Intuit says work begun on new Mac Quicken, QuickBooks

[AppleInsider]

Intuit, which launched QuickBooks 2008 for Windows PCs this week, said a new version for Apple's Mac platform is currently under development with a released planned for sometime next year. Meanwhile, future development of Quicken on the Mac is also reportedly underway.

The software developer last issued a new Mac version of QuickBooks, one of the nation's more popular small business accounting programs, in October of 2006. Titled QuickBooks Pro 2007, the release consisted of a Universal binary developed to work efficiently on both Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs. It's presumed that any future offering would be of the same breed.

"QuickBooks is currently focused on developing the next generation Mac platform and plans to deliver a new QuickBooks Mac offering in 2008," the company said in a statement provided to AppleInsider. "This decision will result in an offering designed to delight and meet the evolving needs of our new and existing Mac customers."

In the meantime, the finance software maker said Apple customers can continue to use their current version of QuickBooks Pro, which it plans to fully support under its standard policy.

In speaking to AppleInsider a representative for Intuit added the company remains "committed to delivering the Mac community the best business and personal finance solutions in the market," and that "more details will be shared" closer to their release.

In an similar statement provided last month, the Mountain View, Calif.-based firm said it was also planning for 2008 Quicken offerings for both Macs and PCs and was "investigating the best possible ways to serve the entire Quicken community."

"With anticipation of the launch of the new Mac OS X (Leopard) and Intuit’s ongoing focus on delivering customer driven innovation, more information around future Mac [Quicken] offerings will be shared at a later time," the statement said. "In the mean time, we wanted to make sure that you were aware of Quicken Online -- scheduled to arrive in 2008. This new offering is platform agnostic and will allow users to manage their finances via any web browser."

Citing a company-wide policy of not making forward looking statements about its products, Intuit declined requests to provide any additional details.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

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[Gilles99]

Hello,

what is very unfortunate is that the actual 2007 Quicken for Mac is not working well;
Downloading stocks quotes has been an issue since June 18th and was never ever resolved
in particular for Canadian Stocks Quotes

just look at the Quicken forums; you will see these treads in priority at the top, no fix yet and we are nearly in October;
even forum users have let it go, posting no new messages

so I suppose evryone is looking elsewhere !

Quicken need to fix Quicken 2007 (and prior versions for quotes download) prior to even thinking of the 2008 version

[digitalclips]

Originally Posted by Gilles99

Hello,

what is very unfortunate is that the actual 2007 Quicken for Mac is not working well;
Downloading stocks quotes has been an issue since June 18th and was never ever resolved
in particular for Canadian Stocks Quotes

just look at the Quicken forums; you will see these treads in priority at the top, no fix yet and we are nearly in October;
even forum users have let it go, posting no new messages

so I suppose evryone is looking elsewhere !

Quicken need to fix Quicken 2007 (and prior versions for quotes download) prior to even thinking of the 2008 version

Agreed. At least the huge increase in Mac sales is making companies like this wake up to Mac development!

[filburt]

As a loyal (used just about every Quicken for Mac version since 2001) but dissatisfied Quicken user, that's good to hear. I hope the new version will get much need UI update and Universal Binary.

As for Quicken Online, no thanks. I want all my financial information on my desktop.

[rtx]

Will they actually give the mac Quickbooks the same networking/sharing features as the Windows version?

I manage an all-mac office, and when we upgraded Quickbooks some years ago my reasearch told me the mac Quickbooks was buggy and unstable. I purchased a PC just to be able to run it, and finance has been happy. Now of course we have a Parallels option, but still.

Intuit, can you please deliver us a mac version of Quickbooks that has feature partiy with the windows one? Plus a UI and performance that we can be happy with, and you can be proud of?

[GQB]

IPhone/Touch Version!!!!
Maybe not soup-to-nuts accounting, but daily financial notebook that could sync back to the mothership.

Particularly if the iPhone as purchasing tool takes off the way I think it ultimately will.

[pt123]

I would be happy just to get an Intel version of Quicken without any new features.

[mdriftmeyer]

Big deal. This is an opportunity for a third party to support Quickens formats and to take their market from them.

[pdoisy]

... on my PC not on my Mac.
Quicken on Mac is really really under featured: stock quotes, multi-currency accounts, ... even though I like the interface better.
Hey Intuit, please look at your forums if you really want to "investigate the best possible ways to serve the entire Quicken community."

