Update on timeline? Transfer transaction tracking in budgets (Q Mac)

Jim38@

For those not aware, introduction: Transfer transactions are not reflected in Quicken for Mac's Budget Feature (if both the 'from' and 'to' accounts are included in the budget; i.e. routine transfers to a savings account from a checking account). This feature has existed in the Windows version of Quicken for years, and has been a requested addition to the Mac version of Quicken, by many community members, for multiple years now. For those users who transfer money regularly, the Budget Feature within Quicken for Mac is basically useless at this moment.

Fast forward: Quicken Marcus acknowledged the community's desires and provided a response in March of this year (see screenshot or go to https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/19990859#Comment_19990859). Exciting! It's finally going to come...not just yet, but it's on the roadmap.

Today: I received an "Update on What's New with Quicken" email detailing the latest features and identifying upgrades arriving in August. Unfortunately and sadly, there was no mention of transfer transaction tracking within budgets...not even a temporary, Band-Aid'ish solution.

Uugh. I'm sure "Improved Scheduled Transactions" are going to be great...but not for me. Maybe the "Powerful New Toolbar" will be spectacular...but Quicken itself is still limited in assisting my basic financial needs because the Mac version still lacks a capability that's been included in the Windows version for over a decade. Hindsight is 20/20 - I should've simply used the Windows version via Parallels until the Mac version finally became a full-fledged, financial solution.

So, my question: Anyone, either Quicken Marcus or someone else, willing to update the community on the timeline for adding transfer-tracking within the budget to the Mac version of Quicken?

jacobs

@Jim Thanks for sharing the email you received. I must have something in my preferences that I haven't received it.

I'm sorry to say that you seem to have mistaken me for a Quicken employee. I'm not. I and all the people labeled "superusers" on this site are just Quicken end users like you; we've just answered lots of questions over the years to receive that label. The Quicken employees who post here are mostly site moderators, who keep this site organized and running and sometimes provide answers to some support questions, but they are not members of the development team nor management. Only if you see a post from Quicken Marcus are you talking to the real deal -- the product manager for Quicken Mac.

Marcus typically posts a new thread to announce each new release, and he typically monitors that thread for a few days to see if people are noting problems with it; in his answers trouser questions during that slim window of time, we sometimes get little insights into things they are (or aren't) working on for the future. He rarely answers (and, I'm guessing, rarely reads) most of the other thousands of posts on this site. My suggestion to you is to look for his announcement thread when the next version comes out, and if it doesn't have this budget transfer feature, ask him when this long-promised functionality is coming. Unless it's close to done for the following release, he's not likely to give you a date, but if he replies, he might give you a directional answer that gives you some sooner-versus-later idea of where it stands.

Back to that email... I wouldn't read too much into it not addressing the feature you're interested in. As I wrote originally, this is a marketing piece, and they've picked out three features which can be described in one or two sentences that they think will please users. That doesn't mean these are the only three new features in the works. It might mean this feature isn't in the next release. there's been a long pause since the last release in March, but typically, there are new releases every 6-8 weeks.

As I wrote earlier, based on the comment from Marcus in March that it "will take many months to do," my guess (and it's only a guess, not inside knowledge) is that this change might come closer to the end of the year.

jacobs

@Jim I'm curious about this email you received. I've never heard of Quicken emailing customers about updates coming a month or more in the future, and I didn't get one. Can you share it here?

Typically, marketing about Quicken touches on big issues, and an issue like this might not be "sexy" enough for marketing it, but that doesn't mean there aren't other things they've been working on which will appear.

That said, Marcus said in March that it "will take many months to do" after they "get through some of the infrastructure work we're doing now". So if the "what we're doing now" work took a month or two from that statement in March, and the transfers-in-budgets functionality would then take "many months" more, I'd think that sounds like at least March + six months = September or later. Pure guesswork on my part.

While the frustration is ongoing, I take some comfort in his acknowledgement that "this is a top priority for us". That says relief will come and it's just a matter of waiting a bit longer.

(If we're lucky, Marcus might reply and give us an update, but he's typically not active on this site between releases. But I'd expect a new release sometime this month, so maybe there'll be an opportunity to get him to comment.)

Jim38@

Jacobs,

Email attached. Bottom line: I'm a dedicated Quicken user and a fan of the software overall. I, to my own regret, made the leap to Quicken for Mac early in its development. To be fair, Intuit severely neglected the Mac version before your involvement. Since you've purchased the software, the Mac version of Quicken has improved significantly...and I thank you for that. It's just very frustrating that this basic capability is still not included. Without the ability to track transfer transactions appropriately, the budgeting feature is non-existent.

The email (attached) advertising upcoming additions to Quicken for Mac - without a single mention of a roadmap for tracking Transfers in the Budget - prompted my impulsive comment above. I simply ask for a timeline update if one can be provided (i.e. a few more months, by the end of the year, next year at the earliest, etc.). If the prospective timeline is too long, I may switch to Quicken for Windows temporarily vice suffering in the dark.

Thanks for your time.

jacobs

@Jim Thanks for sharing the email you received. I must have something in my preferences that I haven't received it.

I'm sorry to say that you seem to have mistaken me for a Quicken employee. I'm not. I and all the people labeled "superusers" on this site are just Quicken end users like you; we've just answered lots of questions over the years to receive that label. The Quicken employees who post here are mostly site moderators, who keep this site organized and running and sometimes provide answers to some support questions, but they are not members of the development team nor management. Only if you see a post from Quicken Marcus are you talking to the real deal -- the product manager for Quicken Mac.

Marcus typically posts a new thread to announce each new release, and he typically monitors that thread for a few days to see if people are noting problems with it; in his answers trouser questions during that slim window of time, we sometimes get little insights into things they are (or aren't) working on for the future. He rarely answers (and, I'm guessing, rarely reads) most of the other thousands of posts on this site. My suggestion to you is to look for his announcement thread when the next version comes out, and if it doesn't have this budget transfer feature, ask him when this long-promised functionality is coming. Unless it's close to done for the following release, he's not likely to give you a date, but if he replies, he might give you a directional answer that gives you some sooner-versus-later idea of where it stands.

Back to that email... I wouldn't read too much into it not addressing the feature you're interested in. As I wrote originally, this is a marketing piece, and they've picked out three features which can be described in one or two sentences that they think will please users. That doesn't mean these are the only three new features in the works. It might mean this feature isn't in the next release. there's been a long pause since the last release in March, but typically, there are new releases every 6-8 weeks.

As I wrote earlier, based on the comment from Marcus in March that it "will take many months to do," my guess (and it's only a guess, not inside knowledge) is that this change might come closer to the end of the year.