Reviews (22)

Very very poor quality product
I agree with the other reviewer. I had been a quicken user for a long time.Since I upgraded, I have had nothing but problems!Their program is buggy as heck and they make you pay for their garbage. I am looking into alternative programs as we speak.Do not waste your money on this product. The $24 some odd you may pay for the product is nothing compared to the technical support you will be paying!

Thank you for the warnings
I was all set to upgrade to Quicken 2004. The only reason? So I could make backup files easier by burning to cd's.I too, have used Quicken for many years and would upgrade every other year.Well, after reading all the reviews, I think for the time being I will stick with my 2002 version. I can still backup on cd's the long way around. What can these companies be thinking of when they cheapen their products, hire people who can't speak with you for support, etc.
Thank you all for the warnings.I believe my money will be better spent somewhere else.

Worst Version of Quicken ...........EVER!!!!!!!
I have used Quicken since the DOS versions, this one is the worst! You cannot change any colors, period, end of discussion! You cannot remove unused, useless toolbars/frames, period, end of discussion! You will have to call tech support! You will have to endure repeated uninstalls/reinstalls! Download a trial version before you upgrade, if you can't configure it the way you want, delete it and move on!

Displeased with discontinuation of support
I have a very minor problem with Quicken 2000.It is very functional for all my needs and I am quite perturbed that to get technical support, I am forced to update.I don't need an update.I do need a very minor fix to my present system.Quite simply, the system somehow changed the opening screen and I can find no way of putting it back where it is when you first start using Quicken.I reloaded with the old disc and got the screen I want, but I have to the accounts list under the old load to find prior transactions.As for help, even the 900 number has been changed, so I can't even pay to get this rectified.What a rip-off.

What a Piece of Garbage
I have been using Quicken since "Quicken 4" on my Mac.It WAS a great program.This version is okay except for the investment portfolio.It is full of bugs, and is not at all intuitive (ironic, eh?).Further, you cannot simply "fudge" and enter your historical transactions ... so my cash balance is wrong, and impossible to correct. After researching online, it is clearly a bug that Inuit will not even acknowledge.

Hopefully they will get their act together for 2005, otherwise, I'm out of there!! ... Read more

Features

• Updated Tax Law Assistants help get the most from tax breaks
• Free e-file and free TaxCut State after mail-in rebate
• Access IRS publications and the H&R Block interactive video library
• New convenient paperless payment options for taxes due and e-filing fees
• New tax-saving tips on saver¿s credit, overlooked deductions, and more

Reviews (81)

TaxCut not friendly
Two distinct problems (seems each year it gets harder to use, and less friendly).
a. Overwrote last years files, without warning. Fortunately had a saved copy on a floppy disc.
b. Entered state information and could not remove it, when I discovered in a later 'interview' question that I had entered the information in the wrong place. Had to 'force' the entry which then brings up an error in the review.

In general, very frustrating to use, and each year it becomes worse, not better. The good days of TaxEdge are gone, and had to convert to TurboTax, which also grew more cumbersome each year, so I switched to TaxCut. This may be my last year with it.
No way to give feedback either, unless one would 'pay' $20 to tell of the problem.

This item is for last year's taxes only!!!
Every year they put out a new version of the program updated for the current tax year. This TaxCut 2003 will not be useable for 2004 tax returns. Also, for those people who think that by buying their own tax program will save them a bundle of money, they are truly foolish. I do taxes for a living, not only at home, but for a tax professional office and these programs are not meant for people who don't know the tax laws and what forms they need to file. If they do their taxes wrong, the money they saved will go right to the IRS and state in penalties and interest. These programs will not protect you against that. Let electricians do electrical work, plumbers do plumbing work, and, for crying out loud - let tax professionals do tax work. These programs are not supposed to be easy, they are not for the average person to use.

TAX CUT is horrible
I cannot think of a single reason you should have to click 3 buttons and go through 2 screens to enter 1 stock transaction.On the contrary, you should be able to enter 10 or more per screen.It took hours to enter 200 stock transactions.

Then, after the error check, certain transactions seemed to be duplicated.Upon trying to delete them with the delete button, they would not delete.If you change one of the duplicates, the contents of the other changes also.Then, looking through the list, I find that every one of the other duplicate transactions were duplicated again each time I tried to delete the first duplicated transaction pair.Now I have dozens of transactions that will not delete - after spending 2 days doing data entry and using the interviews for doing all data entry and changes, as the product recommends - - - even though it is excruciating slow work with the poor user interface design.

What a piece of junk.(And this was the final 2003 version - - - the one with all the latest fixes!)

