diff --git a/openlp/core/__init__.py b/openlp/core/__init__.py
index b663fc55b..db135ef10 100644
--- a/openlp/core/__init__.py
+++ b/openlp/core/__init__.py
@@ -27,26 +27,26 @@ All the core functions of the OpenLP application including the GUI, settings,
 logging and a plugin framework are contained within the openlp.core module.
 """
 
-import os
-import sys
-import logging
 import argparse
-from traceback import format_exception
+import logging
+import os
 import shutil
+import sys
 import time
+from traceback import format_exception
+
 from PyQt5 import QtCore, QtGui, QtWidgets
 
 from openlp.core.common import Registry, OpenLPMixin, AppLocation, LanguageManager, Settings, UiStrings, \
     check_directory_exists, is_macosx, is_win, translate
+from openlp.core.common.versionchecker import VersionThread, get_application_version
 from openlp.core.lib import ScreenList
 from openlp.core.resources import qInitResources
-from openlp.core.ui.mainwindow import MainWindow
-from openlp.core.ui.firsttimelanguageform import FirstTimeLanguageForm
-from openlp.core.ui.firsttimeform import FirstTimeForm
-from openlp.core.ui.exceptionform import ExceptionForm
 from openlp.core.ui import SplashScreen
-from openlp.core.utils import VersionThread, get_application_version
-
+from openlp.core.ui.exceptionform import ExceptionForm
+from openlp.core.ui.firsttimeform import FirstTimeForm
+from openlp.core.ui.firsttimelanguageform import FirstTimeLanguageForm
+from openlp.core.ui.mainwindow import MainWindow
 
