I use only features common with Quicken 2002 Deluxe
Written: Apr 22 '02 (Updated Apr 22 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: One step update, automatic reconcile, memorized transactions
Cons: Out of synch Reconcile almost impossible to fix. Extra H&B features not needed
The Bottom Line: For anyone that needs features of H&B beyond Deluxe edition. Otherwise use Deluxe.
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| TomFrayne's Full Review: Intuit Quicken 2002 Home and Business Full Version... |
When I upgraded to Windows XP, Intuit stopped supporting Quicken 2000 Basic, even though I could still use it with some restrictions. Quicken 2001 also did not support Windows XP, so I continued to use Quicken 2000 until Quicken 2002 was released and I verified that it supported Windows XP. I paid $66.70, and got a $20.00 rebate.
Features in H&B beyond those in the Deluxe edition are: Create customizable estimates & invoices, Track vehicle mileage for tax purposes, Monitor accounts payable and receivable, Track multiple jobs per customer, Simplify business tax tracking, Create a mini business plan. The report facility has additional report types to correspond to these features.
I chose the Home and Business edition, because I wanted to set up separate accounts for “Checks to be deposited” and “Medical expenses”, and I thought that it would be best to set them up as accounts receivable. It turned out that there was no advantage to doing it that way, and I ended up using none of the H&B features beyond those of the Deluxe edition. There is a comparison chart at http://www.shopintuit.com/Q2002/Consumer/CompareAll.ASP?PriorityCode=5010066 that allows you to select an edition suiting your needs. If you think that one feature might make the difference, and are not sure you need it, you might be able to decide by downloading the user guide (which does not describe the H&B features) or looking at http://www.intuit.com/support/quicken/2002/win/index/quicken_home_business.html
The rest of this review describes features which are common to the Deluxe and H&B editions. The following topics are treated: Installation/Upgrade, Setting up accounts, Online banking and investments, One Step Update and Web Connect, Entering transactions, Quicken credit card, Transfers, Reconciling accounts, Portfolio tracking, Reports, Customization, Documentation, Customer service.
Installation/Upgrade
I upgraded from Quicken 2000 Basic without major difficulties. The update wizard installed Quicken H&B with little interaction, and all the account information was imported easily, except that I had to set the online feature for Netbank off and back on, and to re-enter the account information to correct an error the next time I did a One-step update. Other accounts worked without this extra step.
Setting up accounts
Accounts can be set up as cash, credit card, banking, investment, property, or loan accounts, each type with its own associated activities. A cash account can be linked to an investment account to allow tracking the cash transactions separately from the investment transactions.
Online banking and investments
In addition to the old technique of downloading transactions by exporting and importing QIF files, Quicken has an extensive and growing list of financial institutions which support downloading transactions to Quicken by one of two preferred connection techniques: Direct and Web. Some of these institutions also support other services, such as electronic bill payment initiated from Quicken. I don’t use these extra services, since they often involve extra fees, and I get free electronic bill payment by logging on to NetBank.
Both connection techniques are vastly superior to QIF files, because they allow new transactions to be downloaded with no worry about duplicate transactions. Missing transactions are still possible, though, if they are removed from the institution’s online information before being downloaded. Of course, this is only a problem during initial setup, unless transactions are downloaded very infrequently.
I do not open new financial accounts unless one of Direct and Web Connect is supported. I much prefer Direct Connect. Union Bank of California, NetBank, Morgan Stanley Online, and Quicken Credit Card all support Direct Connect. Vanguard supports Web Connect and is implementing support for Direct Connect.
One Step Update and Web Connect
To download transactions via Web Connect, Quicken, acting as a web browser, allows you to log on to your online account with an institution, go to the institution’s download page, and there initiate the download, which is automatically imported into Quicken. Downloading transactions from multiple institutions via Direct Connect is much simpler, and is just part of the actions that can be performed by One Step Update.
During setup, the institutions supporting Direct Connect are added to the One Step Update list, and the passwords required for each institution are added to a Pin Vault, which is itself password protected. Other actions on the list include downloading and applying software updates to Quicken, and downloading quotes for watched securities. Check boxes allow actions to be selected. For example, Union Bank restricts the number of free downloads per month, so, when I am downloading frequently, I leave its action unchecked. I can then perform all these actions for all accounts in all these institutions by clicking a single button on the action list. This is the single most useful feature of Quicken.
Entering transactions
Once transactions are downloaded by Direct or Web Connect, they are found in the Online Center. Each account that has new transactions is summarized, and a Compare to Register button allows the accounts Register to be updated. I would prefer a single Compare Accounts to Registers button, which selected the first account with new transactions, and did the compare action. A Compare Next Account button on the Toolbar would then simplify the procedure. As it is, I have to keep switching back and forth between the Online Center and the Registers.
