Installing DBx BOQ

DBx BOQ runs on Windows and reads/writes your existing Databuild SQL Server databases. This guide covers installing the DBx BOQ client AND making sure your SQL Server is ready to accept connections from it.

Already have SQL Server set up and accepting remote connections? You can skip to Step 4: install DBx BOQ. The earlier steps are for fresh SQL Server installs or environments that have never had a non-Databuild client connect.

Prerequisites

Step 1: Install SQL Server (skip if already installed)

If you don’t already have SQL Server running:

1. Download SQL Server 2019 Express from Microsoft’s website (free).
2. Run the installer and choose Basic installation.
3. Note the instance name — usually SQLEXPRESS.
4. Install SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) as well — you’ll need it for the next steps.

Step 2: Enable SQL Server Authentication

DBx BOQ can use either Windows Authentication or SQL Server Authentication. Most setups use SQL Server Auth because it works the same regardless of which Windows user is signed in.

1. Open SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).
2. Connect to your SQL Server instance.
3. Right-click the server name → Properties.
4. Go to the Security page.
5. Select “SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode”.
6. Click OK.
7. Restart the SQL Server service (this is required — the change won’t take effect until you do).

Step 3: Create the dbxadmin login

Create a dedicated SQL Server login for DBx BOQ to use:

1. In SSMS, expand Security → Logins.
2. Right-click Logins → New Login…
3. Login name: dbxadmin
4. Select “SQL Server authentication”.
5. Enter a strong password. Write it down — you’ll need it during DBx BOQ setup.
6. Uncheck “Enforce password policy” (optional, for convenience).
7. Uncheck “User must change password at next login”.
8. Go to the Server Roles tab.
9. Check sysadmin (or at minimum: dbcreator + securityadmin).
10. Click OK.

Grant database access

After creating the login, grant it access to both your Databuild databases:

1. In SSMS, expand your System Database (e.g. YOURSYS).
2. Expand Security → Users.
3. Right-click Users → New User…
4. User type: SQL user with login
5. User name: dbxadmin
6. Login name: dbxadmin
7. Go to the Membership tab → check db_owner.
8. Click OK.
9. Repeat for the Job Database (e.g. YOURJOB).

Step 4: Enable network access (TCP/IP)

This is the single most common cause of “can’t connect” errors when DBx BOQ first launches. Even if SQL Server runs locally on the same machine, TCP/IP needs to be enabled and listening on a known port.

Open SQL Server Configuration Manager

There are several ways:

• Start menu — search for SQL Server Configuration Manager or SQL Server 2019 Configuration Manager
• Run dialog — press Win+R and type:
  • SQL Server 2019: SQLServerManager15.msc
  • SQL Server 2017: SQLServerManager14.msc
  • SQL Server 2016: SQLServerManager13.msc
  • SQL Server 2022: SQLServerManager16.msc

Enable TCP/IP

1. In the left panel, expand SQL Server Network Configuration.
2. Click Protocols for [Your Instance] (e.g. “Protocols for SQLEXPRESS”).
3. Right-click TCP/IP → Enable.

Configure the TCP port

1. Right-click TCP/IP again → Properties.
2. Click the IP Addresses tab.
3. Scroll to the very bottom — find the IPAll section.
4. TCP Dynamic Ports: clear this field completely. Leave it blank. If dynamic ports stay set, SQL Server picks a random port each restart and connections break intermittently.
5. TCP Port: enter 1433 (the standard SQL Server port).
6. Click OK.
7. Restart the SQL Server service (Computer Management → Services → SQL Server (instance name) → Restart).

Step 5: Install DBx BOQ

1. Download DBx BOQ from the DBx Desktop product page. It’s free.
2. Run the installer.
3. Accept the licence agreement.
4. Choose an install location (default is fine).
5. Let the installer finish — it’ll add a desktop shortcut and a Start menu entry.
6. Launch DBx BOQ from the desktop shortcut.

On first run, DBx BOQ will open the Settings → Companies screen so you can configure your database connection. That’s covered in the next article.

Common installation problems

“Cannot connect to server”

Almost always one of:

• TCP/IP not enabled (see Step 4)
• SQL Server service not running
• Wrong server name in the connection (use LOCALHOST\SQLEXPRESS for a default Express install)
• Windows Firewall blocking port 1433 — add an inbound rule for SQL Server, or temporarily disable to test

“Login failed for user ‘dbxadmin’”

• Authentication mode is still set to “Windows only” — go back to Step 2 and switch to mixed mode, then restart SQL Server
• Wrong password — reset in SSMS via Security → Logins → dbxadmin → Properties

“Driver not found”

DBx BOQ auto-detects ODBC drivers, but if it can’t find one, install Microsoft ODBC Driver 18 for SQL Server from Microsoft’s website (free download).

Next step

You’re installed and connected. Next: first-time setup — choose your database, add users, set your defaults.

If you got stuck, the in-app help has additional troubleshooting steps — open DBx BOQ and press F1 on the Settings page. Or contact support — we’ve installed DBx BOQ for hundreds of builders, the awkward edge cases are usually familiar.