Good value, experienced no problems
I have been using TaxCut for several years and have not experienced any problems with the program.I do have to file the 1040 and have to use several of the various worksheets, but do not have a home office or some of the other complications mentioned in other reviews.

I think it is a wonderful tool that has saved me a lot of time preparing my family's tax returns.

TaxCut Deluxe and DeductionPro
I had none of the problems that several have complained about using TaxCut Deluxe 2003. I have used TurboTax before. I switched to TaxCut last year because of the many complaints TurboTax was getting about their registration program, spyware, etc. I had no problems completing my taxes, no duplications of W-2's, no problems getting updates. I found my experience with using this tax program not much different from TurboTax. I do have a problem with H&R Block though. TaxCut Deluxe offers a rebate for DeductionPro. The tax program will even take you to the H&R Block website to give you an opportunity to download the product to help with non-cash charity donations to calculate what should be claimed. The problem with downloading DeductionPro is that the rebate for the product is not honored if it is downloaded. It has to be purchased at a retail store to get the rebate. No where on the website, on the rebate coupon, or in the program does it state that the rebate is not good if the program is downloaded directly. It does indicate to send in the UPC code from the box of the product, but if I downloaded it directly from their website, they should have a record that it was purchased legally. They gave me some bogus excuse "that due to customer buying habits, we have elected not to honor rebates unless purchased from a retail store", or something to that effect. I think the product is good, but I don't like their business practices. I may well go back to TurboTax next year. I am giving the product two stars because of their business practices. Overall, I thought the way it handled my taxes was acceptable. ... Read more

Product Description

Microsoft Money 2004 Small Business.Microsoft Money 2004 Small Business provides the small business or sole proprietor with the tools they need to manage their small business finances. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

needs a little help
I've been using MS Money for my personal accounts for years. I like it, and now after starting my own business, I especially like the price of Money Small Business compared to alternatives.

The user from Western North Carolina (mmj...) pointed out correctly that the except for printing, the Invoices are not very professionally looking. He's absolutely correct unless you have the FREE PrimoPDF (from download.com) utility installed.

This extremly handy utility (did I mention it is free!) allows you to save your invoice as a PDF file, that looks just the way you layed it out!

Just select PrimoPDF as your printer, select the name and location of your desired output file, screen or file quality option and you're ready to rock and roll!

This just made my day!!!

"Report" functionality sucks
The reporting feature does not always reflect accurate information. Say, I selected ALL categories to be reported on my Monthly Income and Expense Report, the report came out missing including several categories, and so the total on the report were all screwed-up. If I were not paying attention to that details, I would have been sued by clients for inaccurate billing.

MS Money Small Business 2004 -
Was I excited that "MONEY" was finally going to make the transition to the Small Business Community?

Absolutely! I have been too busy to want to learn a REAL Accounting program. And I have been using "Money" since the early 90's to balance my checkbook and surely one of the first to use online banking; so the idea that I could integrate invoicing was icing on my cake.

Now for the disappointing reality. While you can make and email invoices and they will be tracked in a receivables account, you will need to create a cash account to receive the money into and then transfer that amount into the account that you download your banking transactions into if you deposit more than one check at a time. Otherwise, you will have double entries in your account. This makes for many extra steps, shuffeling payments here and there.

I would have appreciated this information prior to purchasing yet another version of Money, I could have done this without the Small Business edition. (I think this puts me in the position of Beta testor, and I had to pay for the job.)

Also, I was very disappointed not to find ANY information in either the help files or online. That search in itself was exhaustive.

The help from Microsoft was indeed good. But, I was required to sign up for a "PassPort Account" to communicate with them (not opting for the toll call).

They indicated that it was indeed a problem, and they are working hard to fix it. My wish is that the repair is not a "version upgrade" as this is a definite flaw to a Business package.

Effectively, the only thing that was added to the previous version of Money (I was using Deluxe) was an invoice template, and the ability to change your fiscal year end. (This is something I complained about in Money in the 2002 version.)

I will, of course, continue to use it and I am quite sure that eventually it will be a great ENTIRE solution for a small business, since it already integrates with Excell and TaxCut.

It just needs to do it sooner...

Get Quicken Home & Business 2002 or 2003 instead
I tried this software for the first time after getting tired of Quicken's quirks.But after four months of infuriation, frustration, and wasted time, Quicken seems like heaven to me.If this is common for Money, I'll never use it again.
As other reviews have stated, there is no customization at all.If it isn't a selection, you don't get it.Just trying to set up a simple home budget is infuriating enough.You cannot select your catagories if they do not appear in their selection.Instead of being able to make layers of catagories like in Quicken (for detailed budget breakdowns), you are stuck with only one.As for downloading account information, it decides what account and where the download should go and refuses to let you change it--even though it is very wrong.You have to search out where it went and remove every single incorrect transaction one at a time.In sum, I hate this software and it has cost me more lost time than it was ever worth.