I generally click the button to Accept All the new transactions into the Register, and could stop there. However, I want to keep closer track of my income and expenses, so I make extensive use of transaction Category and Class, and spend some extra time going over the transactions to make sure that the correct categories and classes are entered.
Categories such as Wages, Dividend Income, Interest, Contributions, Taxes, Transfer, etc. are predefined to allow classifying income and expenses. Classes allow transactions in a single Register to be grouped, e.g., into Business or Personal transactions. A single transaction can have both a Category and a Class assigned, or can be Split into multiple sub-transactions, each with its own Category and Class. Categories and Classes can be created, deleted, split, and combined. Quicken 2002 has a large and growing database of Categories associated with institutions, so the correct category can often be placed automatically in the downloaded transactions.
When the category has to be entered manually, it often completes or can be selected from the right spot in a list after a few characters are typed. Further, transactions are memorized as entered, or by command, and entering or selecting the Payee of a memorized transaction causes the rest of the transaction to be filled in automatically. Recurring transactions can thus be entered with little or no typing.
Quicken Credit Card
I signed up for the Quicken Credit Card, which is free if you don’t use it for ATMs or cash advances (I use my NetBank card for those; it is free when I use it at a grocery store ATM or get a cash advance at a bank), and pay the balance every month. When I do a One Step Update, the latest credit card information is downloaded, and the Category is usually right. I do this frequently so I don’t forget the credit card uses before I see the transactions reported. I only modify a few such transactions to add details to the Memo field.
Transfers
When funds are transferred from one account to another, the Category is set to Transfer to the other account on the first account, and Quicken automatically enters a matching transaction in the other account. Since medical expenses occur in two bank accounts and a credit card account, and I wanted a register with all these expenses in one place, I created a cash account called Mexpenses (to allow entering the transfer Category with just 3 characters), and set the category in the original accounts to [Mexpenses] for every medical expense to automatically produce a matching transaction in the Mexpenses register. I then manually enter a balancing transaction with a detailed Category, often taking advantage of memorized transactions. Thus the register balance is always zero, except when I enter the balancing transactions first, as I sometimes do with prescriptions, to keep track of when I order which medicines.
Similarly, I have an account called CksForDeposit, which is handled the same way so that I can keep track of checks I mail to NetBank in more detail, and before NetBank receives them.
Reconciling accounts
Clicking the Reconcile button on the Toolbar when viewing a Register reconciles the account. A list of the transactions since the account was last reconciled is displayed, and you are invited to select those to be marked as reconciled to get an account balance matching your last statement or the online balance at your last download.
For online accounts, the procedure is quite simple, and can be done automatically at each download. However, if you modify transactions after they are reconciled, Quicken can get out of synch, and it can be quite difficult to get it back in synch again. This happened to me, and I have been unable to fix the problem, but have a simple bypass. Whenever I reconcile one account, a message occurs asking if I want to correct a reconciliation error. Every correction I try leaves the account unbalanced, but if I click Ignore, the account reconciles correctly to the online balance.
Portfolio tracking
Quicken keeps track of account balances, portfolio values, asset basis, etc.. When One Step Update downloads stock quotes, the new values are reflected in the portfolio value automatically. When a dividend is reinvested, the effect on the number of shares held, the lot’s basis, the average basis of the holdings in the stock, and the total value is automatically reflected.
Reports
Most of this review has focused on the ways in which Quicken facilitates entry of data. One Step Update, Category lists, memorized transactions, Quick Fill of transaction fields, auto reconcile are all designed to make transaction data entry easier. However, the main reason for buying Quicken in the first place is to have a way to display financial data in an organized and easy-to-read fashion. This is the function of the reporting facilities.
Reports are available for income and expenses, assets and liabilities, net worth, budgeting, taxable events, spending and saving patterns. Several reports can be open at once. Reports can be customized by date, by sort technique, and by columns, accounts, categories, classes displayed. Some reports are graphical. Customized reports can be memorized. New transactions affecting a report are reflected in the report the next time it is opened or the Update button is clicked.
I use the income and expense reports and the assets and liabilities reports most frequently, and often customize them to focus on specific aspects of my finances. The only difficult part is deciding what kind of a report I want.
Customization
Quicken has options for the program, the registers, writing checks, reports and graphs, internet, webconnect, desktop, reminders, and toolbar, as well as many other options that are built into actions on the other features.. There are too many options to list in this review, and I couldn’t even describe all the features they control. Fortunately, the default values of almost all the options are adequate for most uses of the program.
Documentation
Documentation is good. I could usually find information on how to use any feature or option supported, even when I started with just a vague idea of what I wanted to do.
Customer service
Customer service is spotty. Free telephone service is provided for installation, which I presume includes pre-sales, but after that telephone service costs a fee. Free online chat service is provided at restricted times, different on different weekdays. I experienced long waits to get a service representative to answer, and the help given was usually minimal.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
TomFrayne
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Member: Tom Frayne
Location: San Jose, CA
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 1 member
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