Basic Banking [Edited]

Mechthild

I have a question that has been asked before on here many times but no direct answer is ever given. Can I use Quicken if I do online banking. I use Quicken only as a bank ledger to keep my checking account balance. When this question was asked before, the Quicken brains talk about the advantages of a subscription (online, etc.) but never tell you whether you can do basic banking without a subscription. [Removed-Speculation]

volvogirl

Quicken is sold as a subscription. But it is a Desktop program installed on your computer. You don't have to download transactions, you can use it offline and enter everything manually. But Only the current subscription version lets you download and use online services.

But to answer your question directly….Yes you can do basic banking without a subscription. If you find an older version you can use it manually. I've been staying on Quicken 2013. I don't download or use anything online.

mshiggins

This brain says if you are only doing basic banking - balancing a checking account - you don't need Quicken at all. Your bank's website likely has all the tools you need.

If instead you have multiple types of accounts - banking, credit cards, loans, homes and cars, investments - and you want to have a central place where you can track all of those accounts Quicken would be a good way to do that.

Jim_Harman

You mention both "basic banking" and "online banking". It is not clear what you mean by either of these terms. Perhaps this will answer your questions.

With a current Quicken subscription, you can manually enter and/or download transactions and balances from most banks, credit unions, and credit cards. You can assign Categories to these transactions to track your income and expenses. You can balance your accounts, project future balances, develop and track your budget, and more. Quicken offers regular software updates and free support for users with current subscriptions.

With a smaller number of banks that support the "Direct Connect" connection method, you can also access the bank's bill pay service to make online bill payments. Banks sometimes charge extra for this.

With current versions of the software, if the subscription expires, all online connections are disabled, you stop receiving support and updates, and about 1/3 of your screen is taken over by a permanent reminder to renew. If you had the Starter Edition, your data becomes read only. With Deluxe and up, you can continue to do manual entry.

If you have an older (pre-subscription) version of Quicken, you can use it manually without the large renewal message.

Quicken Jasmine

Hello @Mechthild,

Thank you for reaching out to the Quicken Community with this question.

If you have the Starter Subscription of Quicken, your data file becomes "read-only" after your subscription has expired. This means that you are still able to access your data but you are unable to add new information or make changes to the current information. With every other Subscription (Deluxe, Premier, H&B), you are able to access your data and manually make changes, however, you lose the access to be able to have online connections with your Financial Institutions.

You can read more information in this Quicken Subscription Membership FAQ and the Quicken Data Access Guarantee FAQ.

I hope this clears things up!