Can you sync the database for 2 macs on same network

John Minnich

Want to enter data on one Mac and have it updated to another mac on the same network. Each mac has same /quicken

Quicken Jasmine

Hello @John Minnich, 

Thank you for contacting the Quicken Community with this question.

While it is possible to do this by storing your data file(s) on a cloud-based drive such as iCloud, DropBox, etc., please be aware that we strongly advise against it as doing so puts the data file at risk for data damage and/or file corruption. 

We encourage you to review this support article for more information in regards to storing data files on cloud services. Note that while the title of the article specifies DropBox, this does apply to all cloud-based services.

I hope this helps!

John Minnich

Thank you

Quicken Jasmine

Hello @John Minnich,

You are very welcome!

Please do not hesitate to reach out with any further questions or concerns.

jacobs

@John Minnich Quicken is designed as single-user personal finance software. That said, there are users who want to use their file from two different Macs, or to allow a spouse to access Quicken on a different computer. 

Doing so is definitely possible, but it requires a little work on your part. Quicken is built to have your data file on your local computer; while it can sync some information for use with the mobile app or web interface, it was not designed to fully sync your entire data file between multiple computers. To do that, you need to move your Quicken data file back and forth between the two computers. You can use a cloud storage service to make this pretty easy — as long as you do it correctly — or you can use File Sharing on one computer to allow the other computer to connect and pull or push a data file.

Some basic do's and don'ts about moving a Quicken Mac data file around...

Do not store your Quicken data file on any cloud service, such as Dropbox or iCloud. It will likely lead to problems. Storing Quicken backup files on cloud storage is fine, but your live data file needs to be resident on your local computer. 

Do not use File Sharing to connect to another computer, and launch the Quicken data file on that other computer. Your Quicken data file needs to be resident on your local computer's hard drive during the period you're using it.

Do move only a compressed copy of a data file between computers/servers/cloud storage. A compressed file is either (a) one you create by selecting the file in the Finder and doing File > Compress, creating a .zip file, or (b) a backup file created by Quicken, which ends in .quickenbackup. Why? A Quicken data file is actually not a single file; it's a Mac "package" file, which is a wrapper around a collection of files and folders to make it appear to users like a single file. (Control-click on your data file and select "Show Package Contents" if you want to peek inside the wrapper.) Every Mac user account has a unique User ID number, and when you move files and folders around, permissions can be changed — the result of which can be getting locked out of your data. Moving a compressed file and opening it on a different Mac won't result in permission problems. (Moving a compressed file can be either via a cloud service, a local network, Airdrop, or a flash drive.) 

This may sound like a pain, but it needn't be. After each time you use Quicken, move your backup or compressed file to a location — on cloud storage or a physical flash drive — which you'll start from the next time you use Quicken on either computer. Use the data file, quit Quicken, and again save the compressed file back to the same location. As long as you always start from the same location and replace a file to the same location -- which takes just a few extra seconds -- you will always be assured of working on the most current file and not having permission problems. 

If you use Dropbox, one relatively easy workflow is to set your Quicken backup location to Dropbox. So every time you quit Quicken, it creates a backup in a location both computers can access on Dropbox. The only manual step is that to start your next Quicken session, from either computer, you need to drag the backup file from Dropbox to your Mac desktop and double-click it to launch it. When you quit Quicken, a new backup is created in the same place. (You also have to delete the working copy from your desktop, and make sure you always grab the most recent backup file on Dropbox.)

If you don't use Dropbox, you could turn on file sharing on one computer, and then use your "Public Folder" (which exists by default in macOS) to store the .zip copy of your Quicken data file between sessions. Either computer could access the shared Public Folder on your computer to copy the .zip file to the Desktop (or Documents folder), delete the copy on the Public folder (to keep there from being multiple versions around which could cause confusion), and use the file; then quit Quicken, compress the file, copy it to the Public Folder, and delete the copy on your Desktop (or Documents folder). It sounds like a lot of things to do, but once you see the flow back and forth, you'll hopefully find it pretty easy to keep track of. Compressing a copy and copying it after using will take only a few seconds, as will copying the compressed file to the Desktop to use it the next time. 

That's a long-winded answer to a simple question. The need to move your data file back and forth may seem a bit daunting, but once you set-up a system that works for you, and get the workflow worked out, I think you'll find you can make this work spending only a few extra seconds each time you use Quicken.