Just some comments on using Quicken

System

This discussion was created from comments split from: What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?.

Steven Wetterling

Learned from experience dealing with Quicken for a very long time:
#1 - Always back up your Quicken Data file locally before shutting down giving it a unique file date & name. And keep at least 10 back dated backup file versions to go back to.
#2 - Always do the "File Operations > Validate & Repair" action after saving the backup file and before shutting down.
#3 - If the Validate & Repair end-report shows ANY issues then throw away everything you did in Quicken today by restoring from the previous most recent file backup and do all the data download and detail resolutions again.
>> Because the Windows Quicken data base design - especially older implementations - is less than wonderful. Pointers can get mis-calculated / mis-written / mis-read causing a small error that propagates and compounds until it becomes an irretrievable mess (I have been there hence the above advice).
#4 - Always read the "What's new and fixed" notes carefully before deciding to download and install a Quicken update. >> If it has to do with database issues or interfaces to 3rd party vendors or crash fixes, always don't install until next month (unless you think it will rescue a problem you are currently havng). Just like this month's experience with the new Quicken 33.xx update that was withdrawn for more re-work, let others be the guinea pig to prove it really works.
#5 - Always remember that Quicken is a years long accumulation of old code done by people who don't work at Quicken anymore that is reworked with lots of new code and ways of operating done by newbies who mostly don't really know what the old code does at the detail level - means that it has become a brittle thing to for Quicken to maintain and update. It is a good thing that the current management continues to invest in fixing and improving the product. There was a period of time when the management of the day did not and it became really awful to continue as a Quicken customer.

CJackson45

As a 25-year long time user of Quicken, will management ever fund the improvement of on-line reports that can be more easily printed? Maybe just my inabilities showing, but i'm very tired of Quicken changing column widths after one finally gets them aligned online well enough, BUT when then printed, columns are usually truncated. Also, the inability to much more easily delete old or unneeded reports within the normal report building section is sorely needed. Having to move to a new section of Quicken to "manage" (that's Quicken for "delete") reports is awkward and probably due to the fact that to even delete a report, users had to wait years for that "sophisticated capability" to be available & hence it was scotch-taped onto Quicken to finish the goal as cheaply as possible.

barbarajorector

I wish Quicken would list payments and credits separately instead of saying "all payments and credits". Since statements list them separately, I have to add them together to enter into Quicken.