Reviews (4)

Primitive, cumbersome, no decent tech suppport.
As a long time QuickBooks Pro user, I had high hopes for POS, but this product is a disaster.It is simply unuseable without tech support ...You can't even email a question to Intuit.The fields are not customizable.If you have any need beyond the simplest retailing, you'll be stuck.No wholesaling, consignment, layaway, gift certificates.Lacks the most basic user friendly functions like drop-downs, macros (it takes 14 steps, including HTML coding, to attempt recalibrate printing price labels - NOT KIDDING - and you won't find those steps in the user manual.)Receipt and report layouts are barely customizable and lack basic information such as company name.Fonts cannot be changed are so small our customers need magnifying glasses to read prices.Interface between inventory, purchase vouchers and sales receipts very clumsy and cumbersome.Make a mistake on a long receipt and you have to start all over.No editing or overrides, even for password protected business owners.Intuit is squandering its good reputation on POS.

Calling this software junk is praise
Having been in software development and set up many POS systems for people I can honestly say this is the poorest excuse for software I have ever seen. The features are non existent, The user interface is the worst. You have only a few ways to get inventory in this train wreck and they have very little to do with POS. There is no real cash register screen. It's just a grid with a few buttons. I can't see how anyone would find this application useful, especially at the price they are selling it for. Stick with Microsoft Quicksell 2000. Intuit, what are you thinking?

Won't do layaway
This system is priced very well and it has many functions however one thing it won't do is layaway.I can't comment on the product as a whole since I returned it when I discovered it can't process layaways.QB suggested I create a customer charge account for each layaway (I would need QB 2002 for this) to handle layaways but other POS systems accomodate layaways so I will have to purchase a different system.I was also suspicious of Intuit from reviews of other quickbooks users of other QB products who cited numerous customer service issues, lack of support, and some very customer unfriendly upgrades.

Best investment I ever made!
I've been using an electronic cash register for over 14 years and have been manually entering my sales figures into my accounting.QuickBooks Point of Sale is GREAT!My sales totals now go automatically into my accounting.The cash register is also so easy to use and is very professional.I love it.Definitely worth every penny. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

QuickBooks Premier 2002, Accountant Edition helps you manage your clients' financial activities more effectively. New features help you better control changes to client files. New reconciliation and discrepancy reports identify changes. Remote access allows you to work on a client's file from your own office. QuickBooks Premier can even integrate with other software applications so data can be shared.

Premier, Accountant Edition works with any of the QuickBooks 2002 financial software products: Basic, Pro, and Premier. Clients simply send you their company files by e-mail or on a disc, you update the files and return them, and they can immediately begin working.

Work faster with new general journal features such as auto-reversing and auto-numbering. Manage client data more effectively by identifying changes to company files with new Reconciliation and Close Date Exception Reports. Improve accounting control over changes to prior periods with a new password-protected close date feature. Work in clients' QuickBooks files by connecting to their PCs with the new QuickBooks Remote Access service. One free year of service is included with the software. Also receive one month free QuickBooks Credit Check Services and six months free QuickBooks Online Backup Service when you sign up five clients for a free trial. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Limited Use
This is a good product... However, one draw back is if your clients do not use a current version of Quickbooks it is not helpful.

An over-hyped product
This is certainly over-hyped product.

1) The form customization (for invoice, purchase order,etc.) capabilty is very limited, you can change the location of each field appear on the form, decide which field you'd like to add or taken out based the fields available on the template, but you can't add any new field that is not available in the template. The Invoice form is so limited that unless your customer paying you by cheque, there is no place for "Remittance Advise" and your banking information.
2) Although the software claims that it can be used in many industries and business sectors, but it seems to be designed more for small and medium consulting or service-oriented businesses. For example, in my case, I want to use the "Estimate" template which is more suitable for services to create a "Quotation" form for my wholesales business so that I can take the advantage of the inventory item list that already in my Quickbooks data files, I only to found out later that the "estimate" template only allows me to work from the cost up with certain percentage of "markup" to generate the list price, this is not the way that many wholesaler generate "quotation" (what Quickbooks called "estimate"), and I can't do anything about it because Quickbooks won't allow me to add the field for "Retail/List price" and work down with a "Discount" level.
3) I can't imagine that such a comprehensive, user friendly, "premier" edition does not support multi-currency, again, it supports my points that the software is not designed with the businesses whereby you need to buy parts from overseas at different currency.

So because of the lack of those small but critical features that are importantto the whole business management/accounting process chain, I can't use this software and have to look for another software. ...

