I joined Quicken in 2018. How do I update to Quicken for Mac 2019?

Victor Hobbs

I need to use two devices (1 a laptop, and 2 a desktop) so that, when I update entries (manually), both devices stay in sync. This presumably means I need Quicken on the Web?

smayer97

What you are really thinking of is the Quicken Cloud, which is different than Quicken on the Web. Quicken Cloud is the back-end used to sync desktop data files with Quicken Mobile and Quicken Web access. These latter are NOT full versions of Quicken desktop. 

So the short answer is that you cannot (or at least should not) attempt to sync 2 desktop data files for QMac (which would use Quicken Cloud). 

Although there was a partial feature that was released in QM2017 v4.6.8 (yet oddly not in QM2018 yet) that can sync asset accounts in 2 QMac data files with the use of the Quicken Cloud. Unfortunately asset accounts are not well defined and there are no documented details as yet...so theoretically, it may be possible BUT some preliminary testing suggests that this is not a properly developed nor documented feature, and so is not reliable or should not be used (it may have even been pulled from QMac subscription, but this is unconfirmed). 

So, you need to understand that Quicken only supports one file at a time. There is no official way to sync 2 separate files automatically (other than exporting from one and importing to the other OR moving a file back and forth). That said, there are 4 alternatives you can consider:

• the first option is to move the data back and forth between computers. In your case, you could move a copy of the data to a shared location, e.g. Drop Box, and each take turns updating the data. You would have to develop a sign-out process to make sure you do not both update a copy and overwrite each other's work. However, do not store and use the data file stored online directly. This often leads to a corrupted data file. Best practice is to compress the data file before moving it to a cloud based storage to prevent problems with file permissions.
  
• If you have mobile devices (iOS or Android) and if all you want to sync is cash, bank, and credit card accounts, consider using Quicken Mobile on a mobile device. You can sync more than one mobile to the same data file located on one of your computers, as long as you use the same Intuit ID associated to the data file. Note that this is limited to sync 24 months plus new transactions.
• You can use Quicken Web in a similar manner as Quicken Mobile but accessible from any device with a web browser.
• use remote access software (several free options, e.g. NoMachine and Teamviewer) to access Quicken on one computer from the other, or even mobile devices (see this great article for complete review of many options (most are free): http://machow2.com/rdp-for-mac/ ). If both are Macs, the built-in Mac OS X screen-sharing may work for you too. The advantage of these solutions is that you retain access to all the features of Quicken, unlike Quicken Mobile. The trade-off is that the host computer cannot really be used for anything else while using Quicken with these remote solutions. 

volvogirl

There is no Quicken on the web.  Just the Mobile App that shows you part of  your data.  To keep both in sync you would need to make the same entries in both files.  Or make a backup on one computer and restore it on the other.  But you can get messed up by moving it back and forth all the time.  You only have 1 current file which is only on one computer at a time.  And this is based on both computers using the same Quicken, Windows or Mac.

smayer97

What you are really thinking of is the Quicken Cloud, which is different than Quicken on the Web. Quicken Cloud is the back-end used to sync desktop data files with Quicken Mobile and Quicken Web access. These latter are NOT full versions of Quicken desktop. 

So the short answer is that you cannot (or at least should not) attempt to sync 2 desktop data files for QMac (which would use Quicken Cloud). 

Although there was a partial feature that was released in QM2017 v4.6.8 (yet oddly not in QM2018 yet) that can sync asset accounts in 2 QMac data files with the use of the Quicken Cloud. Unfortunately asset accounts are not well defined and there are no documented details as yet...so theoretically, it may be possible BUT some preliminary testing suggests that this is not a properly developed nor documented feature, and so is not reliable or should not be used (it may have even been pulled from QMac subscription, but this is unconfirmed). 

So, you need to understand that Quicken only supports one file at a time. There is no official way to sync 2 separate files automatically (other than exporting from one and importing to the other OR moving a file back and forth). That said, there are 4 alternatives you can consider:

• the first option is to move the data back and forth between computers. In your case, you could move a copy of the data to a shared location, e.g. Drop Box, and each take turns updating the data. You would have to develop a sign-out process to make sure you do not both update a copy and overwrite each other's work. However, do not store and use the data file stored online directly. This often leads to a corrupted data file. Best practice is to compress the data file before moving it to a cloud based storage to prevent problems with file permissions.
  
• If you have mobile devices (iOS or Android) and if all you want to sync is cash, bank, and credit card accounts, consider using Quicken Mobile on a mobile device. You can sync more than one mobile to the same data file located on one of your computers, as long as you use the same Intuit ID associated to the data file. Note that this is limited to sync 24 months plus new transactions.
• You can use Quicken Web in a similar manner as Quicken Mobile but accessible from any device with a web browser.
• use remote access software (several free options, e.g. NoMachine and Teamviewer) to access Quicken on one computer from the other, or even mobile devices (see this great article for complete review of many options (most are free): http://machow2.com/rdp-for-mac/ ). If both are Macs, the built-in Mac OS X screen-sharing may work for you too. The advantage of these solutions is that you retain access to all the features of Quicken, unlike Quicken Mobile. The trade-off is that the host computer cannot really be used for anything else while using Quicken with these remote solutions. 

jacobs

Let's go back to your original question about Quicken 2018 versus Quicken 2019. If you purchased a one-year subscription to Quicken 2018 in 2017 or 2018, and you ignored/dismissed Quicken's notices to renew your subscription, you can continue using Quicken 2018 indefinitely without access to online services like downloading transactions from financial institutions (which you indicate you do not use) and Quicken mobile (aka Quicken cloud) for syncing a mobile device with your Quicken desktop. Upgrading to a new subscription for the remainder of 2019 and into 2020 will bring you the latest upgrade to the program and restore access to the online services.

To get Quicken 2019, you can either purchase it from Quicken.com or from a retailer like Amazon; typically you can find it for less from a retailer. (At this moment, Amazon is selling it for $39.99 for a 14-month subscription versus 49.99 for a 12-month subscription on Quicken.com. These prices change frequently, so look around for the best deal you can find.) If you buy from a  retailer, you will get an activation code; log into your account on quicken.com and enter the code, and your subscription will be updated. Then launch Quicken 2018, and it should detect the subscription and immediately offer you a download of the current version. (You can also open Quicken 2018 and on the Help menu use the Enter Activation Code menu option.)

Having covered that information, I'll just briefly reiterate what's been written above: Quicken 2019 cannot sync transactions back and forth between two computers. However, many people do achieve what you want that old fashioned way, moving the Quicken data file back and forth between two computers. The crucial key is that you only move a compressed (.zip) copy of the data file, or a backup generated by Quicken (which is a variant of the .zip version). This prevents file corruption which can occur moving an un-compresed copy of the data file between machines. As for actually moving the file, you can do it via a flash drive, by using file sharing between the two Macs, or by using an online cloud storage service like iCloud or DropBox. No matter how you do it, you'll need to insure that you always quit Quicken on Computer A, move the compressed data file to Computer B, use Quicken on Computer B, quit Quicken on Computer B, move the data file back to Computer A, etc. As long as you can devise a system to insure you will always open the latest data file on whichever computer you're using, and not leave Quicken running on the other computer, you can make this work.