Unable to download transactions after update

Will not update my back accounts accurately, I don't have time to keep resetting accounts because they screw them up. I can do better using MS Excel than this software. My recomendation, don't buy Quicken, doesn't work.

Comments

  • mshiggins
    mshiggins SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2018
    Did you want help troubleshooting your transaction downloading issue?

    Quicken user since Q1999. Currently using QW2017.
    Questions? Check out the Quicken Windows FAQ list

  • NotACPA
    NotACPA SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2018
    And, since you selected the "Before you buy" category ... where's your problem?  You've stated, by that selection, that you haven't bought the product yet.

    Would you care to describe your actual problems ... so that someone might be able to assist?

    Q user since February, 1990. DOS Version 4
    Now running Quicken Windows Subscription, Business & Personal
    Retired "Certified Information Systems Auditor" & Bank Audit VP

  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited September 2018

    And, since you selected the "Before you buy" category ... where's your problem?  You've stated, by that selection, that you haven't bought the product yet.

    Would you care to describe your actual problems ... so that someone might be able to assist?

    I would suggest that he picked that category because he is warning people that "before they buy" not to.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited October 2018
    When I saw this posted I was going to add my sarcastic answer to this question and then decided not to, but I think I might put it in anyways.

    But let me start and say one thing.  If you read the marketing on Quicken you would get the impression that you install the program, follow a couple of prompts and in a few minutes you are all setup and the world is rosy.  Well that is just marketing hype.

    The problem suggested here is a "core problem" with the financial institution, with a bandaid approach.  Because the financial institutions refuse to standardize on downloading of transactions Quicken is forced to use "Express Web Connect" which is error prone, because there is no standard and the financial institutions can change things that break it all the time.

    If you select the few financial institutions that support the only standard in the US (OFX/Direct Connect) you will fair much better, but at the cost of being able to pick the financial institution that serves your purposes in other ways.

    Note that the EU has mandated that their financial institutions have to provide one of two standardized methods for downloading transactions.  But in the US of course we wouldn't want to "handicap" our financial institutions like that.

    And then after this kind of problem there are of course all the other bugs in Quicken, as so that leads me my sarcastic answer.

    The problem is that most people think that they are paying for a person finance software program to make their finances easier.

    But in reality it seems to me that in fact Quicken is psychological program to find the best problem solvers in the world.

    To be a really good problem solver you have to be intelligent and very persistent, and willing to try many different ways to get something done because the straightforward/obvious ones don't work.

    It is like the gamers that try all kinds of key combinations and paths into a room or such until they find one that "surprise" works!
  • Ps56k2
    Ps56k2 SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2018
    Well.... too bad he is so mad that he can't share the details of his "back accounts" -

    I know how frustrating it is to have a Bank Account or Credit Card that won't download properly, and you have to jump thru hoops with a small hammer, trying to get things to sync up again.

    It's always amazing to have everything working... and then someone somewhere changes a little widget in the complex stream, and the entire process falls apart. 

    QWin - R54.16 - Win10

  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited September 2018
    ps56k said:

    Well.... too bad he is so mad that he can't share the details of his "back accounts" -

    I know how frustrating it is to have a Bank Account or Credit Card that won't download properly, and you have to jump thru hoops with a small hammer, trying to get things to sync up again.

    It's always amazing to have everything working... and then someone somewhere changes a little widget in the complex stream, and the entire process falls apart. 

    It's always amazing to have everything working
    .
    As a long time software developer and general computer expert, I'm always amazed at the fact that any of this works, given the complexity of what I see in these systems.

    People are amazed at the construction of the great pyramids, but give little thought to the complexity of the computer/phone/tabel (both hardware and software) that use everyday.

