Rating: 
Summary: HEY, BEWARE OF IRREVERSIBLE ABRACADABRA!
Review: Intuit claimed that her "Quicken 2003 for Mac" can serve as my financial organizer. I believed and acquired it. But what happened was the unexpected. The software worked fine for a couple of months and then went haywire! It is disorganizing my data now. My figures joggle up and down, day and night. I have made all sorts of adjustments without any relief. All other software (and hardware) on my system have no problems. I haven't seen anything like this!
Had it been that I didn't keep my data protecting passwords secret, I would have suspected people of messing around with my stuff. I'm just tired of correcting all my old data each time I add a new one. Intuit has not been of great help. It's time to fire this 'Chicken', sorry, I mean "Quicken".
The two stars I scored it is just because it served me well for the first seven weeks: before it went nuclear!
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic
Review: Ive been using this software for a couple months now, and its fantastic. Unlike the other reviewer i havent encountered any bugs, no crashes, nothing but smooth performance. Ive really been pushing this thing too, ive used as many features as possible.
Rating: 
Summary: Switching Back to Windows
Review: My wife and I have used Quicken for Windows for the past 7 years. We recently switched to Mac OS X, and we were thrilled that Quicken 2003 was pre-installed. Mac OS X is fabulous, but this program has been a nightmare. It is slow, locks up the entire system (which is hard to do with Mac OS X) and VERY buggy. The interface is much less intuitive (pardon the pun) than Quicken for Windows. It also lacks some of the features that we took for granted because they had been in Quicken for Windows for years. Avoid this program at all costs--we're plugging our PC back in so we can start using Quicken for Windows again.
Rating:
Summary: Don't do it.
Review: Nothing has been as frustrating as Quicken for Mac. Since switching to the MAC from a PC I have copied all of my mail, documents, and a multitude of other critical pieces with no trouble. But Quicken is a different story. Obscure error messages importing OFX format files from Citibank. Freezing, requiring a Force Quit. No response at all to imports of QIF files. Some worked and some did not. There was no clear pattern. One of the error messages I did get was not documented on Intuit's support pages despite being reported by many people on Google and other places over a year ago. And of course those people never received a response from Intuit on the Google Groups. I know you might be desperate but believe me the answer is not in Quicken for the Mac. I never thought I would cheering the day that Microsoft would write an application for the Mac OS, but come on Bill give us Money.
Rating: 
Summary: Comprehensive but not stable!!!
Review: Quicken 2003 for Mac came load on my eMac so I decided to give it a try. I've always kept my financial records on an old fashioned spreadsheet so I thought this would be an easy and more excititing way of tracking my budget.After spending a couple of evenings learning about the program and getting it set up it closed unexpectedly on me. After that I could open it but if I clicked on the Banking tab or tried to review my budget it would close again. I checked the Quicken on line support but could not find the help I needed there. Eventually I discovered that I could open a backup copy of my data and that seemed to solve the problem. So I started working from the backup copy. Once again I was now setting up my catagories and shifting some into sub catagory positions when it closed again - same problem all over. The problems I'm having seem to be primarily related to setting up the catagories so once I get through that process I may be ok. I had no problems setting up the autodown load from my bank. It turns out I have to download my credit card information in a .qif file and then import it. That takes a couple extra steps but it worked fine also. Good luck!
Rating:
Summary: A downgrade from 2002
Review: The new 2003 interface may be "better" but it definitely has more bugs than the 2002 version. Many more crashes, entries disappear after acceptance, scroll bars jump all over the place when switching between accounts. I'm going back to 2002 until a service pack is released.
Rating:
Summary: Avoid Quicken 2003 for Mac at all costs!