Business functionality lacking
I run a small consulting company from my home. (Small meaning, just me.) I purchased the Small Business version of this software to help with my business as well as manage my personal finances.

My business is consulting, I sell my time to customers. Although the software supports creating time items for customers, there is no reporting for time items other than create an invoice to print out the current uninvoiced time activity for a customer. This is unacceptable to me. I need to provide detailed time reporting to my customers, as well as a summarized invoice for payment. I'll have to continue to track my time in a spreadsheet.

Regarding invoices, although the software offers "emailing invoices" as a feature, what it emails is a text invoice, and there is no way to print the invoice to a file or word document to email something a bit more professional. Being in the computer consulting business, text invoices would appear a bit tacky.

So, for me, the two main things I do, track my time on consulting projects and invoice my customers via email, are not possible in this software. I have to continue to use spreadsheets to track my time, and word processing to create the invoices to email to my customers.

The personal finances functionality seems to be the same as previous versions of this software, but be very wary about paying the extra $ for the small business feature set. It seems quite lacking to me. ... Read more

Product Description

Get the Easiest-to-Use Invoicing Software Available.

• Instant Invoices: Generate professional invoices, estimates, credit memos, statements and envelopes in just minutes.
• Right for Your Business: Invoices for Product and Service Companies, as well as Invoices for Professional Services.
• Payments: Apply payments made by check, cash or credit card.
• Inventory: Automatically keep track of the quantity of each product that you have in stock.
• Sales Tax: Invoices & Estimates Pro automatically calculates sales tax and even prepares the documents necessary for you to make sales tax payments.
• Bank Deposits: Prepare bank deposit reports based on the payments you receive.
• Commissions: Track sales by salesperson, making commission calculation a cinch. ... Read more

  Reviews (8)

  Super Software
  I got this software a few years ago when I first started my home business. It has done everything I have ever asked it to do. Then one day it started to lock up my system so I called tech support for help. As it turns out I had an old version of the software and it was causing problems with service pack 2. The only solution was for me to upgrade to the new version. They gave me 50% off the new program!!!! Now I am back up and sending out invoices. THANKS INVOICES AND ESTIMATES!

  Great except for the Bugs
  I bought this at OfficeMax because it was on clearance for $10. Now I realize why it was on clearance.
  
  The software is great in itself with all the features a small business would need without all the accounting features. I was looking for invoicing and customer records and the software had them both.
  
  However, the software has bugs that need to be sorted out. Sometimes, it would work but other times, the software would crash when I tried to create an invoice, and would open back up in Spanish or French version. Thus, it doesn't seem reliable to be able to make invoices at the convenience of the software.
  
  The software is great but the bugs are unacceptable.I was using Windows XP with and AMD Athlon XP computer.

  It works for me!
  I actually bought this software before reading any reviews on it. I was shopping for Quick Books Pro, but was set aback by the price. When I saw Invoices & Estimates Pro it looked like a bargain. It does 80% of what Quick Books does, and it's 1/8th the price. Since all I need is the ability to store customer records and print invoices, it was perfect (although it does lots more than just that).

  When I got it home and looked up some reviews I was disappointed at what people were saying. I wondered if I should just return it. But it said on the box there was a 30 day money-back guarantee, so I figured I'd give it a chance....

  Turns out, it's great! I honestly don't know why the other reviewers have had difficulties with it. I'm running Win XP Pro and this software has never once failed or locked up my computer. I also find it more intuitive and easier to use than Quick Books.

  What I like about this as opposed to QB (which I've used in the past) is that it is much easier to customize the design and layout of your templates. My invoices are far nicer looking now than they ever were with QB. I can also print aging reports and graphs in seconds.

  Don't get me wrong, Quick Books is a great program and it does have many added features. But if all you need is basic invoicing, accounting, and reports, like me, and you'd rather spend $40 than $300, I would recommend Invoices & Estimates Pro.

  I do not recommend for a non software "Guru"
  This program is a night mare. I think the software person that wrote this program thinks all people know what he knows. This is definately not for the average person or business person trying to set up a invoice program. It simply is not easy and simple like the box says.
  I have been at it for two days now and am going to have to hire a software engineer for big bucks to set it up or I may just TRY to return it.
  The box is very very deceiving, it is far from simple.

