Today, Intuit officially launched the first new version of Quicken for Mac in years. I do not own an Apple computer, so I have not seen this software for myself. I do know from reading many reviews that the Mac versions of Quicken in the past have lagged in quality behind the equivalent Windows-based software.
As the name “Quicken Essentials for Mac” (QEM) implies, there are not as many features in this updated version for Mac users as there are in the current Windows versions.
Here are some of the features that are included.
Easier set up; faster to use: QEM offers the unique Mac look-and-feel, easy navigation, and all the keyboard shortcuts users expect on Mac. Setup only takes 10 minutes. Users simply search for their bank, and synch using their online credentials.
Broad banking support; no data entry: QEM currently imports data from 12,000 financial institutions, with support from 18,000 expected by year end. This is nearly quadruple the previous support of banks, credit unions, credit card companies, brokerage houses and lending institutions. All of that means less data entry.
Improved categorization; better understanding: QEM “learns” the most popular categories from users, improving categorization over time. This means users spend less time organizing transactions, and more time understanding where their money goes, and how to save and do more with their money.
Easy conversion: The converter feature easily transfers historical data from past Quicken for Mac (2005, 2006 and 2007), Quicken for Windows (2007, 2008 and 2009), and Microsoft Money.
As I mentioned, I do not own an Apple computer and I have no immediate plans to purchase one. I would love to hear impressions, reviews, and other comments from readers who have purchased Quicken Essentials for Mac.
Current price for download or CD-ROM: $69.99.
Updated March 11, 2010 and originally published February 25, 2010. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Until Quicken develops a full version for us Mac users, I don’t think I would ever buy the software.
I should have never bought this ! You can’t pay bills within the app. You can download transactions from your bank, however, when I did that, it downloaded transactions that weren’t there. It’s like it made some up. I had to go through and delete the bogus transactions. It finds but doesn’t list my Vanguard IRA account so I can’t select it to create it and it won’t let me create it manually. Apparently, you can’t create an investment account manually. So if the financial institution is not in their list, you can’t track the account and even some that are in the list, you can’t track. This is a total piece of junk ! Don’t buy it.
I agree. This piece of software should never have been released. It is terrible. All I get is crashes!!