    (Sorry purposely took your statement out of context.  :-)  )
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited October 2018
    Yes, I'll waste more time to share the details. I purchased the rental business software. Worked fine for a few months, then Quicken sent updates and all of a sudden it won't update my business accounts, and has me re install them. I have done that six times now, I have a business to run. 
    When you call customer support you get the same old crap, uninstall the problem accounts and then install them again, then the balances don't match my back statements. Not only that you get someone that can barely speak English.  
    Like I said, I have a business to run, if I pay for something I expect it to work, this software doesn't work since they updated it, so don't blame the banks, that is just passing the buck since you can't fix the [removed] thing. 
    If the quality of my work was the same as Quicken I would be out of business in short order. So you can come up with all the smart [removed] comments you want, and they don't mean [removed]. 
    I just want my money back.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited October 2018
    So how much is Quicken paying you boys to insult frustrated customers, or do you work for them. 
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited September 2018
    QPW said:

    When I saw this posted I was going to add my sarcastic answer to this question and then decided not to, but I think I might put it in anyways.

    But let me start and say one thing.  If you read the marketing on Quicken you would get the impression that you install the program, follow a couple of prompts and in a few minutes you are all setup and the world is rosy.  Well that is just marketing hype.

    The problem suggested here is a "core problem" with the financial institution, with a bandaid approach.  Because the financial institutions refuse to standardize on downloading of transactions Quicken is forced to use "Express Web Connect" which is error prone, because there is no standard and the financial institutions can change things that break it all the time.

    If you select the few financial institutions that support the only standard in the US (OFX/Direct Connect) you will fair much better, but at the cost of being able to pick the financial institution that serves your purposes in other ways.

    Note that the EU has mandated that their financial institutions have to provide one of two standardized methods for downloading transactions.  But in the US of course we wouldn't want to "handicap" our financial institutions like that.

    And then after this kind of problem there are of course all the other bugs in Quicken, as so that leads me my sarcastic answer.

    The problem is that most people think that they are paying for a person finance software program to make their finances easier.

    But in reality it seems to me that in fact Quicken is psychological program to find the best problem solvers in the world.

    To be a really good problem solver you have to be intelligent and very persistent, and willing to try many different ways to get something done because the straightforward/obvious ones don't work.

    It is like the gamers that try all kinds of key combinations and paths into a room or such until they find one that "surprise" works!

    Listen Chris, if this was a game program that was suppose to challenge the players decision making and problem solving skills that would be one thing. The is a program that is suppose to help manage personal and business finances and that is just a little more critical than some game program. I began working with computers when RPG was the preferred business language and FORTRAN was the number crunching software. That was probably long before you were in diapers. I'm no expert, but I do know when something doesn't work, and this [expletive] don't work.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited September 2018
    QPW said:

    When I saw this posted I was going to add my sarcastic answer to this question and then decided not to, but I think I might put it in anyways.

    But let me start and say one thing.  If you read the marketing on Quicken you would get the impression that you install the program, follow a couple of prompts and in a few minutes you are all setup and the world is rosy.  Well that is just marketing hype.

    The problem suggested here is a "core problem" with the financial institution, with a bandaid approach.  Because the financial institutions refuse to standardize on downloading of transactions Quicken is forced to use "Express Web Connect" which is error prone, because there is no standard and the financial institutions can change things that break it all the time.

    If you select the few financial institutions that support the only standard in the US (OFX/Direct Connect) you will fair much better, but at the cost of being able to pick the financial institution that serves your purposes in other ways.

    Note that the EU has mandated that their financial institutions have to provide one of two standardized methods for downloading transactions.  But in the US of course we wouldn't want to "handicap" our financial institutions like that.

    And then after this kind of problem there are of course all the other bugs in Quicken, as so that leads me my sarcastic answer.

    The problem is that most people think that they are paying for a person finance software program to make their finances easier.

    But in reality it seems to me that in fact Quicken is psychological program to find the best problem solvers in the world.

    To be a really good problem solver you have to be intelligent and very persistent, and willing to try many different ways to get something done because the straightforward/obvious ones don't work.

    It is like the gamers that try all kinds of key combinations and paths into a room or such until they find one that "surprise" works!

    @Richard Perry did you read the part where I said it was a sarcastic answer?

    I guess you didn't get the fact that I was in fact insulting Quicken, not you.

