Intuit Unveils Quicken Essentials For Mac

Business software maker Intuit said Thursday that it's released a version of its Quicken Essentials financial management product for Apple's Macintosh computers.

"Quicken Essentials for Mac (QEM) is the first Quicken product to take full advantage of the Mac operating system and development platform," said Aaron Patzer, VP and general manager for Intuit's Personal Finance Group, in a statement.

QEM is the first version of the software that's been developed specifically for Macs, rather than ported from the Windows platform.

"We're bringing a completely new Quicken experience to Mac Users, helping them answer essential money questions—what do I spend, what do I earn, where do I stand on my budgets, what is my net worth, and where can I do better?" said Patzer.

The software lets individual users and small businesses track their financial activities online with tools that import information from bank accounts, credit cards, and other instruments. It also offers tools that let users create graphs and charts for budgeting and forecasting.

A converter feature lets users transfer historical data from older versions of the software, and also from Microsoft Money.

Intuit said it would also continue to support Quicken Mac 2007, which includes a number of more advanced features not offered in QEM, such as online bill pay, stock lot accounting, and TurboTax integration.

QEM is available for purchase for $69 from retailers or as a direct download from Intuit's Web site.

Intuit shares were off .19%, to $32.21, in afternoon trading Thursday. The company posted annual revenues of $3.1 billion in 2009.

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