Keeping track of multiple companies

You can set up multiple company files just like Quickbooks. You can only have one open at a time (same as QB).

Another option is to use the class field to identify the transaction by company. Unfortunately, Quicken does a poor job, IMHO, of reporting by classes. Quickbooks allows you to display your P&L by class. Quicken only permits you to display the transactions for a selected Class. None of the standard Quicken reports include the option to print transactions with the class field displayed. Pretty worthless feature. Using Quicken might make things confusing at tax time when you need to create separate financials for each company. You would be better off using separate company files assuming they have separate bank accounts.

I have no favorite in this "race", but I'd like to clear up a few points.

This is somewhat misleading, partcularly in the context of the "multiple companies" question. Using classes to identify each company will allow you to print a separate P&L for each company and a consolidated P&L for all companies; just what I think is desired. (And you can't print "transactions" in a Quicken P&L, regardless of any "class" use.)

Almost exactly backward: every Quicken report that displays transactions, and shows the category field for each transaction, displays the class value for that transaction.

Using classes will allow you not only to create separate financials for each company, but to export to TT for each company, if that should be appropriate.

It does? Not in Basic at least. I can't seem to get mine to show nor is Class an option on the display tab for any report in Quicken.

I can run P&L reports in Quickbooks with a column for each class plus a total. In Quicken all I can seem to do is to go to the Class list and run a report that lists the transactions. Not a a P&L, not even by category.

And if one is not using TT and can see the category totals or a P&L by class what good is it? Maybe this is a weakness of Basic over the other versions but for me classes has been total worthless.

Sorry, I should have included the Q version(s) my comments were based on - Q2005 Deluxe, and Q2006 Premier - I've never used Basic, so your results may differ.

The class is always present in the category field of transactions in reports; it's not a separate field.

This option is available for the Quicken Cash Flow report ... you can "organize" the report by "Income/Expense", instead of the default "Cash Flow".

The Income/Expense report can be customized to include any combination of clasess ... including just one class. Running one Income/Expense report for each class plus one for all classes, would suffice to show the P&L for each company and one combined. No, there is no subtotal by class for the Income/Expense report, but the result of creaing one report for each class is essentially the same. (Perhaps the H&B version of Quicken would have that option ... it does - or did - have a separate "Profit and Loss" report.)

The Banking Transaction report can be subtotalled by Class, and its default "organization" is Income/Expense.

Hi there

thank you for your replies. just upgraded . i'll see how it goes

--Kruwreka