Honestly, either the marketing data is glossing over the online product's shortcomings simply because the developers haven't yet gotten it up to snuff, or someone at Intuit is totally missing the boat on the the opportunities that could be had with this product! From reading the marketing material, the online product seems to be positioned as suiting the needs of some target audience, for which this limited feature set is tailored.
I sincerely hope not! I, for one, would very quickly jump onto the online product and even pay a reasonable monthly or annual subscription fee if the online product contained all of the functionality of the desktop product. I actually use most of what's in the Deluxe version, and I tend to work from several different computers, but it isn't really desirable to install a copy on all of those and I'm not sure that I'm even licensed to do that anyway. At present I'm having to resort to one of those whenever I need to do home finances. A web-based product would be a great solution, and whenever I upgrade my computer or reinstall the OS, this would be one less product to reinstall, and one less application data to back up and restore and reconfigure to my liking.
In summary, I do have good reason to vastly prefer a web product over a locally installed product but the online version isn't even close to doing what I need -- no split transactions, no cash accounts (I'm an accountant, and this drives me nuts), no subcategories, no ability to transfer my Quicken Deluxe data into the web version, and on and on and on..... Here's a call from an end user for a full implementation of at least the Deluxe version as a web product, even if I need to pay a subscription for it. Hear me please, Intuit!
I would be happy to pay a reasonable fee for on online version of Quicken comparable in features to Quicken Deluxe or Premiere.
Like the original poster, Qaelith, I use too many computers. My wife and I want to access Quicken simultaneously, from different computers. (At least, I want to encourage her to access Quicken - at the moment she has an excuse not to; "It's not on my computer".) I want to access Quicken from different computers: my work computer (yes, occasionally I want to use Quicken at work - e.g. when I give Intel a free loan, i.e. am awaiting repaymnt of a large expense report), from any of my several personal computers, most importantly from my smart phone's web browser. Or from my parents' computers, if visiting relatives and travelling light.
As far as I know, it is not even POSSIBLE to keep several different copies of Quicken, on different PCs, in synch.
I've been using Quicken for more than 10 years. However, my usage has become spottier and spottier - it is simply too much hassle to have to reinstall Quicken whenever I upgrade my computer or reinstall the OS.
I want to use Quicken Onine for much the same reason that I have started to use Google Documents: it is too much hassle to be constantly reinstalling and repurchasing Microsoft Office. Quicken is in the same boat, as PC installed software. Except that I want more features in Quicken Online than I need in Google Documents. I use a higher percentage of Quicken features than I use Microsoft Office features.
How much am I willing to pay? Probably as much as I pay for the PC-installed "box" version of Quicken, Deluxe or Premiere. Annually, since I nearly always purchase in conjunction with Turbo Tax.
If Quicken doesn't deliver a full featured online product...
(1) I am shopping, right now, for someone who is offering a "good enough" online accounting package.
(2) if I can't find an online product, well, I have already started using Gnu Cash. Because it is free / open source, I can instal it on as many PCs as I like; and it dos have, admittedly very primtive, replication and synchrinization features.
Intuit: give me a full featured Quicken onlinbe, or lose me to Gnu Cash or somebody else.
By the way: my job ("ComputerArchitect" means that I design computers, not buildings) means that my employer prefers consumers to use PC-based products rather than online products.
But I am afraid that, personally, the online product model just is that much more compelling.
By the way^2, one of the reasons that I want an online, web-based, accounting system is that not all of my computers use Windows. I want to be able to access my accounts from Linux, or OpenBSD.
More importantlym I want to be able to access my accounting software from Android (Linux) on my cell phone, or from Windows Mobile on my other cell phone. Or from my as yet unpurchased iPhone. Not just using "Pocket Quicken", which is another crippled product.
Or from my daughters "One Laptop Per Child" XO PC, wich is often the only PC we carry with us on trips. That's Linux again. Or from the Linux based netbook that I just bought.
Windows is not the only OS platform in town. A full eatured version of Quicken Online is accessible from all plaforms with a web browser.
I can relate even further in several ways. Like you, I'm not always using Windows. Sometimes I'm using one distribution or another of Linux, and I've already felt the pain of getting Quicken working in Wine. Not doing that again. I also have contemplated a Mac in my future, but would still need to install on Windows and have no intention of buying one copy for each OS.
Also like you, I depend a great deal on my Smart Phone and would really like to get to my stuff from the phone. Why? Well, to look something up in my register, or even perhaps to record that oddball check (I write almost none, but still) or deposit that I make while I'm out and about and would rather not wait until I'm home to remember to do. Finally, like you, "it's not on my computer" is an excuse from the wife for not recording her ATM activity and leaving it for me to discover later.
I've thought about what price I'd be willing to pay, and I independently came to the same conclusion. I'd pay up to the same amount per year as I pay for the boxed copy. I don't care whether I pay the amount annually or have it broken down monthly. I do hope that if we ever get around to having what we're requesting, that someone doesn't get the brilliant idea of making it some seemingly small amount per month, which seems a small charge until you do the math and figure out that it adds up to quite a bit more per year than the boxed copy. Keeping it around or below that level would be in order.
