Quicken Software

Lack of availability for Mac

I cannot say more than I already have. I’ve had to save information on my Mac and then pick it up on my PC just to send an invoice. This is inconvenient. It takes time that could be better off spend doing other things. Please, Quicken, bring Home and Business to Mac. Also, allow the ability to edit previous entries. I’ve noticed issues in the past that could have been easily fixed with an edit button, but you cannot. This should be fixed. As the leader in accounting software, it should have more features available than it does.

Pros

Quicken seems to be the go-to accounting software in the industry, so naturally we went with it. We were very happy with Quicken, as it is easy to teach to our new employees. I also really like the seamlessness of the program between a Mac and a PC. My laptop is a Mac while my home computer is a PC, and I find that the program itself is very similar on both platforms, and thus very easy to use. However, we initially intended to purchase Quicken for Home and Business, but it is not available for Mac, so we had to take a step back and purchase Quicken Premier. This was more than slightly annoying, but we managed to make it work.

Cons

The lack of availability of Home and Business for Mac is a big con for me. The Home and Business program allows for custom invoices, which would look really good for our small business. We also wanted the ability to track our profit and loss, so we purchased it for my home computer. We can still send out the custom invoices on our PCs, but it would be a lot easier if it were available for Mac. Hopefully, there will be an option to purchase Home and Business in the future for Mac.

USe it daily and have since the early 1990,s

Pros

Puts all your finances in one place, updates all accounts with minimal keystrokes rather than having to go to each website yourself (Saving lots of time) works like an on-screen checkbook. See your net worth accounts and liabilities in one place. Navigation is easy as a click of the mouse.

Cons

Intuit, the author, recently sold Quicken to an Investment Group. When Microsoft dropped MS Money, Quicken became the Monopoly in the market. Now the new company made some changes and icons are different, some screens have pop-up windows that don't work right, and the internet is full of complaints from long time users. Most of the glitches I found are minor, but changes were made so that everyone had to renew in-order to be able to access all your accounts online with Quicken, a strategy they may use to continually force upgrades and fees! Watch for this. This is what happens when someone sees a chance to capitalize on a monopoly!

Another all-time favorite agonizes in the mobile era

Quicken needs to move faster to mobile and cloud if it really wants to survive. 100% integration with QuickBooks, additional security features, support for more cloud backup providers are features that should be already available but are no show. Intuit own's Mint App is an example of how Quicken should be but, for some reason, they have decided to continue working on the same outdated software instead of relaunching. Still, Quicken is a big respected brand in the financial software world that continues to be one of my favorites.

Pros

- A longtime runner with a big user fan base
- The very familiar interface allows old users to upgrade without a steep learning curve
- Very similar Mac and Windows version allows painless platform switch
- Supports most banks and account syncing in The US
- Does not require a monthly or annual fee

Cons

- The interface is beginning to look a bit outdated compared to new mobile apps available for iOS and Android
- No equivalent mobile version available
- Cloud syncing and backup is limited and not easy to setup (dropbox required)
- Version to version upgrades sometimes include little to no enough new features for the price (That's why some users are still using 5-8 years old versions)

Good bang for the buck for basic accounting

Smaller businesses with less than 30 rentals, should be able to use this software and compensate for te deficiencies with desktop software like excel. This would be a very cost effective way of having computerized check register and reporting while minimizing software costs.

Pros

Integration with almost every bank to download transactions automatically makes me confident that we will not miss any transaction and keeps me updated on our balances on a daily basis.
Categories and Tags are very powerful and flexible tools that allow you to custom configure how you use the software and define your reporting requirements.

Cons

Other than a good transaction register (with categories & Tags) , the program lacks many needed features for managing a rental business. The rental aspect is almost non-existaent.

Quicken Customer Service and product ease of functionality drop since Intuit Split

After about two decades of relying on this software for myself and some clients, I am now reluctantly looking for a replacement program.

