How to Run Quicken for Windows on a Mac
Running Quicken on a Mac has been a frustrating experience. I'm a longtime Windows user and, in fact, started using Quicken back when it was an MS-DOS application. When I upgraded to Windows, I upgraded Quicken as well to run native under Windows. Now that I use an Apple Macintosh, I still use Quicken for Windows.
The reasons are the numerous drawbacks with Quicken Macintosh version:
- Long Development Life Cycles: Only every 3–4 years does Quicken upgrade their software.
- Missing Features: Compared to the Windows version it's missing many features.
- Buggy Software: As reported by many reviewers on Amazon, the native MacOS product is very buggy as well.
Back in the old days of computing, the only viable way to run Windows was to get a dedicated machine to run the software. Of course this can be costly and take up massive amounts of desktop space. Not only this, but it's also impractical.
Today you have the option to create a virtual machine within your Macintosh to run other operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows. So the advantages are less hardware to maintain and the ability to run software not natively available for Apple's macOS.
There are two reasons why I do this:
- There's no other viable alternative application available for Mac.
- Security is increased by virtualization.
Increased Security by Virtualization
Let me touch on the second reason in a little bit more detail. The added benefit of virtualizing your personal finance software is security. By keeping Quicken installed on its own copy of Windows (in fact also completely separate from macOS), it minimizes the chances of getting malware, viruses, and Trojans.
This, of course, assumes you run nothing else on this virtual instance, nor do any tasks other than your personal finance. This is critical. It sandboxes your personal finance within a virtual machine that's dedicated to no other tasks.
All too often individuals unknowingly compromise their computer's security by not updating software or by visiting websites with malware that can infect your computer. By limiting activities to only Quicken this decreases the chances for infection and therefore increases the security of your personal finances.
Before You Begin
Before you begin, make sure your Mac is pretty recent (no more than, say, 3–4 years old) and has at least 4 GB of ram and 30GB of available hard drive space. Otherwise, the machine will not have enough resources to run Windows and Quicken at the same time you wish to run other OS X native applications.
These steps apply not only to Quicken for Windows but really to any Windows-based program you wish to run on a Mac.
Summary: Here's How to Get Quicken for Windows To Run on a Macintosh
- Get Your Virtualization Software
- Install Microsoft Windows
- Install Antivirus Software
- Install Quicken
- Transfer Quicken Files
- Use It!
Total time to perform these steps should be less than one hour.
Step 1. Get Your Virtualization Software
I personally recommend VMware Fusion to run for your virtualization needs. VMware has a long history with virtualization, and you have the added benefit of being able to move your virtualization container to any other platform in which VMware runs. This means if you also have a desktop Windows machine running VMware, you can move your virtualization container and run it there as well.
Parallels Desktop for Mac is another option, but I don't recommend it because it's not as popular. However, it does have similar functionality.Step 2. Install Microsoft Windows
Once you get VMware Fusion set up, you need a copy of Microsoft Windows. VMware instances are like brand-new barebones machines — they need an operating system to function. Technically you need a legit license that is separate from any other computers you own. Get a copy of the Windows 8.1 Professional 64-bit version, which is the version I recommend running.
Alternatively, you can use Windows 7 or Windows 10, though there's nothing in Quicken's software that needs the latest version of Microsoft's operating system. All operating systems are supported by Quicken. Though Windows 8.1 is stable, well tested for security, and has many more years of security updates. The 64-bit version is available and is perfectly fine to use.
If you have an existing real machine running Windows, it is possible to migrate your Windows software AND Quicken all at once. Check with licensing to make sure all software is legit with this transfer.
Once you get the operating system installed, as with any Windows computer, make sure you have antivirus software installed.
Step 3. Install Antivirus Software
It's not widely known, but Microsoft has its own antivirus and malware protection application. Best of all it's free!
It's called Microsoft Security Essentials. VMware Fusion includes McAfee Antivirus Plus for free, but in my opinion it isn't as good and is more intrusive.
Download and install Microsoft Security Essentials. Once this is done, you are ready to install Quicken.
Step 4. Install Quicken
You are now ready to install the latest version of Quicken for Windows. I personally recommend Quicken Premier 2017 for Windows. If you want to find out more about the product itself, you can read my review of Quicken.
Buy Quicken for Windows and install it in your virtual Windows instance. This is no different than if you were installing it on a real computer.
Amazon Pricing for Quicken. The prices listed below are updated hourly.
| Version | Retail Price | Sale Price | Discount | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quicken Starter for Windows | $39.99 | 0% | Learn More | |
| Quicken Deluxe for Windows | $64.99 | 19% | Learn More | |
| Quicken Premier for Windows | $45.99 | 18% | Learn More | |
| Quicken Home & Business for Windows | $48.99 | 0% | Learn More |
Step 5. Transfer Quicken Files
If you are currently using Quicken on an older Windows machine, you can transfer your Quicken files to the new virtual computer.
