Quicken for Mac - ruminating again

[spncity]

The first thread was here - Anyone still using Quicken 2014?

...but to jump to my current questions:

1. What is the latest version of "non-subscription" Quicken for Mac and will it tend to have a long shelf life as in - continue to work on future MacOS versions?

2. Where to shop for it?

Are the following true about a subscription to quicken for mac:
3. I don't have to download data (prefer not to).
4. I don't have to have cloud backup.
5. My data resides on my computer and if I just don't re-up the subscription, I don't lose access my data and can just keep using that year's version of quicken without subscribing?

If we change from what we have, I want to change at year-end.
6. Is there any way to transfer category names only to the new quicken?

We are like a few others who use it as a fancy check register, but so many years' worth of data is slowing things down.

Thanks for any comments. I will eventually get back here to look at them!

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Some of your questions are answered here: https://www.quicken.com/support/qui...s Guarantee,even after your subscription ends.

 

[braumeister]

Did you ever look at Moneydance? Free trial and 90 day money back guarantee.

 

[camfused]

@spncity Quicken 2017 for Mac is the last version you can install without a subscription. You see it occasionally on eBay for sale.

I personally, several years ago, migrated from Quicken to an Excel spreadsheet that does everything I care about.

 

[Jerry1]

We are like a few others who use it as a fancy check register, but so many years' worth of data is slowing things down.

One thing me and DW did a few years back is start a new file. Now we have a different quicken file for the first years we used it through about 2020 and a new file for the current years. It was also a good time to clean up the accounts so we basically started fresh with a new chart of accounts.

We only use the old file for reference, so it’s not a big deal to manage it.

 

[spncity]

Good idea.

 

[spncity]

Did you ever look at Moneydance? Free trial and 90 day money back guarantee.

Good idea.

 

[tizod]

Obv you are using a MAC. I think excel on MAC is also lacking. I use numbers, free and powerful. Easier to add charts etc. than excel and format it nice. But there are premade templates for personal finance , net worth etc. that are ready to go, easy to edit, and easy to link. Can put them in icloud for secure backup and/or leave on desktop. You should try it!

 

[spncity]

Obv you are using a MAC. I think excel on MAC is also lacking. I use numbers, free and powerful. Easier to add charts etc. than excel and format it nice. But there are premade templates for personal finance , net worth etc. that are ready to go, easy to edit, and easy to link. Can put them in icloud for secure backup and/or leave on desktop. You should try it!

Interesting. I guess I will just look in File, New -- and see what I see... One of the reasons for not changing is making is easier on the one who enters the transaction (which is not me, LOL).

 

[tizod]

Another trick is “forms” on iOS. Google it. You can make an easy entry form (it does it for you!). Great for entry at the point of transaction. Not great if entering 10 at once. I plot my blood pressure this way. When I open the spreadsheet in the form it only shows the entry. It autofills the spreadsheet in a different linked tab. It’s COOL and fast. For date it even lets you just click today.

 

[NeilDH]

3. I don't have to download data (prefer not to). TRUE
4. I don't have to have cloud backup. Pretty sure true.
5. My data resides on my computer and if I just don't re-up the subscription, I don't lose access my data and can just keep using that year's version of quicken without subscribing? I think so but not positive.

If we change from what we have, I want to change at year-end.
6. Is there any way to transfer category names only to the new quicken? I think they’ll import but not positive. It’s been a while for me.

Also, I used MoneyDance for a nonprofit I was managing. It seems clunky but actually is pretty nifty. And its investment reports are better than Quicken for Mac, though the latter seems to be improving.

 

[explanade]

I basically threw up my hands and subscribed a couple of years ago.

I tried alternatives and they became subscription and more costly.

I renewed the annual subscription twice and was able to do it both times for $35. There are deals out there for 1-year CDs but they come with a code and you just enter the code and it adds a year to your subscription.

I use a Slickdealz alert for these deals.

Even if I have to pay say $60-70, I'm not going to sweat it, it's not worth dealing with downloading transactions from your institutions manually.

However, I will say that on the Mac version at least, some of your accounts get stale and don't download all the transactions accurately. So I will delete the account and add it in again and then it works.

 

[steelyman]

I’ve been using Quicken for Windows on an iMac through a Parallels virtual machine.

I’m taking the leap to use Quicken for Mac. What motivated me was some odd behavior and side effects after the tropical storm Debby earlier in 2024. I couldn’t get things resolved but they seem to have localized to the Windows side of the system.

I’m also planning to replace the iMac at or around the next refresh since my current iMac is no longer supported.

So it’s a fresh start all around and I lose a lot of history but maybe that’s not a bad thing. I’ll be saving the extra expense of the Parallels subscription - the only reason I had it was for Quicken (and later Turbo Tax).

 

[frank05]

Since I write about 6 checks a year, I stopped using Quicken about fifteen years ago. I keep a spreadsheet for sales of my old company stock since they don’t report a purchase price on sales and use the Schwab cockpit to track my net worth. I don’t bother with budgeting since my income is above my spending.

 

[braumeister]

I’ve been using Quicken for Windows on an iMac through a Parallels virtual machine.

I’m taking the leap to use Quicken for Mac. What motivated me was some odd behavior and side effects after the tropical storm Debby earlier in 2024. I couldn’t get things resolved but they seem to have localized to the Windows side of the system.

I’m also planning to replace the iMac at or around the next refresh since my current iMac is no longer supported.

So it’s a fresh start all around and I lose a lot of history but maybe that’s not a bad thing. I’ll be saving the extra expense of the Parallels subscription - the only reason I had it was for Quicken (and later Turbo Tax).

