Using Parallels to run AccountEdge on 10.15 Catalina

This Article is for : 

• AccountEdge version 14 and below
• Parallels Desktop 15 for Mac ( Home Version ) 

MacOS Catalina(version 10.15) was released to the public on 7th October 2019. Catalina is the first version of macOS to support only 64-bit applications and the first to include Activation Lock. However, macOS Catalina is not compatible with Account Edge v14 and below.  

Parallels create a virtual machine inside your current Mac’s hard drive. Within that virtual machine, you can install a Mac or Windows operating system giving you access to run multiple operating systems at the same time. Virtual machines allow you to run an operating system in an app window on your desktop that behaves like a full, separate computer. Since AccountEdge will not currently run on Catalina, Parallels will let you install an older macOS on your computer in order to continue to use AccountEdge even if you have already or need to upgrade to Catalina

Installing a macOS on parallels ( on a computer not yet upgraded to Catalina)

To download the macOS, user may go to the App Store or use parallels desktop for Mac, which contains free systems that can be installed to create a virtual machine. If you’re on a macOS prior to Catalina, the “Install macOS” method “Using the Recovery Partition” will install your recovery macOS.

Installing a macOS on Parallels (on a computer already upgraded to Catalina)

If you have already updated your macOS to 10.15-Catalina or purchased a new Mac with macOS 10.15-Catalina, the Recovery Partition method will install macOS 10.15- Catalina on your virtual machine. Instead of using this method, you will need to obtain the installation file for a pre-Catalina macOS.

The article below outlines ways to find and download older versions of macOS.
http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/download-old-os-x-3629363

After obtaining the installation file use the “Install windows or another OS from a DVD or image file”.

Creating your virtual machine using an installation file.

1. Launch Parallels Desktop for Mac.
2. The “Create New” window should be showing upon launching Parallels Desktop for the first time. If the window is not showing you can use the Parallels Desktop menu bar to click “File - New “.
3. Select “Install Windows or another OS from a DVD or image file.”
4. If the macOS installation is not found, you may need to manually locate it through the installation wizard’s “Select File”.
5. Follow the installation to complete the virtual machine

We recommend that you take a few minutes to watch the video below, which details the process of creating a virtual macOS machine using Parallels Desktop for Mac.

p/s : We recommend that you keep your AccountEdge file saved locally on our Mac (within the Catalina macOS) and not within the virtual machine. Please make sure you’re creating frequent backups and saving them locally