway user.

You can configure users through the UI on the Users tab. You can then follow the procedure in "Getting Started" to connect an application to QuickBooks Desktop. After connecting, you can monitor QuickBooks Desktop connections on the Status tab.

It is recommended to configure the Desktop Gateway in the UI, but you can also run the Desktop Gateway from the command line. This can simplify deploying the Desktop Gateway in scenarios where normally there is not a user logged in, such as running a Web server. See the Advanced page to configure the Desktop Gateway when you are not using the UI.

The Desktop Gateway automatically manages the connection to QuickBooks Desktop, but you can configure almost every aspect of how users connect to QuickBooks Desktop through the Desktop Gateway. The following pages outline the capabilities of the Desktop Gateway and how to get started.