  Pure Junk!
  This piece of software has the honor of being the ONLY thing that has ever locked up my Windows XP Pro system in over a year. Support is free for the long distance call but all they say is "well, it doesn't do it on my system." and that is that. No help or advise at all.I wish I could give this thing a -5 stars... ... Read more

Product Description

QuickBooks Basic 2004 is fast and easy to set up, learn and use - and starts saving you time right away! Enjoy the convenience of having all your financial information organized in one place. With just one click of a mouse, create reports to see how your business is performing. ... Read more

Features

• Financial management system for businesses
• Import data from popular office software
• Tools for invoicing, paying bills and tracking expenses
• Easily create forms and reports
• Simple guides for most common business procedures

Reviews (11)

Interface is NOT intuitive
Although there is no way i would ever try to do my small business accounting with pencil and paper, I wish this software was more intuitive!!I am 20 years old and am very knowledgeable about workign with different types of software.I also have a strong accounting knowledge.All of the microsoft software I use is very intuitive and user-friendly--the entire office suite, internet explorer, windows XP, etc. All of the small things that matter to people who want to get things done fast- are absent in quickbooks.Very very frustrating.Examples-- when generating a quick report to see customer history, the software defaults to last fiscal month to date EVERY TIME. I look through the help menu for 10 minutes and it will not show me how to reset the default.Customer names are not arrangeable by last name first that i can see!! This has happened a dozen times since i bought it.I already paid a quickbooks pro advisor $150 to set me up and answer a few questions!! I will not pay $15 more for each small stupid question that should be intuitive for the user anyway!!!!!!!

I would read the reviews for microsoft money-- it has GOT to be more intutive than this software-- VERY FRUSTRATED but i'm stuck with it now.

Accountant who uses Quickbooks daily
I am amazed at the comments I have read about the popup advertisements and the payroll application in Quickbooks. You unhappy Quickbooks users...find a Quickbooks Pro Advisor on the Quickbooks website!!! Those of you who dislike the popups...turn them off!!! Click the box to not show you this reminder or message again!And those users who do not think they can write a payroll check in Quickbooks without buying the payroll tax service...for heavens sake, YOU CAN WRITE A CHECK AND ENTER THE AMOUNTS AND PAYROLL TAXES MANUALLY.You simply select to prepare your payroll manually instead of buying the payroll tax service.Please, find a Pro Advisor in your area!!!

Customer Service or Used Car Salesman?
The CD that I got from Amazon did not work - would not install despite trying everything - caused some endless loop. I called Intuit and ultimately got connected to someone in India. After spelling my shipping address at least 8 times, received a new disk 2 days later (despite address being mangled).
Installed software and called the 800 number to get a "registration number." This is a ruse by some so-called "customer support" person who obviously has past experience selling used cars, since it was just a charade to try to strong-arm me to sign up for payroll and support services. Entire conversation was offensive, and he ultimately said to me, snidely, "Well, I certainly HOPE you don't get AUDITED." Lucky for him we were separated by a phone line....
Havent' used the software enough to tell if I like it, but it was recommended by our accountant in order to save money on tax prep, so I'm sure it will do what it needs to do.
Was entirely offended by Intuit and would avoid their products in the future.

Endless marketing
I used to like Quickbooks, but all it seems to be now is a cash cow for Intuit.My Quickbooks 2002 works just fine, but it will stop working next year so that I have to buy a new version with absolutely no new features we need.You can't use the payroll function without paying a fortune for periodic updates of the tax tables (even if your state doesn't have an income tax, or if yours doesn't change.

It's a good example of a company rapidly killing the goose which lays the golden egg.If there's a viable alternative out there, I'll buy it in a minute.

The last time I experiences bad software like this was in 93
The last time I experiences bad software like this was in 1993. Second, the nag ware is equal in annoyance as getting locked into a web site that keeps spawning new pages when you attempt to close one. It makes this program a painful and frustrating experience.

(...)

My opinion, why even bother to expose yourself to this potential mess. If you have read this "opinion" and still decide to buy this software, only blame yourself when you want to fling your PC across the room.

Look at all the prior write ups and ask yourself "why am I going to be any different?" ... Read more

Features

• Tax software guides users through state tax returns
• Interview-based wizard system
• Up-to-date with latest state tax law
• Checks math and audit flags
• Contains all the forms users will need

Reviews (14)

Piece of cake!
Flawless and no problems. I have switched to Intuit because prior programs (Tax Cut and Tax Act) would not allow me to e-file my state return (Arizona), because they did not contain a form I needed for a state credit. Turbo Tax solved that issue last year and this year as well. State program installs with a blink of the eye, and complements Turbo Tax Deluxe beautifully. This was only my second year with Intuit, but plan to 3-peat next year.

correcting information in state tax form not possible
I did my federal tax with turbotax delux and my state tax also with turbotax.
I made some errors entering information. The federal form allowed me to make corrections after I was done.
However, the state interview denies me access. Maybe I need to start all over or do it by hand.
The State program is grap. I send an email to the company but did not get any reply.

