Potential new user questions

Helen Bacque

I moved all of my investments to Vanguard some time ago. I have a brokerage account and a SEP-IRA account. Prior to my retirement, I didn't do much with these funds, so I didn't feel the need for a separate tracking software other than what is built into Vanguard itself. Now that I am retired, I need to start taking the required minimum distributions (RMDs). I also want to increase my charitable contributions And my donations to the 529s for the grandkids. Some of the charitable contributions will be qualified charitable donations (QCDs) and some will be stock transfers.

Which version of Quicken is best suited for my needs?

DannyB

@Helen Bacque

This is my personal take and is not a recommendation one way or another.

Q Classic offers a more traditional and robust accounting platform that includes a budgeting feature.

Q Simplifi offers a unique take on monthly planning and tracking with a more streamlined personal finance management process that is to me much less cumbersome than many other personal finance apps.

Personally, I have found that keeping track of investment accounts in either product (Quicken Classic or Quicken Simplifi) to NOT be worth the effort. My personal finance/investment advisor's website is far more capable of taking care of all things related to my retirement and investment accounts and I don't really need the nitty gritty details of an active investment account in my personal day-to-day money dance. I do take a monthly draw from my retirement accounts but that set up in QS as recurring monthly income that arrives in my bank account just like my paychecks used to and just like my pension and SSA payments.

Helen Bacque

I do want a tool that I can use to keep track of my investments. I also want to see which investments have done better over a period of time and how much I've donated to various charities.

And I just discovered that Vanguard has an option to download a complete history of all transactions on my account. It says that it can download it either as the CSV file that could be read by Excel Or a QFX file that can be upload it into Quicken. Can anyone tell me if they've tried this and if so, using which version of quicken and how well did it work?

Coach Jon

Hello @Helen Bacque,

Thanks for your inquiry! Quicken Simplifi, as a program, can only accept CSV files if you are looking to import directly into the program. https://support.simplifi.quicken.com/en/articles/4413430-how-to-manually-import-transactions#h_a40057a0e7

Quicken Classic can accept QFX files as well from bank websites, as you mentioned. Either way works, but I would say it comes down to personal preference on which program you would like more. Quicken Classic will have more features since it has been around for much longer, while Quicken Simplifi offers a more streamlined experience.

-Coach Jon

Helen Bacque

Which version is the best at tracking investments?

Coach Jon

Hello @Helen Bacque,

Thanks for the quick reply! Quicken Classic will have the more advanced investment tracking features between the two programs.

-Coach Jon

Helen Bacque

I'm not asking about just these two versions. I want to know which of all of the versions is the best had investment tracking.

Coach Jon

Hello @Helen Bacque,

If you are speaking about the different versions of Quicken Classic, we can only speak for how Quicken Simplifi works itself, and provide a basis for what Quicken Classic does as a whole. If you need more information on the specific plans for Quicken Classic, I would suggest checking out the Plans & Pricing page for Quicken Classic and visiting their community: https://community.quicken.com/

As for tracking Investments in Quicken Simplifi, we do have a great support article here that you can look through to get a better idea of how this works in Quicken Simplifi: https://support.simplifi.quicken.com/en/articles/4474538-tracking-investments-in-quicken-simplifi

-Coach Jon

SRC54

@Helen Bacque

As a user of both Quicken Classic and Simplifi, I tell you truthfully that if you want (or need) to track investments in depth, Classic is the way to go.

Quicken Classic Deluxe does a fine job (for me), and there is also Quicken Classic Premier that is geared even more to investments although it was more than I needed:

https://www.quicken.com/products/classic-premier/

I suggest you go over to the Quicken Classic forum to see what they think: https://community.quicken.com

If you decide that all you need to do is check on the bottom line of your investments and see your portfolio, you can do that fine in Simplifi, but its investment tools are MINIMAL.

Hope this helps.