Can I have more than one set of data, keeping it separate, i.e. personal and business?

Question

Have personal checking, credit cards..., then have sole proprietorship business with checking, credit card, then also have a conservatorship for a ward with a couple of bank accounts.

NotACPA · Answer

I concur with @Frankx, since the sole proprietorship appears on Sched C of your tax return, it belongs in the same data file as the rest of your personal transactions.  NOTE, that to designate categories as "Business" in Q, you must assign a Business (usually, Sched C) tax line to them.  Any category without a tax line is "personal".I believe that the conservatorship would file it's own tax return ... so it shouldn't be commingled with the info in the Q data file that's used for YOUR taxes.

Frankx · Answer

Hi @kristofur,

You may setup more than one Quicken data file, which would allow you to "keep things separate".  However, I believe that most folks would keep one data file for their personal accounts AND their unincorporated business (i.e. - a sole proprietorship, like you have) in one Quicken data file by using the "Home, Business and Rental Property" version of Quicken, mainly because the income/loss from the SP flows directly to your personal tax return which helps if you use Quicken for tax planning, and it is easier to maintain one file than two, etc.

The conservatorship, however should be kept in a separate Quicken file for both tax and legal reasons in my opinion (but I am not providing tax or legal advice by virtue of this post).

To set up that account, in your current Quicken file, simply go to: "File" > "New Quicken File" > Click "OK" and you'll be prompted to go through the setup process.

Let me know if you have any followups.

Frankx