How do I work with my uncle's Quicken data file?

MicrosoftMoney

I am using a current subscription of Quicken Classic Business & Personal on a Windows 11 PC. . Eventually, I will need to take over management of my uncle's finances, but right now I'm just trying to learn how he does things. He uses an old version of Quicken for Windows that no longer allows any online services, but that's fine for him - he doesn't want to download transactions or link Quicken to his accounts in any way. He uses it more like a handwritten checkbook register, except that he has recurring bills and income set up to be entered automatically.

For now, he will continue using his file on his own computer. He sent me a copy of his QDF file to look at. I opened Quicken, and selected his QDF file. I expected to see a notice that it was being updated to a new file version, but I did not get that.

I am given these options. What happens if I choose Change Owner vs Sign In vs Cancel?

Here are the things I'm concerned about under each of those choices:

1. Will my uncle be able to continue using his copy of the file without any complications? For example, what will happen when he tried to open his copy of the file? Will Quicken try to synchronize the 2 sets of data?
2. Will his recurring bills and income remain intact in my copy of the file?
3. Would I be able (eventually) to set up online access for downloading transactions? Would I need to change ownership of the data file at that time? And what would happen to his copy of the file if I did ?
4. What other issues should I understand how these work?

For right now, the purpose of his giving me a copy of the file is to familiarize myself with his finances. But I anticipate that it may not be very long (a year?) until I will be responsible for tracking their expenses, etc.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Boatnmaniac

@MicrosoftMoney - If all you want to do is review his data file to see how he is doing things and will not be actually managing his finances for him at this time, you might want to consider doing the following. This will create a totally separate and unique data file from your uncle's so you can play with it in any way that you please with no concerns at all of causing any issues for your uncle in how he is using his data file. With his file open on your computer:

• File > Copy of Backup File > Create a copy or template > Next > you can keep the suggested file name (it will be the same as what your uncle named it with "Cpy" added to the end of it or you can give it a unique name of your choosing > Save Copy > open the copied file and use only that one going forward (at least until you actually need to take over doing your uncle's finances).

Your copied file will have everything in it that your uncle's file has, including preferences and other account settings but it will have a totally unique file ID and Cloud Account and it will be registered to only you. So you can do whatever you want to do in there and rest assured that absolutely nothing you do in there will impact your uncle's data file nor his use of it.

I suggested going this route because:

• No one needs to be concerned about flipping back and forth about signing into nor changing the file owner once this process is completed.
• Unless something has changed, there actually is some cross communication that does occur between files with the same file ID and, therefore, the same Cloud Account. I don't remember all of the cross communications that can occur but one that sticks in my head is that category changes made in your use of his data file will also be made in his data file. There was a list of other issues but for the life of me I can't remember them all nor can I find the discussions about this in this Community (they took place 4-5 years ago or so so maybe they are archived?). In fact, the Copy process I spelled out above was developed by Quicken at least in part to address this cross-talk issue so a Quicken-copied file would not cross-talk with the original file like a Windows-copy does.

Quicken Jasmine

Hello @MicrosoftMoney,

It's great that you're preparing to help manage your uncle's finances, and I appreciate your thoughtful approach. I'll clarify what happens with the different options you’re seeing and address your concerns.

If you choose Change Owner, this will assign ownership of the file to your Quicken ID. This means that your uncle may no longer be able to open the file without going through a reauthorization process. This option is typically only needed if you plan to take over full control of the file and want to use your own Quicken ID for online services in the future.

If you choose Sign In, Quicken will allow you to access the file under your Quicken ID without immediately changing ownership. However, if your subscription includes online services and Quicken Cloud Sync is enabled, Quicken may attempt to link the file to your Quicken Cloud account. To prevent unintended changes, I recommend disabling Quicken Cloud Sync in Edit > Preferences > Quicken ID & Cloud Accounts before opening the file.

If you choose Cancel, nothing changes, and you won’t open the file at that time.

• Will my uncle be able to continue using his copy of the file without complications?
  Yes, as long as ownership isn't changed. Quicken does not synchronize multiple copies of the same file across different computers. Any changes you make to your copy will not affect his.
• Will his recurring bills and income remain intact in my copy of the file?
  Yes, they should remain intact as long as the file opens properly. However, it's always good practice to check the Bill & Income Reminders section after opening the file to confirm.
• Would I be able to set up online access for downloading transactions? Would I need to change ownership at that time?
  Yes, you can set up online access in your copy of the file, but this would be separate from your uncle's version. Changing ownership is not required to add online access, but if you eventually take over the file permanently, switching the Quicken ID to yours may be beneficial to avoid conflicts.
• What would happen to his copy of the file if I change ownership?
  If ownership is changed, his original file may require him to sign in with your Quicken ID or go through a reauthorization process, which could cause confusion. If he doesn’t use online services, he may not be affected, but it’s best to avoid changing ownership unless necessary.
• What other issues should I be aware of?
  The biggest consideration is keeping Quicken Cloud Sync turned off on your end if you don’t want any unintended interactions between your Quicken ID and the file. Additionally, if your uncle provides you with an updated copy of his file later, you will need to replace your version, which would erase any changes you've made.

For now, since your primary goal is to familiarize yourself with his finances, I recommend choosing "Sign In" without changing ownership, disabling Quicken Cloud Sync, and avoiding online account setup until you are ready to manage everything fully.