No way!
If you have an older version of this software I would stick with it. I wish I could go back every time I use this new one, but it's too late for me. The "improvements"
are minimal and mostly useless and there are lots of "unimprovements", which they tend to do every time they upgrade.

If you do not use Quickbooks and are a potential first time customer, go elsewhere. Research other software, like M.Y.O.B. or others. I'm not endorsing MYOB - I
have never used it. It's just another similiar product to look into. Intuit has ruined Quickbooks and their tech support and customer support are the worst in the
industry.

Is the Upgrade WORTH it? Ask the QBooks GURU !
I've been using QuickBooks for several years, and I am a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor---do I think the upgrade to the Accountant's Version is worth it? YES--if you are an Accountant or Bookkeeper--this version saves you a TON of time and effort. The differences are first subtle to the eye, but as you start using the program, you will better access the features you have been accustomed to IN addition to:

REMOTE Access: Great time saver to not only help your client with day to day entries, but also I am able to send back seperate files. With this feature, I can accomodate clients in any STATE, with no problem !

CLOSING Date: Remember how cumbersome it got if the client has used QBooks for a few years??? With alot of entries , the software slowed to a crawl--NOW, you can CLOSE off previous years and store it.

EMAIL Statements: Another time saver for me, when I need to "remind" clients to send payment..Credit reports:Why not find out about prospective clients or customers before entering into your own time and money?

IMPROVED Bank Reconciliations: A feature I found cumbersome previously is now something I use with any upgraded 2002 client.

There are now some audit trails not used previously...also some improvements with journal entries...and so on.

Okay, I admit I am NEVER fond of raised prices---and I am not happy that this new version will only accomodate 2 computers, but I still REALLY feel that this upgrade is worth the money.

Nancy M. Schiff

Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor
Schiff Management
...

.... ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

QuickBooks Pro 2002 includes everything in QuickBooks Basic, plus advanced tools for managing your business finances. It's fast and easy to set up, learn, and use, and starts saving you time right away. Enjoy the convenience of organizing all your financial information in one place with no accounting knowledge necessary. Easy transactions help you get paid and pay others.

With just one click of a mouse, you can create reports to see how your business is performing. This includes estimating, time tracking, integration with other business software applications, and many new features. QuickBooks Pro 2002 also includes many improvements to the options for small businesses, such as improved customer tracking, a find function, and customized forms.

Keep accurate accounts-receivable data by applying credits to specific invoices or applying one payment to multiple jobs. Create estimates and convert them to bids, or create multiple and duplicate estimates easily. Track time throughout a job, and print job-cost summaries when the work is done. Save more time by letting up to five users access the same QuickBooks file at the same time. Share information with Outlook, Word, Act!, and Excel. Integrate key data with other software applications for your type of business.

Note: this a five-user pack. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

QuickBooks Pro - Quick to end support.
QuickBooks 2001 is no longer supported.I assume that Intuit will drop support at the rate of one edition per year.It is more like leasing the software for 3 years, not buying it.Even the extra cost features became unusable.

Easy to Use, NOT Easy to Set Up>from the QuickBooks Guru
People that are disappointed with the software usually have tried to set this up themselves without help. I have been a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor since inception of the program, and my MAIN job is FIRST to set up the program correctly. Once it is set up, it is easy to train most anyone to use most of the functions, especially in the 2002 Version.

Intuit Customer Service is minimal at best, I agree---but that is why you should call a CERTIFIED advisor in your area (but with the QB remote access, ANYplace is adaptable now) with an accounting background. It will save you time, and aggravation !

I have used every other accounting software package out there, and I really just recommend QBooks for most businesses. It's functionality, ease of use and reporting functions are GREAT!. I have all my clients up and running with deposits, checks, invoices, emailing statements, job profitabilities etc etc.within 2 hours WHEN it's been set up properly !

I have taken many clients off other software out there in the market that has cost them many lost hours, wasted money and MUCH frustration. Intuit has raised their prices, I agree---(something I am NEVER fond of) BUT it's STILL a big Bang for the Buck ...from someone that KNOWS the product very very well!

Nancy M. Schiff
"QuickBooks Guru"

Intuit needs to wake up!
Quickbooks seems to be very limited, 5 concurrent user limit regardless of how many copies you buy.

During the period of time I've tried to contact them through their E-commerce site, I have discovered that they have absolutely insulated themselves from the public... not a good sign.

