What if I don't know whether to create a new Quicken file?

You may want to set up more than one Quicken file if you track separate sets of accounts that don't interact with each other. For example:

• If you keep your home finances separate from your business finances for tax reasons.
• If you maintain the books for a volunteer organization, or for a friend or relative.
• If you never transfer money between two sets of accounts. (You can track transfers between accounts only when they exist in the same file. If there is any chance that you will ever want to track accounts together, you should create them in a single data file because it isn't possible to merge data files at a later date.)

If you simply want to exclude account information from the Account Bar, reports, and the Property & Debt tab, you can always create several accounts in a single data file and customize Quicken to hide the accounts you don't want included at any one time. The accounts will stay hidden until you reopen the Account List and unhide them.