    BTW my first languages where Basic and FORTRAN in 1976 at the age of 19.
  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited September 2018

    Yes, I'll waste more time to share the details. I purchased the rental business software. Worked fine for a few months, then Quicken sent updates and all of a sudden it won't update my business accounts, and has me re install them. I have done that six times now, I have a business to run. 
    When you call customer support you get the same old crap, uninstall the problem accounts and then install them again, then the balances don't match my back statements. Not only that you get someone that can barely speak English.  
    Like I said, I have a business to run, if I pay for something I expect it to work, this software doesn't work since they updated it, so don't blame the banks, that is just passing the buck since you can't fix the [removed] thing. 
    If the quality of my work was the same as Quicken I would be out of business in short order. So you can come up with all the smart [removed] comments you want, and they don't mean [removed]. 
    I just want my money back.

    I will put the blame where it belongs, not where you want it to be.  The financial institutions not standardizing is one of the MAJOR problems.

    What's more you have even taken the time to find out who is who on here.  Everyone posting on this thread is just another user.  So "you can't fix" is directed to the wrong people.

    As for the refund here are the terms for that:
    https://www.quicken.com/support/Terms-and-Conditions-For-Exchanging-Returning-or-Refunding-Quicken-Products
  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited September 2018

    Yes, I'll waste more time to share the details. I purchased the rental business software. Worked fine for a few months, then Quicken sent updates and all of a sudden it won't update my business accounts, and has me re install them. I have done that six times now, I have a business to run. 
    When you call customer support you get the same old crap, uninstall the problem accounts and then install them again, then the balances don't match my back statements. Not only that you get someone that can barely speak English.  
    Like I said, I have a business to run, if I pay for something I expect it to work, this software doesn't work since they updated it, so don't blame the banks, that is just passing the buck since you can't fix the [removed] thing. 
    If the quality of my work was the same as Quicken I would be out of business in short order. So you can come up with all the smart [removed] comments you want, and they don't mean [removed]. 
    I just want my money back.

    If that's what you're interested in, you hadn't said so anywhere above. Of course, no one in this forum can help with that, but you could try with Quicken phone support. Quicken only offers refunds within 30 days of purchase, but based on the problems you've experienced, it might be worth a try to ask them to make an exception and refund your purchase price since you (and their Support) have been unable to get it working since the last update you installed. I don't know if they make such exceptions, but you've got a better shot going to Support than posting about it here. 
    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • mshiggins
    mshiggins SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2018
    QPW said:

    When I saw this posted I was going to add my sarcastic answer to this question and then decided not to, but I think I might put it in anyways.

    But let me start and say one thing.  If you read the marketing on Quicken you would get the impression that you install the program, follow a couple of prompts and in a few minutes you are all setup and the world is rosy.  Well that is just marketing hype.

    The problem suggested here is a "core problem" with the financial institution, with a bandaid approach.  Because the financial institutions refuse to standardize on downloading of transactions Quicken is forced to use "Express Web Connect" which is error prone, because there is no standard and the financial institutions can change things that break it all the time.

    If you select the few financial institutions that support the only standard in the US (OFX/Direct Connect) you will fair much better, but at the cost of being able to pick the financial institution that serves your purposes in other ways.

    Note that the EU has mandated that their financial institutions have to provide one of two standardized methods for downloading transactions.  But in the US of course we wouldn't want to "handicap" our financial institutions like that.

    And then after this kind of problem there are of course all the other bugs in Quicken, as so that leads me my sarcastic answer.

    The problem is that most people think that they are paying for a person finance software program to make their finances easier.

    But in reality it seems to me that in fact Quicken is psychological program to find the best problem solvers in the world.

    To be a really good problem solver you have to be intelligent and very persistent, and willing to try many different ways to get something done because the straightforward/obvious ones don't work.

    It is like the gamers that try all kinds of key combinations and paths into a room or such until they find one that "surprise" works!

    "But in reality it seems to me that in fact Quicken is psychological program to find the best problem solvers in the world."


    I think you are onto something.

    Quicken user since Q1999. Currently using QW2017.
    Questions? Check out the Quicken Windows FAQ list

  • mshiggins
    mshiggins SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2018

    So how much is Quicken paying you boys to insult frustrated customers, or do you work for them. 

    No they don't pay us


    Some of us are not boys.


    The only insults I see in this discussion have come from you.

