Sync Two Office PCs Over LAN Without Cloud Using GoodSync
Two PCs, one set of files, zero interest in uploading the accounts folder to anybody's cloud. Your office network is already fast enough — here is how to make it do the syncing.
✍️ Technical Anshu💻 LAN Only Setup⏱️ 12 minute setup
🎥 The job-building steps in the video are the same — this guide covers the network side that makes the job reachable
Cloud sync is convenient, but many small offices have good reasons to keep working files inside the building: the accounts folder, client records, design files too big for the broadband upload speed anyway. GoodSync offers two LAN routes — a classic shared folder over SMB, and GoodSync Connect discovering the other PC on the local network. Both end with the same job window from the video; the work is in the ten minutes of network setup before it.
The destination that never fails — a UNC path, not a drive letter
Left folder : D:\Office Data
Right folder: \\FRONTDESK-PC\OfficeData
NOT this: Z:\OfficeData
(Z: exists only inside one user's login session)
👆 The single most valuable habit in LAN syncing. UNC paths (\\PCNAME\Share) work for scheduled jobs, services and other users. Drive letters work until the day they don't — usually at 8 pm, unattended.
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Step 1 — Share the Folder on the Target PC
On the PC that will hold the shared copy, right-click the folder → Properties → Sharing → Advanced Sharing → tick Share this folder
Open Permissions and give the user account that will sync Change access — Read-only sharing is the number one cause of “sync copies one way but never back”
Check the Security tab too — Windows applies both permission sets, and the stricter one wins
Confirm from the other PC: press Windows + R and open \\FRONTDESK-PC\OfficeData — you should see the folder before GoodSync ever enters the story
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Step 2 — Build the Job With the UNC Path
On the syncing PC, create the job in GoodSync exactly as in the video
For the network side, browse to the share or type the UNC path directly: \\FRONTDESK-PC\OfficeData
Do not map a drive letter and use Z:\ in the job. Letters belong to one login session; the moment the job runs scheduled or as a service, Z: does not exist and the job fails
If the PC name will not resolve, use its IP address instead — \\192.168.1.50\OfficeData — and give that PC a DHCP reservation in the router so its address never drifts
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Step 3 — The GoodSync Connect Alternative on the Same LAN
If share permissions keep fighting you, there is a second route:
Install GoodSync on both PCs and sign both into the same GoodSync Connect account
In the job's folder browser, choose the Connect file system and pick the other computer and its folder — no Windows sharing configuration at all
On the same network the connection is made directly between the PCs, so speeds are LAN speeds, and the same job keeps working if a laptop later connects from outside
The cost: GoodSync must be installed and licensed on both machines, where the SMB route needs it only on one
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Step 4 — Decide the Direction Like an Office, Not a Hobby
One master PC (accounts is edited only on the billing desk): use a 1-way backup from master to the second PC. Simple, and the second PC can never push a mistake back
Both PCs genuinely edit (shared documents folder): a 2-way sync is honest — but adopt the house rule that a file being edited is being edited by one person, or conflicts become a weekly ritual
Turn on saved versions for either design — LAN sync is fast, which means a bad deletion also travels fast
Schedule or real-time? Documents: real-time or every 15 minutes feels magical. Accounts data: a scheduled job after closing time, with the application shut — see the Tally guide on this site
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Step 5 — The Three LAN Problems and Their Fixes
“Network path not found” at scheduled times — the other PC was off or asleep. Sync needs both machines awake; set the office PCs to not sleep during working hours
Windows Firewall blocking — on the sharing PC, the File and Printer Sharing rules must be allowed on the Private network profile. Also confirm both PCs' network is set to Private, not Public — Public silently disables discovery and sharing
Sync works but crawls — someone is syncing over weak WiFi while a LAN cable sits unplugged. Big office folders belong on wired connections; check the real transfer rate before blaming the software
🔴 The LAN honesty note: two PCs in the same room are not two copies of your data as far as fire, theft or a power surge is concerned — they are one event away from being zero copies. Keep the LAN sync for convenience, and let one of those PCs also run a quiet 1-way backup to an external disk or cloud. The video's Auto settings make that second job a two-minute addition.
🎥 Watch the Complete Video
Watch the job setup in the video, then apply the UNC path and sharing steps from this guide to point it across your network.
With the shared-folder route, only the PC running GoodSync needs it — the other PC is just a folder on the network. With the GoodSync Connect route, GoodSync is installed on both machines, so both need licensing. Many offices start with the share route for exactly this reason.
Why does my job fail at night but work when I click it in the morning?
Because in the morning you are logged in and the other PC is on. At night one of those stops being true — the target is asleep, or the job runs where your mapped drive letter does not exist. Use UNC paths, keep the target awake at the scheduled hour, and read the job log once — it will name the exact failure.
Can the two PCs sync if they are on different floors with different routers?
If both networks are joined (same LAN, or a site-to-site VPN), the SMB route works with the reachable IP address of the other PC. If they are truly separate networks, that is no longer LAN sync — use GoodSync Connect over the internet instead, which is designed for exactly that case.
This guide is based on the Technical Anshu GoodSync Explained video • Stuck on any step? Ask in the video comments — you will get a reply there 🙏