Like the farmer who takes a bath every Saturday whether he needs one or not, I upgrade my version of Intuit's Quicken software every three years, whether I need to or not. This time I needed to, though not through any fault of my own: I'd received a letter from Intuit warning me that Quicken 2005 Basic, the version I'd been using, wouldn't be supported after April, 2008. I can get by without phone support, but losing the ability to update my bank accounts online is most unappealing.

Beginning with 2008, there's no longer a Quicken Basic; instead Intuit sells a Quicken Starter Edition. Seems reasonable, except that "start" is the key word: it will not import files from older versions or, for that matter, from MSMoney or other software. It allows no imports, whatsoever.

That made my choice pretty clear: step up to Quicken Deluxe 2008. Luckily, I was able to bundle a copy of TurboTax 2007 and Quicken Deluxe 2008 and get them both for less than the sixty-dollar list price of Quicken Deluxe. Sure hope I can do that again in three years when the company discontinues Quicken 2008... but I digress. Now, to the software:


What Can I Do with Quicken?

A little thing called "Money Management": Ever sit down at the end of the month with an empty wallet and wonder where it all went? Quicken - any version - helps me figure it out. It does so by displaying all of my income and outgo in various graphic and report formats. I see where the money goes in visual representations of a check register (except the program does all the subtraction for me¹).

I can do this with all my financial accounts - savings, checking, credit card, and even the cash in my pockets. A list of all those accounts is always visible so that I can see their current status at any time. I can even view all my expenses (and scheduled income/outgo) for a given month on a calendar. I guarantee that - if you're honest about keeping Quicken up-to-date - at the end of the month you'll be able to home in on those money drains. I can also get a "snapshot" of my current financial situation: three windows showing me this month's income, what's scheduled to go out, and what's left. With luck, that last number is a positive value!

Track investments: Every investment, whether it's a mutual fund, a brokerage account, or passbook savings; can be tracked and displayed in an investments section.

Loan status: Whether it's a mortgage, car loan, or student loan(s); I can track not just its current balance, but also see where I am on the amortization schedule and how much of each payment goes to principal and interest.

Tax time approacheth: Quicken files import seamlessly to TurboTax, or just about any tax software. This is especially useful for tracking deductions (business or medical expenses); but it's also handy for outside income and tax credits.

All on-line! Intuit has connections to more than 5000² banks, brokerages, and other financial institutions, allowing me to access my accounts and update not just balances but also transactions. And I can do it all in a single click: once my passwords are stored in a "vault," I can update everything across the 'net with a single click. That means not just updating bank balances, but also updating the prices of any stocks and mutual funds (except those in 401k and IRA accounts). Those financial institutions include every one I deal with, not to mention small institutions like the Bank of Hydro, OK, or Eagle Bank and Trust Co. of Festus, MO.

Track a PayPal Account: Yep, Quicken now makes tracking PayPal accounts a snap; both payments and receipts.


What's in Deluxe but not in Starter?

Document storage: I can scan in receipts, statements, loan agreements, and the like to save them in one place. Might come in handy next time I have to figure out if that watch is still under warranty (been there, done that); requires a standalone scanner, of course.

Track my budget: The summary of monthly spending gives me a good idea of where the leaks are in the budget. You say I'm spending $325/month on lattes? Hmmm... wouldn't that pay for four days of skiing at Steamboat?

Track savings for college: There's a special category for 529 plans to allow you to track saving for that college education (it's moot for me...).

Track Retirement Accounts: Where Quicken Starter Edition has access to brokerages and mutual funds, Quicken Deluxe 2008 also downloads data from my 401ks and IRAs; no small task since I've got about five of them.

Track mortgage(s): Download the details and current status of one or more mortgages, as long as the mortgage-holder's in the list of 5300 institutions.


What's New This Edition?

The "My Savings Plan" Budget summary is new - and pretty cool, though it attempts to enforce discipline on some who aren't kindly disposed toward financial discipline. You can set spending targets for the various categories (groceries, car expenses, dining our...) and the "Savings Plan" view will show a bar graph of expenses to date vs. target value. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words!

