Best Practices for Managing 2 Households with Quicken

MJHein

I am a PC user using the subscription version of Quicken Deluxe for our family's finances. I am going to start helping an older relative monitor their finances using Quicken Deluxe, with a different Quicken ID (an additional subscription, to keep it totally separate from mine).

What is the best way to maintain both (separately) on my PC?

Thank you!

Chris_QPW

Two separate data files.

retird

May be worth reading…

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/7922844/can-2-different-quickens-be-downloaded-on-same-desktop

NotACPA

Two versions of Q are ABSOLUTELY NOT NEEDED. 2 data files is what @MJHein needs.

volvogirl

Does the relative already have their own Quicken subscription?

Chris_QPW

Let me clarify a few things.

As pointed out all that is needed for the most part to separated two sets of finances is a separate data file.

There is only one exception to this, and that is if you intend to have both data files synced to the cloud and want the other household to be able to access the data through the Quicken Mobile/web apps.

Since access to these are by using the Quicken Id that is used in the Desktop data file to sync to the Quicken cloud account, then to keep them totally separate then you would need two Quicken Ids/subscriptions.

If this isn't required and there were already two subscriptions the question would come up if it is better to use both Quicken Id's/subscriptions until at least the time where you have to renew the other household's subscription.

In my opinion, if there is not requirement for the other household to access the data through the Quicken Mobile/Web apps I would move the other household's data file under my Quicken Id. Why? Because it is pain to be switching between Quicken Ids.

Chris_QPW

One other point, if the data file is going to be copied back to the other household's computer for them to look at from time to time, then you would most likely want to have separate Quicken Ids/subscriptions in that case too.

MJHein

Thank you for your comments! Yes, I am planning to have separate Quicken IDs/subscriptions because I want the other household to be able to use Quicken Mobile/web apps so that they can monitor their accounts (and I want to be able to access my own data file using my Quicken ID). The other household is not tech savvy and would likely rely mostly on the mobile app (which is why their datafile would reside on my laptop). I had thought about just using Quicken Simplifi for them, but I haven't used that product and it doesn't seem as robust as the Deluxe version.

I am wondering if creating a separate user for my PC would be the best way to segregate the Quicken apps. So when I am logged on to my computer as me, I see my Quicken app/datafile and when I log on as a second user, I see the other household's Quicken app. I will likely only get into their Quicken data file about once a week, so back and forth logging in and out isn't a big concern.

Thank you.

Chris_QPW

From what I can tell it doesn't buy you anything to do this in a different Windows user account. The "logging in" of the Quicken Id appears to be for the whole machine.

I don't have a second non-expired subscription, but what I tried is creating a separate Windows account and creating a new Quicken data file in that account and log into the expired subscription for that data file. I was never able to create an account, but I did create the data file.

When I came back to my Windows account and started Quicken I was greeted with this:

So, clearly using a separate Windows account won't buy you any separation. You might as well just do it all in one account.

MJHein

Interesting — thank you so much for your efforts to re-create the use case!

Chris_QPW

The way this behaves I would really consider it a bug, but since so few people work like this, I doubt it will be changed.

Just imagine what it would be like if you had to people trying to use the same computer and Quicken separately, with different subscriptions, it just wouldn't work.