The QB software can't be downloaded even from the Intuit site, yet requires post installation activation. In other words you have to wait till they get around to sending the CD to you, and then after getting it loaded you have to ask them for permission to use it. Upgrade your hardware and you could end up jumping through hoops of fire in order to get it working again.

After spending several hours over two days trying to access their E-commerce site, which cannot be accessed unless you set up your own system security to basically drop its trousers, I have come to the conclusion that Intuit is poorly equipped to service the business management and accounting needs of other companies if they manage their own site security, marketing and PR so poorly.

After all of this, they were unable to find my order to cancel it.

Do you want your small business accounting software to be writen by a company that can't find it long enough to pull it's thumb out?

I will not buy Intuit software again until such time as they return to the practices that built their reputation.
Customer support and access
Precise and accurate internal management of their company.
Proper E-commerce website security

Forget about it!
Intuit: one of the worst customer service companies on the planet. I have had serious problems with my tech support plan, which I paid a lot of money for, over the past 6 months. It took hours of phone calls over months to finally get someone to do something. You know what they did after all that? Gave me one month of tech support for free! How wonderful! What an insult! 6 months of down time on their eSupport, I have purchased their products every year for 15 years, I spent endless hours trying to get this resolved, and they give me 1 month!

Also, when they say that with the Premier tech support plan that they GUARANTEE that you won't be on hold for more than 10 minutes, I was on hold for 45 minutes and finally had to hang up. I never did reach a tech support person. When I talked to them about it later, you know what I found out? "Guarantee" means nothing whatsoever. They wouldn't do anything for me.

So do I think you should buy this product? Not on your life! Seek a software company that cares at least a little bit about the people who are keeping them in business (their customers). ... Read more

Features

• Customize reports, prices and more
• Automatically track information for taxes and reporting
• Financial management system for businesses
• Import data from popular office software
• Easily manage accounts payable and receivable

Reviews (10)

Be careful before you buy Quickbooks
Not a bad software, but the caveat is that you MUST pay every year to upgrade in case you are planning to get new TAX TABLES.After your software is only one year old, it WILL NOT run the new TAX TABLES.Believe it or not.

No to the payroll part of this software
QuickBooks for Mac does a nice job in all respects except payroll.Do not buy this if you want to use the add on payroll software, TopPay by Aatrix.It has failed me miserably.Year end reports are incorrect and I have even had to resort to hand writing pay checks!Customer service can not be relied upon.I cannot stress how much time I have wasted trying to find and correct mistakes made in payroll.DO NOT BUY THIS IF YOU WANT TO USE PAYROLL.

Thoroughly Disappointing
As a long-time small business owner in the technology sector, I have seen my share of good and bad software and Quickbooks Pro 6 for Mac ranks right up there with the worst of the rollouts.The program is chock full of bugs, it is unstable, and although all of this is well documented, there are no fixes or workarounds provided by Intuit.

The interface for the payroll program that accompanies this software is quirky, counter-intuitive, frustratingly temperamental and the tax table costs are above and beyond the operating cost of the software and they are excessive.Although the software can be made to work, it is an arduous, tedious, and mind-numbing experience.

Intuit's "support" of this product is maddeningly incomplete and difficult to use unless you pony up the cash to purchase a kinder and gentler experience from them.Personally, I strongly object to this situation where the software has mission-critical bugs and crashes on a regular basis with or without loss of data and yet Intuit essentially forces you to purchase support by holding out the hope that you can get the software working properly through some personal assistance.

Despite my misgivings, I certainly gave this software the boyscout try--dutifully purchasing "support" and trying all of the inane solutions the support team could come up with--all to no avail.I'm told that their team is working on my problems and a solution will hopefully be available in an upcoming release--whenever that may be.Unfortunately, I have a company to run, so I am writing off all of my time and effort and retreating to other more reliable solutions.So, after a long and frustrating journey, I am writing this to serve as a lighthouse to others so that you may perhaps avoid crashing on Intuit's rocky coastline like I did.

I'd rather run Windows than Aatrix
Running Aatrix payroll is anything but user-friendly. Aatrix goes out of their way say how Mac-friendly they are, yet the integration into QuickBooks is not seemless. I gave up, and switched my license to Windows 2000 running under Virtual PC on my Mac.

QuickBooks for Mac itself is the same as it's always been - a very forgiving accounting program with a decent interface. If you don't need payroll, I'd give it 5 stars.