Review: This is my first Amazon review, but I just had to chime in with others who have used Quicken for 10+years now because I am so frustrated with this version. My entire financial life is in Quicken Mac, and I am SO unhappy that I upgraded to 2003. My 12MB file with the last 10+ years of my life (loans, investments, credit cards, rental properties, etc. -- probably one of the larger Quicken files around) is at risk. You can't go back once you upgrade. Save yourself the aggravation, and wait for something better than 2003, unless you really don't mind starting over from scratch if things get hosed. I have a G4 and a PC. The two primary things I still do (only) on the Mac are Quicken and iPhoto, and I feel locked-in to both programs. However, I'm *very* seriously considering dumping Quicken 2003 for Mac and moving to the Quicken for Windows. I *never* thought I'd ever do that, but this version of Quicken continues to annoy me every time I use it. Worse, it is starting to make me question the validity of my data. It crashes doing simple QuickReports (inexcusable), there are countless UI bugs like when hopping from one transaction to another or scrolling, there's no way to see the list of downloaded transactions once you've reconciled (as there was in previous versions), and loading my United Mileage Plus credit card transactions is more painful than ever as of Q2003: The browser link that Quicken launches is obsolete, meaning I have to manually log in. Then I have to manually enter the download dates, save to a .QFX file, and manually import that into Quicken (since downloading that file no longer auto-imports it into Quicken). In addition, it is darn near impossible to get some banking transactions to "match up" with entries I already have in my register. I've never been able to figure out why, but I end up accepting the downloaded transaction and deleting the one I entered (or one that was auto-entered as a scheduled transaction) because Quicken refuses to acknowledge that they're the same transaction. This is especially annoying for loan-related transactions. Investment tracking is also messed up. Capital gains reports are inaccurate (forcing me to re-enter everything manually in Excel at tax time) -- just moving shares from one brokerage to another resets the purchase date and throws off short/long term calculations. In addition, some of my mutual fund transactions seem to be missing (despite my reconciling each and every statement), leaving my Schwab register hopelessly unreconcileable. Finally, Quicken has NEVER handled employee stock option or employee stock purchase plan transactions (with the funky withholding that goes along with them) very well. I have to wonder if anyone at Intuit has ever tried to enter their own stock transactions. Switching to Windows won't be easy or fun. Intuit's suggestion is to simply "export everything to QIF and re-import on the other side". However, there are so many things that don't export that you're guaranteed a mess after you import the QIF files (like account to account transactions, as I recall). I fear I'm going to have to write off my 10 years of data, maybe export my banking and credit card transactions (just to maintain the history), fudge the balances to get a good starting point, and then gradually start over. With over 50 active accounts, this will not be easy or fun and I resent having to waste the time to do it. The only plus is that I've tried to simplify my life and I won't have to bother entering old data from old (hidden) accounts that are no longer in use. Intuit NEEDS to create a migration tool (Mac to Win or Win to Mac, as I've seen reviews from people who have tried to go either way) that seamlessly translates one format to the other without losing any data. In addition, a repair utility would be very welcome. With all of the crashes I've encountered, I'm sure there are problems in my data file. However, there is no way to validate or repair a Quicken file short of exporting and re-importing, and as already mentioned you're probably better off starting over from scratch. I, too, have beta tested Quicken Mac in the past (and presented bugs to Intuit some of which were even fixed, as well as done user experience testing for Intuit), but this is a tough program to test with real-life data. The 2003 beta program (like other recent ones) required a one-way upgrade to the new format, and suggested that you keep both the old and new versions up to date with the same transactions. I couldn't understand HOW to do this when downloading online transactions (and especially with regard to making online payments), and they offered no help on the matter. So, I guess I partially blame myself for not being more active in this beta and providing more feedback. Somehow, I doubt it would've made a difference. Adopting a program like this, for some of us, is a serious proposition. Not having a way out (e.g. migration to the presumably more stable and better maintained Windows version) is a real shame. As a software engineer, I understand that deadlines are often more important (to a company with an annual release schedule) than quality and sometimes it means bugs are often deferred (or maybe not even found). It's unfortunate that that really seems to have been the case with Quicken Mac 2003. I wish there was a more direct line of communication (for reporting and resolving bugs) with the company for those of us who are serious heavy-duty users of this software. If you're one of those people, you should avoid Quicken 2003 for Mac. UPDATE 9/24/03: The early reports seem to indicate that Quicken Mac 2004 is no better than 2003. I've since purchased Quicken Windows 2004 and am trying to figure out just how much of my data I'm going to attempt to migrate (vs. leaving behind forever on the Mac). It all comes down to how much time I want to spend massaging, re-typing, and reconciling my transactions, one miserable account at a time...
Rating:
Summary: Avoid Quicken 2003 for Mac at all costs!
Review: This is my first Amazon review, but I just had to chime in with others who have used Quicken for 10+years now because I am so frustrated with this version. My entire financial life is in Quicken Mac, and I am SO unhappy that I upgraded to 2003. My 12MB file with the last 10+ years of my life (loans, investments, credit cards, rental properties, etc. -- probably one of the larger Quicken files around) is at risk. You can't go back once you upgrade. Save yourself the aggravation, and wait for something better than 2003, unless you really don't mind starting over from scratch if things get hosed. I have a G4 and a PC. The two primary things I still do (only) on the Mac are Quicken and iPhoto, and I feel locked-in to both programs. However, I'm *very* seriously considering dumping Quicken 2003 for Mac and moving to the Quicken for Windows. I *never* thought I'd ever do that, but this version of Quicken continues to annoy me every time I use it. Worse, it is starting to make me question the validity of my data. It crashes doing simple QuickReports (inexcusable), there are countless UI bugs like when hopping from one transaction to another or scrolling, there's no way to see the list of downloaded transactions once you've reconciled (as there was in previous versions), and loading my United Mileage Plus credit card transactions is more