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(More customer reviews)I've used Quicken for Windows since 1994 and have been quite pleased with it. I've updated every few years, and am currently using Quicken 2005 Deluxe for Windows XP on my PC. I have no major complaints about the Windows versions that I've used.
Last year, I bought my first Mac (the last of the G5 iMacs). I fell in love with it and I now use it for everything except finances. My Mac came with a free version of Quicken for Mac, and I assumed that I'd just be able to start it up and have instant access to the Quicken data on my PC over my home network. However, Quicken for Mac would not recognize my Quicken file, nor would it restore the backup files. So I assumed that this was because it was some sort of free stripped-down trial version that had expired, or something like that. I therefore recently purchased the latest and greatest version of Quicken for Mac (2007), assuming that this would do the trick and that I could finally junk my rusty PC.
WRONG.
The full-priced "full-featured" 2007 version of Quicken for Mac wouldn't read my existing Quicken files, either. So I looked in the instructions and found a blurb about converting a Quicken for Mac file to a Quicken for Windows file, but found nothing about converting from Windows to Mac.
I had to search the Quicken website to find a document explaining how to convert a Quicken database from Windows to Mac. It quickly became very clear that if you're a long-time user of Quicken for Windows and you want to convert to Quicken for Mac, you're basically screwed. Unless, that is, you've only been using Quicken for a few simple tasks such as balancing your checkbook. If, like me, you have multiple investment accounts of various types with records going back many years, you might has well forget about converting to Quicken for Mac.
For starters, it turns out that there are a lot accounts and reports that simply won't convert at all, so you'll just have to lose those. For example, Quicken for Windows handles 401(k) accounts (a fairly common type of account). Quicken for Mac does not. So you can kiss your 401(k) data goodbye. Same with Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable (fairly common things for those of us with home businesses). Same with Memorized Reports, Security Price Histories, etc.
If you decide that you can live without such things, you can proceed with the adventure of converting your Windows data to Mac data. Note that no conversion utility exists, so you have to do an enormous amount of hand-editing of the database.
The conversion process requires that you go through all transaction categories supported by the Windows version and look for those with names longer than 15 characters. The instructions don't make it clear whether a blank space counts as a character, but I assume it does. You're supposed to rename these categories to bring them within the 15 character limit. Quicken 2005 for Windows has at least one such category that cannot be renamed (Quicken simply won't let you do it). The others can be renamed, however.
Then you have to rename any accounts that are longer than 15 characters.
Then you have to edit your securities list to make sure every ticker symbol is all-caps.
Then, if you have a mutual fund account that contains any RtrnCapX transactions, you have to change that mutual fund account to a regular investment account.
OK, now you've done all that. The next step is to go through all your accounts one at a time, look at each transaction, and manually change the categories for certain transactions. There are 7 transaction types that exist in the Windows version but not in the Mac version. For example, MargInt (margin interest expense) does not exist in the Mac version, so you have to find every single margin interest event in your records and manually change it to a miscellaneous expense, with a note in the comment field that it's for margin interest. Then you have to do similar conversions for the six other transaction types that aren't supported. For example, every MiscIncX transaction has to be manually changed to a combination of a MiscInc and an XIn. If you have multiple accounts containing more than a decade's worth of transactions (as I do), this becomes a formidable task.
There's more to do after this, but this was the point at which I threw up my hands and decided that it's just not worth it. I'd have to hand-edit hundreds of transactions in my Quicken database and hope that I got them all right. Then I'd have to live with a version of Quicken that lacks many of the features to which I've become accustomed over the years.
Quicken offers an option where you can send them your file and have them convert it for you, but they won't convert the non-supported transactions to supported ones. So, for example, you'd simply lose all records of your margin interest expense. They claim, however, that they'll arrange things so that the correct balance is preserved in each account even though all those transactions will be missing. How nice. And if you want to use their conversion services, you have to go through a lot of rigamarole just to get them to do it.
So, I'm stuck with a useless piece of software that I downloaded from Intuit's online store for $60.
Looks like I'll have to keep my PC running until I get an Intel Mac that will allow me to use Bootcamp. Also, rumor has it that the Leopard version of OS X, when running on an Intel Mac, will allow you to run Windows XP applications directly under OS X (without rebooting and without emulation), but this is still just a rumor.
This experience has left me with a very low opinion of Intuit.
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Intuit Quicken Mac 2007 Optimize your investments. Maximize your return. Enlarge your smile with Quicken Mac 2007. Quicken for Mac gives you all the most powerful tools for your personal finances, designed specifically to work with the Mac operating system. Also runs on Mac OS 10.5 ("Leopard"). You'll enjoy software designed for – and by – Mac users with special Mac exclusives. You'll get immediate access to all of your accounts from one place, and be able to organize your tax information so you can easily find the tax deductions you deserve. And with Quicken Mac 2007 you can plan investments, monitor your portfolio and download directly from your financial institution. You'll also be able to keep your files safe and secure with encrypted back up to Mac. Tax deadlines are approaching fast. Make filing easy and get the most out of your investments with Quicken Mac 2007.
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