 __all__ = ['OpenLP', 'main']
 
diff --git a/openlp/core/common/versionchecker.py b/openlp/core/common/versionchecker.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5dcab6a6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/openlp/core/common/versionchecker.py
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+import logging
+import os
+import platform
+import sys
+import time
+import urllib.error
+import urllib.parse
+import urllib.request
+from datetime import datetime
+from distutils.version import LooseVersion
+from subprocess import Popen, PIPE
+
+from openlp.core.common import AppLocation, Settings
+
+from PyQt5 import QtCore
+
+log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
+APPLICATION_VERSION = {}
+CONNECTION_TIMEOUT = 30
+CONNECTION_RETRIES = 2
+
+
+class VersionThread(QtCore.QThread):
+    """
+    A special Qt thread class to fetch the version of OpenLP from the website.
+    This is threaded so that it doesn't affect the loading time of OpenLP.
+    """
+    def __init__(self, main_window):
+        """
+        Constructor for the thread class.
+
+        :param main_window: The main window Object.
+        """
+        log.debug("VersionThread - Initialise")
+        super(VersionThread, self).__init__(None)
+        self.main_window = main_window
+
+    def run(self):
+        """
+        Run the thread.
+        """
+        self.sleep(1)
+        log.debug('Version thread - run')
+        app_version = get_application_version()
+        version = check_latest_version(app_version)
+        log.debug("Versions %s and %s " % (LooseVersion(str(version)), LooseVersion(str(app_version['full']))))
+        if LooseVersion(str(version)) > LooseVersion(str(app_version['full'])):
+            self.main_window.openlp_version_check.emit('%s' % version)
+
+
+def get_application_version():
+    """
+    Returns the application version of the running instance of OpenLP::
+
+        {'full': '1.9.4-bzr1249', 'version': '1.9.4', 'build': 'bzr1249'}
+    """
+    global APPLICATION_VERSION
+    if APPLICATION_VERSION:
+        return APPLICATION_VERSION
+    if '--dev-version' in sys.argv or '-d' in sys.argv:
+        # NOTE: The following code is a duplicate of the code in setup.py. Any fix applied here should also be applied
+        # there.
+
+        # Get the revision of this tree.
+        bzr = Popen(('bzr', 'revno'), stdout=PIPE)
+        tree_revision, error = bzr.communicate()
+        tree_revision = tree_revision.decode()
+        code = bzr.wait()
+        if code != 0:
+            raise Exception('Error running bzr log')
+
+        # Get all tags.
+        bzr = Popen(('bzr', 'tags'), stdout=PIPE)
+        output, error = bzr.communicate()
+        code = bzr.wait()
+        if code != 0:
+            raise Exception('Error running bzr tags')
+        tags = list(map(bytes.decode, output.splitlines()))
+        if not tags:
+            tag_version = '0.0.0'
+            tag_revision = '0'
+        else:
+            # Remove any tag that has "?" as revision number. A "?" as revision number indicates, that this tag is from
+            # another series.
+            tags = [tag for tag in tags if tag.split()[-1].strip() != '?']
+            # Get the last tag and split it in a revision and tag name.
+            tag_version, tag_revision = tags[-1].split()
+        # If they are equal, then this tree is tarball with the source for the release. We do not want the revision
+        # number in the full version.
+        if tree_revision == tag_revision:
+            full_version = tag_version.strip()
+        else:
+            full_version = '%s-bzr%s' % (tag_version.strip(), tree_revision.strip())
+    else:
+        # We're not running the development version, let's use the file.
+        file_path = AppLocation.get_directory(AppLocation.VersionDir)
+        file_path = os.path.join(file_path, '.version')
+        version_file = None
+        try:
+            version_file = open(file_path, 'r')
+            full_version = str(version_file.read()).rstrip()
+        except IOError:
+            log.exception('Error in version file.')
+            full_version = '0.0.0-bzr000'
+        finally:
+            if version_file:
+                version_file.close()
+    bits = full_version.split('-')
+    APPLICATION_VERSION = {
+        'full': full_version,
+        'version': bits[0],
+        'build': bits[1] if len(bits) > 1 else None
+    }
+    if APPLICATION_VERSION['build']:
+        log.info('Openlp version %s build %s', APPLICATION_VERSION['version'], APPLICATION_VERSION['build'])
+    else:
+        log.info('Openlp version %s' % APPLICATION_VERSION['version'])
+    return APPLICATION_VERSION
+
+
+def check_latest_version(current_version):
+    """
+    Check the latest version of OpenLP against the version file on the OpenLP
+    site.
+
+    **Rules around versions and version files:**
+
+    * If a version number has a build (i.e. -bzr1234), then it is a nightly.
+    * If a version number's minor version is an odd number, it is a development release.
+    * If a version number's minor version is an even number, it is a stable release.
+
+    :param current_version: The current version of OpenLP.
+    """
+    version_string = current_version['full']
+    # set to prod in the distribution config file.
+    settings = Settings()
+    settings.beginGroup('core')
+    last_test = settings.value('last version test')
+    this_test = str(datetime.now().date())
+    settings.setValue('last version test', this_test)
+    settings.endGroup()
+    if last_test != this_test:
+        if current_version['build']:
+            req = urllib.request.Request('http://www.openlp.org/files/nightly_version.txt')
+        else:
+            version_parts = current_version['version'].split('.')
+            if int(version_parts[1]) % 2 != 0:
+                req = urllib.request.Request('http://www.openlp.org/files/dev_version.txt')
+            else:
+                req = urllib.request.Request('http://www.openlp.org/files/version.txt')
+        req.add_header('User-Agent', 'OpenLP/%s %s/%s; ' % (current_version['full'], platform.system(),
+                                                            platform.release()))
+        remote_version = None
+        retries = 0
+        while True:
+            try:
+                remote_version = str(urllib.request.urlopen(req, None,
+                                                            timeout=CONNECTION_TIMEOUT).read().decode()).strip()
+            except (urllib.error.URLError, ConnectionError):
+                if retries > CONNECTION_RETRIES:
+                    log.exception('Failed to download the latest OpenLP version file')
+                else:
+                    retries += 1
+                    time.sleep(0.1)
+                    continue
+            break
+        if remote_version:
+            version_string = remote_version
+    return version_string
+
diff --git a/openlp/core/lib/plugin.py b/openlp/core/lib/plugin.py
index 6c19ac1dd..b9c8ca5f0 100644
--- a/openlp/core/lib/plugin.py
+++ b/openlp/core/lib/plugin.py
@@ -24,11 +24,10 @@ Provide the generic plugin functionality for OpenLP plugins.
 """
 import logging
 
