Data in the cloud for access from multiple clients

Jonathan Perkins

I'm sure this has been suggested and argued over ad nauseam, but I'll say it away: It would be great if I could use Quicken on multiple computers as well as mobile devices, sharing the same underlying cloud data.

jacobs

Quicken has two approaches for people who want cloud-based usage.

With Quicken desktop as your primary platform, you can use a mobile and and/or web interface to access/enter data. The cloud platform doesn't provide detailed reporting and other features of the desktop, but it lets you check balances, enter new transactions, look up transactions, etc. from anywhere.

For people who want to be fully in the cloud, with full features everywhere, Quicken's new Simplifi product introduced last year addresses that need.

And for people who don't want their data and financial login credentials in the cloud, the traditional Quicken desktop lets them keep all data local on the desktop.

What you're asking for -- the full functionality of Quicken, but in the cloud -- seems unlikely because it would require a major re-write of the Mac and Windows programs. The company developed Simplifi to address this segment of the market, so it seems unlikely to me that legacy Quicken will move in the same direction.

Alin

I always had a bit of a hard time wrapping my head around the web interface. I'm talking about why quicken built it. don't really understand the purpose of the web interface

ok, the mobile app I can understand. nowadays everybody wants to use apps on their phone/ipad whatever, and as you said @jacobs is very convenient to quickly check some data, or add transactions using a device that's with you pretty much all the time.

and yes, the same argument for the web interface I guess...but...if there's a mobile app why in the world would I choose to use the web interface? because the web interface has more functionality than the app? even if true, is that really a reason to build it? always wondered, what is the use case that Quicken is trying to solve with the web interface. then they turned around and built Simplifi...so... <puzzled>

I'm super happy the web interface is there, I'm sure lots of people are using it.

The first time I heard about the web interface was when it was still in beta, in my mind I thought that's the solution for the problem outlined in this thread. the web interface lives in "the cloud", it can pull transactions from all my accounts and then I was hoping my desktop will pull that down...and you have a way to "sync" data across multiple installs of the desktop app that is built into the system...and I can stop finding clever ways of synching the data files across desktop installs.

 but that's not how it works, at least not to my understanding. yes, I can add transactions thru the web interface and they will show up in my desktop app...which means there IS a way for the desktop app to pull down transactions from the cloud...but is stopping way short of what I was hoping is going to do...aka the simplest solution to sync data across multiple desktop installs, without re-writing the desktop apps from the ground...they are already doing a form of "cloud synching", just not all the way.

or I just misunderstood how the system works, at which point never mind. would love for somebody to straighten me out

Alin

Chris_QPW

Let me take a crack at some of your questions.

Why the web interface?
Maybe a better question would be why a mobile app?
After all I can get access to the web interface on any computer no matter if it is MacOS, Windows, Chrome, ..., and any mobile device.  I can only get access to mobile apps on a mobile device.  What's more as soon as you say mobile device the GUI is restricted to allow for small screens and big fingers.

The history though is that the mobile app was really a port of the Mint app, and that is why it came first.

As for the syncing between two Desktop data files, the basic answer is the same as when people say "I trashed my Desktop data file, can I restore from the 'Quicken cloud data?'".  They can't because the Quicken cloud dataset which is where that data is stored is only partial copy of the data in your Desktop data file.  It is impossible to use it to keep two Desktop data files in sync.  And the data/setting/GUI in the Quicken Desktop is not something they can just throw together in the "cloud".

Quicken Mac has been in "rewrite mode" since about 2007, and it isn't finished with that rewrite yet.  That gives you an idea of the magnitude of the problem, not to mention that both Quicken Mac and Quicken Windows use the "cloud dataset" and they as such they would also have to have both pretty much standardized to allow for syncing "everything".

Alin

Thank you @Chris_QPW, really appreciate the answers.

I think there' a need for a cloud sync solution...maybe for higher tiers of Quicken or having the sync under an on/off button for people that don't want to put their data in the "cloud".

yes, is probably quite the undertaking, with some of the pieces been already in place maybe is not that huge of an undertaking. would love to see a solution, voting

Chris_QPW

@Alin Given that most SuperUsers won't touch Sync to Mobile/Web for their real data files because of all the reported corrupting of the users' data files, I doubt there would be much support for the idea to extensively expand this to everything in a data file.

When voting for something like this I take into account not only my desires, but also my confidence that they can do it without causing major problems.  I don't have that at all.