New York Commuter / New Jersey Resident Still Wrong
ATTENTION INTUIT: A BAD free state download is worse than no state download.

Unfortunately, this year's version still does not know how to back out taxes paid to NY State (where I work) and apply them to New Jersey (where I live).

Will you guys just fix this already?!?!?!!!!!

TURBO TAX STATE FOR VIRGINIA ROCKS!
You're a fool if you don't use Turbo Tax State in Virginia.This is my second year using TT and it was even easier the second time around.The new addition imports everything you punched in the year before and therefore takes less time to complete.Since you can't do state without having loaded TT Deluxe, the video on the CD walks you through the process and sends you to the answer if you type in a search.I had absolutely no trouble using TTS in Virginia and had my state and federal refunds within a week of e-filing.Yeah, within a week. (...)

Additionally, by going through the step by step questionnaire TTS reminded me to include charity work and charitable contributions, which increased my refunds.You don't even need to buy the physical product.Once you've loaded TTD or the federal variation, you can download states off the internet.

This product is better than last year.I highly recommend it.You won't be sorry.

My only criticism of TT products is you can only e-file one time per purchase. (...)The secret to fast returns is e-filing.

Not Multistate!
I was also very disappointed to find (only after I had purchased and installed TurboTax state) that it is only valid for one state!The only reason I purchased this product was to be able to file in the three states we lived in this past year.Better labeling would have led to less frustration ... Read more

Product Description

ACT! 2005 Premium for Workgroups From the #1 selling contact and customer manager, ACT! 2005 Premium for Workgroups helps sales teams and corporate workgroups make contact, build relationships and get results. It helps teams gain greater customer insights by accessing, organizing and managing contact details; improve the bottom line with tools for forecasting, tracking and reporting on sales opportunities; increase team efficiency with centralized data, robust scalability, group scheduling and advanced security for up to 50 users; manage time more efficiently by tracking and completing calls, meetings and to-do items; and take important contact information along by working with Palm OS® and Pocket PC handhelds.Choosing ACT! 2005 Premium for Workgroups makes you a part of the Best Software family. Best Software has led the way in developing and supporting automated business management solutions. With a wide range of front office and back office solutions—including accounting, human resources, payroll, fixed asset management, contact management, customer relationship management and e-commerce—Best Software offers award-winning products and services that have revolutionized the way small and medium-sized companies do business. So you can rely on outstanding service and a commitment to providing your business with the technology it needs to succeed, today and into the future. ... Read more

Features

• Includes Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition
• Easy-to-use contact and customer-manager software
• Access, organize, and manage contact details
• Stay on top of schedule 24/7; share customer info securely
• Enhanced group scheduling; link to Palm OS and Pocket PC handhelds

Reviews (1)

After all these years I thought this product would be better
I've been a user of ACT software going back to version 3.0. Being in software sales, over the years most software vendors have adopted more souped-up CRM solutions such as Salesforce.com or Siebel or the like, so I can imagine the interest in this product category has been lacking. STILL, the feature set of this product hasn't changed much in the ten or so years sinced I used the earlier version. In fact, this product has become more bloated and buggy than any commerical software product I have ever used. I've considered listing all the bugs but it would be too long. But I will say this, other than a weird bug that sometimes mis-categorizes contacts into groups I didn't intent them to be a part of, the other bugs tend to be obvious use-ability type things. Bugs that a half asleep QA tester should've found.

Having said that, the positives are these: First, ACT! is nothing if not a good contact manager and task manager - nothing more, nothing less. I like being able to group contacts into multiple groups, and do pro-active email marketing to the members of specific groups - that feature works really well inconjunction with MS Outlook. In fact integration with Outlook and my PocketPC Cell phone is really exceptionjal. Integration with Word is also very strong. So, its this integration strength that keeps me booting this product up each day. BUT, if I was to purchase a product in this category again, I'd buy Goldmine (it wasn't on the shelf when I bought ACT! - my impatience!). Part of the problem with this product may be that its been owned by a number of different companies over the years. Best Software now owns the IP - let's hope they will issue bug fixes and then truly innovate this product in future releases. ... Read more

Features

• Financial management system for accountants
• Includes all forms and report options from Quickbooks Basic, Pro, and Premier
• Includes Fixed Asset Manager and loan amortization tool
• Remote access allows smoother communication with clients
• Save reports and forms as PDFs