painful than ever as of Q2003: The browser link that Quicken launches is obsolete, meaning I have to manually log in. Then I have to manually enter the download dates, save to a .QFX file, and manually import that into Quicken (since downloading that file no longer auto-imports it into Quicken). In addition, it is darn near impossible to get some banking transactions to "match up" with entries I already have in my register. I've never been able to figure out why, but I end up accepting the downloaded transaction and deleting the one I entered (or one that was auto-entered as a scheduled transaction) because Quicken refuses to acknowledge that they're the same transaction. This is especially annoying for loan-related transactions. Investment tracking is also messed up. Capital gains reports are inaccurate (forcing me to re-enter everything manually in Excel at tax time) -- just moving shares from one brokerage to another resets the purchase date and throws off short/long term calculations. In addition, some of my mutual fund transactions seem to be missing (despite my reconciling each and every statement), leaving my Schwab register hopelessly unreconcileable. Finally, Quicken has NEVER handled employee stock option or employee stock purchase plan transactions (with the funky withholding that goes along with them) very well. I have to wonder if anyone at Intuit has ever tried to enter their own stock transactions. Switching to Windows won't be easy or fun. Intuit's suggestion is to simply "export everything to QIF and re-import on the other side". However, there are so many things that don't export that you're guaranteed a mess after you import the QIF files (like account to account transactions, as I recall). I fear I'm going to have to write off my 10 years of data, maybe export my banking and credit card transactions (just to maintain the history), fudge the balances to get a good starting point, and then gradually start over. With over 50 active accounts, this will not be easy or fun and I resent having to waste the time to do it. The only plus is that I've tried to simplify my life and I won't have to bother entering old data from old (hidden) accounts that are no longer in use. Intuit NEEDS to create a migration tool (Mac to Win or Win to Mac, as I've seen reviews from people who have tried to go either way) that seamlessly translates one format to the other without losing any data. In addition, a repair utility would be very welcome. With all of the crashes I've encountered, I'm sure there are problems in my data file. However, there is no way to validate or repair a Quicken file short of exporting and re-importing, and as already mentioned you're probably better off starting over from scratch. I, too, have beta tested Quicken Mac in the past (and presented bugs to Intuit some of which were even fixed, as well as done user experience testing for Intuit), but this is a tough program to test with real-life data. The 2003 beta program (like other recent ones) required a one-way upgrade to the new format, and suggested that you keep both the old and new versions up to date with the same transactions. I couldn't understand HOW to do this when downloading online transactions (and especially with regard to making online payments), and they offered no help on the matter. So, I guess I partially blame myself for not being more active in this beta and providing more feedback. Somehow, I doubt it would've made a difference. Adopting a program like this, for some of us, is a serious proposition. Not having a way out (e.g. migration to the presumably more stable and better maintained Windows version) is a real shame. As a software engineer, I understand that deadlines are often more important (to a company with an annual release schedule) than quality and sometimes it means bugs are often deferred (or maybe not even found). It's unfortunate that that really seems to have been the case with Quicken Mac 2003. I wish there was a more direct line of communication (for reporting and resolving bugs) with the company for those of us who are serious heavy-duty users of this software. If you're one of those people, you should avoid Quicken 2003 for Mac. UPDATE 9/24/03: The early reports seem to indicate that Quicken Mac 2004 is no better than 2003. I've since purchased Quicken Windows 2004 and am trying to figure out just how much of my data I'm going to attempt to migrate (vs. leaving behind forever on the Mac). It all comes down to how much time I want to spend massaging, re-typing, and reconciling my transactions, one miserable account at a time...
Rating:
Summary: Nightmare Program
Review: This is the worst program I have ever had the displeasure to use. Intuit has sucked in longtime customers who must continue to use its terrible products because of months of entering transaction data. Even after 4 released updates,the program crashes constantly, can't do any of the basic reporting and graphing the PC version does without wildly inaccurate results or crashing. An absolutely terrible product. Avoid at all costs. I may even succomb to going over the Microsoft Money darkside after my experience with this product.
Rating:
Summary: Quicken use to be THE best of all programs
Review: When Quicken first came out, it was simple, straightforward and rock solid. Over the years it has become more and more of everything except simple and rock solid. This is now a beast which rears its ugly head at all the worst moments. If it has not crashed on you yet, it will one day. So what? Every application crashes once in a while, you say? Perhaps. But Quicken has a magical ability to take a crash and turn it into corrupted data. Once the data file has a little corruption in it everything just gets worse and worse. Crashes come more frequently and then suddenly a checking or credit card account tells you it is "out of balance" and a prior period needs to be re-reconciled. Ok, but when you try to do this it either will not let you or it appears in every way to be correct, but insists it is not. At that point the only way out involves significant reentry of data OR an expensive submission of your file to Intuit tech support for "cleaning." To top it all off, your confidence in your data is shaken badly. All you can think of is the possibility of ever needing to "redo the work again" another time. I love the Quicken I remember, and this product probably still is that good until things go wrong. Once wronged, however, it is more than torturous to recover from. If you proceed, and you probably will because Intuit has a virtual lock on the personal finance market, you must be careful to back up after EVERY session. Even more critical is the need to return to the last clean backup immediately IF your file EVER crashes. Do NOT ever continue to use a crashed file or you will be very sorry. Very sorry. The truly disheartening fact is Intuit continues to sell us an application containing the same bugs in version after version. They add a handful of features each year to tempt us to part with another chunk of change, but we keep seeing the same pimples and quirks carried forward. Many of us update our copy each year not to get any new features, but in the hopes they actually fixed our least favorite bug. All too often they have not, but we keep hoping.
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