[grpaul349]

One of the few reasons I use bootcamp is for Quicken Windows. The version for the Mac is just utter crap, especially compared to the Windows version. How hard can it be to make them functionally equivalent?

[dbarrett]

Until QuickBooks users become capable of accessing their merchant accounts using the Mac version it will continue to be a complete waste of time. Pro users who need to send invoices with a Pay Online feature, and to be able to process credit cards, have to use the Windows version which is insanity. FWIW I'm sure our friends in Redmond are all too well aware that as soon as Intuit releases a Mac version that can do what the PC version can do they'll lose a LOT of business.

[the cool gut]

I wish they stop screwing around and just make it feature parity with the P.C. version. We don't frigin need "mac styling" or "special mac features" Jesus.

[IHateRegistering]

After using Quicken for 4 years (on Mac and then PC), I came up with a MUCH better solution.

I keep an Excel file of all my finances. It's basically the same thing as Quicken: a checkbook register. I have tabs for long-range planning, budget, goals, etc.

I keep it on a small USB keychain flashdrive, along with a Word document containing all my passwords for every website and account I have.

This way they are with me always, and can be used on almost any computer I find myself at.

And I never forget them because I won't be driving anywhere (keychain) without them!

Quicken has always sucked, and I doubt this is gonna change.

[McDavies]

Competition
Personal Finance is the huge industry and yet for software there is no competition. Not on Windows platform and not on OS X. I don’t understanding. MYOB, Oracle, Microsoft, Apple, H&R Block. All these companies and more could produce competing software and win in this Markey. But know one wants to compete. It sector is almost as bad as task management software. Intuit is a cash cow. On windows, Microsoft allow Inuit to do so they too can charge 60, 70, 80 bucs a year as well. We need a third leg. For businesses other than the Arts, accounting software is the point of a computer (to an extent).
Yahoo and Google could enter the market as well. There investment pages are the beginning but then just don’t go anywhere as fare as automatically tracking transactions. Morningstar and Standard and Poor’s, banks and other investment companies all have an interest. And yet, nothing.
I need a programmer. If you have the skills, I have some ideas.

[scotty321]

Intuit is probably the WORST Mac-centric company on the entire planet, next to EMC who hasn't updated their shoddy bug-ridden Retrospect in almost 5 years. Instead of adding bogus features that nobody uses, why doesn't Intuit finally give us feature parity between Quicken for Windows & Quicken for Mac... and multi-user capability in QuickBooks? It's not like users haven't been clamoring about this for DECADES NOW.

[stinhambo]

I hope Intuit Australia wake up and offer a Mac version of Quickbooks.

[aplnub]

quick books pro needs networking seats instead of running off one computer. When this happens, my financial staff will totally run on macs.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by IHateRegistering

After using Quicken for 4 years (on Mac and then PC), I came up with a MUCH better solution.

I keep an Excel file of all my finances. It's basically the same thing as Quicken: a checkbook register. I have tabs for long-range planning, budget, goals, etc.

I keep it on a small USB keychain flashdrive, along with a Word document containing all my passwords for every website and account I have.

This way they are with me always, and can be used on almost any computer I find myself at.

And I never forget them because I won't be driving anywhere (keychain) without them!

Quicken has always sucked, and I doubt this is gonna change.

Do you have some sort of security mechanism for that? If someone steals your keys, do they also have access to your livelihood too?

Using a spreadsheet is probably not a bad way to go if you just keep track of things and don't need to do payroll. The accounting world just seems to require indoctrination because I just don't understand how this software kind of works, at least, it's just not my thing.

[aaarrrgggh]

Anybody use GNUCash in OSX as a Quick Books replacement? Fed up with all the problems QB causes. Going to test for a few months to see if we can switch over by FY08...

[DJ Rizzo]

It would be nice if they offered Mac users the same line-up of software Windows users get. As a part-time independent contractor I've used the Windows only "Quicken Home & Business" for years now. It's perfect for me - except it is not available for Mac (and I don't have an Intel one yet). It's one of only 2 reasons I still keep my Windows desktop.

[jbh0001]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

"In the mean time, we wanted to make sure that you were aware of Quicken Online -- scheduled to arrive in 2008. This new offering is platform agnostic and will allow users to manage their finances via any web browser."

