Quicken File Management when Snowbirding

[DogGone]

We, this coming winter, we will be snowbirding in our new Florida home.

As an avid Quicken user for 3 decades, I’m not giving it up. I know I can update simple transactions from the mobile app on the phone or the web app on a pc, but I want all the functionality of the full pc version.

Can I just load another real version on a laptop and will the online updates resume them on both pcs when ever I go back to the original pc? Or will I lose some history since I have 30 years of data?

I really don’t want to fly home just to do my taxes with all my saved reports and category cleaning/auditing I do.

Thanks

 

[Jerry1]

I think it will work that way. It may be that you can only be logged into one at a time, but I think it will work. That's actually one of the good things about a subscription model. They don't care so much about the software on your machine(s), they want you logged in and charge you for membership.

As for losing data, the data is all on your data file. You're going to have to manage that file so you don't overwrite any data or have new data on separate data files, but as long as you keep your data file straight, you'll be fine. The program itself will not do that.

 

[DogGone]

I think it will work that way. It may be that you can only be logged into one at a time, but I think it will work. That's actually one of the good things about a subscription model. They don't care so much about the software on your machine(s), they want you logged in and charge you for membership.

As for losing data, the data is all on your data file. You're going to have to manage that file so you don't overwrite any data or have new data on separate data files, but as long as you keep your data file straight, you'll be fine. The program itself will not do that.

So you’re saying to copy the data file to the laptop, use that for x months and reload that file to the pc upon returning? Makes sense, I could also just save and back up that file to the cloud through Norton or any of my current cloud services.

 

[Jerry1]

So you’re saying to copy the data file to the laptop, use that for x months and reload that file to the pc upon returning? Makes sense, I could also just save and back up that file to the cloud through Norton or any of my current cloud services.

Exactly. Definitely make frequent backups and store them on a flash drive and the cloud.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

It might be time to consider moving to a laptop as your single computer. They're powerful enough to do anything nowadays. You can set it up with a large external monitor, keyboard and mouse when at home and it really would be just like using a desktop. Unless you're still using a desktop with a DVD drive or some other peripheral that laptops won't have. And, if you want, you could also have an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse at the FL home so you'd just be carrying the laptop back and forth.

I switched to a laptop as my primary computer just after I retired. Oh, I'm a multi-decade Quicken user. So I know what you're going thru!

 

[aza455]

Just back up your file to the cloud (like Google Drive, Microsoft One Drive, etc) and then restore it on your laptop.

Easy peasy…

 

[OldShooter]

Synology has a private cloud feature. Files that DW or I put into the cloud folder on our machines are synchronized between the two machines plus kept on the NAS box. Lightroom is not supposed to run on network files, but for each of us it thinks the Lightroom database is on the local drive (which it is). The only time this gets messy is if we are both working in the database at the same time, something fairly easily avoided.

Our cloud is accessed only via our LAN, but I'm almost certain it can be set up for internet access. In the latter case a metered connection would probably be a bad idea, so that would have to be managed.

 

[calmloki]

We loaded our old disk loaded Quicken on our various computers and have the data on a thumb drive. We back the data up to our computers, but if we are going anywhere we take the thumb drive with us and just plug it in to a computer with Quicken on it when we get there. Got a lot handier when we went to refurbished little computers:

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkCentre-M900-Tiny-64-Multi-Language/dp/B08244F639/ref=asc_df_B08244F639/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=416672671431&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7590066336262336729&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031389&hvtargid=pla-871699021898&psc=1&mcid=095773b59ce43ae18d0c7e0b61a03312&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=95587150204&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=416672671431&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7590066336262336729&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031389&hvtargid=pla-871699021898&gclid=Cj0KCQjwncWvBhD_ARIsAEb2HW-sKE8--g9p79q84HxW8wVs5MC2SwbwkX2qJ0-VTm5INxhskoUMaeQaAreAEALw_wcB

We leave keyboards, mice and monitors all wired up at each place, ready to add the CPUs, then just transport the 7"x7" tiny computers. Not really trusting of the cloud, but that's just me. The thumb drive goes with us on overnight trips for security if the house burns down.

Oh - we're snowbirds between Oregon and SoCal

 

[pb4uski]

As a laptop user of Quicken it was never an issue for me as I just bring my laptop including Quicken wherever I go.

Move Quicken software and files to a laptop and be done.

 

[rk911]

We, this coming winter, we will be snowbirding in our new Florida home.

As an avid Quicken user for 3 decades, I’m not giving it up. I know I can update simple transactions from the mobile app on the phone or the web app on a pc, but I want all the functionality of the full pc version.

Can I just load another real version on a laptop and will the online updates resume them on both pcs when ever I go back to the original pc? Or will I lose some history since I have 30 years of data?

I really don’t want to fly home just to do my taxes with all my saved reports and category cleaning/auditing I do.

Thanks

We were snowbirds for several years and traveled extensively in our MH for years as well. We simply installed Quicken onto our laptop and copied the data files to the laptop before leaving home. Upon returning home we left Quicken on the laptop and copied the data files back to the desktop. Updates to Quicken will continue to download on the laptop. The desktop version will update when you re-start using it.

 

[timbervest]

I have my Quicken file on box.com (with local periodic backups) so it is accessible from any device on which I have installed Quicken and always current. Works well for me.

 

[bltkmt]

Dropbox works well for this.

 

[threeonesix]

I keep my Quicken files on Google Drive and use Quicken on several computers/laptops. I do not use their Mobile feature, it is notorious for corrupting data. Google Drive works great, you just have to remember to pause Google Drive before opening and using Quicken, then unpause after you close the application. But Quicken will tell you they do not recommend storing their files in the cloud for use, only for backups. Seems they haven't figured out that cloud storage has been around for two decades. Eventually this will be the death of Quicken if they don't adjust. It won't be long before computers no longer come with local storage, same way they mostly no longer have DVD/CD drives or Ethernet ports.

 

[rk911]

I have my Quicken file on box.com (with local periodic backups) so it is accessible from any device on which I have installed Quicken and always current. Works well for me.

Seems expensive unless you're putting lots of other files on the same platform. A free Dropbox account could work as well.

 

[timbervest]

Seems expensive unless you're putting lots of other files on the same platform. A free Dropbox account could work as well.

Sorry meant dropbox.com -- typed too fast.

 

[audreyh1]

I have just copied my current Quicken file over to the smaller laptop if I take it, and copied it back upon return. I rarely take the small laptop with me traveling anymore, but this has worked very well for many years.