Step 6. Use It!
You are now ready to use Quicken for Windows on your Mac! Do make sure you keep your antivirus software, Windows itself, and Quicken up to date. This level of security will protect you from any potential hackers compromising your personal finances and is the first level of security.
Readers: If you have any questions or details about the process, please make a comment.
Hi. Thank you for this very helpful post. I’m considering buying a Mac computer given the only app I use on my PC is Quicken and all my other devices are Mac. I have a bit of a unique problem since I live in Europe and Quicken refuses to sell me a new version. So… I have all my history of my finances and files on Quicken Deluxe 2015 which I installed from CD. Will I be able to install and use it using your process?
In addition to my previous comment, I am running Windows 7.
I have a 2013 MacBook Air/13″ MacBook Pro with a 27″ Thunderbolt Display. It is my first try at a Mac and I love it. I have used Quicken for many years and was concerned about using a Mac with it. I set it up with Parallels software. I was considering updating my Quicken to Quicken for Mac but apparently you don’t recommend that. I am on Quicken Deluxe 2016 and I may update it to 2017. Do you recommend that?
I have installed Quicken 2016 Rental Property Manager on a Macbook Pro (16GB RAM, 400 GB disk space) using virtual box and windows 7 enterprise. I have an existing file I’m trying to open but can’t get past the registration window. It gives me an error message saying something went wrong.
How do I bypass the registration window and open the file directly? I’ve tried rebooting, shutting down machine, and restarting….
Hey Stephanie, I was having the same issue using parallels and windows 7 pro. You need to install the latest release of the quicken patch. Follow this link to select your version of quicken : https://www.quicken.com/support/%E2%80%9Coops-unknown-error-or-%E2%80%9Ccheck-internet-connection%E2%80%9D-message-quicken-windows-2015-2016-or-2017
Then download and install it. Once you do this go through the registration process again and it should work. This worked for me.
Larry, I need help. I need Quicken for Home and Business or a Quickbooks Program. I have 2 really small businesses and one a little larger. I’d like something that I can put my personal, savings, credit cards, and small business accts on one. It needs to be user friendly. my bank only uses Quicken and Quickbooks. THE PROBLEM IS I HAVE AN APPLE COMPUTER. What do you recommend ? If I need to download Windows for MAC , and then Quicken for home and business? Do I download it on Chrome, firefox, or safari? I have all three I use on my MAC. If I use Quickbooks, can Quickbooks do all of the above , personal, credit cards, small business etc ? Which would be best? I’ll take anyones help…desparate to get this done today, Thanks!
How do you set up the Quicken shortcuts to work (e.g., ^J to show memorized transactions) when using this in a parallels setting? Quicken shortcut functionality seems to be missing.
Hmmm. I posted a question earlier and I don’t see it – AND I have an even MORE basic question now. What size partition should I make? I have plenty of space on my fancy, brand-new MacBook Pro. I don’t plan to use it for more than Quicken.
I am (finally) making the switch from Windows to a spiffy MacBook Pro, so I was very interested in your remark that “If you have an existing real machine running Windows, it is possible to migrate your Windows software AND Quicken all at once. Check with licensing to make sure all software is legit with this transfer.”
I do have exactly this situation!
I clicked on your link and it takes me to the VM support site.
Has anyone successfully done this? If so, would you give a nervous fellow traveler some tips?
Something’s up with the latest update from Quicken which seems to crash my C system….I’ve been using Quicken on a visualization within my Mac but first it stopped showing the downloaded transactions that need to be added and when I tried to add the recent update to solve this problem it crashed my system. I can only run it now with automatic update turned off and it still won’t list the downloaded transactions to the accounts. Is the most recent upgrade causing problems for other users? If using Quicken Deluxe 2015.
Larry,
I noticed that this article was recently undated. I recently install Windows 10 under Parallels 12. (High end 2015 iMac with memory maxed out). I just installed 2017 Home and Business. I find it incredibly slow. Like click on a button and wait 30 seconds for something to happen. The only program I added to Windows was Quicken. Any suggestions?
John
It is slow because of your computer. Unfortunately, you may have to upgrade your hardware.
There are some users reporting relatively recently that Quicken running on a VM no longer downloads transactions with One Step Update. Starting around 10/15/2016, I have been unsuccessful at using One Step Update. I am running Quicken 2017 (due to failing Quicken 2015 as well) on an iMac using VirtualBox/Windows 10. Can anyone else either confirm success/failure of One Step Update using a VM recently? Thanks!
I’ve used Quicken for Windows on a Mac using VMWare Fusion and Windows 7 for several years (and WinXP in Fusion before that).
Here’s a trick I recently learned to speed up Quicken 2015 and 2016 for Windows, which sometimes launch extremely slowly even after rebooting Windows.