Features

• Track Product Inventory
• Create Invoices & Estimates
• Generate Purchase Orders
• Manage Receivables & Aging
• Automatic Tax Calculation

Reviews (1)

This app is a dog
If you are even remotely serious about your invoicing and accounts receivable, don't even think about wasting forty bucks on this incredibly worthless application.It produces "nice looking" invoices; big deal.You can do the same thing in word processing.Buying this software will remind you of the junk you bought from ads in a comic book 40 years ago, like X-Ray Specs or Sea Monkeys.It's total garbage (from a software publisher who practically INVENTED garbage). ... Read more

Product Description

Microsoft Money 2004 Standard (Packaged in DVD small Case) .Microsoft Money 2004 Standard provides a quick and easy way to organize and manage your personal finances. Balance your checkbook, create a budget, and reduce debt, simply and easily. Personal finances made easy ... Read more

Reviews (20)

AWFUL PRODUCT!
If I could give this "application" no stars I would.

"Features" within the application are nothing more than a direct link to several of Microsoft's websites.When I inquired about deactivating these "features", Microsoft's reply was essentially "sorry, this is part of the software."

As an avid and loyal user of Money since 2001, I will be switching to another package or trying to find my MS Money 2001 disks.

I already owned Money 2001 Standard Edition and expected similar feature sets in Money 2005 Standard....oops.If you want "retirement accounts", you need to purchase the 2005 Deluxe.If want the monthly Cash Flow forecast (like in Money 2001), that feature is GONE!

This is nothing more than brochure-ware for Microsoft's web sites, YOU have to pay for it, AND M$ has the audacity to actually have pop-up messages built into the product ASKING YOU TO UPGRADE.

[...]

Fair Financial Software
I purchased Microsoft Money to keep track of my monthly budget and a couple of small investments that I had.While there is some good stuff there, Money has quite a few shortcomings which make it much less than what I expected.

The Good
- Connects directly with financial websites such as Ameritrade to download stock portfolio information and banks to get check information which is then seemlessly integrated into your budget/analysis/etc. Very useful.

The Bad
- Confusing interface which was hard to transfer from one view to another
- No financial tools to analyze your holdings.No ROI, no NPV, no aggregate betas, nothing beyond stocks current price.
- No way to aggregate accounts of stocks and bonds or to analyze your holdings across accounts.
- The budgeting software was not very effective.It was hard to categorize checks.You had to do it one-by-one in a process that takes a pretty long time.
- If there was an automatic bill-pay mechanism, I didn't figure it out.

Overall
For my needs, I would not buy this product again.I thought about upgrading to the professional version, but did not see that it addressed the problems of the standard version.

There is really nothing in Money that you can't do just as easily in an Excel worksheet and a Yahoo! Finance portfolio.In many ways, Yahoo's free web service is superior to Microsoft's software.

What a deal!
2004 Standard Moneys for under 20 bucks!booya!

-Gnome

The worst software I ever saw...
Microsoft Money has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience...

Please tell Microsoft about this problem...

I just received the product this afternoon. I install it and even restart my PC many times.It still cannot ever start... Really disappointed. DO NO BUY THIS PRODUCT!

M$ Sucks
I just bought this product. After installation, I can not even start it. It really sucks. ... Read more

Features

• Create and print your own custom business and personal checks -- including bank code number on the bottom
• Manage your finances to view your net worth, upcoming payables and receivables, schedule your bill payments, exchange transaction files and synchronize your financial data and bank account information
• Obtain your customer's bank details via the Internet, phone or fax to create a check draft for immediate deposit
• Automatically collect recurring payments or service fees
• Built-in payee database, address book and contact manager for keeping important information at your fingertips

Product Description

Landware Pocket Quicken v.2.0 - Complete Product - Financial Management - 1 User(s) Complete Product - StandardPocket Quicken places your financial activity at your fingertips making it easy to keep your Quicken information complete, accurate and up-to-date wherever you go. Effortless data entry coupled with instant access to account balances, transactions, credit limits, budgets and more adds up to financial clarity in the Palm of your hand. Nice electronics is your source for everyday low prices on theLandware 2436 - POCKET QUICKEN V2.0 FOR PALM OS 2.0 OR HIGHER PDA and all other Landware Software - Misc ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Discipline made easy
I got Quicken and I thought it would be horrendous trying to keep up with all the data entry.I thought, boy would it be easier if I could sync with my palm pilot (which goes with me everywhere, to every store, and to every cash register).When I looked, sure enough, some genius had thought of the same thing before I did.The software incorporates a similar format to the PC version, so entries require as few stylus strokes as possible.

