How to Enter Stocks into Portfolio

Barbara Allen

I cannot find how to enter stocks into a portfolio. I'm starting 2020 from scratch as I am so afraid of losing data from 2007 to 2020 but do not see how to do it. I'm sure it is staring me in the face but have clicked everywhere and looked everywhere. Thanks.

Barbara Allen

Jacobs. Mission completed thanks to you and your advice. You saved me so much work. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. As one other new person to Quicken 2020 said "it looks different" (very different) so there will be much to learn but rather that than starting from scratch which is what I thought I was going to have to do. Heard many stories from earlier Quicken versions of lost data when transferring so was very wary. Thank you.

jacobs

You need to create an Investment -type account, such as a Brokerage account. Click on that in the left sidebar. It will load the Portfolio view, but you want to click on the Transactions tab. Now you can add new transactions in the register, just as you do for your checking account. If you create a new But transaction, in the Security field you can select an existing Security, if you created any, or type the name of the Security and click Add New Security.

Or you can go to Window > Securities and enter all your securities, and then go to the account to record your transactions. 

I suggest you read the Quicken Help sections on investing: on the Help menu, select Quicken Help. When the Help window appears, scroll to the bottom on the right side and click on Investing. Work your way down the links in the Investing Basics section and it should help you navigate your way around.

That all said, is there a reason you're not importing your Quicken 2007 data into Quicken 2020? Quicken 2002 will simply import your data -- without affecting Quicken 2007, which you can continue to use if you wish, because it's completely separate. If you have a lot of historical data, there's no need to start from scratch unless you specifically want to.

Barbara Allen

Thank you. Quicken 2020 is on a new Mac computer while 2007 is on an old Mac which I don't think will support Quicken 2020. Do you think I could import Quicken 2007 using a USB device? If so, then I could probably transfer my historical data and I do have a lot. I also have a small business which is winding down and would not like to lose the financial information for that either.

jacobs

Barbara, you can absolutely do that. Do one thing before moving your data file: on the Mac with Quicken 2007, find your data file, click on it in the Finder, and select Compress from the File menu. This will make a copy of your data file ending in .zip. Think of it as a safety wrapper for your data file. Drag the .zip file to the flash drive, move it to the new computer, drag the file to your desktop, and double-click on it to "unwrap" it. Now launch Quicken 2020, go to File > New, and on the Let's Get Started page, select Start from a Quicken 2007 data file. Select the Quicken 2007 data file on your desktop, and sit back and let it do its thing. (Depending how much data you have, this could take a couple of minutes or 15 minutes or more.)

Barbara Allen

Thank you so much for your help. I will attempt to do this tomorrow. One last question. Don't I have to move the 2007 application over too or will it move with the data if that makes any sense.

Barbara Allen

Jacobs. Mission completed thanks to you and your advice. You saved me so much work. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. As one other new person to Quicken 2020 said "it looks different" (very different) so there will be much to learn but rather that than starting from scratch which is what I thought I was going to have to do. Heard many stories from earlier Quicken versions of lost data when transferring so was very wary. Thank you.

jacobs

@Barbara Allen  I'm glad you were able to transfer your data. Most people find the transfer goes well, but some people run into glitches. Before moving too far ahead with Quicken 2020, you should make sure you compare your account balances between the two version to make sure nothing got lost. (If you have investment accounts, Quicken sometimes creates "placeholder transactions" to account for shares it doesn't know the basis of, so you'll want to check share balances as well as cash balances in any investment account.)

There is definitely a learning curve, and initially the new interface may seem frustrating as you learn the new way of doing things (and your brain unlearns decades of muscle memory for Quicken 2007). In the end, most people find some pluses and minuses, but an overall good experience. Best wishes!