Let me know if you have any further questions!

MicrosoftMoney

Thanks, Jasmine. This helps a lot, especially about cloud sync. I already has sync disabled on my own file, and that seems to have carried over to my uncle's.

I do have 2 follow-up questions.

I needed to open my own file in Quicken before I saw your guidance. I couldn't do that with the popup window open (the screenshot that I shared in my original post). Not knowing what else to do, I just hit the X at the top right corner of the box, which I presume is the same as choosing Cancel. I switched to my own file. After reading your message, I switched back to my Uncle's file, which did open. But you indicated that canceling meant I wouldn't be able to open it. So I am confused about that. Also, I was not prompted again with those 3 choices. I'm not sure where that leaves me. What do you suggest?

And I'm not sure I understood what you said about choosing "Sign In" without changing ownership. Based on the wording of the 2nd option ("Sign in as _____" which shows my uncle's email address), I thought I would be signing in with my uncle's Quicken ID if I chose that option. But you're saying that I could use my own Quicken ID for the "Sign In" choice? Sorry if I'm missing something here.

Thanks again.

Karen

Quicken Kristina

Thank you for your reply,

Clicking the "x" dismisses the window. It is similar to clicking cancel, since it terminates the current action. Terminating the current action won't prevent you from being able to open the file later. You may see that same prompt later, if you try to do something that requires checking the Quicken ID (such as using online services, updating the program, etc.).

As I understand it, clicking the Sign in option would be opting to sign in using your uncle's Quicken ID.

If I'm understanding correctly, your uncle provided you with a copy of his file, and still has his own main file that he maintains and updates? What method did he use to send you the copy? Is it completely independent from the main file, or is he sharing access to his main file via a network drive or cloud service?

I look forward to your response!

Boatnmaniac

@MicrosoftMoney - If all you want to do is review his data file to see how he is doing things and will not be actually managing his finances for him at this time, you might want to consider doing the following. This will create a totally separate and unique data file from your uncle's so you can play with it in any way that you please with no concerns at all of causing any issues for your uncle in how he is using his data file. With his file open on your computer:

• File > Copy of Backup File > Create a copy or template > Next > you can keep the suggested file name (it will be the same as what your uncle named it with "Cpy" added to the end of it or you can give it a unique name of your choosing > Save Copy > open the copied file and use only that one going forward (at least until you actually need to take over doing your uncle's finances).

Your copied file will have everything in it that your uncle's file has, including preferences and other account settings but it will have a totally unique file ID and Cloud Account and it will be registered to only you. So you can do whatever you want to do in there and rest assured that absolutely nothing you do in there will impact your uncle's data file nor his use of it.

I suggested going this route because:

• No one needs to be concerned about flipping back and forth about signing into nor changing the file owner once this process is completed.
• Unless something has changed, there actually is some cross communication that does occur between files with the same file ID and, therefore, the same Cloud Account. I don't remember all of the cross communications that can occur but one that sticks in my head is that category changes made in your use of his data file will also be made in his data file. There was a list of other issues but for the life of me I can't remember them all nor can I find the discussions about this in this Community (they took place 4-5 years ago or so so maybe they are archived?). In fact, the Copy process I spelled out above was developed by Quicken at least in part to address this cross-talk issue so a Quicken-copied file would not cross-talk with the original file like a Windows-copy does.

MicrosoftMoney

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20481302#Comment_20481302

Thanks, Kristina, for the clarification about the X and the "Sign In" option. You confirmed how I thought that worked.

He copied and emailed me the file. So yes, he has the main file that he will continue to maintain and update. We're not sharing the same file.

MicrosoftMoney

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20481302#Comment_20481302

Thanks, Kristina, for the clarification about the X and the "Sign In" option. You confirmed how I thought that worked.

He copied and emailed me the file. So yes, he has the main file that he will continue to maintain and update. We're not sharing the same file.

MicrosoftMoney

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20481306#Comment_20481306

Thanks very much for this explanation. This is exactly what I was concerned about. I will follow these instructions to make a copy, and I'll check that it is indeed owned by me.

I searched for older conversations about this, but couldn't find much. So I appreciate you pulling this out from your memory. "Quicken-copied" vs "Windows copied" is a distinction I would never have thought of, but it makes sense!

Boatnmaniac

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20481471#Comment_20481471

I should have mentioned in my earlier post that I was assuming your uncle had provided you with a Windows-copy of his data file. Windows-copied data files can cause cross-talk issues because the 2 data files will continue to share the same file ID and Cloud Account. The Quicken-copy process totally breaks those links because it assigns a totally unique file ID and Cloud Account to that Quicken-copied file. My guess is that the Quicken-copied file will also automatically be registered to your Quicken ID during the copy process.

You can confirm this by closing and then reopening the Quicken-copied file. If my assumption is correct you will not be prompted to change the owner of the file since you will already be the owner.

You can also confirm this by going to Edit > Preferences > Mobile & Web > Sync = ON > OK > Edit > Preferences > Quicken ID & Cloud Accounts > Cloud accounts associated with this Quicken ID. You should then see a Cloud Account associated with your uncle's Windows-copied file and a separate Cloud Account associated with your Quicken-copied file. Separate Cloud Accounts do not communicate with each other. (When you are done reviewing this I suggest clicking on Close > Mobile & Web > Sync = OFF > OK unless you plan to use the Mobile and/or Web companion apps.)