Can you properly convert a Quicken Deluxe 2019 for Mac file to Windows?

bhorka

I can't seem to find a definitive answer on this. I used Quicken for Windows for about 20 years and loved it. A couple years ago, I got a Mac and switched to Quicken for Mac and it is an absolutely horrible product - - - certainly when you compare it to the Windows version. I NEED to switch back - - - but I am hearing from most folks that it can't successfully be done. Anyone know for sure?? Thanks.

smayer97

Yes, you can BUT there are many limitations and it is not perfect. For one, you cannot migrate investment data back. Also, the same limitations as migrating from QMac to QWin exist, like attachments, saved reports, etc cannot migrate. And transfers between registers get entered into QWin as separate mirror transactions but lose the link between them. so the destination account info is missing. Finally, immediately upon completion of the conversion process, the transaction categories may appear incorrect (scrambled). This appears to be a transient condition. Closing and reopening, or backing up the file restores proper categorization.

These are some of the obvious limitations. YMMV.

smayer97

Yes, you can BUT there are many limitations and it is not perfect. For one, you cannot migrate investment data back. Also, the same limitations as migrating from QMac to QWin exist, like attachments, saved reports, etc cannot migrate. And transfers between registers get entered into QWin as separate mirror transactions but lose the link between them. so the destination account info is missing. Finally, immediately upon completion of the conversion process, the transaction categories may appear incorrect (scrambled). This appears to be a transient condition. Closing and reopening, or backing up the file restores proper categorization.

These are some of the obvious limitations. YMMV.

jacobs

@bhorka Since you have Quicken Mac 2019, you can download Quicken Windows 2019 for free and try it yourself. As indicated above and in other threads you've read, it will not be a clean or complete process, but it depends on your data and how you use Quicken whether it will get you close enough or be significantly incomplete and useless. 

bhorka

smayer - - - thanks. Couple of questions: What does it specifically mean that you can't migrate investment data back? Also, I'm not sure I understand that transfers come across as Mirror transactions but lose their link??? Are you able to provide any more detail? I appreciate it.

jacobs

@bhorka Investment transactions in Quicken Mac will not transfer to Quicken Windows; only banking transactions. For many people, this is a showstopper issue.

In Quicken Mac and Quicken Windows, transfers between accounts -- e.g. paying your credit card bill from your checking account -- are called "linked transactions", which are really a single transaction with a Transfer, such that the two sides of the transfer appear in both accounts. When you export and import into Windows, you'll get two separate transactions in the originating and receiving account, and they aren't linked together the way they were originally. (This may not be a fatal problem; you just have to be aware that if you make a change to on elf these transactions, the change won't affect the other side of the transaction, because they are no longer linked transactions.)

Again, I'd suggest if you have access to a Windows machine, you download the Windows version and try to import your data from Quicken Mac. You'll likely be able to determine pretty quickly whether you can make do with what you got with some clean-up or whether it's too incomplete to be useful/usable.

(edited for readability)