How to Convert Quicken Windows to Mac

Data in Quicken for Windows can be transferred to a Macintosh version of Quicken through the use of a QIF (Quicken Interchange Format) file. The QIF file format imposes certain limitations on the data which can be transferred, due to the characters it uses to mark the beginning and end of data fields (such as payee and memo). Therefore, some preparation is necessary to ensure that as much data as possible will be included in the transfer. However, some types of data will not be transferred and must be re-entered on the Mac; there are alternatives to transferring your data if you require this data on your Mac, and you don't want to re-enter it by hand.

Things You'll Need

• USB drive or writable CD or DVD disc (preferred)

Instructions

1. Review the Quicken support document, "Data that cannot be converted from Quicken for Windows to Quicken for Mac." This information is guaranteed not to make the transfer. If you rely on these data and do not wish to manually re-create it on your Macintosh, consider your alternatives to transferring data: switching to an online financial management service such as Mint.com, or running Quicken for Windows on your Macintosh using Boot Camp or Parallels.

2. Open your Account List under the Tools menu on Windows. Click the Options button and choose View Hidden Accounts, and then click the Manage Accounts tab and clear all Hide in Quicken checkmarks. If any of your accounts are longer than 15 characters, rename them so that their names are 15 characters or less.

3. Open the Security List under the Investing menu if you have securities in your investment portfolio. Remove the characters !, @, #, $, %, ^, & or * from any security name that includes them. Also, if you have stock ticker symbols in this list, convert them to all uppercase.

4. Look at your account list. A red flag will appear next to any account that has a downloaded transaction which has not yet been accepted. You must accept these transactions before you transfer your data; click the Downloaded Transactions tab to do this.

5. Choose Export > QIF file under the File menu. Choose All Accounts, and click Security Lists. Save this file with the name Security List.qif. Repeat this step for your Accounts, Categories and Transactions.

6. Transfer these files to your Macintosh using your network, a USB thumb drive, a burnable CD or DVD or as email attachments to yourself. (Note: it is more secure if you do not transfer these files over the Internet.)

7. Create a new file under the File menu on your Macintosh. Quicken will default to saving this file in your Documents folder. Cancel the New Account Assistant window that appears next.

8. Choose Import > From QIF from the File menu, and import the four QIF files in the same order you saved them.

9. Review the resulting Quicken file for accuracy and completeness. You may need to make manual fixes to some transactions.

References

• Converting Quicken for Windows files to Quicken for Mac
• Data that cannot be converted from Quicken for Windows to Quicken for Mac
• Mint