Customer Reviews

Quicken 2009 Starter Edition [Download] [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

This item arrived today, and I've already requested a refund for it. In fine print on the box it states that it will only import data from Quicken 2008. If you've been using any version older than 2008, it will do you no good, unless you want to manually input all your accounts and data. If you're using 2008, better stick with it!

I had the 2007 version and it was nothing but a buggy nightmare. I hesitated getting 2008, but with the new year and many problems, I decided to give in and get 2009. What a mistake!

First, you get a bunch of warnings about only being able to import from 2008. That's not necessarily true. I decided to forge ahead and see what I could accomplish because once I opened the package I didn't think it was returnable. It worked fine importing and converting my file from version 2007 (just make a copy of your data file first, just in case). BUT, and this is a HUGE but, the newly monikered "starter" version replaces the "basic" version, most likely to reorganize the Quicken line-up and allow you to THINK Starter is the same as Basic being the same price. It is sooooo not!

It imported my data file, but would not show my 401k as my previous basic version did. As it turns out, they are not including any ability to track investments, not even retirement plans. What's worse is since it was the same old data file, it would still update the 401k account, which was strange--you could see the progress during the update cycle--but you can never SEE the account! There wasn't even a way to change the account to a savings instead, because it will not show Fidelity Investments in the list of institutions. I gues they thought of that work around and found a way to keep people from doing it.

That's when I sent it back. I also reinstalled 2007. AND had to use that old data file copy since you cannot convert backward. I DID NOT allow it to update to all the "fixes" that ruined it before. Sadly, it's still got a bug in that it keeps popping up the update nag screen even though it has a checkbox checked to never remind me again.

I thought maybe I should go to MS Money, but a quick overview of the program shows they did the same thing with investment and retirement accounts. That's okay, I was using Quicken 99 when I finally updated to 2007. I'm sure I'll be functional for a while, unless Quicken gets really nasty-greedy and tries to hamstring older versions and force upgrades. Time will tell. I may just have to go back to the old check register and visit the online banking sites for each of my banks. Those are free... for now...

I bought the Quicken Starter Edition because I thought it was replacing the least expensive Basic Edition this year. But Intuit failed to indicate that it was disabling the ability to accept data from earlier years. For that you have to upgrade to the more expensive Deluxe Edition. So the Starter Edition is absolutely useless for a long-time Quicken user. The only thing good I can say about this is that Intuit returned my money and I did not even have to return the CD. That deserves the one star I am giving this product.

This product is beyond useless for me. Despite Amazon's claims in the product description that Quicken Starter Edition 2009 tracks 401k accounts and loans, IT DOES NOT.

Quicken Starter Edition 2009 can ONLY track checking/savings/credit card/cash accounts. It cannot track loans of any kind (personal, home, vehicle) or any type of retirement account. I thought about entering my home loan as a credit card account and manually adjusting it every month, but I'd rather have a software program that works properly. Apparently Quicken Deluxe can handle loan and retirement accounts, and I would have ordered it from the start if I had realized Amazon had a completely inaccurate description for the Starter edition. However, I think now I'm going back to my tried and true Microsoft Money just because of this headache (I also have a problem with Quicken "talking" with my credit union, and never had that issue with MS Money).

The 2009 Quicken Basic will only import files from Quicken 2008 (in the fine print). This is apparently not a technology problem, because if you spend $30 extra for the deluxe version, you can import files from Quicken 2007 and earlier. This policy seems to be derived from the same stealthy-price-increase thinking that was used on the new Turbotax edition wherein initially it had a limitation of doing only a SINGLE tax return. Intuit finally reversed themselves on that one, but check out the opinions of long-term Intuit customers on the Amazon tax-software Turbtax forum(over 225 negative comments)!

I like quicken and I do NOT need any of the bells that came with the old product so I thought this would be great. BUT you cannot open your old files with this product. It is for NEW users only.

I usually read reviews on Amazon before I buy anything. I didn't for Quicken and now I wish I could get my money back.

I'm a semi-new user. I had Quicken in the past but I wasn't going to do any upgrades or use it for loans. So actually I probably would've overlooked the bad reviews and tried it anyway.

Bad mistake. It started out ok and I downloaded from my online banking. I was going to update my checkbook again (just a few days later) and it starts the downloading....and shuts down. Tried it twice. Makes me nervous when it does that so I suppose I'll take it back off my computer and trash it. I'm not going to even bother trying to contact customer service.

Don't buy this product if you want to track your loans. The only account types you can set up are regular banking accounts and credit cards.

Like many people writing these reviews, I bought the Starter edition because I have relatively basic needs for managing my finances. I have a checking account, a credit card, a mortgage on one house, and a 401K. I think anyone who cares about managing their finances would have all of these. However, the starter version only supports checking and savings accounts and credit cards. No mortgage, and no investments.

It offers the ability to "upgrade" to the Premier version to get these things, but this so-called upgrade costs $10 *more* than just buying the Premier version outright on their own website, not to mention how much less expensive you can find it at other places like Amazon. I really think this edition is a bait-and-switch tactic to try to boost sales. Yes, you can probably find all of this out by reading the details of the box, but this version doesn't seem to have any use at all for anyone who needs software to help manage their money.

If you are a current quicken owner and buying this software solely to keep current, don't. Old data files cannot be converted; you need to upgrade to quicken "deluxe" for that, even if the features within the starter version suffice... Intuit continues to milk this product all it can...