-
 from PyQt5 import QtCore
 
 from openlp.core.common import Registry, RegistryProperties, Settings, UiStrings
-from openlp.core.utils import get_application_version
+from openlp.core.common.versionchecker import get_application_version
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
diff --git a/openlp/core/ui/aboutform.py b/openlp/core/ui/aboutform.py
index b376d4646..fc29f968c 100644
--- a/openlp/core/ui/aboutform.py
+++ b/openlp/core/ui/aboutform.py
@@ -26,8 +26,8 @@ import webbrowser
 
 from PyQt5 import QtCore, QtWidgets
 
+from openlp.core.common.versionchecker import get_application_version
 from openlp.core.lib import translate
-from openlp.core.utils import get_application_version
 from .aboutdialog import UiAboutDialog
 
 
diff --git a/openlp/core/ui/exceptionform.py b/openlp/core/ui/exceptionform.py
index 2e4661579..68dd9705f 100644
--- a/openlp/core/ui/exceptionform.py
+++ b/openlp/core/ui/exceptionform.py
@@ -23,18 +23,17 @@
 The actual exception dialog form.
 """
 import logging
-import re
 import os
 import platform
+import re
 
 import bs4
 import sqlalchemy
+from PyQt5 import Qt, QtCore, QtGui, QtWebKit, QtWidgets
 from lxml import etree
 
 from openlp.core.common import RegistryProperties, is_linux
 
-from PyQt5 import Qt, QtCore, QtGui, QtWebKit, QtWidgets
-
 try:
     import migrate
     MIGRATE_VERSION = getattr(migrate, '__version__', '< 0.7')
@@ -74,7 +73,7 @@ except ImportError:
     VLC_VERSION = '-'
 
 from openlp.core.common import Settings, UiStrings, translate
-from openlp.core.utils import get_application_version
+from openlp.core.common.versionchecker import get_application_version
 
 from .exceptiondialog import Ui_ExceptionDialog
 
diff --git a/openlp/core/ui/mainwindow.py b/openlp/core/ui/mainwindow.py
index 9618b1c48..228969ad1 100644
--- a/openlp/core/ui/mainwindow.py
+++ b/openlp/core/ui/mainwindow.py
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ from PyQt5 import QtCore, QtGui, QtWidgets
 from openlp.core.common import Registry, RegistryProperties, AppLocation, LanguageManager, Settings, \
     check_directory_exists, translate, is_win, is_macosx, add_actions
 from openlp.core.common.actions import ActionList, CategoryOrder
+from openlp.core.common.versionchecker import get_application_version
 from openlp.core.lib import Renderer, OpenLPDockWidget, PluginManager, ImageManager, PluginStatus, ScreenList, \
     build_icon
 from openlp.core.lib.ui import UiStrings, create_action
@@ -46,7 +47,6 @@ from openlp.core.ui.firsttimeform import FirstTimeForm
 from openlp.core.ui.media import MediaController
 from openlp.core.ui.printserviceform import PrintServiceForm
 from openlp.core.ui.projector.manager import ProjectorManager
-from openlp.core.utils import get_application_version
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
diff --git a/openlp/core/utils/__init__.py b/openlp/core/utils/__init__.py
index 3cd1b0295..656c9f1cb 100644
--- a/openlp/core/utils/__init__.py
+++ b/openlp/core/utils/__init__.py
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ The :mod:`openlp.core.utils` module provides the utility libraries for OpenLP.
 """
 import logging
 import os
-import platform
 import re
 import socket
 import sys
@@ -32,8 +31,6 @@ import time
 import urllib.error
 import urllib.parse
 import urllib.request
-from datetime import datetime
-from distutils.version import LooseVersion
 from http.client import HTTPException
 from random import randint
 from shutil import which
@@ -90,34 +87,6 @@ CONNECTION_TIMEOUT = 30
 CONNECTION_RETRIES = 2
 
