Quicken. What is it, What has Changed, & Where is it Going?

[Pages:18]Quicken. What is it, What has Changed, & Where is it Going?

Presentation by Neil Schmidt & Phil Goff Branch 116

January 18, 2018

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What is Quicken?

? Program for Windows or Mac stored on local hard drive o Connects to financial institutions to download transactions o Passwords for financial institutions are stored within program

? Categorizes each transaction for summary reporting ? Consolidates all of your financial transactions in one place ? Summarizes net worth of selected or all accounts ? Calculates performance for brokerage accounts and individual stocks ? Summarizes expenses for tax reporting purposes ? Has a Bill Pay feature ? Has a Check Printing feature ? Has a home Inventory feature.

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History of Quicken

? Created in 1983 ? Meant to replace monthly checkbook balancing and bill paying ? Called it Quicken to convey ease of use

o Looked like a checkbook register ? By 1988 Quicken became the No. 1 consumer software product ? In 1998 added the ability to download brokerage information and track investments for tax purposes ? Expanded the Quicken family to include Starter, Deluxe, Premier, Rental Property Manager, Home & Business, Turbotax, and Quicken for Mac ? Purchased Mint in 2009 to build an online presence ? More people have purchased Quicken than all other personal finance programs combined.

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What Happened to Quicken?

? Quicken had all the functionality that average users needed. ? Existing Users weren't purchasing new copies each year and profits declined ? New generation of users wanted online (cloud and smartphone) access

o Focused on cash flow, not investment returns o Budgeting is popular o Like to move money between accounts and friends o May want to use Bitcoin? ? Quicken based on a 1983 structure and difficult to modernize ? Probably why Microsoft discontinued "Money".

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What Happened to Quicken?

? In 2016 Intuit sold Quicken to H.I.G. Capital. o Retained all their other products, e.g. Turbotax, Quickbooks, etc. o H.I.G. is a private equity investment firm. (Not in the software business)

? Unlikely H.I.G. will be a long term owner. Probably will o Reposition Quicken to make it more profitable o Cut staff and overhead o Resell to a software firm.

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What is the new Quicken?

? All versions will sunset 3 years after purchase. Basic program will continue to work but:

o Will not be able to download transactions o Online Bill Pay will not work o No updates or software patches o Quicken 2015 will sunset in April 2018 ? Quicken 2018 will come with 1 or 2 years of functionality. o At end of purchase period, targeted to cost $50/yr o Can now purchase 2018 Quicken Deluxe on Amazon with 2 year

subscription for $67 ($2.80/mo).

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New Quicken

Advantages: ? All future versions will be the same ? Upgrades and patches will be available to all users

Disadvantages: ? Need to pay annually to keep product working ? No assurance of future cost structure.

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Good Time to Rethink Your Needs

Changes have occurred: ? Online records from institutions are readily available

o Banks o Credit Cards o Brokerage Firms ? Access pictures of all your paper checks ? Bill Paying is free from most banks ? Tax statements download from Brokerage houses ? Many new financial programs available.

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