– Start Quicken and if you don’t see Quicken appear yet, start Task Manager (right-click the Windows Task bar and choose Start Task Manager or Ctrl-Alt-Del);
– click the Processes tab;
– right-click once on qw.exe in the list then on the pop-up menu move the mouse to Set Priority and click on “High” in the side menu.
– Windows will warn that messing with process priorities may make Windows unstable — ignore that since we’re not messing with Windows system processes, just a little old qw.exe (Quicken). Exit/quit Quicken.
Launch Quicken again and watch it start like lightning.
For some reason Quicken for Windows inside of VMWare Fusion sometimes loads insanely slow: in Task Manager you can watch the qw.exe process load into memory super slowly (e.g., 2,493k then two seconds later, 2,634k until it finishes at over 80,000k!
I am looking to run Quicken on Mac using the information you posted above. Do you still recommend Windows 8, or should I go ahead and get Windows 10 for this?
Windows 8 works fine and still supported. There’s nothing in Windows 10 that is needed to run Quicken.
Im using a new mac book pro 15″ laptop. I does not have a cd/dvd drive. How do I get a copy of windows on to my mac top use with the vmware software i just installed?
Can I use VMware Fusion 8 or do I have to use the VMware Fusion 8 pro version?
Fusion 8 will work fine.
I currently run Quickbooks Pro 2015 on my Mac through Parallels Desktop. I am purchasing a new Mac soon and thinking of using Bootcamp instead of Parallels this time. Do you think that QB will work well with Bootcamp? I have had some compatibility issues with Parallels upgrades so I am hoping to avoid third-party software. Thank you for your time.
It will work, I prefer virtualization instead of running Windows directly on the mac.
Thank you for your interesting articles and about Quicken Premier 2016. I also am a long time user (over 20 years) of Quicken and frankly could not “live without it”! I switched over from a PC to an iMac (OS X Yosemite) and I am currently using Quicken Premier 2015 with Parallels 10 and MS 7. I am constantly being prodded to upgrade to Q16 and Parallels 11, but after reading your review, I agree it’s not worth it to upgrade to Q16. Besides, I am still using an HP Laptop when I travel and carry a copy of my Quicken program with me to keep my finances updated.
You pointed out VMware Fusion and MSEssential – I will check that out since my Norton 360 is expiring soon.
Thank you for your insight.
F.D.
I have used an older version of Quicken on Fusion 4 for a long time and have been completely satisfied with it. I recently purchased a new Mac Book Pro and loaded the latest version of Fusion and Windows 8.1. I loaded Quicken 2014 which was what I had been using on my Dell laptop. When I try running it, I get some distortion on the Fonts. I have tried both large and small fonts and the print in my registers is a different size than the accounts panel. If I make the fonts the smallest they will go in the registers, I can barely see the accounts panel typing. If I adjust it for a satisfactory size in the accounts panel, the registers have way to large of print. I had tried parallel and it did the same thing which is why I purchased the new Fusion. The only way I can get a satisfactory size print is by using Boot Camp which is kind of a pain. The font size can only go down to 8. I called Quicken and the person I got said they didn’t recommend using Parallel so I thought beings that Fusion had worked on my older iMac, it would work on the Mac Book Pro. I am looking for help. Have you had such an experience with the Virtual software?
Glen Wilson
We run Quicken for Mac 2007, updated to 16.2.3 to run on our Macs with OS X10.10.5. Like you, we have been running Quicken since the early 1990’s and have every financial transaction that was recordable on it – mortgage, investments, banking, and cash. Our investment portfolio is a key concern since there is history that is essential dating back to 1984, and we are now both active investors, and of the age where RMD has kicked in.
The setup you described for running Quicken for Windows seems very doable. But, one question looms, or perhaps several questions – What issues are to be expected when transferring the old database to the Windows variant?
I’m not sure I understand the question. You just move the file to the VMWare instance. From there if needed you convert the file.
Great article, thank you. Quicken for PC user since the mid 90’s.
As I love my iPad and iPhone, and my kids use Mac desktops and MacBooks I’m finally “crying uncle” and going to the Dark Side. As Apple has finally release their new Mac desktops with the latest Intel chip, Skylake, I’m goin to pull the trigger soon.
My biggest fear in the transition is the Quicken dilemma. You’ve have provided a step-by-step solution that hopefully will lead me to the promised land. Questions:
1. Is the Amazon link you provided to the Windows 7 Pro product what I should go with? There are dozens of other listings on Amazon that are less expensive but it’s all confusing when you start reading the product descriptions and reviews.
2. How do you “transfer” you Quicken files? Flash drive? Special cable? ICloud?
3. I’m terrified about trashing my new $4k Mac by loading Windows 7 as I have no idea how to “undo” missteps on a Mac. Any danger of getting into big trouble here?
Thanks again. I feel the need to send you a gift!!
