File won't open

Solid Accounting company files are SQLCipher-encrypted SQLite databases with a .solid extension. If yours won't open, work through these in order.

"Wrong password"

The most common cause is, well, a wrong password. There's no way to recover or reset a forgotten password — the file is genuinely encrypted. Options:

1. Try variants — case sensitivity, common typo patterns, or a previous password if you've changed it recently.
2. Restore from a Cloud Backup (Settings → Cloud Backup → Restore). The backup uses a separate encryption phrase, not the file password — so this works even if you've forgotten the file password.
3. Restore from a local backup (.solid.bak files in your file's directory).

If you don't have a backup and can't remember the password, the data is unrecoverable — that's the security guarantee. Contact support and we'll help you start a fresh file from the most recent statements you have.

"File appears corrupted"

Two scenarios — different fixes.

App crashed mid-write

The file might have a stale write-ahead log (.solid-wal). Solid Accounting auto-recovers on next open in most cases. If it still won't open:

1. Close the app completely.
2. In the file's directory, you'll see yourfile.solid plus yourfile.solid-wal and yourfile.solid-shm. Don't delete those yet.
3. Open Solid Accounting and try opening the file again — auto-recovery triggers.
4. If that fails, restore the most recent .solid.bak over the corrupted .solid file.

Disk hardware errors

The file's bytes are physically corrupted. SQLCipher won't open them. Restore from Cloud Backup or local backup. Run disk health checks (smartctl on Linux/Mac, CrystalDiskInfo on Windows) before continuing to use that drive.

"Old file format"

You're opening a file from a much older version. Open the file from File → Open rather than double-clicking — the app will run a schema migration automatically. Make sure to back up first.

"File locked by another process"

Another instance has the file open. On Windows, check Task Manager for stray Solid Accounting processes. On Mac/Linux:

lsof | grep yourfile.solid

Kill the offending process and try again.

Multi-user mode

If you're using multi-user, only the host writes; clients connect via mDNS. If a client can't see the file, the host probably crashed — restart the host machine.