Pros

It's super easy to utilize if you have basic bookkeeping experience and you are not accounting for investments. Menu options are sensibly grouped. Back up and restore super easy if you want to move copies of file(s) to different computers.

Cons

Although this software has been very predictable and adequate for a long time, it has become less desirable since split from Intuit. Good luck getting thru to customer service, there have been so many complications to their change over that they are drowning in calls. Their operators are overwhelmed and seem to 'accidentally' hang up on a call all too frequently, after exhaustive hold times. I have been prompted repeatedly to change my passwords during the transition, and rather annoyingly, each time it is updated a different verification email is sent with a code that must be entered, that quickly expires. Don't get distracted, or you have to start all over! Just really inefficient, non-intuitive programming.

Quicken

Still one of the easier desktop bookkeeping software to use. Too bad no one else can create a competitive desktop bookkeeping software for the general public. Many competitors created only an online version which can be Useless if something happens to your PC or you don't have power or an internet connection! Worse, there's a monthly fee for their online versions!

Pros

Relatively simple to use as the basic program is basically an electronic version of a check register.
Many financial institutions have a Quicken export function for its online banking feature making bank reconciliation a bit easier.

Cons

Don't need to use other features like investment tracker which is essentially useless for most other people
Intuit FORCES people to set up an ONLINE account to link the program to, mainly for tracking and marketing purposes which is complete BS!
Update function has moved over the years that it's not as simple to just click 'update' anymore JUST to update Quicken and NOTHING else!
Be careful about importing information as it may not import 100% of the banking information, similar to QB.
Intuit keeps marketing you to join its other financial services!

There is no better Financial Manager

I've been using Quicken for over 20 years and have a file with that much information. Because Quicken offers various ways to categorize data, I'm able to get very accurate information on my spending. The ability to interact with online banking is very good. While it has some modernizing to do, Quicken is hands down the best financial manager out there.

Pros

The company really cares about users. It is as detailed as you want to be. Can manage data in various ways for you to know exactly how you're spending your money. You can store PDF bills and documents in your accounts.

Cons

Doesn't work well with touch. It's coming along but not there yet. There are a couple undocumented "features" which can really screw up your data.

Its all about the profits now......

Although I am sounding as though I am resistant to forwarding technology, I am not. There are just certain things that I feel should be more protected and so far, technology has failed to prevent hackers and identity thieves from accessing peoples information due to companies insistence in having our information all over the internet and web. There was nothing wrong with the old QUICKEN but greed is no playing a part in the new QUICKEN that separated from INTUIT.

Pros

I loved it when it was an actual software that could be purchased and had no yearly subscription fee. Prior to them separating from Intuit, this was my software of choice. Ease of use and the ability to choose to have your information inaccessible to internet hackers and not out there for anyone to see.

Cons

2007 saw the end of exceptional quality. Went from a software that you can purchase and utilize without having to pay a yearly subscription to a for profit only software with yearly subscription in 2017-2018 update. Now if you want to use this software you have to pay for it yearly. 2007 utilized an update that caused major issues with previous versions. The font became too large to fit in the windows that popped up, the reconciliation failed to work properly, did not give accurate numbers.(Quicken blamed this on the PC Operating system....Funny, no other software on my PC had these issues). They refused to fix the issues they created and then came out with a new update that once you applied the update, 2017-2018, you had to start paying yearly or live with the issues that were created by the previous update. I now have fuzzy font, like old school DOS systems, and a yearly subscription for more bells and whistles that I will ever utilize. Not everyone wants to use mobile access and expose themselves to more and more risk of hackers to steal information.

Is there anything out there other than Quicken?????

If I could give less than 1 star I would! I have been a huge supporter of Quicken in the past. I encouraged my kids and clients and anyone that would listen to use Quicken. Sorry! I have now gone to using my online banking bill pay through my bank which is free!

Pros

This used to be a great product! I have used it since 1993 to track my business finances and investments. It really helps at tax time.

