This is not the kind of experience that we want you to have, @DavidZ.

You can check the following to know more about the system requirements that works perfectly with QuickBooks Desktop 2021: System requirements for QuickBooks Desktop 2021.

To further discuss with you if it works with SQL 2012, I suggest reaching out to our Technical Support team. They can help you with troubleshooting errors, and configuration of the ODBC driver in a secure environment. 

You can follow the steps below on how to reach them:

1. From your QuickBooks Desktop account, click the Help menu at the top.  
2. Click the QuickBooks Desktop Help menu and select QuickBooks Desktop Help.
3. Provide some information about this concern on the search box.
4. Click the Contact Us link at the bottom of the window. 
5. You'll now be provided with a few support options.  

Here's the contact QuickBooks Desktop support article for more information about this.

See these articles for more information about this topic: 

• How to install and set up the QuickBooks Enterprise ODBC Driver
• Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) Driver FAQs for QuickBooks Desktop

Let me know if you have still questions with QBDT. I'm always here to answer them for you. Take care and have a wonderful day!