QMac 2018 without subscription
I am a longtime Quicken for Mac user of more than 20 years who is currently using Quicken 2017. Like everyone else here, I have been receiving email offering 10% off the newly published Quicken 2018.
After following the links to the Quicken website, I was sad to learn that Quicken 2018 is a subscription service, not a stand-alone piece of software. This is a complete and utter disappointment.
Here is why I'm disappointed. First, the only thing I do with Quicken involving online connection is data retrieval for my checking, savings, auto loan etc. I update my wife's and my retirement investments (TIAA/CREF and Fidelity). That is about it.
Second, I cannot justify spending $50 per annum for a subscription. I would never get out of it what it would cost me. I don't have the time to use Quicken to the degree that a subscription would be justified.
Third, someone will surely suggest I begin using Quicken Essentials. Well, I did use it for awhile. But, my wife, who handles our budget and pays the bills, positively cannot and will not use it. That's why I upgraded an older paid version of Quicken for Mac to Quicken for Mac 2017.
Therefore, is it too much to request that Quicken, Inc. issue a stand-alone version of Quick for Mac and Windows that does not require a subscription?
After following the links to the Quicken website, I was sad to learn that Quicken 2018 is a subscription service, not a stand-alone piece of software. This is a complete and utter disappointment.
Here is why I'm disappointed. First, the only thing I do with Quicken involving online connection is data retrieval for my checking, savings, auto loan etc. I update my wife's and my retirement investments (TIAA/CREF and Fidelity). That is about it.
Second, I cannot justify spending $50 per annum for a subscription. I would never get out of it what it would cost me. I don't have the time to use Quicken to the degree that a subscription would be justified.
Third, someone will surely suggest I begin using Quicken Essentials. Well, I did use it for awhile. But, my wife, who handles our budget and pays the bills, positively cannot and will not use it. That's why I upgraded an older paid version of Quicken for Mac to Quicken for Mac 2017.
Therefore, is it too much to request that Quicken, Inc. issue a stand-alone version of Quick for Mac and Windows that does not require a subscription?
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- Where to find a Help Guide for Quicken for Mac?
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- Quicken Windows FAQ list
- Help Guide and FAQs for Quicken Mobile
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Quicken should eliminate the LARGE Ad space when a subscription expires
(Canadian Q user since '92, STILL using QM2007)
Even at $50/year, are you saying that the time and energy saved by being able to do the downloads of all the the accounts that you mentioned is not worth more than $4/month?
Both Staples and Office Depot have Quicken Deluxe for $65 for 24 months ($32.50/year) which is less than $3/month. If you wait awhile, a month or two, historically the prices drop even more on Amazon.
-also older versions as needed for testing
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Stand alone is your word processor or Quicken in purely manual entry mode.
And for Quicken in purely manual entry mode you can just keep using the version of Quicken you have or buy Quicken 2018 and ignore when the subscription expires.
I bet the Black Friday deals will win many to close the deal. We are not talking more than a coffee money here.
Whenever a year version of Quicken is terminated for downloads, the users clamor on here about "I'd pay Quicken if I could keep my current version and just pay to continue downloading".
Well, in effect that's what all the previous new versions and the current 2018 subscription product is.
You are paying to continue downloading transactions and security prices.
As an extra bonus you get updates and upgrades...and continued support.
Except, the users who clamor about just paying for downloads don't want to pay for an entire new version. They think it's equitable to pay $20 a year, instead of paying for a whole new version. Now, when the price is $50, they are really up in arms about it. Let the revolution begin. LOL!
I can't see what's so difficult about understanding Quicken's methodology here. And I can't see what's so difficult to understand how the pricing works out if you upgraded every year, every two years or every three years at termination of online services.
Every year users come out ahead. Quicken Bill Pay users come out way ahead. Two year users almost break even. Three year users pay more.
But as you pointed out, it's less than $4 a month for the subscription. Hardly a life changing event for anyone.
