Can my husband and I both work from one Quicken Mac file?

carlystockdale

We have all shared accounts and both use separate Mac computers. His account is up-to-date with a single login credentials for Mac Desktop. I tried to login same credentials to my Mac Desktop and was unable to see the finances. How do we share?

Quicken Anja

Hello @carlystockdale,

Thank you for reaching out to the Community with your question.

While it is possible to share a data file on 2 Macs by storing the data file in a location that is synced to a cloud-based drive, please be aware that we do strongly advise against doing so and advise restoring backups to move data between the two Macs instead.

The reason is that when data files are stored on external drives such as cloud-based drives, it puts your file at risk of data damage and/or data file corruption. If/when this happens, you will no longer be able to access your data or it can cause you to lose data over time.

Please, refer to this support article for more information. Although the article does reference DropBox specifically, the content of the article does apply to all cloud-based services. 

I hope this helps!

smayer97

Unfortunately, there is no sanctioned or built-in way to do this.

There are at least 2 possible ways to share, though none of them straightforward and clean.

1. send each other the data file after updates to the data. And only one of you work on the file at a time. You'll need some way to identify when one of you is working on the file.
   
2. store the Quicken BACKUP in a common accessible location (e.g. cloud storage) and develop a sign-out process, where you download the file each time and flag the file in use while one of you is updating it, then when it is backed up to the cloud again, flag it as available to be used.

jacobs

The other crucial thing to add is that when moving the data file, you must move a compressed copy and not just the Quicken data file. This initially sounds bad, but you'll find you can set up a routine that adds only a few seconds each time you use Quicken. Here's a more long-winded discussion of the topics @smayer97 brings up above...

Quicken is designed as single-user personal finance software. That said, there are certainly users who want to use their file from two different Macs, or to allow a spouse to access Quicken on a different computer. And 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 is not designed to fully sync your entire data file between multiple computers. (And that sync to Quicken Cloud is notorious for sometimes causing data corruption issues.) So to safely use your data on two computers, 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, or Airdrop if the computers are close enough, or a flash memory drive.

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. (As mentioned above, moving a compressed file can be either via a cloud service like Dropbox or iCloud, 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 both of 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. 

I know that's a long-winded answer to a seemingly 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.

(The other alternative I mentioned briefly above is to use Quicken only on one of your computers, turn on Sync for Quicken mobile, and on the other computer, log in via the available web interface. The web interface isn't full-fledged Quicken, but it lets you see, edit and enter transactions. Quicken should smoothly handle syncing between the desktop data file and the Quicken Cloud. I know some people use this without problems, but I've also seen too many problem reports here on this forum to comfortably recommend it to fellow users. Most of the long-time "super users" here on the forum do not use the cloud sync.)

UKR

Way too complicated, way too error prone, IMHO.

• How about using your husband's Mac to work on Quicken?
• How about using some remote access software on the wife's Mac to access Quicken on the husband's Mac? Of course, that requires that his Mac is up and running and connected to your network.

smayer97

P.S. Quicken Mac Back files are compressed, so this may save you a step.

smayer97

UKR said:

Way too complicated, way too error prone, IMHO.

• How about using your husband's Mac to work on Quicken?
• How about using some remote access software on the wife's Mac to access Quicken on the husband's Mac? Of course, that requires that his Mac is up and running and connected to your network.

Yes, it can be depending on the process set up.

Do keep in mind that either of these solutions means the other person cannot use their computer at the same time.