 
-class VersionThread(QtCore.QThread):
-    """
-    A special Qt thread class to fetch the version of OpenLP from the website.
-    This is threaded so that it doesn't affect the loading time of OpenLP.
-    """
-    def __init__(self, main_window):
-        """
-        Constructor for the thread class.
-
-        :param main_window: The main window Object.
-        """
-        log.debug("VersionThread - Initialise")
-        super(VersionThread, self).__init__(None)
-        self.main_window = main_window
-
-    def run(self):
-        """
-        Run the thread.
-        """
-        self.sleep(1)
-        log.debug('Version thread - run')
-        app_version = get_application_version()
-        version = check_latest_version(app_version)
-        log.debug("Versions %s and %s " % (LooseVersion(str(version)), LooseVersion(str(app_version['full']))))
-        if LooseVersion(str(version)) > LooseVersion(str(app_version['full'])):
-            self.main_window.openlp_version_check.emit('%s' % version)
-
-
 class HTTPRedirectHandlerFixed(urllib.request.HTTPRedirectHandler):
     """
     Special HTTPRedirectHandler used to work around http://bugs.python.org/issue22248
@@ -145,127 +114,6 @@ class HTTPRedirectHandlerFixed(urllib.request.HTTPRedirectHandler):
         return super(HTTPRedirectHandlerFixed, self).redirect_request(req, fp, code, msg, headers, fixed_url)
 