Hi, I have Quicken for Windows 2012 running in Parallels and want to upgrade to Windows 2015 — how do I do that online? Can I uprade into the VM without using CDs? Thanks
Do you think it is just as secure to store Quicken data files within Mac file system (rather than inside virtual PC) as suggested by Eric in comments below? This seems like a much better option for backing up with Time Machine since only the data files would need to be backed up, and not the full virtual machine (which would be a much larger file).
Hi,
I work at an office and I’m using Quicken on Windows and my boss uses it on a virtual windows on his Mac laptop. There are no real issues expect that every time he opens it, the column widths have to be adapted because they look different on his Mac. When I open it again on my pc i always have to change all the colmuns again. That’s really draining. Does anyone know a solution for this?
Kind regards
As you seem to be very knowledgable about the Quicken issues – here is a question about the use of Quicken 2015 on Parallels 11 (win7) on my 2015 MacBookPro retina.
Quicke works ok so far – fonts are small/fine, but whenever I do call off my transactions on my account the window exceeds the screen size and can’t be closed anymore.
I have to force a shut down of Quicken via the toolbar to get out of this situation.
What may be the cause? DPI settings or Font settings, anything to do with the display ?
Thanks for your thoughts on this.
Rgds Klaus
Hey Larry,
I’ve been working for 3 days tirelessly to get Quicken on my Mac. I just updated to OS X Yosemite 10.10.5 today so that I could install VirtualBox in order to then install Quicken. Now looks like I need to install Windows 7 professional. (Forgive my ignorance. I’m brand new to all this.) So, my question is, can I download Windows 7 professional from the microsoft website (or wherever google takes me) and then in turn make it a virtual machine via VirtualBox? I am literally starting to see cross and think I might be losing my mind slightly bc of this very tedious process that I am learning as I go. Thanks so much for any help you can give me!
Hi Jess,
Sorry I cannot help you with VirtualBox as I haven’t used it.
Larry – thank you so much for this article. Quick question. What do you recommend for VMWare processors? I’m running 1 now, but Quicken is frequently sluggish. Would 2 help? Thanks!
Yes two but that assumes you have multiple processors on your computer.
We had Geek Squad set up our new iMAC last year with VMWare Fusion version 6 and Windows 7 Professional and they transferred our Quicken 2014 files for us – sounds like exactly what you recommend. All was working pretty well, but we kept getting Windows Not Genuine errors and eventually a virus snuck in. Come to find out we never officially bought Windows 7 Professional (the tech who did this is no longer working there). Now we can’t buy Windows 7 Professional in order to apply the activation key and get updates, security etc, so we are willing buy Windows 8.1 as recommended, but we already have Quicken 2014 for Windows installed and files transferred – how will your steps 4 and 5 change if we buy and install Windows 8.1? We are also willing to buy Quicken 2015 for Windows if necessary. Thanks for the help.
Have you had difficulty with the functionality of quicken on Fusion 7 ?
I seems to have some trouble with the drop downs with makes me wonder if it is truly compatible
No issue at all. I suspect it’s the version of Windows you are using.
I have been having trouble finding an answer to a question that is perhaps so well understood by the Quicken community no one fees the need to answer it explicitly. So, here goes. I have years and years of data on Quicken 2007 for Mac, primarily bank account information, categories, budgets, etc. I seem to be at the end of the line for using Quicken 2007 as it doesn’t appear that it can run on Apple’s newer Mac machines. However, given my budgeting needs, I don’t see Quicken 2015 for Mac as being useful – I really need a budgeting feature that runs for 12 months. So, I’m thinking about installing Windows on my new Mac for the sole purpose of running the Windows version of Quicken with a full budgeting feature. My question is will all my data on Quicken for Mac 2007 transfer to the new Windows version, or will I lose data in the switch? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
i am sick of using office for mac on my macbook air. I want to install office for windows on the VMware Fusion 6 portion of my mac. i have a USB SuperDrive. VMware seems to recognize the drive. But i get a message saying that i have to install the driver with boot camp. Can you tell me how to install this driver?
I was a long-time user of Quicken but finally gave up because of difficulties once I switched over to Mac in 2009 (I tried for several years). I’m currently using SEE software, which is ok but I still miss many features of Quicken and am excited about this possibility of using it again. I’m about to get a new iMac and macbook and would like to switch back to Quicken as well. What is the best order of transferring my current data in SEE over to Quicken on my new machines in this Virtualization scenario?
I am using Quicken Essentials for Mac on my 2009 iMac. If I purchase the latest Quicken for Windows and create a virtual environment on my Mac, 1) will my data transfer over, and 2) will I be able to download all my transactions from my different bank accounts? (I really only use Quicken to be able to create reports on spending within categories for tax prep purposes.)