Cons

Support is worse than non-existent. It is March 8th and I have been trying to get support since the first week in January. I was on the phone with a rep for 2 hours trying to get bill pay to work. I was told to hang on I need to ask my manager about that and then hung up on. I tried chatting and was told that you cannot use chat for online bill pay. Called the support number and was told that there is a special number for online bill pay. I called that number and was told by the rep that I needed to go to quickenbillpay.com but he would stay on the line and would call me back if I got disconnected. That was a week ago. Still havent gotten at call. Went through the insutructions on the quickenbillpay.com website to set up a new account and it indicated it would take 2 -3 days to set up an account and I would receive 2 transactions on my bank statement from them. Check my statement and then come back and enter those figures to confirm I own the account. That was 6 days ago and still no transactions. Yesterday I received an email that I must send in 1. My drivers License. 2. My Social Security Card. 3. my most recent utility bill from water, gas, or electric company only. 4. A voided check from each account I want to use.
Sounds like an internet scam to me. I called quicken and explained I wasn't comfortable sending all of this over the internet and by the way I have been paying for your services for 25 years and now you want all of this info. Their response is quicken was sold and that they are a new company and they have to have the info or no bill pay services! No wonder they bill pay services are now included in the Premier package. No one can use it! The bad part is I have all of my payments for cars, houses, utilities, credit cards set up for auto pay using quicken bill pay. Now I have to find another way to get them paid because it has taken 2 months and I still am not set up for bill pay. By the way they don't tell you this is what happens when you download Quicken 2018. Beware!

Top Notch Software going downhill

I believe Quicken is making a mistake going subscription based only. I think they should offer a choice between product ownership or subscription based. After all these years with Quicken, I may be parting relationship because of this and I am not the only user who has the same sentiment. Short of going subscription based, Quicken would be a 5 star in my opinion.

Pros

I have used Quicken software of various versions for over 20 years.
Overall a great piece of accounting software.
Provides flexibility reporting.

Cons

Does not provide option to use account numbers (I have to incorporate account numbers within the account description)
Current versions are not going to subscription based.

Great for tracking your financial status, but needs improvement

Pros

I've been using Quicken since 1988, so I'm very familiar with it. You can easily track checking, credit card and savings accounts. Quicken partners with thousands of banks and financial institutions so you can download your activity rather than having to manually enter it. It makes balancing your checkbook a breeze! It is rare for it to not reconcile correctly, and when that happens, it is invariably a mistake I made. You can also use it to track investments, create budgets, run reports. I use the Home and Business version which lets me track business activity separately from personal activity. I keep track of my rental property, which makes it very easy to file a schedule C come tax time. It's been an invaluable tool for me over the years and has helped me meet my financial goals.

Cons

In the last several years, the quality of the software was an issue. Lots of annoying bugs and crashes. Fortunately the company is addressing these issues.

Using Quicken for different scenarios

I use Quicken for two very different entities: 1) a small nonprofit support organization and 2) our former small business and our personal accounting needs. It works well for both these.

Pros

The ease in entering data, and the ability to produce reports that are useful. It is not necessary to use ALL the features offered by Quicken software. One can pick and choose what is useful for their needs.

Cons

I have not found flaws in this software. I have not yet found an easy way to convert reports into pdf format in order to provide to others who cannot access Quicken reports. I am certain there is a way to do this, I just have not taken the time to work through the process.

Limited functionality but Ease of Use

I found that the financial planning tools are quite helpful and it is also helpful that the Quicken software can provide "Reminders" for certain transactions. Obviously you would have to remember to set these Reminders up in the Software itself initially, but once set-up this is very helpful going forward.

Pros

The product is capable of showing a very basic overview of a client's activity. I thought this would work well for clients that do not have a ton of different account transactions to post throughout a period and also for clients that do not use a bunch of different accounts (This gets to be messy when there are too many accounts) I also think the software is beneficial to help with budgeting a being able to get a daily look at a client's activity.