I am a dentist, and there is a principle in dentistry that applies here: the easier something is to use, the more it will get used and the more effective it will be.This software makes Quicken practical because you can enter it at the point of sale and be DONE with it.No harboring receipts, no pile ups of entries to be made.All you gotta do is make it a point to enter it at the cashier, and that can usually be done while the receipt is being printed out.

If you are checking this out, you already know you could use it.I'm here to tell you that it will pay for itself, so take the plunge.Don't let your finances go out of whack because you aren't using your Quicken. ... Read more

Features

• Save calculations for later review; print calculations for your own or your client's files.
• Carry a single computer for all your needs without losing your calculator's functionality.
• Calculate the way you prefer: RPN, order and chain input modes; quick access to routine functions.
• Templates appear like mini-spreadsheets, making it easy to verify your information, show clients, and work with colleagues.
• Add on or create your own templates to match the way you work.

Features

• Through a series of easy-to-understand questions, you'll have your forms filled out automatically
• Double-checks for accuracy - avoiding the errors, overlooked deductions and entries that could trigger an audit
• Year-to-year deduction comparisons to maximize tax savings
• Official IRS publications and expert audio advice, straight from the source
• Investment tools for selling stocks, bonds, mutual funds & employee stock plans

Product Description

Intuit Inc (292592) ITSDEDUCTIBLE V2004 ... Read more

Features

• Easily access IRS publications; prints reports and receipts
• Accurately value donations in compliance with IRS guidelines
• Values based on extensive research of resale outlets and market data
• Powerful search tool provides value based on condition and style
• Instantly transfer into TurboTax; auto-fills donation tax form

Reviews (5)

IT'S DEDUCTABLE
NOTHING TO INDICATE DEDUCTIONS THAT YOU MAY BE OVERLOOKING. NOTHING INDICATING THAT THE PROGRAM CAN ONLY BE USED TO TRACK DEDUCTIONS DURING 2004, AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANYTHING IN ANY OTHER YEAR. REALLY NOT WORTH THE MONEY.

It's worse now than ever!
Last year (2004), I used ItsDeductible for an entire year, keeping track of my donations of clothes, money, and other items.I was also able to use the software to keep track of my job-related expenses that are deductible (ie research expenses of a professor, job related journals, etc.)There was also a space to keep track of medical expenses.I loved it, and it saved me some money. I just received my new, *not* improved 2005 version, and suddenly, everything has changed.Basically, they made the software LESS useful.They have eliminated the medical expense and the professional expense sections, and now there is only the bare-bones charity donation record keeping.And even this has been drastically cut - many specific categories of clothing, for example, have been cut.Last year, I could be as specific as denim jeans or silk blouses - this year they are listed as "women's pants" and "women's shirts" with no variance in the price that they are "worth."Because of this, I am pretty skeptical that this would pass an audit, so I am now keeping extra records of these donations DESPITE buying the software.I suspect that the company could care less - what are the chances of an audit, anyway?It is probably cheaper for them to avoid refunds when consumers don't achieve the promised 500.00 savings than it is to fear the IRS audits, which are few and far between.Final word - rather than improved, this new version is worse.I could do just as well with a notebook and a quick check on ebay for values.

Too many items missing
I just spent 1.5 hrs entering 80 items.Only half of my donated items were included in the ItsDeductible database.I had to manually enter the other half and estimate the value on my own.

Even with items such as clothes, I had to just pick an item from the database.It was rare that my donated item actually matched something in the database.

This software is not the cure-all that Intuit says it is.I should've saved my money and entered all of my donations in a spreadsheet like I did in previous years.

Peace of Mind
While the software could use a big user interface enhancement, it does the job and pays for itself many times over.If you give a lot of old belongings to charity it is invaluable and the dollar amounts are always more than I used to claim.I'm starting to feel like Clinton with his $10 underwear.

The peace of mind alone is worth $20.It also saves time if you use it year-after-year and give to the same charities.If you do there is no need to research and update their contact and tax info as it is automatically retained from prior years (and of course feeds TurboTax.

Intuit purchased ItsDeductible a couple of years ago.At the time it was already integrated (somewhat) with TurboTax.I'll be interested to see how this year's version is progressing.

Very useful for some donations, but slow and unwieldy ...
THE GOOD: If you donate clothing or other physical items to charity, you will find this program indispensable when it comes to calculating IRS-friendly dollar values.Over the summer my wife gave eight bags of clothing to our local Goodwill.Using ItsDeductible 2004 and her detailed receipt, it took me a mere 20 minutes to come up with a value for the hundred plus items in her donation.Additionally ItsDeductible also prompts you for lesser known deductions, like the number of miles you had to drive to drop off your charitable goods (the IRS gives you $.14 per mile).