I downloaded, converted the data from ‘Quicken Essentials’, validated the totals on every account and finally started to use the application as well as the IOS application. I have found that it does the same as Essentials plus more which I started using as I found it now has more detail on investments, has a bill minder feature, has somewhat improved the accounts with a somewhat different look which I like.
Overall I have found no errors in what I do (banking, savings, credit cards, loans, investments, assets) as all transferred over correctly and works together when we enter transactions. The reports transferred and work as before and have created more reports with no problems. All of my investment accounts transfered from my 401’s from inception in detail which is much better than before showing everything versus just totals.
I have started using the IOS application on my iPad and it works OK, just would like to see all my accounts including investment and assets, but maybe that will come later. Also since it is in the cloud, it would be wonderful if we had full update capability as we use the iPad on the road and it would be nice to have those transactions to reflect everything as we pay bills away from my iMac using the iPad. I know this is a big thing, but it would be nice in the future.
I guess overall I’m happy with the new Quicken 2015, but as always, there are other things that make sense for the application in the near future, especially the assets and investments, as that is a matter of simply transferring the details from the iMac into the cloud to the iPad. As to full update it would be wonderful in the future on the iPad, as we would use it to keep tabs on all accounts as they happen on the road.
Hope this helps you know how I feel about the new product. There may be many other things people want and need, but this application functions well for what I want and need.
I am having a problem with the quicken file:
1) I have installed VMWare Pro. 7.1 and Windows 8.1 on my Mac Mini
2) Then I installed Quicken 2011
3) I then run Quicken 2011, and ok to open the quicken file from a flash drive, which is plugged into the Mac Mini. However, once the file is opened from a flash drive, I can’t save onto the Mac Mini
4) In addition, if the very same Quicken file is copied onto the Mac Mini, then I can’t open that Quicken file
If anyone can give me a tip on how to solve this, would appreciate…
When I D/L Paralles (or Fusion) must I first add a partition on my iMac or does the VM software do it for me as part of the VM download process?
Thank you,
Peter V
Virtual machines are a file on your file system. It’s not a partition.
Larry – I’ve been a devout quicken user for 20 years. I switched to Mac and a virtualized instance of the windows-based product about 3 years ago, and it’s worked like a dream.
Kudos for spreading the word.
Andy
When I got my first MacBook in around 2009, I stuck with Quicken via a virtual machine, waiting for the new Quicken for MacBook. When that turned out to be not much more than a fancy checking account, I took the time to switch to IBank, which is Mac ready, no VM.
Really great decision. I used to spend a lot of time playing around with the VM, trying to get the VM to work with my Mac, and Quicken to work with Windows on the VM. Plus I was still stuck in the Windows world for a single, albeit important, function.
My overarching drving force was that, after a continuum of ‘just wait a little longer” over and over from Intuit, they had said pretty clearly that they aren’t going to serve the Mac world. Why would anyone want to stay with them when a conversion gets you into a new and better place?
I was able to follow all of the steps above until Step 5. I now have VMWare fusion running, Windows 7 Professional installed, and Quicken for Windows 2015 downloaded. However, I am entirely unable to get my data transferred over from Quicken 2007 (Mac) to the new program. I’m operating on different machines–two different iMacs. The Quicken 2007 and its data are on the older machine and the Windows is running on my 6 month old iMac. Can you give me any tips on the file transfer? All that pulls over are the names of the accounts. I’ve tried opening both the exported QIF file (that I saved to iCloud and pulled down while inside of the Windows VM) and opening the actual backup file (.qfxm) but Windows won’t read .qfxm, only .QFX , etc. When trying to open the .qif file, I get an error message saying “the file is not in the correct format.” Can anyone help? I’m about $200 in at this point and am facing having to start from scratch and lose 10+ years of account data.
BTW–I followed the instructions in this page as literally as I could (some of its instructions may be outdated) and the QIF process, as I explained above, is not working for me:
https://www.quicken.com/support/how-do-i-convert-quicken-mac-2007-quicken-windows
The old version of Quicken is what version and platform?
I would like to know how to save the Quicken info from the virtual VMWare side to a folder on the IMAC side. I have Carbonite and it only saves what is on the IMAC side, the pc side is treated like another computer and requires another sign up with Carbonite.
I installed VMWARE on my new MacPro and then downloaded Windows 8 and in turn Quicken 2014. I have two issues. First, I was able to transfer all my data except for investment accounts. How do I transfer my investment accounts? Second and probably more important, the font size on the screen is either too small (accounts list, reports and most tabs) or too large. For example, the font for the listed transactions is so large that it does not fit on the screen. Is there a way to control the font size on the screen?
Hi George, Not sure how you transferred your data, it should be in one file. You can also use Quicken’s export and import function as well. There are usually subfolders as well. Everything should be copied over.
Regarding fonts there are options within the control panel to adjust the display. In addition there are some handicap options to adjust settings as well.
