1. Do all these computers have to have QB installed on them?
Yes, you need to have QBs installed on both (all) computers.
2. If you don't recommend WiFi, then how are they connected? Hard wired into the network?
Yes, as much hype as WiFi gets, you are ALWAYS safer with a hardwire connection for QBs, file transfers, etc., etc. Besides speed, there are fewer packets dropped that need to be resent.
3. So the server and the host are the same computer & not separate computers?
Depends... If you have a SERVER that you can run Programs on, not just an external Storage device, you can load the QBs Server components on that SERVER and have it Host the QBs Company File. Then the Workstations all access that Company File.
But it sounds like you run QBs on one computer now. So you could easily set that machine up to allow another Workstation (someone else's computer) to access the same file. So no Server needed.
Part II
So we can have one computer with the QB data file and someone can work on it and someone else can be logged in remotely and work on the same file at the same time? Our accountant logs in remotely (have no idea how) and if they're on it, we can't be on that computer at all!
It depends upon what the Accountant is doing. You would need to check with them to see if you could work at the same time, but technically QBs does allow multiple users if you have the right license. (If it hasn't been mentioned before, if you have a Single User License, you'd need to upgrade to Multi-User.)
But yes, you could set up a computer anywhere in the office (doesn't even need a keyboard or monitor) with access to the Company File on your computer as described above and the Accountant can log in as they always have.
The way you are set up now is that your Accountant basically has a remote Keyboard, Monitor and Mouse which takes over your computer. So even though they are not physically there, they are basically "sitting" in front of your computer using it. So you can't both sit there and try and do things on the same computer at the same time. So if you can afford it, a small low profile computer tucked away somewhere with access to your QBs file would allow you to keep working on your computer.
Even if the Acct. doesn't want you in QBs at the same time. You still have y our computer to do anything you want to do. EXCEPT shut down or reboot while the Acct. is working on the QB file.
You can also use the hard drive on the other computer to store backups of your QBs if you don't already have a good way to store your Backups.
