Is Quicken (Mac) 2016 worth using after using 2007?

Unknown

Big problems again with 2007 Quicken. file will not load. 2007 has always worked perfect for me, been using Quicken from the 80's. I have it so down but now major problems.

I have opened my Quicken 2016 Version 3.8.3 and recovered what I can losing a couple of months. It seems like with 2016 there are no reports or anything like that.

It is so different and really inferior. I don't understand why 2016 Quicken is so limited in ability.

Why did Quicken change everything for the worse? Seems like it was created for Apple classic. 80's dollars and Sense was better that 2016.

Is there something wrong with my 2016? I can't believe that Quicken went from all the abilities it had in 2007 to basically nothing.

 I am devastated. I hate to do anything now because the situation just gets worse. I don't think I can start over with another app.. Right now I think my entire financial life is lost. I'm going to take my computer in and see if they can find the problem.

I may have to use an older computer or something for my accounting. I don't know what to do.

(Edited Readability) 

jacobs

Well, it seems the moderators for some reason closed your previous thread, and in so doing, the long reply I was typing was lost. Grrrrr.

If you have most of your data in Quicken 2016, then there's likely an easy path forward: upgrading to the current (2020) Quicken Mac. Reports is an area of the program that has received a lot of attention over the past three years. The reports in current Quicken Mac are substantially better than in Quicken 2016 -- more reports, more types of reports, more user configurability. They're not done yet; there are a few older reports than haven't been re-written for the new reports engine, but for many Quicken Mac users, the reports are now at least adequate. Since we all use Quicken differently, I can't say if the reports in Quicken Mac will meet your needs, but you can try buying it and get your money back within 30 days if you determine it doesn't.

To answer your question about why things went backward from Quicken 2007 to Quicken 2016: they started over. After Quicken 2007 was released, the developers determined Apple's changes and planned changes to the operating system made it impossible to continue with the existing code base. So they started over. It took more than three years to bring anything to market -- and the first release was rejected by many users as too incomplete. Intuit went through several management turnovers that stalled work on Quicken Mac for a few years, and it wasn't until late 2014 that the modern Quicken Mac came out. It was very bare bones, and the developers said it would take time to build out the functionality. And that's what they've been working on over the past six years. Neither users nor the developers thought the progress would be as slow as it has been, but the program keeps gaining better functionality with new releases every month or two.

jacobs

You posted basically the same question in another thread; see my answer there.

Unknown

Is Quicken 2016 really not have reports, quick reports, classes, categories with sub categories, memorized reports or anything like 2007? There are reports but doesn't seem like there is any way to select categories. Is there something missing from my Q2016?

jacobs

Well, it seems the moderators for some reason closed your previous thread, and in so doing, the long reply I was typing was lost. Grrrrr.

If you have most of your data in Quicken 2016, then there's likely an easy path forward: upgrading to the current (2020) Quicken Mac. Reports is an area of the program that has received a lot of attention over the past three years. The reports in current Quicken Mac are substantially better than in Quicken 2016 -- more reports, more types of reports, more user configurability. They're not done yet; there are a few older reports than haven't been re-written for the new reports engine, but for many Quicken Mac users, the reports are now at least adequate. Since we all use Quicken differently, I can't say if the reports in Quicken Mac will meet your needs, but you can try buying it and get your money back within 30 days if you determine it doesn't.

To answer your question about why things went backward from Quicken 2007 to Quicken 2016: they started over. After Quicken 2007 was released, the developers determined Apple's changes and planned changes to the operating system made it impossible to continue with the existing code base. So they started over. It took more than three years to bring anything to market -- and the first release was rejected by many users as too incomplete. Intuit went through several management turnovers that stalled work on Quicken Mac for a few years, and it wasn't until late 2014 that the modern Quicken Mac came out. It was very bare bones, and the developers said it would take time to build out the functionality. And that's what they've been working on over the past six years. Neither users nor the developers thought the progress would be as slow as it has been, but the program keeps gaining better functionality with new releases every month or two.

Unknown

I bought 2016 a long time ago and just bought it so I could get 2007 installed from Q2003 because I upgraded my computer. Can I download the manual for 2016? Should I get a new version of Quicken that would be better?

jacobs

mmiro said:

Is Quicken 2016 really not have reports, quick reports, classes, categories with sub categories, memorized reports or anything like 2007? There are reports but doesn't seem like there is any way to select categories. Is there something missing from my Q2016?

In Quicken 2016, you can specify categories: create a Category Summary report, click on Customize, click the Categories tab, and you can include/exclude the categories you want.

Classes in Quicken 2007 are now Tags in modern Quicken Mac. Tags have one great advantage: you can have more than one tag per transaction, so you can tag and report on different types or dimensions of information. And Tags have one drawback: they can't be nested like Classes could (e.g. no equivalent of sub-classes).

Quick Reports don't exist in the same way they did in Quicken 2007, but you can do many of the same things in different ways. If you're looking at a transaction and want a "quick report" of all transactions for that Payee or that Category, Control-click on the transaction and select "Report on" the Patee or category. A lot of things you might have done in a Quicken 2007 Quick Report you now do by using the Search box in modern Quicken Mac. To search for a specific transaction or group of transactions like you might have done with a Quick Report, select All Accounts in the left sidebar, and then type what you want to find in the Search box. (Make sure you have all the columns visible you want to search in, like Memo/Notes.) So if I wanted to find, say, when I purchased my hot water heater, I'd click on All Accounts, type "water heater" in the Search box, and Quicken will find it. If I want to find a history of my electric utility payments, I could search for the category or the Payee.

And, as noted above, there are lots of improvements in reports in the current Quicken Mac versus your four-year-old version.

Unknown

OK, I'll upgrade if I can figure out how to do that. My 2007 is working now but I can't trust it. I spent all day updating all my accounts several times and it kept getting corrupted and then I'd have to go back further. Then I spent all night trying to figure out what to do. I guess Delux would be the way to go. I hate apple, every time you have to update the system so many things don't work anymore and you get more forced into using Apple's apps which are terrible. I've been using apple for business since early 80's and things just get more complicated. Not sure if I can keep going on with it.

Unknown

Got it. Doesn't look much different but I'm just going to have to use it.
Is it possible to download a manual for it if there is one? Thanks so much for you help.

jacobs

There is no manual for Quicken (nor for most software these days). There is a lot of useful information in Quicken Help, but no comprehensive user manual. There are a bunch of how-to videos on Quicken's website, and a wealth of information on this forum.

Yes, Quicken 2020 looks very similar to Quicken 2016. But you were talking about reports, and reports have been extensively revamped since Quicken 2016.  

Unknown

Thanks. I don't think I have ever read a manual anyway. I have watched enough videos. Pretty much have it figured out after about 12 hours. It's a bit clunky but it will probably give me everything I need. It does break down the categories I need. It will just take a while to get use to it. I'm up to date just waiting to balance all my accounts. Thanks again for your help.

jacobs

It's definitely a jarring change to former Quicken 2007 users! Some people still don't like the user interface and way of doing things, but many of us have found -- after some time getting used to it, and unlearning old muscle memory for doing things -- that we like modern Quicken Mac a lot more than we did when we first started using it. I hope that will be the case for you. Meanwhile, you now have your data in a modern database that should be reliable and serve you for years into the future. Best wishes!