Larry,
My MacBook Air does not have a DVD drive. Is it possible to install Windows 7 from a USB drive?
Yes it is possible. Apple does have DVD SuperDrive as an option.
Hi,
I just recently installed Quicken on my Mac in a Windows Environment.
I’m having an issue setting up dowloads with the banks. When I try to initiate it, a blue box appears..seems text is hidden. I’m unable to read it. Has anyone encountered this?
I bought Windows 7 software a few years ago. On the package it states “Upgrade designed for Windows Vista”. Will that work for the purpose of running Quicken on my new Mac?
Hi Cindy,
No the disks I recommend are for “bare metal” new desktop installs. The only way you could use Windows 7 upgrade disk is install Vista first.
I have a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium that I bought about 3 years ago. On the package it states “Upgrade designed for Windows Vista”. Would that work or do I have to buy Windows 8?
I am running Quicken 6 on a Windows XP machine. Would it be possible for me to run this on my two-year-old IMAC with Mavericks? Your article was great and addressed my questions about running Windows on my MAC.
Thanks so much for the article!
Hi: I could really use some advice if anyone can help. Last week I followed the exact steps in this article to install Quicken 2014 on my iMac (OS X Lion, 10.7.5, 4 GB Ram, plenty of storage). I used VM Ware Fusion and Windows Pro 7. Everything was running smoothly (albeit slowly), until I tried to print checks from Quicken. The checks printed with teeny-tiny, almost minuscule font and the actual language/numbers that printed were scaled down so small that they weren’t on the check itself but rather on the memo portion of the page (I was using voucher checks, with one check at the top of the page and the rest of the page is a memo/recording area). I fiddled with every potential setting change on Quicken, and was on the phone with a Quicken customer rep for almost 3 hours!! Nothing fixed the problem. I even uninstalled and reinstalled Quicken. The Quicken rep said there was nothing else he could do to help and said the problem might lie with the fact that I was running Quicken on a virtual machine. I’m going to try to uninstall and reinstall my printer driver this morning to see if that helps, but if it doesn’t, I’m not sure if there’s any other way to fix this. Please, any help would be most appreciated!!
Hi, I’m so glad I found you. Considering transferring over to Mac from PC and biggest reason not to was quicken. Now I see there is a solution. My PC is near the end of its life, I have XP and would want to transfer everything on it (word, excel, quicken, pics, music, etc…).
I have a few Qs.
1) Can I buy windows 8 for the Mac and transfer from the XP docs, or is there an interim step?
2) Larry suggests only using Quicken on the virtual thingy, so will the transferring of PC docs go into the Mac programs or be in the windows area? Sorry I’m not super ted savvy with transferring etc…
3) I really like Outlook, although my 2003 version is really messed up and one of the reasons for these changes. Any recommendations here? Do you suggest I transfer to another calendar or buy Outlook for Mac? Of course money is a consideration with all of this.
Thanks so much for any help.
To answer your questions Kate,
1. yes
2. I’m not sure I understand the question
3. I would suggest staying native within OS X if possible. Apple Mail, Contact and Calendar can be a full replacement to MS Outlook. It is possible to get Outlook in a Mac though especially if you are interfacing with an MS Exchange server.
Great thread! Recently (two years) made the switch from pc to iMac (mid ’11, 21.5′, upgraded to Mavericks). I set up for Quicken 12, and Quickbooks for NonProfits on a Fusion V5.0 VMWare virtual machine exactly as in this thread..transition was flawless. Since the Mavericks upgrade, even before, load speeds for all three programs..VMF, W7, and Quicken are slow..4-5 minutes at least. Need speeding up advice! Should I upgrade to Fusion V.6.0? Should I cold start daily? Don’t run the Mac side when using either Quicken, or QB (never run these two at once)? Running 4GB memory, 2 each to OSx and W7..thanks!
After i install VMware Fusion 6 & Microsoft Security Essentials, can I use Windows XP 2002 and Quicken Deluxe 2013? Or do I have to buy Windows 7 or 8 and Quicken 2014 Premier?
While Quicken should run on Windows XP, the question is do you want to use it? The reason is Windows XP has reached it’s EOL (End Of Life) and is no longer supported by Microsoft.
So that means no security updates.
Do you want to go through all of the setup and run a potentially insecure version of Windows with your financial information on it?
I run VMware. The files are in the Mac file system and they are accessible from Windows. However you should run a virus checker in Windows.
Thanks for the advice – very useful. Would the quicken data file need to sit on the virtual machine along with the software or I can still keep the data file on the Mac and just have the virtual machine open the data file when I use Quicken? If it has to be on the virtual machine, what are the security issues?
for what it’s worth, I run this same setup, but I use parallels. parallels is able to see my mac file system, so it’s great: I keep my quicken data files in a folder on the mac, which in turn in inside a dropbox folder!
so quicken on paralells runs, opens that data file and works with it… when quicken is finished, dropbox notices the file has updated and syncs. this way I always have a current (and instant, on-the-fly) backup of my quicken data.