Why start pushing a web-based application in favor of your cash cow? I wonder what the "gotcha" is. It's probably a subscription fee. Keep track of your finances on our website for $19.95/month. Can't pay? No problem (for us), we'll just delete all that data and move on unless you keep up with the friendship dues.

All your data are belong to us.

[Porchland]

Originally Posted by jbh0001

Why start pushing a web-based application in favor of your cash cow? I wonder what the "gotcha" is. It's probably a subscription fee. Keep track of your finances on our website for $19.95/month. Can't pay? No problem (for us), we'll just delete all that data and move on unless you keep up with the friendship dues.

All your data are belong to us.

A web-based app would be better, but bankofamerica.com has a nearly perfect web-based finance app already. It already aggregates my other accounts and analyzes spending by category. If bankofamerica.com allowed me to adjust pending transactions (restaurant tips always come up wrong) and add pending checks, I would stop using Quicken all together.

As the banks' web sites get better, Quicken will have a hard time getting people to pay for what they already get for free.

[aegisdesign]

If you want a decent replacement for QuickBooks and for that matter MYOB which still hasn't got a Universal Binary out, take a look at MoneyWorks by Cognito...

http://cognito.co.nz/

[tundraboy]

Quicken for the Mac is the most frustrating, disappointing, crap-ridden piece of Mac software from a major software company I've ever seen. It's the only thing that prevents me from declaring my switch to Mac as an unqualified improvement. I've tried two versions already and I still keep going back to Quicken Windows on VPC.

Until Intuit builds a Mac version that has completely identical capabilities as the Windows version, AND can read Quicken Windows files with no need for any conversion at all, I will continue to avoid Quicken for Mac like the plague

[DJ Rizzo]

Originally Posted by aegisdesign

If you want a decent replacement for QuickBooks and for that matter MYOB which still hasn't got a Universal Binary out, take a look at MoneyWorks by Cognito...

http://cognito.co.nz/

MYOB is a nice app but if you need a CPA to audit your files it's very difficult to find someplace that can read MYOB data files, let alone navigate it.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by DJ Rizzo

MYOB is a nice app but if you need a CPA to audit your files it's very difficult to find someplace that can read MYOB data files, let alone navigate it.

They've been advertising on the MacWorld podcast that a Windows version of the software is included for your accountant.

[aegisdesign]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

They've been advertising on the MacWorld podcast that a Windows version of the software is included for your accountant.

Both MYOB and MoneyWorks are cross platform and you can even operate both on the same network using the same data files. Both come with a free second copy for your accountant.

IME MYOB is too slow to use in a networked environment whereas I've a client using MoneyWorks with 5 users, an Applescript SOAP server and 2 users working remotely over broadband - something we found impossible with MYOB. MoneyWorks kicks MYOB's arse.

Quicken/QuickBooks are toys by comparison.

[Krone]

I have been using Quicken in Canada on a Mac since 1994 and I have a love-hate relationship with the program.
Curiously, what I have noticed about the other respondents to this article is that a lot of them (such as I) have only posted 2 or 3 times - but this article seemed to hit a chord with us so we just had to add our 2 cents worth (pun intended)...

Anyway, as a long-time (14 years) Quicken user I have had to put up with a lot of crap from this company over the years but I can honestly say that it's been a definite help with completing my personal and small business finances. There might be other programs out there but Quicken is pretty straightforward and quite easy to use. I have tried it on a real PC (back in the days when the Mac was "dying") and emulated PC in '98 or so but I have always come back to the Mac version. Even so, I have been begging Intuit for years for some of those PC-only features in my Mac version.

I hope Intuit reads these posts because I want them to know one thing is certain... if Quicken for Mac doesn't include "multi-currency accounts" in this next version then this long-time user is DEFINITELY OUTTA HERE!

[BWhaler]

A little bird told me that "important" folks have been angry about the Intuit lack of support over the years, but given the Board relationships, things have been muted.

This has changed.

Why?

1. The big guy hates being held hostage by third parties, an issue very much on his mind given the short term and strategic threat in the music division. Yes, not a good time to be messing around by delivering late bits with a feature set which has trailed the Windows version for about a decade.

2. Also, people in power understand that one of the core things a family does with a personal computer is manage family finances. The last few versions of Quicken have been viewed as insults against the gentlemen's agreement a few years back.

So what's the deal:

Watch for an Apple+Google solution. Not soon. But coming.