Review of QuickBooks 6.0 for the Mac
QuickBooks Pro 2004, produced by Intuit, is a software program that allows you to manage the fiscal side of your business, such as invoices, estimates, timesheets, and payroll, among other things.It also has the ability to export to Microsoft Excel, allows for automatic backups, and, of course, the much welcomed file conversion capability from previous QuickBooks' formats.The QuickBooks line has always been highly respected in the financial field, and I was eager to dive in and begin running it through its paces.

The computer requirements, according to the overlay emblazoned upon the front of the software package, is Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X as an operating system; however, Intuit's website states more defined "recommended" requirements of the operating system, i.e., Mac OS 9.2.2, Mac OS 10.2.7, or Mac OS 10.3 as the minimal OS.The recommended system RAM is 128MB, the required hard drive space is 100MB.In addition, a CDROM and color monitor capable of supporting millions of colors and a minimum resolution of 1024 X 768 is needed.Requirements for use of an "add-on" product named Aatrix Top Pay may vary from what is used by QuickBooks Pro 2004.

Installing QuickBooks Pro 2004 is relatively easy, just insert the CDROM, the contents should then automatically appear on the desktop once the CD spins up, and then simply double-click the "QuickBooks Pro 6.0 Installer" icon and installation begins.Here is where I discovered the exacting requirements of an operating system needed to run QuickBooks.I attempted to install QuickBooks onto my Macintosh running Mac OS 9.1 but the installation stopped itself and informed me that Mac OS 9.2.2 is required.Okay, easy enough to fix but I really wanted to use it on that particular Mac and I did--and still do--not want to upgrade to Mac OS 9.2.2, so I ejected the CD, walked over to my iMac, and began the installation process over.After installation, I double-clicked the QuickBooks icon and was greeted with a registration screen warning that the program requires registration before your 25th use of QuickBooks.After I selected the remind-later option, I was presented with the actual program screen.

Keeping in pace with the Macintosh graphical user interface, the interface is nice and simple, and really easy to navigate.This simplicity carries over to your options, which are to open a user's guide, sample file, or existing file, or to create a new file.That is as straightforward as it gets.

QuickBooks Pro 2004 is very configurable.Once you are up and running, if there is anything you do not understand, an answer may usually be found in the provided user's guide or the online FAQ file at their website.And, yes, you can even call for telephone technical support which varies from annual support plans to a per-incident charge.It's up to you.In fact, I find the program so user-friendly--and it is not surprising because of its long history in the industry--that it seems to fit users with varying degrees of experience.Any user level from beginner to expert should feel quite comfortable navigating through the application.

As a few examples of the user-friendly orientation of the program, I provide the following overviews.One of the main tasks of business owners is building and viewing reports, and this program offers of one of the easiest report builders because it's built in!Payroll is actually handled by Aatrix Top Pay, utilizing the information in your QuickBooks file, and the way it works with QuickBooks is among the best examples of ease-of-use.Invoicing is just a click away.You select items to bill your customer from within the appropriate heading's contextual drop-down menu and QuickBooks fills in the rest.One thing I do like is the capability to "personalize" messages in a document, i.e., bill, invoice, etc., so you can include a simple "Thank you for your business" or anything else you would like to say to your customers.You choose what customer messages to include from a drop-down, and, yes, you can add or delete messages at will.Nice feature.

Bottomline:Does QuickBooks Pro 2004 perform well?Yes.Do I recommend it?Yes. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Whether planning a retirement strategy or just balancing a checkbook, itcan be tough to deal with financial data sensibly and securely. Quicken 2002Home & Business helps new and upgrading users devise the best arrangements fortheir information and plan for the future. The program's Web-page-based trackingsystem (which integrates Internet Explorer thoroughly) is simple, customizable,and easy on the eyes.

Installing the upgrade is practically transparent, and new users will only haveto pay attention for a few minutes before taking a quick coffee break andletting the computer do the work. Data entry is painless now that nearly everymajor bank and investment house has online information access, though this canbe moderately tricky to implement, depending on the business in question.

Those who are a bit more daring can branch out from basic data maintenance andask the onboard experts for advice on debt reduction, college payment, and manyother common financial milestones. The program also includes information andguidance on starting and running a business, including helpful tax information. Links to helpful online services abound--though they're incomplete, they're agood start--and users should be able to find information on just about any topicthey need.

Upgraders will find the 2002 version a bit slicker and better suited to Webtransactions, but little is otherwise different. Those shifting from otherpackages or new to personal financial management software will have a short butsteep learning curve.

Quicken 2002 Home & Business also lets users create customizable estimates andinvoices, manage business taxes, and track accounts payable and receivable. This version also lets managers and employees track jobs, projects, and customerpayments.

