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Using the Fathom Desktop Connector

The Fathom Desktop Connector is a small (~6MB) application that is launched from the web browser.

The connector enables you to select an accounting file from the local file system or a mapped network drive and extract and securely upload financial data into Fathom.

The connector currently supports multiple accounting software vendors. For more specific help relating to each vendor please select the relevant help article:

  1. MYOB Account Right
  2. Intuit QuickBooks Desktop
  3. Excel

Getting Started

To add a new company go to 'Add a Company' and choose one of the accounting vendors. You will then be provided with the option to 'Launch the Fathom Desktop Connector'.

To update an existing company go to 'Step 1' of the the company setup to launch the Connector.

The first time you launch the connector from the web browser you are required to provide your email and password. These should be the same details used to log in to Fathom.

Your password will be remembered for the next time you use the connector.

Adding a new company or updating an old one uses the same process. Simply click the 'Add Files' button and select the files from your computer. You can use CTRL and SHIFT keys to select multiple files at once in the file selector dialog.

The connector will indicate which files are new and which files are updating an existing company.

Some files may require you to enter a specific username and password.

You cannot add two companies with the same name.

What information is extracted?

The Fathom Desktop Connector extracts the following information and securely uploads this information to the Fathom servers.

  1. Company details such as the name of the company, financial year and currency.
  2. The chart of accounts.
  3. Financial statements such as the Profit/Loss and Balance Sheet
  4. In the case of an error, relevant debugging information to help resolve the issue quickly.

The source file itself (ie. *.myo, *.qbw, *.xlsx) is not uploaded to Fathom

For clarity, no personal data such as credit card information, login details, customer contact information, etc. is uploaded to the Fathom servers. It is the responsibility of the account holder to make certain that no personal data is inadvertently exposed in the chart of accounts.

All data is encrypted using SSL as it is transferred to Fathom.


Operating System

The Fathom Desktop Connector utilises Microsoft ClickOnce technology and consequently will only work on Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows 7 and Windows 8 or later.

Macintosh OS/X is not supported.

Web Browser

The connector can be launched from Google Chrome, Internet Explorer or Firefox. 

Microsoft.NET Framework

The Microsoft.NET framework v4.5.2 must be installed on your system. Most Windows installations will already have this installed however if necessary it will be automatically downloaded for you as part of the installation of the desktop connector.

To install the .NET framework manually:

  1. Go to
  2. Click "Download".
  3. Answer 'Yes' or 'Run' to any prompts. Wait for the installer to download the framework.
  4. The computer may need to be restarted after the installation finishes.

Using the Desktop Connector with Windows Terminal Server

The Connector uses Microsoft ClickOnce technology which is only supported in the most recent versions of Windows Terminal Server.

According to a Microsoft Knowledge Base article, ClickOnce is not supported on Windows Terminal Servers including 2003, 2003 R2, 2008 & 2008 R2.

However Windows Terminal Server 2012 R2 has introduced support for ClickOnce. While the Fathom Desktop Connector can't be published as a RemoteApp directly, it can now be installed and run through a web browser such as Internet Explorer which itself is published as a RemoteApp.

Using the Desktop Connector in a Citrix Environment

The following article from the Citrix Support website is a helpful resource:

Understanding Citrix XenApp and ClickOnce Applications


From time to time the connector will be updated to incorporate new features and/or improvements. This requires no user interaction. The new version will be downloaded automatically when you launch the connector.


For problems related to a specific file type or vendor please see the relevant help article:

  1. MYOB Account Right
  2. Intuit QuickBooks Desktop
  3. Excel

When starting the Connector I receive an error stating 'Application Improperly Formatted'

This error is caused by not having the correct .Net Framework version installed. Due to a recent Microsoft update we now require that the computer running the Connector has the Microsoft .NET Framework v4.5 installed. Please see the instructions for installation in the requirements section above.