Connection to PayPal

Scheduled reminders: Vista users can get reminders of scheduled bills and transactions to the desktop (not available for earlier versions of Windows).

Updated interface: The register screen gets a new field (a "tag" replaces the old "class" nomenclature), plus more readable pop-ups for the standardized fields (category, tag)

Name standardization on downloads: (new to me, anyway) Where downloading credit and debit card transactions used to include long codes in the payee name, now the payee name is standardized. So all Speedway gas stations are just "Speedway" instead of "Speedway#14455667XXK" and "Speedway#14545667OOW"; Krogers are just "Kroger" instead of "Kroger #146" and "Kroger # 147." Does a pretty good job of figuring out that money spent at a Kroger is pretty likely to be groceries, too...


Other Versions

Besides the Basic and Deluxe versions, there's also Quicken Premier, with lots more investment tools. Quicken Home and Business adds in support for a small business. Two more products, Quicken Rental Property Manager and Quicken Medical Expense Manager, are available for specialized needs. Lest the Palm crowd get restive, there's a version for handhelds that syncs with desktop versions; a pretty interesting idea for Road Warriors.


So much for the features: How about using it?

New buyers, see Intuit's recommended minimum configuration at the bottom of the page³. I installed on a Dell Precision with 2.3GHz Intel processor and 512 MB RAM from a CD-ROM (a direct download is also available through www.quicken.com). Installation was a painless process: I ran the installer, pointed out existing Quicken Files, and was ready to go. Having done this before, I knew to back up data files to a flash drive (just in case), and went ahead and uninstalled my Quicken 2005 instead of writing over it. The entire process - including registration of the software and a couple of surveys - could not have taken more than fifteen minutes. If new users have problems, however, Intuit provides 24-hour installation tech support - and if they have real problems, all versions have a 100% satisfaction guarantee (60 days).

Importing older files is seamless: Intuit created the format and so are good at it. Since I had a less powerful version for 2005, I had to set up some additional online connections: add a couple of old 401ks and a current pension program. This went, as they say, slicker'n snake snot. Many online institutions provide specific instructions for Quicken users.

Everything else will be familiar to long-time Quicken users. There's word-completion for filling in blanks (has been since about 2000), both standardized and custom report formats, on-line help and community forums, and lots of different ways to visualize cash flow. I can create all manner of custom pigeonholes for categorizing expenses; differentiating expenses for our two cars, for instance, or between his and hers clothing expenses. The download process is, in a word, absolutely amazing - especially the process of updating the current value of retirement and investment accounts. Planning on "twisting off" when the number crests a million? I'll know I've crossed the threshold the next time I update. When tax time rolls around, the import to TurboTax is (historically speaking, anyway) just as seamless.

Though there's plenty of context-sensitive help (what's a "mortgage," Daddy?), the bulk of the help must be accessed on-line. This is clearly a program that requires an internet connection, and preferably a fast one. I've used the older version with dial-up, and it's do-able, though definitely slow. You gotta love Quicken - except maybe that not completely impressive desktop help; and their habit of "expiring" their software after just three years.


Bottom Line:

If you've used Quicken before and plan to update, your minimum choice is Quicken 2008 Deluxe; the Starter version will not allow import of existing files. The additional twenty dollars or so worth it, especially when it comes time to start tracking your retirement plan(s) and investments. If you've never used Quicken before the software can (assuming you have the requisite discipline) impose structure on your finances. The newly-added "My Savings Plan" view holds great promise for both beginning and veteran budget-followers. Whatever the case, Quicken Deluxe 2008 is a clear winner (forced expiration and on-line help notwithstanding)









Notes:
¹ some users have reported that the register occasionally goes wonky and attains the math skills of the average second-grader. I've been using the program since 1989 and I've never seen this - and people who have say that the funny numbers go away if you close and re-open the program.
² more than 5300; only 2000 or so are accessible, however, from Quicken Mac 2007
³ Minimum configuration: Pentium II 300, Windows 2000, 128MB RAM (256 recommended), 100MB Disk Space, 1024x768 monitor with 16-bit color, DC-ROM drive, 56kbps or faster internet connection, sound card, printer.


Recommended: Yes