Will Quicken make up for sloppy budgeting, bad investment advice, or theheartbreak of tax day? No, but it will help users committed to financialresponsibility achieve their goals without going crazy, and that's more thanenough. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Who's in control here? Quicken or You?
I've been using Quicken since the late 80's and was always a big fan of Intuit's products until this version. While the program offers all the essentials that other programs like Peachtree offer it is constantly trying to up sell you to other Quicken (Intuit) products and services.

A major drawback to this program is how it prints invoices and statements. If you want to send your customer a nice PDF of your statement or invoice too bad you can't. If you want to send it via e-mail it has to be processed through Quicken which strips out your logo (if you've added it) and you can only send it as an HTML or TXT version then it launches your default e-mail program. What's that you say? You use an online fax service or you fax through a fax program? Well too bad. You can't do that through this version of Quicken and I'm not sure other versions let you either. I thought well then there must be a way I can just save the invoice or statement as a file and then process it any way I want to (e.g. PDF, image file, fax document etc) but no way this program won't let you do that and they won't even address the issue in their help. I had to find out by combing the web and finding other users having the same problem.

Another very annoying product feature is that they've set up defaults to try to get you to have Quicken go online and download your various bank account data from company websites from bank info to creditors. It constantly tries to get you to use Quicken to process these online services. There are a myriad of options and preferences you have to find and deselect so this can take a long time because they hide lots of preferences. It's been months already and I still cant' figure out how to get the darn alert message at the beginning to stop alerting me that Quicken's WebConnect feature is not setup to get all my data.

It also defaults to send "anonymous" user information via the web back to the Quicken developers at Intuit.

I say before you get sucked in check out alternatives. The only one I know of though is Peachtree because I hear the one from Bill Gates is even worse.

Great Financial Software
Quicken manages our life, and by tracking where we spend and save, we know where to go on vacation.We believe this beats Money.And any version 2000 and up is compatible with websites.

Terribly Buggy and Hard to Use
I don't know how Quicken ever became the leading personal finance program with a program this hard to understand and with clear bugs (atleast on Windows XP). I'm GREAT with computers, but this program constantly stumps me with an interface that is FAR from intuitive.

What's worse, I suddenly experienced a serious bug in the program that wiped out my customer list! Quicken does NOT OFFER ANY FREE SUPPORT, EVEN IN SITUATIONS WHERE THERE IS A BUG IN THE PROGRAM. And the online chat support was a disaster. In order to follow the support persons instructions, it closes the chat window and you have to start from scratch. Huh?AWFUL!! Quicken should be ashamed and people should stop buying the product.

very, very difficult
I used one of the very first Quicken products, and was thrilled and delighted at the user frendly product.Im sorry to say that this product is very fustrating to use. I have spent the last three days trying to figure out what I thought were very simple tasks, for example imputting accounts payable, which I still have not figured out. I plan on returning this product and I will never purchase a Quicken product again.

Amateurish
Why I keep wasting my money on Quicken, I will never know.I had the Home & Business before and didn't like it then.I hoped it would be better this time even though the reviews here were not very good on it.
Quicken should be called Home Plus, not Home & Business.It may be great for personal bookkeeping, but it doens't cut it for a business.It appears to be written for people who know nothing about accounting and don't want to learn anything about accounting.
It you want a good accounting tool for your business, try something else. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Quicken 2003 for Mac makes it easier than ever to keep your records upto date. Schedule a date and time for Quicken to go online and download yourbank, credit card, or brokerage data for you. Track stock splits, mergers, andspinouts more easily. Plus, a redesigned, customizable toolbar with enhancedicons makes Quicken 2003 for Mac look and work better than ever.

Quicken's step-by-step setup assistants guide you through a complete setup ofyour accounts so you can put Quicken to work quickly and easily. Balance yourcheckbook or reconcile your bank statement in minutes. See where your money isgoing with reports and graphs about your spending, budget, and more. Writechecks, print checks, or send payments online. Download your banking data, paybills, and transfer funds with online banking. Track and analyze stocks andmutual funds, or see how your portfolio is performing at a glance. Downloadinvestment prices, or even your own transactions from participating brokerages,right into Quicken.

