Quicken for Mac

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Level 1

9 points

Quicken for Mac

Hope this is the correct forum. I have a brand new mac mini using Snow Leopard. In the past I've always hired an accountant to do my tax return but I found Quicken 2005 in my apps. As my return will be fairly straightforward this year, I'd like to do it myself but have no experience with personal finance software.

Should I be content with the elderly Quicken 2005, or can someone recommend another (inexpensive) alternative?

Mac mini 1.42, Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Posted on Jan 27, 2010 9:40 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

babowa

Level 9

78,103 points

Jan 27, 2010 10:09 PM in response to jap0nica

I had various versions of Quicken and found most of them to be terribly buggy; when I updated to SL, my Qicken 2006 would barely work (if at all - sometimes crashed on launch, sometimes later), so I finally decided to get rid of it (I deleted it once and for all). Your 2005 version will most likely not be very compatible with SL. I read somewhere that it is supposed to work, but my 2006 was so bad that I doubt the 2005 would work properly.

And, you won't be able to do your 2009 taxes with the 2005 version - tax laws, deductibles, etc. change yearly. Why don't you try one of the free online tax preparation services offered by the IRS - their site explains it quite well.

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Answer 2

jap0nica Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 27, 2010 10:13 PM in response to babowa

Thanks for the information! I think I'll heed your advice and get rid of Quicken 2005. But I am a Canadian. Can anyone in Canada make any recommendations?

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Answer 3

Jan 27, 2010 10:17 PM in response to jap0nica

Hello j:

As another option, I have been using Turbotax (Intuit software) to prepare my tax returns for years. I have a well hidden degree in accounting and used to do my taxes manually. The program is very user friendly and walks you through the process, picks forms, does the arithmetic and so on and is much less expensive than a tax preparer. The on-line version and the downloaded versions both work well on Apple computers.

Barry

Edit: I saw your last post and I do not know what might be available for Canadian returns.

Message was edited by: Barry Hemphill

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Answer 4

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Jan 27, 2010 10:21 PM in response to jap0nica

Despite Barbara's protestations, Quicken isn't quirky . I've been running Quicken '07 for over three years and ran for over a year with Snow Leopard during its beta-test period, with no issues. However, that said, Quicken isn't a tax software program. For that the best, IMO, is TurboTax. Whether or not it's available for Canadians is another matter, but one I can't answer.

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Answer 5

babowa

Level 9

78,103 points

Jan 27, 2010 10:23 PM in response to jap0nica

Ahh, sorry about that, didn't know you were in Canada. Thanks for the star!

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Answer 6

babowa

Level 9

78,103 points

Jan 27, 2010 10:33 PM in response to baltwo

Well, my 2005 and 2006 versions certainly were "quirky" and as buggy as can be - don't know about the 2007 version. By that time, I was so frustrated with it that I was not going to spend another dime on it. And I had always thought it was too basic, so I created my own spreadsheet in the old Appleworks (now Numbers) - it cross-references/averages/adds/subtracts everything (income vs. expenses, monthly vs. year-to-date, etc) and gives me the information I want.

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Answer 7

Jan 27, 2010 10:33 PM in response to jap0nica

Hello j:

As a footnote, a Google search yielded this Wikipedia list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadiantax_preparation_software_for_personaluse

I do see that Intuit is listed and they do make the very fine package for US taxes - Turbotax.

Barry

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Answer 8

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Jan 27, 2010 11:06 PM in response to babowa

I had Quicken '04 before moving up to '07 and my quicken register goes back to '94, so during all of that time, I've not had any issues with Quicken. Maybe our needs are different. I don't do online banking or investing, so those don't come into play.

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Answer 9

babowa

Level 9

78,103 points

Jan 27, 2010 11:14 PM in response to baltwo

Glad to hear it works for you; for me, 2004 was the last version that didn't continually crash every time I made an entry. And you are probably right that our needs are different.

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Answer 10

Jan 28, 2010 6:35 AM in response to babowa

Hi Barbara Daniels1;

I am also have not had problem one with Quicken 2007. I have always wondered about the complaints of others because I never saw any of them on my MacBook Pro. My only complaint is that we have not gotten any of the enhancements promised by Intuit years ago. They seem to slip things off forever.

Allan

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Answer 11

babowa

Level 9

78,103 points

Jan 28, 2010 9:07 AM in response to Allan Eckert

So maybe I should have stuck with it and bought v. 2007 instead of giving up while 2006 was constantly crashing..... but, I have all the info I need now without it.

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Answer 12

nd4spd

Level 1

10 points

Feb 8, 2010 8:09 AM in response to jap0nica

I am a new convert to IBANK (www.iggsoftware.com). I have been running Quicken 2008 in Windows on my Mac. I have been waiting for Quickens new program as Quicken 2007 for the MAC is only half the program that it's Windows counterpart is. Intuit has chosen to string us along for over a year waiting for their new Quicken Financial Life program only to dumb it down ( http://quicken.intuit.com/personal-finance-software/mac-personal-financial-softw are.jsp) to Quicken Essentials for the MAC.

It is time to send them a message that they are going to lose money for their lack of comitment to us MAC users.

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