 
-def get_application_version():
-    """
-    Returns the application version of the running instance of OpenLP::
-
-        {'full': '1.9.4-bzr1249', 'version': '1.9.4', 'build': 'bzr1249'}
-    """
-    global APPLICATION_VERSION
-    if APPLICATION_VERSION:
-        return APPLICATION_VERSION
-    if '--dev-version' in sys.argv or '-d' in sys.argv:
-        # NOTE: The following code is a duplicate of the code in setup.py. Any fix applied here should also be applied
-        # there.
-
-        # Get the revision of this tree.
-        bzr = Popen(('bzr', 'revno'), stdout=PIPE)
-        tree_revision, error = bzr.communicate()
-        tree_revision = tree_revision.decode()
-        code = bzr.wait()
-        if code != 0:
-            raise Exception('Error running bzr log')
-
-        # Get all tags.
-        bzr = Popen(('bzr', 'tags'), stdout=PIPE)
-        output, error = bzr.communicate()
-        code = bzr.wait()
-        if code != 0:
-            raise Exception('Error running bzr tags')
-        tags = list(map(bytes.decode, output.splitlines()))
-        if not tags:
-            tag_version = '0.0.0'
-            tag_revision = '0'
-        else:
-            # Remove any tag that has "?" as revision number. A "?" as revision number indicates, that this tag is from
-            # another series.
-            tags = [tag for tag in tags if tag.split()[-1].strip() != '?']
-            # Get the last tag and split it in a revision and tag name.
-            tag_version, tag_revision = tags[-1].split()
-        # If they are equal, then this tree is tarball with the source for the release. We do not want the revision
-        # number in the full version.
-        if tree_revision == tag_revision:
-            full_version = tag_version.strip()
-        else:
-            full_version = '%s-bzr%s' % (tag_version.strip(), tree_revision.strip())
-    else:
-        # We're not running the development version, let's use the file.
-        file_path = AppLocation.get_directory(AppLocation.VersionDir)
-        file_path = os.path.join(file_path, '.version')
-        version_file = None
-        try:
-            version_file = open(file_path, 'r')
-            full_version = str(version_file.read()).rstrip()
-        except IOError:
-            log.exception('Error in version file.')
-            full_version = '0.0.0-bzr000'
-        finally:
-            if version_file:
-                version_file.close()
-    bits = full_version.split('-')
-    APPLICATION_VERSION = {
-        'full': full_version,
-        'version': bits[0],
-        'build': bits[1] if len(bits) > 1 else None
-    }
-    if APPLICATION_VERSION['build']:
-        log.info('Openlp version %s build %s', APPLICATION_VERSION['version'], APPLICATION_VERSION['build'])
-    else:
-        log.info('Openlp version %s' % APPLICATION_VERSION['version'])
-    return APPLICATION_VERSION
-
-
-def check_latest_version(current_version):
-    """
-    Check the latest version of OpenLP against the version file on the OpenLP
-    site.
-
-    **Rules around versions and version files:**
-
-    * If a version number has a build (i.e. -bzr1234), then it is a nightly.
-    * If a version number's minor version is an odd number, it is a development release.
-    * If a version number's minor version is an even number, it is a stable release.
-
-    :param current_version: The current version of OpenLP.
-    """
-    version_string = current_version['full']
-    # set to prod in the distribution config file.
-    settings = Settings()
-    settings.beginGroup('core')
-    last_test = settings.value('last version test')
-    this_test = str(datetime.now().date())
-    settings.setValue('last version test', this_test)
-    settings.endGroup()
-    if last_test != this_test:
-        if current_version['build']:
-            req = urllib.request.Request('http://www.openlp.org/files/nightly_version.txt')
-        else:
-            version_parts = current_version['version'].split('.')
-            if int(version_parts[1]) % 2 != 0:
-                req = urllib.request.Request('http://www.openlp.org/files/dev_version.txt')
-            else:
-                req = urllib.request.Request('http://www.openlp.org/files/version.txt')
-        req.add_header('User-Agent', 'OpenLP/%s %s/%s; ' % (current_version['full'], platform.system(),
-                                                            platform.release()))
-        remote_version = None
-        retries = 0
-        while True:
-            try:
-                remote_version = str(urllib.request.urlopen(req, None,
-                                                            timeout=CONNECTION_TIMEOUT).read().decode()).strip()
-            except (urllib.error.URLError, ConnectionError):
-                if retries > CONNECTION_RETRIES:
-                    log.exception('Failed to download the latest OpenLP version file')
-                else:
-                    retries += 1
-                    time.sleep(0.1)
-                    continue
-            break
-        if remote_version:
-            version_string = remote_version
-    return version_string
-
-
 def get_filesystem_encoding():
     """
     Returns the name of the encoding used to convert Unicode filenames into system file names.
diff --git a/openlp/plugins/songs/lib/openlyricsxml.py b/openlp/plugins/songs/lib/openlyricsxml.py
index bba60baa2..806df438d 100644
--- a/openlp/plugins/songs/lib/openlyricsxml.py
+++ b/openlp/plugins/songs/lib/openlyricsxml.py
@@ -62,10 +62,10 @@ import re
 from lxml import etree, objectify
 