I bit the bullet and switched to Moneydance about ten years ago and have been very happy with it.
Didn't try to convert anything, just started fresh with it.

What I did with my old Quicken (and MS Money before that) files was to export everything into spreadsheets. I find that by sorting the data in the spreadsheets in whatever way I need, I can easily look up any old information very quickly. And as time goes by the need to do that diminishes steadily.

 

[sdtech]

While I am a proponent for the current subscription Quicken for Mac, I don't think I'd recommend the older paid versions. They have really improved it over the recent years.

 

[audreyh1]

OK, I got my new MacBook Air 13 inch today. I was able to install the latest Quicken and I had bought a renewal from Newegg Black Friday deal last Nov and was able to finally use it.

It will be a long slog setting it up as I’m starting from scratch. On the other hand it’s time get rid of a bunch of old data. I have an ancient Quicken 2007 Mac that I’ve been running forever but it won’t run on the newest Mac OSs. And no longer downloads some of the data like it used to. Things started breaking in 2020.

I’m keeping my 2018 laptop with the older OS so I’ll be using both for a while. My 2018 laptop had the keyboard and batter replaced a couple of years ago so I think it’s still good for a while. But my older laptop has more and more trouble with websites I frequently use.

 

[NeilDH]

Can you import your latest Quicken 2007 data file into the new Quicken for Mac? I don't remember if that's possible anymore. And that's if you would want to, or if you'd rather restart clean.

 

[audreyh1]

Can you import your latest Quicken 2007 data file into the new Quicken for Mac? I don't remember if that's possible anymore. And that's if you would want to, or if you'd rather restart clean.

No, I don’t think so. And I wouldn’t anyway, it’s got way too much legacy accounts and data in it that I don’t use anymore. It’s grown to be quite large. A serious cleanup is warranted.

 

[tulak]

We’re almost at the end of year, so maybe start with the new Quicken as of January 1st?

It’s a personal preference, but it made it easier for me, especially when creating reports. When I moved to Moneydance, it was at the start of 2012.

I track the end of year balances for all accounts, so when I created the new account, I entered that amount as the starting balance. Investments were a bit trickier, especially if you want to track the original cost basis.

 

[audreyh1]

We’re almost at the end of year, so maybe start with the new Quicken as of January 1st?

It’s a personal preference, but it made it easier for me, especially when creating reports. When I moved to Moneydance, it was at the start of 2012.

I track the end of year balances for all accounts, so when I created the new account, I entered that amount as the starting balance. Investments were a bit trickier, especially if you want to track the original cost basis.

Exactly, that was my original idea except that I got delayed a year, ha ha. It will still take a while but I will at least make sure I have all current accounts updated back to 1/1/25.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Deleted.

 

[bonvoyage]

A subscription for Quicken Classic deluxe for the Mac is only $3 per month - well worth the cost in my opinion

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Over the last couple weeks, I have been evaluating my options to leave my Window-based Quicken usage and switch to a Mac-based solution. My Windows dataset had a bit of a meltdown a while ago and it totally screwed up my historical investment tracking. I tried various ways to fix and repair the data but was not successful to my satisfaction. I decided it was time to start anew with a new data file, especially since it is near the start of a new year.

I have been running my Window Quicken inside a virtual machine using Parallels software on my Mac. Rather than to just restart in Windows, I decided to look around for a native Mac option. I did this quite a few years ago and wasn’t satisfied at the time with Mac solutions.

I downloaded Banktivity (formerly iBank) and spent several days setting up some data. They have a 30-day free trial. I also made the decision that I was no longer going to link in to my investments at Schwab and Fidelity. I will do those manually. This allows me to model data the way I want to plus it adds a little security for my accounts. I will continue to do transaction downloads for local banking and credit cards.

After setting up most of my data, I actually made a decision to go forward with Banktivity. It is a pretty good solution and did most of what I want done. I mostly want to track categorized spending and overall account balances and income/net worth over time. Banktivity does that.

Just before I paid for the annual subscription, however, I read thru this thread and decided to look at Quicken for Mac again. Several years ago, I found it underwhelming. I was a tad hesitant, because part of me didn’t want to reward Quicken with continued business since I blame them for the data corruption issues I had with my Windows dataset. But I decided to set anger aside for now.

Over the last week I have meticulously input all my investing data for 2023 and 2024. I also set up data downloads for my banks and credit cards. That data only goes back for 3-6 months or so depending on what the downloads provided.

I must say that I really like Quicken for Mac. It does what I want, for sure. And I find the reporting to be better (or at least “more my style”) than the Windows version. The Home page is better and I like having a chart for every account set up automatically.

I have made up my mind and go forward with Quicken for Mac. I have fully disconnected my investment accounts from the original Quicken dataset. I won’t bother updating that any more. I will track those in the Mac version going forward. I will continue to download and categorize my expenses in both the old data set and the new dataset until the end of the year so I will have my year-over-year comparisons. Then on January 1st, I will unplug the old version entirely and use the new version.

I must say, it feels good to have a clean dataset again. Over the 30 years or so that I’ve used Quicken, I’ve started a new data set about every 5-7 years for one reason or another. It’s just another iteration of that, I guess.

 

[audreyh1]

Quicken Classic for Mac (2018+) is completely different from my old Quicken Mac 2007. So I’ve been getting used to a whole new way of entering and viewing things as information is presented very differently. I’m having to rediscover how to do things I used to do in the old one.

There are a couple of things I really needed. A major one is that the new Mac version does not have a portfolio value report!! Whereas apparently the Windows version does! I use this report to calculate my retirement investments asset allocation, pasting it into a spreadsheet. There is a much more cumbersome way to get at that information and export it to a csv file. That going to be my only option. Fortunately I only need to do it about once a month.