I have been a "Quicken" user and supporter for over 20 years now and I resent being intimidated by the decision to cause my application to stop working at the end of a year unless a subscription is purchased. I think as a loyal consumer of the "Quicken" program that it is high time for an upgrade that is "FREE" do to my many many past purchases. I have been responsible for at least some of the "sale", purchases of "Quicken" because of my praise to others that were seeking a financial program to manage their finances. I have always felt the program was a good program and have never felt intimidated before about updating my product but my purchase of Quicken was in good faith that the program was exclusively mine to do with as I pleased as a "stand alone product". To update or not to update was my decision alone. I am disappointed that the Company has made this decision to try and force users of the program to be forced to subscribe or lose their data from downloads, and I will begin a search elsewhere to find some other program that remains a stand alone product. I am very disappointed.
Quicken has always been a subscription product with a termination of online features.
Up until 2018, Quicken's version terminated online features, which includes downloading transactions and security prices, on April 30 + 3 years from your year version.
For example, Quicken 2017 terminates online features on April 30, 2020.
Starting with Quicken 2018, you can purchase a 1 year, 2 year or 27 months subscription from various outlets. The termination of online features corresponds to the registration date of the subscription instead of a "blanket" April 30.
Once again, you are not forced to update to ANY Quicken product. All Quicken products will continue to run in manual entry mode, as they had in the past when online features were terminated...except for Quicken Starter Edition.
Quicken continues to have the software reside on your PC. And your data file continues to reside ON YOUR PC.
The only thing that has changed is the length of the subscription (as mentioned...12 months, 24 months or 27 months versus 3+ years) and the pricing.
Got it now???
Personally the only online feature I use is downloading stock prices, I manually enter all our banking info and reconcile it each month. Bill Pay, no need for that with auto-draft setup up directly with utilities and credit cards.
How about Quicken offering tiered online options Bill Pay, Stock and/or Banking downloads separately instead of bulldozing through all or none in the versions that contain these features? I need Home & Business for invoicing and tracking but don't need most of the online features included with H&B that run up the annual subscription price.
Simply put why not price each of the online subscription options separately from the cost of the Quicken version one is using?
The issue a lot of user have is that Quicken has instituted limited releases of their updates. If their is a huge outcry of issues with the update, they pull it...then fix it and re-release again. Rinse and repeat, so to speak.
This puts the onus on users to basically become beta testers for Quicken.
Which I find unacceptable...because users who are issued the update are NOT told that this is a limited release and there may be issues.
And what is also unacceptable is the fact that there's issues with almost every update anyways. Can't Quicken Inc get their programming "act" together?
QW2015 is still supported until Apr 30, 2018,
QW2016 is still supported until Apr 30, 2019 and
QW2017 is still supported until Apr 30, 2020.
So it will not be until after that date that there will only be one version to support. That is still 2 1/2 years away...
And I agree, there should be a warning provided with new releases about it being a limited release so it is more visible...even if Quicken does not consider this "beta" testing...it is still a form of testing...
(If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)
- Where to find a Help Guide for Quicken for Mac?
- Quicken Mac FAQ list
- Quicken Windows FAQ list
- Help Guide and FAQs for Quicken Mobile
COMPLETE list of Product Ideas - Quicken for Mac to VOTE onObject to Quicken's business model, using up 25% of your screen? Add your vote here:
Quicken should eliminate the LARGE Ad space when a subscription expires
(Canadian Q user since '92, STILL using QM2007)
If you assume that one of the reasons that Quicken quality is bad at the yearly releases is because it is rushed out to meet the marketing deadline. And that with a subscription that allows you to "release only when ready". Then yes, it might improve the quality.
But note that they could have also improved over all these years by just having better processes in place for their yearly releases, and clearly didn't. That doesn't suggest they will be doing better for the updates.
Or the problems were in fact not because of marketing constraints, and as such there is no reason to believe it will get any better with "continuous updates".
At least, that's what I'm hoping. Fingers crossed.
Note: If you do not upgrade to subscription 2018 from 2017, your support and online services end 4/30/20. If you do upgrade, your support and services end on 1/1?/19.
Today, I was informed that the level of support for the subscription product has not improved, but they are "working on it." I am not aware of any other important changes except for online services.
Like Mr. Anderson, I rarely use the online download, upload or bill pay services (too buggy, too many issues, too much time correcting bank notations and dealing with tech glitches--easier to use bill pay direct with my bank). I want a good, basic program (Quicken still needs some work to reach this level, though it has made good progress) and good support (I have spent hours on the phone when I encounter problems--1 hour and counting, as I write, for help deleting a scheduled transaction series that will not allow me to Edit it without deleting an associated reconciled transaction).