Migrating from 2017 Home & Business to 2018 Mac?

GoHawks (QWin H&B 2017 QMac 2017) said:

The data conversion should run fairly smooth.

By fairly, there will be some cleanup to take care of...especially in the investments section.

Quicken Mac converted data doesn't seem to like SOLDX and BUYX transactions... two in one transactions that include an investment transactions AND a transfer in/out of the account.

Good luck with that.

Also, please be aware that Quicken Mac is still a work in progress.  There are many, many, many features in H&B that are not in Quicken Mac.  The reporting capabilities are abysmal.  And accounting for transfers in reports is non-existant.  

Add in the completely different user interface, and there is a learning curve involved.

I would recommend running both in parallel for a while.  When you are comfortable with Quicken Mac, then you may want to consider ditching it for good. 

And you will lose ALL your H&B specific data.
But if you want to try, Quicken 2018 comes with BOTH the QW2018 AND the QM2018 software, so you could buy the H&B version, upgrade to QW2018, then convert to QM2018. This way you will have both data sets, at least for the length of your subscription.

If you decide to migrate your data, you do need to convert. Since your data is from QW2010 or newer, the mechanics are quite simple...copy data file over to Mac. Open data file with QM2018. The built-in conversion process will step you through but there are a few things you need to know; here is the entire process:
https://getsatisfaction.com/quickencommunity/topics/faq-converting-from-quicken-for-windows-includin...
In your case, you can skip steps 1 and 2 but review all the prep and background info before:
https://www.quicken.com/support/things-do-converting-your-data-quicken-mac-2016

NOTE: Be aware that at this time, it is very difficult to convert back from Mac to Windows, as there are many problems with the reverse conversion process.

I also suggest that you make sure that Quicken 2018 for Mac will meet your needs, since it was re-written from the ground up (first with Quicken Essentials in 2010, then again with QM2015 onward) and is not the same product as the Windows version, so there are some features that are still not there e.g. full loan amortization*, 2-line display, QuickMath, or are not as fully developed yet, e.g. Customized Reports, some investment performance reports and stats  (therefore some data may not carry over). You can start here:
http://www.quicken.com/mac/compare
https://www.quicken.com/whats-new-quicken
https://www.quicken.com/mac/upgrader-compare

*NOTE: Support for fixed rate loans has been released as of  QM2017 v4.5.x but there is no announced timing for support for variable rate or simple daily interest loans.

You may want to review the
List of Obstacles and Hindrances for Migrating from QM2007 or QWin to Quicken for Mac. Add your vote to any features that are missing for you. Your VOTES matter!

Be aware of data that will and will not carry forward: 
https://www.quicken.com/support/what-data-gets-carried-over
(A couple more things to note: historical currency rates are not migrated AND currency conversions of transactions are not migrated).

Then look at the updates since the original release here:
https://www.quicken.com/support/2018-release-quicken-mac-release-notes
You will also want to look at a more detailed comparison done by a SuperUser which also identifies nuances not mentioned elsewhere (and read on for comments from other users too on that same discussion thread): 
https://getsatisfaction.com/quickencommunity/topics/can-anyone-who-has-switched-from-2007-to-2015-he...
Take a look at the following videos to give you a better idea:
https://www.youtube.com/user/QuickenMac

Note that there are many differences that are rather subtle, that are not necessarily identifiable via documentation, for example, the 12-month budget feature does not allow including transfers, including investment income, selecting specific accounts,  or have rollover capability.

If you find that QM2018 does not meet your needs, as you already know, the alternative is to run Quicken for Windows in a virtual machine on your Mac. There are 5 popular products you can use: Parallels, VMWare Fusion, Oracle VirtualBox, Bootcamp or CrossOver. The first 4 require you to also buy a copy of Windows. The first 2 cost $50-80, the third and forth are free. CrossOver also costs about $50-$80 but does NOT require you to buy Windows.

If you plan to keep your PC & Mac, you could also run Quicken on the PC and use remote access (several free options, e.g. NoMachine and Teamviewer) to access Quicken from your Mac  (or even a tablet or phone) (see this great article for complete review of many options (most are free): http://machow2.com/rdp-for-mac/ ).

(If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)
 

jfruehe said:

Thank you for the detailed response.

What if I start up quicken for Mac and simply point it to my bank and investment company (both are Charles Schwab). Could I just import in all of the transactions? Do I need to see how far Schwab can go back on imports?

Charles Schwab is supported for QMac via Quicken Connect (aka Express Web Connect in QWin). That said, you will need to experiment to make sure the downloads behave the same way as QWin, as they may be different.

As for past transactions, more FIs/Banks limit that to the previous 90 days. Some may allow farther back, e.g. via QFX download, but that is the exception so YMMV. 

(If you find this reply helpful, please be sure to click "Like", so others will know, thanks.)