Year end copy for Quicken for Mac (64 Legacy Votes + 23 Merged Votes)

mattchan8

I would like to see the archive function in the Mac version of Quicken. My files are getting larger each year and I'd like to be able archive data like I was able to in the Windows version.

Quicken Anja

Hello @mattchan8,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community with your request.

I went ahead and merged your Idea to this active Idea thread regarding this topic.

Ideas are reviewed by our Development and Product teams to see what features people would like to have available in the future. Please, be sure to add your own vote as well by clicking the up arrow (see example below).

Thank you!

michaelk

5 years later and I see Quicken is still not listening to its customers. Some may be happy without the archive feature. Some, such as me, would be very happy. It's not about file size or the wonderfulness of the database. It's about how some of your customers manage their accounts and archive their records.

jacobs

michaelk said:

5 years later and I see Quicken is still not listening to its customers. Some may be happy without the archive feature. Some, such as me, would be very happy. It's not about file size or the wonderfulness of the database. It's about how some of your customers manage their accounts and archive their records.

@michaelk It might help if you could elaborate on why you need/want to archive data by year. Assume that the developers think it's stable and better for users to keep all their history in one file; make a pitch to them to explain why this doesn't work well for the way you manage your accounts or records. 

garysmith87

If someone REALLY needs to make a "Year end copy", go to FINDER and make a DUPLICATE of your Quicken data file.  Then, go back to the original Quicken data file, enter Starting Balances for your cut off date and then delete all transactions prior to that date by selecting ALL those transactions in the register and then "Delete".  

Just be aware that with all Year end copy procedures, all transfers that you deleted get broken in the other side of the transfer account.

Sure, this can be a bit labor intensive rather than just one push of a button...but if you REALLY want to go this route it can be done.

Now...someone PLEASE explain to me why you would need to make a Year end copy...aside from old people "closing the books" on a year?  I just don't get it.  I have transactions in my Quicken Mac back to 1990 and I have no performance issues at all with a data file 123 MB in size. 

jacobs

@garysmith87 I used to agree with you fully that there really wasn't a need to archive years, and that most people asking for this feature did so out of habit rather than current need. But I think some people have made good cases over the multi-year course of this thread for reasons to be able to archive old data. Among them:

• A user was divorced and no longer wants to keep all the accounts, categories, tags, Payees, etc. from their prior life with their ex-spouse. They want  the historical record, but they'd like to be able to move forward with a leaner file in which they can delete the needed categories, tags, payees and accounts.
• A user has used Quicken for years, and has categories and tags and Payees used as their kids were growing up. The kids are now adults, have moved out, and the user wants to be able to eliminate some of the old categories, tags, payees and accounts from that phase of their life.
• A user has used Quicken for years while they worked, but has now retired. Same situation: they want to be able to eliminate many categories, tags, payees and accounts from that phase of their life.
• A user used to run a small personal business and tracked business income and expenses in Quicken. Now they've sold, closed, or otherwise ended that business, and want to eliminate the pieces from that phase of their life.

In short, it's about change of life events for people who have used Quicken for 10, 15, 20, 25 or more years and don't want to constantly see these aspects of their earlier life on a day-to-day basis while using Quicken now.

To me, this isn't about neatly packaging each year in a separate Quicken file. That cuts the effectiveness of being able to quickly search your financial history to find something in the past (e.g. "when did we replace the hot water heater?" or "when did I make a contribution to XYZ Charity?"). It also exposes a user to the risk that if they need data from 10 years ago, the old file format may no longer be compatible (unless the user fastidiously opens every archived data file once every year or two to update it to the current database format). But I do see the usefulness, for some people, of being able to lop off a piece of their financial past in a historical file separate from their current file. 

We know that "make it like Quicken 2007" or "because Quicken Windows has it" or "I always did it this way" won't convince the developers there's a need for such a feature. The older generation of both Quicken Mac and Windows had quirky databases prone to periodic corruption, and slowness as the files grew large, so year-end files could have been a good strategy — but Quicken Mac doesn't have those database problems, nor size limitations. So the reason I suggest that people who want to see this feature in Quicken Mac explain why is to give the development and product teams good actual use cases for why this would be useful to some users. 

garysmith87

All your scenarios are valid.

However, as I've pointed out...there IS a way to prune your Quicken Mac data...although it's not a ONE CLICK solution.

So if you can't stand looking at your ex-spouse's charges (LOL!), just adjust the starting balance at a specific date and delete "en masse" all the transactions prior to that date.

You'd have to do that for each specific account, but it can be done...albeit not an elegant solution.

I'd venture to guess, however, that lifestyle changes aren't the number one reason for requesting a YEAR END COPY in Quicken Mac.

It's because somehow people have been brainwashed to believe that they need to "close the books" on a year and start anew.

That's a huge mistake in Quicken, because as you pointed out, old backup data sets may not necessarily be opened in newer versions of Quicken.

Even the latest 6.5 version of Quicken Mac had a small data conversion...probably making it incompatible with earlier QM versions (although I haven't tested this). 

TeeQue

UPDATE on why we need a END OF YEAR.... DATA File. Mine has grown to 111.6 from 8 months ago from 71.4 MB. That is a 36.02% increase. The data is important to me for the past 3-5 years. Its what we want and we feel it needs to be added. You offered it in Windows version it should be offered for those of who have converted to Mac.

I have been a Quicken User forever, I dare say since quicken has been released in the Windows version. It might be time there be an exodus and tell everyone why we leave. Quicken does not listen to its users so maybe our dollars do the talking.

TeeQue

I just wrote a lengthy message to the president. Maybe it will work and maybe it will fall on deaf ears. Send them a message here is the link: https://www.quicken.com/about-us?_ics=1646973625525&irclickid=~dxpCOVekI6.ZUMHCxnkjf-7YZOPKCxrjf~762WRI

mapleosb

I would also very much like to have this feature available in the Mac version

moreo

I want this feature as well

allendbj

I have been scrolling thru many of these comments regarding comments and the response always pointed to is that it is a modern database and the size and number of transactions will not significant effective performance. I must respectively but strongly disagree. I have been using Quicken since 1990. I have an account with transactions back to 1991. When I import transactions from my bank and run thru the download reconciliation it take 20 or 30 seconds to accept each transaction. With 25 to 35 transactions per month and 6 different accounts this is a PAINFULLY slow and frustrating process. I have got to believe that the number of transactions has material impact, either that or this functionality is painfully slow and is in needed of a performance enhancement.

NotACPA

As stated, the request is "Not Planned".  But see and vote upon, this request. https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7684427/add-save-a-copy-feature-similar-to-year-end-copy-21-legacy-votes#latest  which is "Under Consideration".

emb

I converted from Windows to MAC and able to convert many years of files. I too am desperate to make year end archives. I don't mind having mutiple years in one file, but would like to limit it to 5 at the most. Any large file with too many years of data in it is a database disaster waiting to happen.

wwwein3

To make it easier to make a year end file and a new year file with all the proper information carried forward.

Quicken Kristina

Hellow @wwwein3,

I went ahead and merged your Idea to this active Idea thread regarding this topic.

Ideas are reviewed by our Development and Product teams to see what features people would like to have available in the future. Please, be sure to add your own vote as well by clicking the up arrow.

Thank you.