Download and use as a register without monthly subscription?

donnaraeb

Hi
I feel like years ago I had Quicken on my computer and I used it as a check register mostly. I bought a CD and installed it. (Not sure my new computer even has a CD drive). I would like to download the software again for my small business AND for my personal accounts. Is that a thing anymore? I don't want to pay monthly I just want to buy it and install it. If so what do I buy and how do I get it?

Boatnmaniac

The only Quicken products being sold now are annual subscription.  Subscribe, download and install it on your computer, run it and after a year you resubscribe.

If you decide not to resubscribe you can continue to use it manually (no online services such as downloading transactions, downloading securities quotes, etc.) for as long as your system supports it but you will get a banner taking up about 20% of your screen reminding you to resubscribe.  The only way to get rid of that banner is to resubscribe.

You might want to review the Quicken products comparison page at https://www.quicken.com/product-selector.  Note:

• Prices shown there are what the monthly cost is but the subscription is annual and you will be billed once for the full 12 months.
  
• SIMLIFI:  This is a separate sister product from Quicken but it is not compatible with Quicken.  It is web-based only so I would imagine that once the subscription expires the ability to use it will expire at that time, as well.
  
• STARTER:  This edition of Quicken is different from the other editions in that when the subscription expires and if you do not renew it will become read-only.  All other editions of Quicken would still be able to be used manually.
• You can begin with one edition of Quicken and later you can upgrade or downgrade if desired.  (It's all the same software...just with different features turned on or off so there is no loss of data or a need to start all over, again.
  

You can try Quicken for up to 30 days and if for any reason you do not like it or it does not meet your needs you can cancel your subscription and receive a full refund.  (There is no free trial but the 30-day refund guarantee effectively makes it a risk-free trial period.

I generally will steer people away from Starter unless they are committed to renewing their subscription every year. 

My recommendation is to begin with Deluxe and upgrade later if desired.  Deluxe and Premium are very similar with the main difference being that Premier has some added tax reports. 

Home & Business works well for people with small businesses, especially rental units.  But if you are going to be using it mainly as a checkbook, this edition might be overkill for you.

Once you decide which edition you want to start with you might want to check the retail markets (like, Amazon, Costco, Walmart, Best Buy, etc.).  Sometimes you can buy the subscription there for a nicely discounted price, especially if you are a new subscriber.  But be sure to check Quicken.com as well because they often offer new subscribers a pretty nice discount, too.

I hope this helps.  Let me know if you have questions.