    Quicken user since Q1999. Currently using QW2017.
    Questions? Check out the Quicken Windows FAQ list

  • jacobs
    jacobs SuperUser, Mac Beta Beta
    edited September 2018

    So how much is Quicken paying you boys to insult frustrated customers, or do you work for them. 

    The people who have posted above most definitely don't work for Quicken. (Look up some of their other posts, and you'll clearly see their criticisms of Quicken at times.) They're also people who use Quicken and have it work for them, as it works well for many thousands of people. They (and I) spend time here trying to help fellow users with their Quicken problems.

    You came here stating matter-of-factly that the software doesn't work, not seeking help with the problems you've experienced, so that sometimes engenders snarky replies. I think you've made your point about dissatisfaction with Quicken, and since you say you're done with Quicken, I suggest letting the comments speak for themselves and move on.
    Quicken Mac Subscription • Quicken user since 1993
  • Ps56k2
    Ps56k2 SuperUser ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2018

    So how much is Quicken paying you boys to insult frustrated customers, or do you work for them. 

    With respect to the Quicken discussion - I see a couple of problem areas.

    1 - Things break with respect to downloading transactions when somewhere in the logistics chain, something is changed that impacts the handling of data outside of the local company, with other partners, or systems involved in the complete chain.  A lot of times, the folks making the change are totally unaware that somewhere, someone is depending upon that data connection and data format being static.  When they don't take that into account, and make just a small tweak - things break, and it takes time to find the broken component and fix it. 

    2 - Things break with respect to Quicken itself when the culture does not perform proper software testing and careful regression checking to make sure any current changes don't impact the software.  This is more of a current point-click-save culture where the younger programming staffs have no idea of the impact of making tiny changes to their software modules.... and these internal problems with Quicken will continue until the culture is changed.  There is no excuse for having THREE releases after Q2018 R9.34 - that all had problems and had to be rolled back or fixed - until R12.15 was finally available. 

    3 - This is a User Community board, where we all share in the discussion.  However, it was not really obvious there were MAJOR problems with the Quicken software releases, since the problem notices from Quicken staff were not placed at the top of the page....  You are totally rolling back a release patch, and yet don't have that fact at the top of the forum page ?  Again, a cultural thing, not viewing the world from the customer point of view.

    4 - Its all about the culture.  Look around at other companies that have experienced customer issues... restaurants, coffee spots, airlines, car mfgs, etc -
    How many of them rolled out THREE "solutions" for some failed element, and just kept hammering away until they got it right - none - it was ONE shot - done.

    5 - Lastly - Quicken needs to recognize that people use their software to manage their financial worlds - be it personal or small business.  It is no different than any other tool that we use or depend upon.  You can't keep making "window dressing" changes that break the actual functionality of the software.  It all comes back to the culture... 
    as the medical community has their motto....   DO NO HARM

    ... and yeah, I'm familar with all these concepts having built and supported international telecom networks and large mainframe complexes - back in the day.

    QWin - R54.16 - Win10

  • Unknown
    Unknown Member
    edited September 2018

    So how much is Quicken paying you boys to insult frustrated customers, or do you work for them. 

    ps56k, I think you have a pretty good summary of the main problems, and I'm going to add a bit to the "culture" problem.

    Just before Quicken was sold off in one of the threads there was a post by one of the moderators that proudly claimed "We are agile".

    For people that aren't in the software business I will tell you that this is "work process" that was made popular starting maybe 15 or so years ago, and remains a popular process.  The idea appeals especially to big/old companies because they want to be "agile" like their small competitors.

    But in truth it is nothing more than developing software development process that can put out releases faster.  And you certainly can see this in the "monthly" or even faster releases coming out of Quicken Inc.

    The problem is that unless you start with a culture that knows how to produce solid software, you simply produce buggy software faster.  And in fact you probably add more bugs to that process.

    And that is really how I would sum up Quicken development right now.
    Note some of this might be due to the fact that they might have a high turnover of software developers (and getting inexperienced ones).

    I see a lot of people very dedicated to improving Quicken and listening to the customers, but this has been a mixed bag of results.

    Bugs that were left for years and years by Intuit are getting fixed.
    Crippling bugs (data corruption/crashing) are being introduced.

    Edit:
    Core "behaviors" of Quicken changed by mistake.
This discussion has been closed.