THE BAD: ItsDeductible's user interface is clunky and unwieldy for cash donations (in the future I will stick to just entering those into a spreadsheet).Also the application takes its dear sweet time to launch and seams to run slowly; more than once I was typing faster than the words were appearing in the application.

THE UGLY: In my experience, tech support on this product is a joke.When I installed the program on my computer, it would not launch and instead gave a ten-digit error code.Looking that code up on the ItsDeductible website gave several possible solutions ... none of which worked.Eventually I called tech support, which was not easy as their hours are 6am to 3pm PST.After putting me on hold for twenty minutes, the tech finally told me that ItsDeductible would not launch if your computer's date format is set to anything other than M/D/YYYY.Arg!The application should have said that rather than give an unintelligible error code!

Overall I would recommend ItsDeductible to anyone who has given clothes, books, or other non-cash items to charity.If your charitable donations are primarily cash, I would recommend using an old-fashioned spreadsheet rather than ItsDeductible due to its inherent flaws. ... Read more

Product Description

The interactive software for effectively managing your budget. With Home Budget for Dummies, you can organize and manage your accounts stress free! Includes a 144-page step-by-step Managing Your Money for Dummies User Guide. ... Read more

Product Description

Microsoft Money 2005 Small Business is the comprehensive finance solution that makes managing your business finances easy. Completely rebuilt for simplicity, Money makes handling finances easy with speedy setup, automated tools that reduce the need for manual entry, and adaptable Essential and Advanced features that enable a more personal experience. Following is an overview of the software's new and enhanced features. Money has been redesigned to bring more people into the personal finance category. Everyone’s financial wants are different. For the user who doesn’t want to spend time on their finances but just focus on the essentials, they can easily access their account balances online, have their transactions automatically categorized and instantly see where their money is going. They have ALL their financial information in one place, with minimal to no typing. For those people who like to pore over the details, Money gives you more with its advanced views. Money 2005 –one product, different user perspectives. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

MS Money 2005 Beware- Bugs, Flaws & General Issues
Money 2003 was an awesome product and I dropped Quicken after 6 years to use it. But the latest version that incorporates business forms and accounts should have remained in beta.

This is a flawed product that is a step back from previous versions. The conversion from earlier versions of Money can cause file corruption problems. The product has a feature to import contacts from Outlook but it is "buggy" and causes problems. When I called MS tech support the support rep said do not use it. They claim youcan share you information with other MS passport Users but it does not work. After two hours on the phone with MS they finally admitted it was a flaw. As the other review says, the invoice feature is a joke. You spend time customizing your invoices and then when you go to save them all images and formatting are taken out and only a text file is saved. There is no PDF capability. And you can not e-mail your newly designed invoice as it also creates a "bland" text file.

When i called Microsoft, American Express and Wells Fargo Tech support ( all support product)all support technicians said they hear nothing but problems with this product.

Money 2003 and 2004 were great. What alet down 2005 Small Business is. Stick to Quicken and Quick books and save your self hours on toll calls to tech support that results in no known fixes and no information in the MS Knowledge base.

Stay away!!
Don't make the mistake of buying this product. Learn from my mistake, I lost my hard earned $90 on this useless buggy piece of software.

I am still no able to digest the idea that you have to keep all your banking information on their servers to be able to receive bank transactions automatically. If you are concerned about security and automatic transaction updates are important to you, do not buy this product.

Other problems:
- Does not updates bank transactions consistently
- Clicking on update creates accounts one more time instead of just downloading the transactions
- Custom invoice template is a big mess. You can create custom templates and save them. But, you cannot edit them or use them to print invoices.

I wonder what kind of dimwit product manager has managed and released this product.

I wish there was some kind of consumer protection law that would let me return this product and get my money back. ... Read more

Product Description

Intuit QuickBooks Premier 2004 Manufacturing & Whosale Edition.Track inventory components and assembled goods using the features, tools, and reports in Premier ManufacturingWholesale Edition 2004. Define more price levels for different customer types: up to 100, per item, and set by percentage or by dollar amount. Create sales orders and work orders to streamline processes. Work more quickly, in fewer steps on purchase orders, packing slips, and more. See profitability and sales trends instantly through more than 10 reports designed specifically for manufacturers and wholesalers. Manage your finances faster and easier with the ManufacturingWholesale Menu and Navigator. Improve your inventory control with new forms and customized worksheets for better inventory tracking and recording. ... Read more

Features

• Financial management system for manufacturing and wholesale businesses
• Easy menus help set up invoicing, recordkeeping and more
• Easily manage accounts payable and receivable
• Integrate financial systems
• Advanced accounting, inventory and asset tools