Cons

I did not like the fact that you can not post Journal Entries to move amounts between different accounts. When adjusting a client's Books this is very necessary to be able to record JEs to move around different amounts within the Balance Sheet and Income Statement. Another Con was that the software is difficult to upload and/or transfer into QuickBooks if you are trying to convert between the two.

Screenshot of all your finances on one page.

Great for getting your finances in order and starting to see big picture where you and your money is. Still has some work to do with compatibility with banks as well as features.

Pros

What I like most about this product is the screenshot you get of all your accounts. Being able to see every account in one place really allows you to better control your finances and budget. I am in the application frequently updating downloads and seeing how my money and accounts move. I also really enjoy the breakdown of categories because I can go back and see just how much I spent on Rent, Groceries, Shopping, etc. per month, per year, etc. It's really nice.

Cons

What I have become quite frustrated with is the logging in and my intuit ID. Anytime the systems logs me out, for some reason, whenever I log back in, it just doesn't take me to my normal page, it creates a new page and new file for me. It's very nerve racking and it has been occurring more frequently. Also, I do feel the budget section of the application could use some work. I really liked it in the beginning, but now it is slightly a pain to use and have not used it since.

Online check book with lots of buproduct benifits

For the price of this product the features and functions are excellent for small business and personal use.

Pros

The product is easy to use and has excellent help functions. Check writing and reconciliation is simple and effective. The ability to run reports and summarize by payee, category etc and sort the data is a great tool for you G/L posting. The product also help alert missing check numbers and duplicates.

Cons

Would be great if the product had a feature to print mailing labels from the payee file. It would also be nice to have an easy way to have multi address for the same payee.

Great integration with my various accounts and bookkeeping software

I love this. As a small business owner that has only 6 employees, but jobs from cost to cost, it's great to have such a versatile financial package that can be edited across clients and consultants.

Pros

This integrates with just about everything. Whether it's importing from office or connecting to online XML streams, Quicken is able to pull data intuitively and accurately.

Cons

It can be overly complicated. I think the same channels that provide wise ranging data integration also can create a confusing network of options, especially when there are multiple users in one file.

Good but not great

Pros

Fairly simple to use and has lots of features. I really like that I can make invoices as well. The reporting is well featured and intuitive.

Cons

The thing I don't like is that I've been with their tech support a few times. They are terrifically slow. For example, I'll chat with them online and literally spend 3 hours at a time and get no where. Eventually I have to go because I have other things to do. Then a few weeks later another 3 hours.
In the end they blame it on a corrupted file. They refused to help me with that.

Quicken Review

Best product out there. Tried others, including the now defunct Microsoft Money, and this is, by far, the best product for the money. Also, now that they are separate from Intuit, there are some great things on the horizon that will take them to another level.

Pros

Easy to use. Uncomplicated when it comes to inputting data. I like that you can use the mobile app and it syncs with the computer system on the desktop version.

Cons

It would be good to have it work without having to use a desktop version. We are so mobile these days and having to sync with the desktop is a headache.

Quicken Four Year User

I feel most comfortable keeping my financial data "off line" on my laptop only, and do not use any of the 'cloud' services that Quicken offers.

Pros

Tracks and plans for cash outflows. Bill paying is easy and intuitive. Checking Account reconciliation work well.

Cons

Downloads from Financial Services Accounts reconciliation is it not intuitive. Downloads from bank (Savings/Checking) are problematic dependent on whether the download is initiated by the Bank On LIne System or Quicken.

Great product unless you need customer service.

Pros

The product is easy to use, accurate, and blends with banking protocols and apps. I like the fact that it helps you plan and budget your money and see exactly where you’re spending is going.

Cons

You must be very careful to categorize your spending accurately so that the app can help you budget your spending. If you need customer service, the number of times I have called them fortunately has been few because they are little or no help