Quicken Deluxe vs Simplifi

jimwmccloud

I'm considering moving to Simplifi because I am interested in a web-based version. However, other than some generic information, I cannot find much detail about what Simplifi is and how it works. I've seen some Quicken users implement the trial and then cancel, so I don't really want to go through the process of implementing Simplifi, even on a trial basis.

Question - where can i find out more about the functions within Simplifi. Ideally someone has a side-by-side comparison of Simplifi vs. Quicken So far, it seems suspicious because of the lack of information,,,,,

Any clues?

Flopbot

@jimwmccloud

Welcome! I'm a former Quicken Desktop user and I'm SOOOO happy I made the switch. This probably isn't what your looking for, but this Quicken Desktop community post (click here) might lead you to the info you want. Also, this YouTube review is pretty decent (click here).

Also, in your evaluation of Simplifi, you might find these posts interesting. This one (click here) is a comparison of Quicken vs. Simplifi in which I laid out my thoughts on which audiences are ideal for each offering (Quicken vs. Simplifi) and this one (click here) is a discussion about total user bases.

There are a lot of Simplifi generated Help Articles (click here), but they might be more than you realy want at the moment.

DannyB

Hi @jimwmccloud

I used Quicken for many years and I suspect you will hear from other former or maybe even some who use both concurrently.

Here is a link to Simplifi's support page that will give you information about the various features of Simplifi.

My observations when compairing Quicken and Simplifi:

1. Simplifi works better for me then Quicken for what I want in a persnonal finanacial management app.
2. Simplifi, as the name indicates, presents a “simpler” way to do your monthly money management.
3. Simplifi is NOT designed to give you the in-depth view of your finances the way Quicken and it's peers attempt to provide, though Simplifi does provide the ability to keep track of the big picture, just not at the same level as Quicken. Because of this there is no way to really do a side-by-side comparison.
4. Through it's Spending Plan feature, Simplifi focuses on your month-to-month income and spending with the intent of showing you how much you have available to spend after all income, recurring monthly expenses, planned savings and what you designate for your flexible expenses are accounted for. Simplifi will also keep track of spending outsied of your spending plan in the Other Spending tab of the Spending Plan.
5. The Account List will show you all your connected and any manual accounts you set up. There is a register that shows all accounts and you will have a register for each individual account. BUT, and this is something that comes up for conversation, Simplfi does not offer a reconciliation process like Quicken does. Simplifi, instead, relies on the daily reported balance from your connected institutions.
6. Simplifi's reports are more limited than Quicken's and cannot give you the depth of reporting you are used to in Quickcen.
7. IMHO Simplifi's Spending Plan (i.e. budgeting modal) is by far superior to Quicken's budgeting modal and Simplfi, as you noted, is completly cloud based.
8. All-in-all, Simplifi is a different animal from Quicken and will require a different mindset form what you would expect in Quicken.

Hope that helps a little. Other's with much more anylitcal minds will certainly give you a better comparison.

Coach Natalie

Hello @jimwmccloud,

Welcome to the Simplifi Community!

It looks like @Flopbot and @DannyB have provided you with a lot of great information. I just wanted to share a particular Support Article we have that goes over the main differences between Simplifi and Quicken that you may find insightful.

http://help.simplifimoney.com/en/articles/6380989-what-s-the-difference-between-simplifi-and-quicken

Also, we have Support Article here that goes over Simplifi's Reports. 🙂

-Coach Natalie

jimwmccloud

Thanks for the quick response! After I posted the comment above, I did find some of the links you noted….. I guess I was looking for a simple chart like they do when comparing Quicken Starter to Quicken to Quicken Deluxe with high-level functions. This would at least give me an idea at a high-level how close they are…..I digress……

I found the YouTube tutorials most helpful as I was able to see the software in action. One last question - ‘reporting’ doesn't jump out at me anywhere…. I need to be able to create a report at year-end, by spending category for tax purposes. I assume they have this ability, but it would be helpful to know in advance.

Thanks again for your help!

Jim

Quicken user since the Mayflower landed…. :)

Flopbot

@jimwmccloud

I feel that Quicken Desktop would be a fine solution for someone with lots of accounts/investments, an accounting background, or lots and lots of time on their hands.  It might be a good fit for a retiree who has the time to fiddle around fixing things and tracking down problems - weekly - while setting at a desktops computer/laptop. Quicken has a super steep learning curve and it’s very easy to make a mistake that takes hours to track down and fix.  Quicken Desktop might be a good solution if you don’t mind, or even enjoy, database administration.

Being cloud-based, I really love the ease with which I can manage Simplifi. I interchangeably go from an iPad to an iPhone to a laptop and everything stays pretty well synced wherever I am. This part of Simplifi is my favorite!

Here's a start at a comparison list…

Bank Balance First Approach - Danny mentioned this in #5. Personally, I LOVE THIS! With Quicken Desktop, many times, I would put in four hours simply to find that I had accidentally deleted a $3.25 transaction somewhare along the lines - or worse yet, somehow changed it to $3.24! After switching to Simplifi, my time spent keeping a database happy has dropped precipitously!

Community - Simplifi's is better…duhh. For starters, we've got @DannyB and @Coach Natalie! 😉

Mobile App - Hands down, Simplifi is the winner. I loathed Quicken Desktop's app. With it's mobile-first approach, Simplifi's just syncs better. Maybe they've improved the Qucken Desktop app since I last used it, but the Simplifi App is far, far better.

Quicken Owned - They are both owned by the same company…NOT INTUIT. That fact right there is a huge improvement!

Investing - Quicken Desktop has a longer pedegree, but Simplifi pretty recently ago unveiled a new Investments module. I don't invest enought to really offer much input here.

Notifications - Seem to be more customizable and useful in Simplifi.

Reconciliation - Danny is correct that Simplifi doesn't offer this, HOWEVER I've found a way that works for me and is MUCH SIMPLER than Quicken Desktop. I just reconciled a CC account in under 1 minute!

Reports - Quicken Desktop reigns supreme. This is what exists right now which I'd assume is what you're looking for. Below the pie chart is a list of all the individual transactions. If you want to see a screenshot of any other of the reports, let me know. Note that you can download to CSV.

Savings Goals - Simplifi is a work in progress, but what they do have is much, MUCH nicer to work with IMHO. They are much less confusing and have a nicer overall interface. Two things of note is that you can't schedule Savings Goal transactions and there is no log of contributions/withdrawals, yet.

Simplicity - As the name implies, Simplifi! is the winner!

Transaction Entry - About the same. I, personally, think it's easier and faster in Simplifi solely because of a working app. With Quicken Desktop, I eventually gave up on taking pictures of receipts becuase it would always crash, not sync, or take so long that I'd fall asleep…literely.

jimwmccloud

Wow! Thank you both for taking the time to put these comments together!

I think I've reached a point where I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes… I just didn't want to invest a lot of time until I understood the software a little better.

Thanks again!