And Intuit won't see it coming until it plows them over. They think they will hear about new threats from the financial institutions. Not this time, because it's a game changer.

...or maybe I am just making this all up for giggles. :-) Either way, don't sue me. :-)

[stompy]

Originally Posted by tundraboy

Quicken for the Mac is the most frustrating, disappointing, crap-ridden piece of Mac software from a major software company I've ever seen. It's the only thing that prevents me from declaring my switch to Mac as an unqualified improvement. I've tried two versions already and I still keep going back to Quicken Windows on VPC.

Until Intuit builds a Mac version that has completely identical capabilities as the Windows version, AND can read Quicken Windows files with no need for any conversion at all, I will continue to avoid Quicken for Mac like the plague

When I talk to potential switchers, the state of Quicken Mac is an embarrassment.

After reading the 3 quotes from Intuit reps specifically about Quciken, I am not hopeful.

"committed to delivering the Mac community the best business and personal finance solutions in the market"

Uh, ok. You mean just like you've always been? Is this quote from someone in Intuit PR or in Intuit marketing?

"With anticipation of the launch of the new Mac OS X (Leopard) and Intuit’s ongoing focus on delivering customer driven innovation, more information around future Mac [Quicken] offerings will be shared at a later time,"

Translation: "We're still trying to get Quicken stable on leopard. Once we get over that hurdle, we'll worry about features."

"In the mean time, we wanted to make sure that you were aware of Quicken Online -- scheduled to arrive in 2008. This new offering is platform agnostic and will allow users to manage their finances via any web browser."

"Our Quicken Mac group will soon consist of one QA guy, testing on Safari (part-time). If all goes as planned I'm gonna have a fantastic Christmas bonus."

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by dbarrett

Until QuickBooks users become capable of accessing their merchant accounts using the Mac version it will continue to be a complete waste of time.

That's a bit harsh, but yes - credit card processing is one of the major features that should be added.

Originally Posted by McDavies

Personal Finance is the huge industry and yet for software there is no competition. Not on Windows platform and not on OS X.

Not true. On the Mac side, for personal finance we have Moneydance, iBank, Liquid Ledger and many others.

For business, we have iBank, FinanceToGo, MoneyWorks and the latest addition to the category, Accounted.

The biggest problem with accounting software on the Mac has been the lack of coverage that Mac publications have given the category. MacWorld and MacLife are all gung-ho about running Quark vs. InDesign and Lightroom vs. Aperture shootouts, but accounting software doesn't get full coverage and indepth feature comparisons.

As someone who's been looking for new solutions for a year or so, I still have no idea what specific features and reports iBank and MoneyWorks are missing in comparison to QuickBooks.

Originally Posted by aegisdesign

If you want a decent replacement for QuickBooks and for that matter MYOB which still hasn't got a Universal Binary out, take a look at MoneyWorks by Cognito...

http://cognito.co.nz/

Because there is no current version of QuickBooks for Canada, it is no longer available at Canadian Apple Stores, and MoneyWorks is now the only accounting software sold there. So Apple Canada is acutely aware that the platform is lacking in this category. (For those who aren't aware, MYOB sold out their Canadian customers in the 90's to Intuit, and will never be trusted north of the border again.)

[rdlsmith]

"
I keep an Excel file of all my finances. It's basically the same thing as Quicken: a checkbook register. I have tabs for long-range planning, budget, goals, etc.

I keep it on a small USB keychain flashdrive, along with a Word document containing all my passwords for every website and account I have.
"

How do you pay your bills with an excel file? Downloading transactions from your Broker, Credit Card Companies and Checking must be fun. How does that work?

"same thing as Quicken" ..Yeah right.

It was difficult for me to switch from Windows to the Mac Quicken. I did it and can get by now. I worry that intuit is not taking the Mac community seriously. There is no real competition that I have found. Oh there's stuff out there but it sucks too. I started paying bills with CheckFree in November of 1990. It was a DOS based program. From there I switch to Quicken for Windows and now I'm on the Mac.

I don't want to loose my history or my ability download transactions and pay bills.

I agree with the person that said he wouldn't consider an on-line version. That's nuts.

Financial software on the Mac is lacking. We need competition for Intuit. Real competition.

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by BWhaler

Watch for an Apple+Google solution. Not soon. But coming.

What's the point of "Not soon. But coming" accounting software? That's the state of Quicken and QuickBooks right now.

