Quicken Essentials for Mac just got better. Hearing users' feedback, the Quicken team today lowered the price for the Essentials product, and announced a series of free product enhancements to be introduced between now and the end of the year.
"Quicken Essentials is our first Mac-native Quicken product, and demonstrates our new commitment to the Mac platform," said Aaron Patzer, vice president and general manager of Intuit's Personal Finance Group. "We're glad customers took it seriously when we asked for their feedback. These are the first in a series of changes we're planning to ensure Quicken Essentials users have the tools they need to manage their money easily and affordably."
New Features
The first enhancements to Quicken Essentials for Mac, available from Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU) will be available by the end of the month and will let customers:
* Protect files with passwords.
* Export transaction data to spreadsheets for further analysis.
Additional enhancements are expected throughout the year, enabling customers to:
* Obtain a complete picture of current net worth by entering investment holdings from brokerages that do not download to Quicken.
* Compare spending between time periods to better understand expenses.
* Export tax-deductible expenses to tax filing programs, such as TurboTax.
* Track budgets across several months
Existing Quicken Essentials for Mac users will get these updates automatically as they become available.
Lower Price; Customer Refund Available
In addition, Quicken lowered the retail price for Essentials from $69.99 to $49.99. The product can be purchased directly from Intuit at www.quicken.com and at retail stores.
Customers who purchased the product before April 19, 2010 can obtain a $20 refund. The offer is good through May 31, and further details are available at www.quicken.com/macrefund.
"Customer feedback will help us continue improving Quicken Essentials," said Patzer. "Our goal is to provide an intuitive product that helps consumers save and do more with their money, and our customers help drive the direction of the product. We expect to fulfill additional customer demands in future Mac products, bringing more parity wite parie parity with the Quicken Windows product. We're developing more robust investment tracking and other features while still retaining the ease of use and great customer experience that Mac users expect."