 from openlp.core.common import translate
+from openlp.core.common.versionchecker import get_application_version
 from openlp.core.lib import FormattingTags
 from openlp.plugins.songs.lib import VerseType, clean_song
 from openlp.plugins.songs.lib.db import Author, AuthorType, Book, Song, Topic
-from openlp.core.utils import get_application_version
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
diff --git a/tests/functional/openlp_core_common/test_versionchecker.py b/tests/functional/openlp_core_common/test_versionchecker.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ab2269667
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/functional/openlp_core_common/test_versionchecker.py
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+# vim: autoindent shiftwidth=4 expandtab textwidth=120 tabstop=4 softtabstop=4
+
+###############################################################################
+# OpenLP - Open Source Lyrics Projection                                      #
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+# Copyright (c) 2008-2016 OpenLP Developers                                   #
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------------- #
+# This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it     #
+# under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free  #
+# Software Foundation; version 2 of the License.                              #
+#                                                                             #
+# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT #
+# ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or       #
+# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for    #
+# more details.                                                               #
+#                                                                             #
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along     #
+# with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59  #
+# Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA                          #
+###############################################################################
+"""
+Package to test the openlp.core.common.versionchecker package.
+"""
+from unittest import TestCase
+
+from openlp.core.common.settings import Settings
+from openlp.core.common.versionchecker import VersionThread
+from tests.functional import MagicMock, patch
+from tests.helpers.testmixin import TestMixin
+
+
+class TestVersionchecker(TestMixin, TestCase):
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        """
+        Create an instance and a few example actions.
+        """
+        self.build_settings()
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        """
+        Clean up
+        """
+        self.destroy_settings()
+
+    def version_thread_triggered_test(self):
+        """
+        Test the version thread call does not trigger UI
+        :return:
+        """
+        # GIVEN: a equal version setup and the data is not today.
+        mocked_main_window = MagicMock()
+        Settings().setValue('core/last version test', '1950-04-01')
+        # WHEN: We check to see if the version is different .
+        with patch('PyQt5.QtCore.QThread'),\
+                patch('openlp.core.common.versionchecker.get_application_version') as mocked_get_application_version:
+            mocked_get_application_version.return_value = {'version': '1.0.0', 'build': '', 'full': '2.0.4'}
+            version_thread = VersionThread(mocked_main_window)
+            version_thread.run()
+        # THEN: If the version has changed the main window is notified
+        self.assertTrue(mocked_main_window.openlp_version_check.emit.called,
+                        'The main windows should have been notified')
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/functional/openlp_core_utils/test_init.py b/tests/functional/openlp_core_utils/test_init.py
index 6a62f3a7f..d01c9f300 100644
--- a/tests/functional/openlp_core_utils/test_init.py
+++ b/tests/functional/openlp_core_utils/test_init.py
@@ -24,9 +24,8 @@ Package to test the openlp.core.utils.actions package.
 """
 from unittest import TestCase
 
-from openlp.core.common.settings import Settings
-from openlp.core.utils import VersionThread, get_uno_command
-from tests.functional import MagicMock, patch
+from openlp.core.utils import get_uno_command
+from tests.functional import patch
 from tests.helpers.testmixin import TestMixin
 
 
@@ -44,23 +43,6 @@ class TestInitFunctions(TestMixin, TestCase):
         """
         self.destroy_settings()
 
-    def version_thread_triggered_test(self):
-        """
-        Test the version thread call does not trigger UI
-        :return:
-        """
-        # GIVEN: a equal version setup and the data is not today.
-        mocked_main_window = MagicMock()
-        Settings().setValue('core/last version test', '1950-04-01')
-        # WHEN: We check to see if the version is different .
-        with patch('PyQt5.QtCore.QThread'),\
-                patch('openlp.core.utils.get_application_version') as mocked_get_application_version:
-            mocked_get_application_version.return_value = {'version': '1.0.0', 'build': '', 'full': '2.0.4'}
-            version_thread = VersionThread(mocked_main_window)
-            version_thread.run()
-        # THEN: If the version has changed the main window is notified
-        self.assertTrue(mocked_main_window.openlp_version_check.emit.called,
-                        'The main windows should have been notified')
 
     def get_uno_command_libreoffice_command_exists_test(self):
         """
diff --git a/tests/functional/openlp_core_utils/test_utils.py b/tests/functional/openlp_core_utils/test_utils.py
index 0c4234a3d..28d890a22 100644
--- a/tests/functional/openlp_core_utils/test_utils.py
+++ b/tests/functional/openlp_core_utils/test_utils.py
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ from unittest import TestCase
 
 from openlp.core.utils import clean_filename, delete_file, get_filesystem_encoding, \
     split_filename, _get_user_agent, get_web_page, get_uno_instance
-from openlp.core.common.languagemanager import get_locale_key, get_natural_key
 
 from tests.functional import MagicMock, patch