I think that given the delay, the pretenders to the QuickBooks throne have a window of opportunity that won't last too long.
Here's what I think the ideal QuickBooks replacement should have (aside from the basics) to be taken seriously:

1. Credit Card (Merchant) services integrated into the app.

2. Payroll

3. Ability to deal with International Sales Taxes

4. Downloadable transactions from banks.

5. The Killer feature - Integrated Receipt Scanning.

Solutions like Neat Receipts already exist on Windows, but not yet on the Mac. Integrating the scanning of receipts and linking them directly to every transaction would be a game changer. Of course, if you're going to charge extra for a USB receipt scanner, it makes sense to have software to read business cards and enter them directly into Address Book.

[Frank777]

We're less than 48 hours away from 2008, and I'm thinking about my accounting options for the New Year.

Anybody heard anything about when QB Pro might be released? Is MWSF a possibility?

[Frank777]

Yikes. Another day, another QuickBooks scare. At this rate, a lot of people are going to be skeptical of QB 2008 when it is released.

[pbbaker123]

Guys,

Intuit is just like M$FT, they don't give a flip about Mac users!!!!!!!

MYOB is excellent and has real useful features.... now.. so forget Quickbooks please!!!!!!


iBank is pretty damn good. Useful and well thought out. I dropped Quicken because it is crap!!!!!!

Don't waste anymore time on this... leave Intuit and their pay for f'ing support the hell alone!

[Frank777]

Originally Posted by pbbaker123

Guys,

Intuit is just like M$FT, they don't give a flip about Mac users!!!!!!!

MYOB is excellent and has real useful features.... now.. so forget Quickbooks please!!!!!!

iBank is pretty damn good. Useful and well thought out. I dropped Quicken because it is crap!!!!!!

Don't waste anymore time on this... leave Intuit and their pay for f'ing support the hell alone!

Unfortunately, MYOB sold out their Canadian customers in 2001 and handed them over to Intuit.
Intuit then abandoned all their Canadian Mac users in 2006.

Neither company has any real credibility up here right now. Canadian Apple Stores only carry MoneyWorks.
The hope is that with QuickBooks 2008, Canadian needs have been anticipated and we will have a top-tier software house return to the market.

Canadian small businesses need accounting software to track Federal and Provincial Sales taxes, which neither iBank nor FinanceToGo does yet.

[donebylee]

Originally Posted by Frank777

Unfortunately, MYOB sold out their Canadian customers in 2001 and handed them over to Intuit.
Intuit then abandoned all their Canadian Mac users in 2006.

Neither company has any real credibility up here right now. Canadian Apple Stores only carry MoneyWorks.
The hope is that with QuickBooks 2008, Canadian needs have been anticipated and we will have a top-tier software house return to the market.

Canadian small businesses need accounting software to track Federal and Provincial Sales taxes, which neither iBank nor FinanceToGo does yet.

I wish there were an alternative to Quicken, but there isn't. MoneyDance comes the closet in my tests. iBank looks good, but has real problems and can't handle large account histories.

The one feature that no one seems to be able to do is automated account reconciliation like Quicken does. I suspect this is because Quicken has locked up the banks and locked out everyone else.

So I am waiting--with Quicken 2007 running on a PC that I keep around only for that--to see if Intuit will release a Mac version that is worth buying. I wish someone else could compete but I suspect that the banks, which are very conservative institutions, are not going to be welcoming to any new companies trying to usurp Intuit.

There are many forum threads in the MoneyDance forums about how you can't tell your bank that you are using their product, but have to lie and say that it's Quicken for them to enable your account. Sheesh, I'd like to see the FTC look into this one.

[donebylee]

Just read through MWSF exhibitors list and Intuit is going to be there.

Their website is pushing their online Quicken beta, as if I'm going to put my financial data online in a BETA program!!!!!!?????? That said, the price is right $2.95/month, although I didn't read the details as to storage and all because of the beta issue, but it is a lot less than updating every year at $70 a pop.

If they can convince me of its security, add investment tracking and have a large enough storage allotment, then I could be very tempted.

But there is still the possibility of a Quicken 2008 Mac version. I guess we will see what Intuit has in store for its Mac customers in about 4 days.

[Frank777]

The news is here. And it's not good.

We'll be waiting till Fall 2008 for Quicken. No word yet (that I can find) on QuickBooks.