This is a great thread as I have been searching for this exact solution for running Quickbooks for PC on a Mac. The video on VMFusion’s website shows how using a cable you can easily transfer everything from your old PC to a Mac, including Windows. This may be an elementary question but after doing so would using your old PC violate Windows licensing?
More than likely yes.
This was concise, helpful and a wonderful solution to my “finally moved the entire family to Mac Airs” problem. I hated losing Quicken (since 1996!) and now…I haven’t! Followed your instructions and everything works like a charm. Thank you!
I now have Quicken running on my Windows virtual machine on my MacBook Pro. But the program seems to have forgot how to categorize transactions I download from my bank. What can I do to get it to re-learn the categories?
thanks
Thank you! I have been running 2 machines – the mac I really want to be on, and an old Dell – for a couple of years – specifically and only so I could keep using Quicken. Major time waster. Found your article, followed the process and my quicken is running in a virtual environment on my mac.
So cool. Thank you
Larry,
I have installed VM Ware, Windows 8 and running Quicken Premier 2012 on my Macbook Pro but it is very slow. Any suggestions?
Dennis
I don’t know your CPU and memory specs, but Windows itself is slow from my experience. I have a brand new Mac Pro and Windows 7 can still take 60 seconds to boot, compared to 10 seconds for OS X.
Make sure Windows only has the basics and all other services/apps not needed are disabled.
Make sure you aren’t running any other apps in native OS X.
My CPU is 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and memory is 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3.
How much memory and CPUs are allocated to the instance? Should be at least one and 2GB of ram, with maybe 3GB if nothing else runs in OS X.
I have not been able to determine how to check or adjust that. It must be in VM Ware and not part of disk tools on the Macbook Pro? It is running much better with all other Mac Apps closed.
VM Ware “is” the windows machine… so if you want to adjust the amount of memory in your windows machine (which is then available to windows OS and to quicken) you would adjust settings in VM Ware.
Great thread! I’ve spent weeks and weeks trying to transfer my Windows 7 PC (including Quicken) to a MacBook Pro using VM Ware. Tried doing it via Ethernet, and that failed. Finally was able to convert the PC to a VMware file, but even after I deleted a lot of stuff from my PC, the file is still 90 GB. I transferred it to an external hard drive, but the file is too large to copy onto my MacBook (which only has a 120 GB hardrive) with the free space available. Now I’m working with VMware Fusion tech support (very helpful) to figure out how I can put the PC virtual machine on my portable hard drive and run it from there. Waiting for a callback. Wonder if I should have gone the CrossOver route?
Hello, I have a macbook and am running Windows 8 Pro thru Parallels. Just purchased Quicken Home & Business 2014 and it will not install. Any thoughts on how to get it loaded and running?
What’s the error message? I don’t know if this is something specific to Parallels.
“Quicken install launcher was unable to open\\psf\Quicken2014\disk1\setup.exe”
I had a similar issue. I had to end up “mounting” the CD/DVD drive inside of windows, so that windows thought it was running the quicken installer directly off the quicken DVD. does that make sense? I couldn’t just run parallels and open the installer on the DVD image that it showed there… I had to make sure Windows thought it had a real DVD drive attached (via Parallels options) and then it automatically ran the quicken installer off the DVD and installed.
Following your instruction, installed VMWARE fusion 6, WindowsProf 64 bit & Quicken Premier 2013 to my MacBookPro without a problem. Am getting a Low on memory warning pop up window when I run Quicken and application is running much slower than I had hoped. Mac has 4MB Ram, but when I check memory on Windows, it shows machine has only 1MB Ram. Suggestions? Thanks.
Hi Irv, you could try adding/removing memory to the virtual instance. Try 256MB increments. 2GB should be more than enough though with a 4GB machine I wouldn’t go any higher and make sure you aren’t running much other processes on your Mac when running the instance.
I’ve been using Parallels with Q11 with no problems at all. I received a letter from Quicken saying that Q11 will not be able to upload banking info after this year. So I bought Q14 and tried everything to install it without success.
Should I try VM Fusionware instead of Parallels?
Currently have TurboTax Home & Business on my MacBook. I want to install Quicken Home & Business through Parallels Windows 8. Will both programs talk to each other?
Yes if they are installed on the same virtual instance.
I have a licensed version of Windows XP professional, can that be used to run Quicken 2014 on a Mac?
Yes.
Hello…has anyone ran this set up with windows/Mac in Canada?
Or would you recommend leaving quicken on a PC ?
Thank you!
