What If: Outlook Isn’t an Option in My QuickBooks Desktop Preferences?

Someone wrote in asking, “I tried to set my QuickBooks Send Forms preference to Microsoft Outlook, but it isn’t even listed as an option. What do I do now?

There can be many different reasons why Microsoft Outlook may not be an option for your specific edition of QuickBooks Desktop. 

Each of the most common reasons are outlined below. In some cases, remedial steps to resolve these reasons are included.

Unless otherwise instructed, insure that QuickBooks is closed before undertaking any steps to resolve the issue. After resolving each issue, open QuickBooks and try to set it to use Outlook for your email.

Reason 1 – Incompatible Microsoft Outlook Version

You could be using a version of Microsoft Outlook that isn’t supported by your version of QuickBooks Desktop.

You need to check the system requirements for your version of QuickBooks Desktop. You can check system requirements for the supported version of QuickBooks at the links below:

• QuickBooks Desktop 2017 and Enterprise Solutions 17.0
• QuickBooks Desktop 2016 and Enterprise Solutions 16.0
• QuickBooks Desktop 2015 and Enterprise Solutions 15.0
• QuickBooks Desktop 2014 and Enterprise Solutions 14.0

If your Microsoft Outlook version isn’t supported, you'll need to upgrade or switch to a supported version of Microsoft Outlook in order for your QuickBooks Desktop version to make use of Microsoft Outlook.

Reason 2 – Improper Microsoft Outlook Profile

Your profile might not be setup or setup correctly in Microsoft Outlook. When QuickBooks is installed, it looks to see if Microsoft Outlook is set as your "default" email program. If not, the Microsoft Outlook option is not displayed under the QuickBooks Send Forms preferences.

Check to insure that Microsoft Outlook is set as the default program for email, contacts and calendar:

1. Within Outlook, select File
2. On the file menu bar, select Options
3. In the Outlook Options window, select the General tab
4. In the General window, under the Start up Options section, check the box next to Make Outlook the default program for Email, Contacts, and Calendar.

Reason 3 – Microsoft Outlook may not be configured properly within Internet Explorer

Insure that Microsoft Outlook is configured as the default email program within Microsoft Internet Explorer.

1. In Internet Explorer, choose Tools >Internet Options
2. Select Program Tab
3. At the bottom of the window, click Set Programs
4. Click Set your default programs
5. Select your email application
6. Select Set this program as default and click OK
7. Select Set program access and computer defaults
8. Select Microsoft Windows
9. Click the drop-down arrow and select Use my current Microsoft e-mail program
10. Click OK

Note: These steps may vary slightly depending upon your version of Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Reason 4 – Windows Mail profile settings maybe improper

1. Click the Windows (Start) button and open the Control Panel
2. In the Search Control Panel field in the top left, type Mail and click Mail in the results screen
3. In the Mail Setup window, click the Show Profiles button
4. Select the option to Always use this profile and click OK

Note: These steps may vary slightly depending upon your version of Microsoft Windows.

Reason 5 – The Windows WIN.INI file may not be properly configured

The Windows operating system contains a system file called WIN.INI, which contains several system settings, including some settings used for email. It may be necessary to edit this file if the WIN.INI file is improperly configured.

1. Search your computer for the WIN.INI file
2. Select the WIN.INI file when search displays the file
3. The fill will open in Notepad. Review the file looking for a section heading entry titled [Mail]. If there is no [Mail] section, edit the file to add it to the end of the file.
4. If you add the [Mail] section or if the [Mail] section is there, but the text shown in the figure below is not included in that section, edit the file to add the text.
5. After editing the file, save and close it

If you're unable to edit the WIN.INI file due to Windows user access permissions, you'll need to login as the Windows Administrator user and try again.

Note: The WIN.INI file is a Windows system file, editing the file incorrectly or deleting the file can cause other problems in your system. Perform the edit only if you're comfortable making such Windows system changes, otherwise it's recommended you obtain the services of a qualified Windows IT professional to perform these steps.

Reason 6 – Microsoft Outlook maybe corrupted, or have a corrupted component

In these cases, it'll be necessary to run the Microsoft Detect and Repair utility for Outlook. You can obtain more information about these steps from this Microsoft website.

Reason 7 – QuickBooks and Microsoft Outlook may not have installed necessary third party components when initially installed

In these cases, it's necessary to uninstall and reinstall both QuickBooks and Microsoft Office (including Outlook) in a specific order:

• Uninstall QuickBooks
• Uninstall Microsoft Office (including Outlook)
• Reinstall Microsoft Office (including Outlook)
• Reinstall QuickBooks

It may be necessary to return to Reasons 1 through 5 after following the steps outlined in Reasons 6 and/or 7.