Overview

Drake Accounting can be installed to a stand-alone PC or a network (both NW Client and Peer-to-peer are supported starting with DAS21). The installation procedure is nearly identical either way.

There are two prerequisites (Microsoft SQL Server, and .Net Framework) that may need to be installed before Drake Accounting can be installed. The Drake Accounting installation will determine whether any of these need to be installed and if needed, they will be installed automatically before the actual Drake Accounting program is installed. If these prerequisites are not needed, it will skip these installations and you can begin the Drake Accounting installation process.

Installing Drake Accounting on the Primary (Most Frequently Used) Workstation

1. Go to Support.DrakeSoftware.com> Downloads > Drake Accounting choose the year of Drake Accounting that you want to install > click Download.

2. Run DrakeAccounting20YY_Setup.exe

3. The Microsoft SQL Server Compact Setup is displayed. Click Next at the Microsoft SQL Server Compact Setup.

4. Once you have read through the license agreement for Microsoft SQL Server Compact, select I accept the terms in the license agreement and click Next.

5. Click Install to begin installing Microsoft SQL Server Compact.

6. Once the Microsoft SQL Server Compact Setup has been successfully installed, click Finish. .Net Framework will start downloading after the Microsoft SQL Server has been completed.

7. Once you finish reading the license agreement for .NET Framework, select I have read and accept the license terms and click Install.

8. Once the prerequisites have been completed, click Next at the Drake Accounting® 20YY Setup Wizard.

9. The IRS Security Summit Notice will display. Please read through this information and click Next. There are four screens to this notice.

10. Once you finish reading the End-User License Agreement, select I accept the terms in the License Agreement and click Next.

11. If you use a Wacom Signature Pad, select Wacom Signature Pad SDK under Optional Installations.

    • If you use a Topaz or Scriptel signature pad, skip the above step. The Wacom SDK is only needed if you are using the Wacom pad instead of the Topaz or Scriptel pad.

12. Verify the drive on which DAS will be installed. If the indicated drive is incorrect, click Browse and choose the appropriate drive to install Drake Accounting. Otherwise, click Next.

13. On the Configure Shortcuts window, select where you want to create Drake Accounting shortcuts (Desktop and/or Start Menu Program folder). Click Next.

14. Click Install and follow the remaining prompts. Click Finish when the wizard is complete.

Installing DAS on a Network Station (that is not the Primary)

To install Drake Accounting 2019 (and future):

1. After completing the installation steps above, go to Start > File browser > go to the network drive that Drake Accounting was installed on, or on your keyboard, simultaneously press the Windows Key + E to open File Explorer.

2. Then, go to the drive on which Drake Accounting® 20YY was installed.

3. Open the DrakeAccounting20YY Folder.

4. Double-click NWClient.exe.

5. Click Next.

6. Accept the License Agreement and click Next.

7. Click Browse and choose the network drive that Drake Accounting was installed on.

   • Go to the DrakeAccounting20YY folder and double-click DrakeAccounting20YY.exe.

   • Click Open and Next.

8. Go through the rest of the installation process by clicking Install.

9. Once the installation process is complete, click Finish.

Configuring a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Setup (DAS21 and later only)

Drake Accounting supports a P2P setup, with Drake Accounting installed on separate stations and communicating to the same database. It is crucial for each station to be on the same patch because machines at different patch levels can corrupt data.

The default Drake Accounting 2021 location for data is a folder called DAS2021Data. The data path will always be DAS2021Data. If you choose C:/Temp, the data path will be C:/Temp/DAS2021Data. Each year will have a unique folder. To install DAS 2021 as a P2P setup:

1. Download Drake Accounting to the applicable workstations.

2. Install any needed prerequisites as prompted by the installation process.

3. Complete the Drake Accounting 2021 Setup screens on each workstation.

4. Run Drake Accounting on each workstation.

5. On the Client Selector screen, click the station type icon and choose Peer-to-Peer (P2P).

6. To transfer client files, reports, and other important files to a different location than the DAS2021Data folder, check Transfer Data Files to New Location and browse to the new location.

   • Checking the Transfer Data Files to New Location option will copy the contents of the DAS2021Data folder over to the new location you choose and will zip and archive the DAS2021Data folder.

   • If you want to move the data path to a network location, only one station will check this option and select the new data path.

     • The other stations would simply point to the new location and leave this option unchecked.

   • To select a new location, click the folder icon and browse to the appropriate location.

7. Click Save when finished.

Patching on P2P

Each machine checks for patches when launching Drake Accounting. When getting updates, every user needs to be out of Drake Accounting so the system can successfully patch. If one station needs to patch, each individual station will need to get updates. The program cannot successfully run if two different versions are trying to connect to the database. It is recommended for stations to get updates at the same time to keep versions consistent. If there is a patch available and there are others who are using the software, Drake Accounting will prompt you that the application needs to close before patches can be installed.

Troubleshooting

If you have difficulty installing Drake Accounting, please call Drake Accounting Support at (828) 349-5908.