I recently purchased a MacBook Pro with retina display running Maverick. I installed VMware Fusion version 6.2 and Quicken Premiere 2014. Everything seems to work fine with one exception. When I try the one step update I get a smaller window titled “Activate Windows”. Unfortunately the window is a solid blue box. I presume that there should be fields there to enter activation data. Apparently without activation software updates to Quicken, among other things, will not be applied.
Has anybody experienced this problem? Thanks
Hi, Would you please share how did you install the quicken CD in Mac pro retina? Retina does not have CD drive. I tried to insert this quicken window cd in another mac, but was rejected out right away. How did you even do the installation? thanks.
You need to purchase an Apple MD564ZM/A USB 2.0 SuperDrive.
Another way to do this is to use CrossOver. It allows you to run Windows programs seamlessly in OSX on the Mac without having to actually install Windows. I have not tried Quicken 2014, but it works flawlessly for Quicken 2011 and MS Project on my MacBook Air. These are the two Windows programs I cannot live without. Crossover is around $60 which is comparable to Parallels / VMware but saves the cost of a Windows purchase. Highly recommended solution to the problem of having to run just a few Windows programs. And they are able to access all the OSX filesystem too, so I organize my Project and Quicken data files right in with my mac files.
To clarify for other readers, CrossOver uses Wine (http://www.winehq.org/), which tries to be compatible with the Windows libraries. While it may work in previous and even the current version of Quicken it’s always possible an update of Quicken to break. For virtualization, I personally prefer the container method which to any software is the same as a real physical computer. This is not only for reliability, but more importantly security.
Larry is correct that CrossOver is a Wine bottle approach. I have been extremely pleased with Quicken and Project and results definitely exceeded my expectations. CrossOver has a useful ranking of compatibility on their website and I noticed as updates came out these tend to increase, especially for popular programs. I do also run antivirus and antimalware on my mac which although of limited value today may be important in the future should more mac-specific viruses emerge. Not running Windows was one of the security approaches I decided to take – even a Windows VM installation that only runs Quicken still has to go onto the Internet to download data.
New CrossOver update was released this week specifically to provide Quicken2014 compatibility. The company seems pretty responsive and the email they sent me acknowledges that Quicken users are a large part of their customer base. I therefore expect that they will continue to support new Quicken releases. Glad there are options like this as well as VMWare.
It is possible to run Quicken through Crossover with having to leave the DISK in at all times?
B.A.
I tried it with Quicken 2015 and it simply didn’t work. As I recall, program wouldn’t even load. That was several weeks ago as of the date I’m posting this comment, which is 3/4/15. I don’t know when this article or these comments were posted, as nothing is date-stamped.
Hi my PC has a terrible virus and all my word and photos and Excel files are dead. Quicken 2011 is still working and I have backed it up. I am thinking of going out and buying a Mac just because of the virus situation. It sounds like it crossover would be a better option for me if viruses are my primary concern. Isn’t this true? Why would I Build a pc World within a Mac and submit my Quicken system to the possibility of viruses once again? I am not clear on this please help! Or maybe I should just go ahead and purchase the new Quicken 2015 for Mac after I buy the Mac. I basically just use Quicken for its checkbook function and for reconciling and for writing checks. I don’t even download directly from my bank. I do not use the investment functions. Would I be able to transfer all my data from my Quicken 2011 for PC to Quicken 2015 for mac and what do you think are the best options for me?
Perhaps using Mint.com or Personal Capital makes more sense?
The thing with virtualization is you only run Quicken on it and not surf the web, or install other applications (in addition making sure you have the latest anti-virus and updates). If you do this the security risks are minimal.
I currently run quicken run a couple of windows based computers. I just transfer the data files between the computers. If I buy a Mac and do what you describe above, can I run Quicken on the Mac and then transfer the data file to my windows computer and still run it there? Thanks.
Hi Tony,
Yes. A virtualized Windows machine for all purposes is a real machine.
Is it possible to use Quicken’s on-line back up within windows on the mac? Have had no luck installing the on-line back up software on my mac.
Hi Jim,
IMHO Time Machine is pretty easy to use and setup. There are third party backup solutions such as Carbon Copy Cloner.
With VMWare Fusion you can take images of the state of your instance (which includes Quicken files). Though that’s still on the same machine. My recommendation is either use the backup built into Quicken, or backup to some remote network drive. There are a multitude of ways you can backup your instance within OS X (whole instance), or file system (within Windows itself).
Another option can be cloud backup services.
Hope this help.s
How cumbersome is Quicken for Windows to use after installation?
Is it as easy and clicking on the Quicken icon to open, or do you have to open VMware, then Windows, then Quicken?
Thanks
In fact if you suspend your VMWare instance (which I always do), the boot up process is much faster than regular windows. Let me add the other added benefit of using VMWare is creating backups of your data via images.
You do have the ability to make Windows apps like Quicken run like they are native within OS X via the Unity option of VMWare. Though personally I’m not a fan of it and prefer a separate window for running my Quicken/Windows instance.