Quicken includes features that let users view the complete picture of their personal finances on a. The two platforms are aimed at different audiences. I’m unaware of any “middle-ground” accounting software opportunities other than Excel, which is my choice for my cash-basis (NO invoicing) paid-on-delivery service business.įor reference, I refer to my service business as “no more complicated than a child’s Lemonade Stand” running on 1 Savings account, 1 Checking account and 3 Credit Cards (COGS, Truck expense and Other Biz Expenses) all housed at the same bank. The main difference between Quicken and QuickBooks is that Quicken is primarily a personal finance management software while QuickBooks is a full-featured small business accounting software.

Get your money ready to pay for that level of support. The marginal costs for the software platform AND the time and expense paying someone to set it up and operate it for you (or visit you regularly for on-going data maintenance and support) might point you in the direction of hiring a subcontract bookkeeping and accounting service. Quickbooks, in my experience- while tremendously elegant and powerful- is useful when you already have a heavy accounting background.

Quicken must be some kind of legacy ‘dog’ being kept alive for reasons I can’t grasp (old people? The ones that still have dial-up and land lines?), but continues luring enough buyers to remain profitable, OR becomes a springboard for funneling upgrades to Quickbooks. If you have more than one of any of the above, the data downloads may all get lumped together. It probably works for a small hobby business with only 1 savings account, 1 checking account, and 1 credit card.

Quickbooks vs quicken home and business