I've used Gnucash in the past to save money and to get the cross-platform capability. If I had to go that route, it CAN do everything. I pay for Quicken because setting up an online banking relationship is sometimes difficult in Gnucash but certainly not impossible. Still to this day, I miss the cross-platform capability that a web-based product would guarantee no matter what OS or hardware platform I'm using, or where in the world I am.
I wholeheartedly agree! Even though I'm not an accountant or techie, I too want to see Quicken Deluxe's features in the online version. I was using the desktop product, but like the 2nd poster was finding it too unwieldy to use across several computers (two laptops, my office, etc.) with my husband.
I really can't understand why it's taking Quicken so long to realize that if they're targeting couples, BOTH PEOPLE NEED TO HAVE ACCESS! Limiting the desktop version to one computer (with no shared network access) is practically prehistoric. Online is the way to go, but it needs full functionality (i.e. splits, subcategories, cash accounts and investments) and I would happily pay for that.
BTW, my husband (who isn't that proficient on the computer), loves the new Quicken Online. I could barely get him to use the desktop version because it was too complicated for him. So I think you're on the road to a killer app, but it needs to be beefed up.
Use Quicken online and Quicken simultaneously to categorize expenses Jan 26, 2009 06:34 am
This post is about: Quicken Online
I love Quicken online for the purpose it serves, to easily create and maintain a budget. Now that I have carefully categorized all expenses I would like to have my data in my regular Quicken Premier categorized in the same way without retyping all of the data. How can I do that.
Just signed on and very disappointed - no manual input, no subcategories, no way to divy up onto tax forms, no split transactions, not really useable for small home business, barely recognizable with what I have with boxed Quicken - though data presentation is nicer.
I would also be willing to pay a fee for an on-line version of Quicken Desktop. I've been using Quicken Desktop for 10+ years. When I got married, however, and my wife an I merged our financial tracking, it was impossible for us to "share" in the management as all the information was on my computer.
This was such an issue that when Quicken Online came along, we switched to the Online version so we can both access and update our financial tracking.
However, I sorely miss even some of the very simple features of Quicken like:
- transfers between accounts (having to add two transactions in Quicken Online where I only had to add one in Quicken Desktop)
- more robust "quick fill" transactions
- basic categorized reports for tax and budgeting purposes
- more sophisticated "recurring transaction" features
I appears that you are starting to add some of these - like the "split" transactions, which was another thing I missed. Glad to have it now. I'm also a bit nervous about having my financial data in a place were I could technically loose it. Only current solution is to download and backup periodically. I'd like to see an "archive" feature that would dump a complete backup of all financial information in the system.
The Quicken Online ability for "shared" access and management of finances for multiple people from multiple locations is definitely a killer feature and was enough for me to drop the desktop product. I'd be willing to pay to see more of the Desktop features in the Online product, or a seamless integration of the Desktop and Online products.
Thanks for putting this product out there and I look forward to the new features.
I have been a MS Money user since 1995. This year's news about Microsoft's decision to discontinue Money sent me into a panic.
Intuit sent an "Open Letter to MS Money Customers" on 6/11/09 stating:
"Quicken has been the leader in personal finance software for more than 25 years and we’re so pleased to welcome Money customers into the Quicken family. If you’ve never tried Quicken before, we know you’ll enjoy the ease, depth and functionality of our desktop products."
Since Quicken claims to be "the leader", why are BASIC personal finance features such as forecasting cashflow in terms of up to 12 months of future income/expenses and flexibility to support two wage earner housholds with differing pay schedules missing from Quicken Online? Perhaps this is offered in the boxed retail product similar to MS Money - but seriously folks, such functionality is bread and butter to any personal finance app worth anything, free or otherwise.
For now, its comforting MS intends to make available an unsupported version of Money (minus billpay) in the future.
A work-around:Install "Go To My PC" (no plug intended) or one of the free programs of the same type on each computer from which access to Quicken Desktop is desired. Quicken Desktop would be installed on only one of the computers.
I've been using QO, MINT and Yodlee. All three have features that are good but I find that MINT has the best features at the current time. Compared to QO they have a better budgeting, reporting and are able to split transaction over a month all things that are important for me. The nice thing with Yodlee is that they also track you reward programs and more. Yodlee and Mint both allow you to track you net worth by adding asset and liability accounts. Assets like you home and car. They can pull the value of your home in from Zillow or Cyberhomes as well.
The great news for all of us is that since the acquisition of Mint by Intuit, the decision was announced a week or two ago that Mint is more or less the surviving product but that certain features from Quicken Online that didn't exist in Mint will be implemented, such as the extensive list of financial institutions. We'll still be a long way from having a web-based equivalent of the desktop product but at least we'll be a few features closer and we'll soon have one web product that has most of the features that were previously split between two web products. Progress, alas. As I said above, this application is exactly what one would find more useful on the web than in a desktop product, particularly those of us who happen to use more than one computer.
So we'll keep reminding those who can make this happen, keep prodding them along as best we can, and be on the lookout for progress toward that end. The "cloud" is happening, and hopefully it'll be useful things such as this at the forefront of it rather than the things that matter less and need a web presence less.
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