Quicken 2003 also offers tax tracking and planning tools designed to help youkeep more money and make tax time easier. Explore ways to minimize capitalgains. Use online tools to help find tax deductions you may have overlooked. Andtransfer your Quicken data into TurboTax software to speed tax preparation(TurboTax sold separately). ... Read more

Reviews (30)

Quicken 200x...
While the promise of this software is great, the reality is unfortunate, at least for me... It does some things very, very well - such as download & categorize bank & visa transactions... It unfortunately lacks functionality & features in other areas that they appear to market the software for, particularly in the investment area...

features I'd liek to see:
- foreign exchange for investments (stick to your local $ only!)
- non-proprietary import/export formats
- easy, accurate cross platform data exchange
- H+B option (also hurts import/export across platforms)
- adjusted cost base reporting for canadian investments (or why bother!?)
- tax categorization for canadians (should be an easy graft from the pc version)
- fewer flaws (not just 'bugs') in some feature executions
- eliminate 'sunset' (terminating) download capability & 'planned obsolescence'
- similar PC/Mac interfaces

many more advanced & better features seem to exist in the pc version & whileneither seems truly intuitive, I can only suggest that aligning the two platforms (and offering an H+B mac version) might help generate the sales that would justify the R+D...

Chicken or egg question? Absolutely! You can't expect sales if the software doesn't work or is misrepresented in the marketing!

Why monopolies are bad
I switched from Windows (XP) to Mac OS X. Everything is better on the Mac, save Quicken. I used Quicken 2001 on my PC, so I expected Quicken 2003 for Macs to be an improvement. Wrong.

Quicken 2003 doesn't allow for as much customization of views as the PC version of two years earlier. Also, there's no home inventory, which Quicken 2001 for my PC had. Most importantly, I am can't upload my portfolio and balances to Quicken's website, which is one of the features I used to use the most. I had been in contact with a tech at Intuit's support group, but he eventually stopped responding to my e-mails. It doesn't crash on me regularly, but it does occur more often than with any of my other programs.

Two years down the road and the software is worse. Unfortunately, everything I've read about 2004 actually makes it sound worse! Too bad there are no other options - a little compeition might force Intuit to actually improve its product.

Comprehensive but not stable!!!
Quicken 2003 for Mac came load on my eMac so I decided to give it a try.I've always kept my financial records on an old fashioned spreadsheet so I thought this would be an easy and more excititing way of tracking my budget.

After spending a couple of evenings learning about the program and getting it set up it closed unexpectedly on me.After that I could open it but if I clicked on the Banking tab or tried to review my budget it would close again.I checked the Quicken on line support but could not find the help I needed there.

Eventually I discovered that I could open a backup copy of my data and that seemed to solve the problem.So I started working from the backup copy.Once again I was now setting up my catagories and shifting some into sub catagory positions when it closed again - same problem all over.

The problems I'm having seem to be primarily related to setting up the catagories so once I get through that process I may be ok.

I had no problems setting up the autodown load from my bank.It turns out I have to download my credit card information in a .qif file and then import it.That takes a couple extra steps but it worked fine also.

Good luck!

Quicken use to be THE best of all programs
When Quicken first came out, it was simple, straightforward and rock solid. Over the years it has become more and more of everything except simple and rock solid. This is now a beast which rears its ugly head at all the worst moments.

If it has not crashed on you yet, it will one day. So what? Every application crashes once in a while, you say? Perhaps. But Quicken has a magical ability to take a crash and turn it into corrupted data. Once the data file has a little corruption in it everything just gets worse and worse. Crashes come more frequently and then suddenly a checking or credit card account tells you it is "out of balance" and a prior period needs to be re-reconciled. Ok, but when you try to do this it either will not let you or it appears in every way to be correct, but insists it is not. At that point the only way out involves significant reentry of data OR an expensive submission of your file to Intuit tech support for "cleaning." To top it all off, your confidence in your data is shaken badly. All you can think of is the possibility of ever needing to "redo the work again" another time.

I love the Quicken I remember, and this product probably still is that good until things go wrong. Once wronged, however, it is more than torturous to recover from.

If you proceed, and you probably will because Intuit has a virtual lock on the personal finance market, you must be careful to back up after EVERY session. Even more critical is the need to return to the last clean backup immediately IF your file EVER crashes. Do NOT ever continue to use a crashed file or you will be very sorry. Very sorry.

The truly disheartening fact is Intuit continues to sell us an application containing the same bugs in version after version. They add a handful of features each year to tempt us to part with another chunk of change, but we keep seeing the same pimples and quirks carried forward. Many of us update our copy each year not to get any new features, but in the hopes they actually fixed our least favorite bug. All too often they have not, but we keep hoping.

Avoid Quicken 2003 for Mac at all costs!
This is my first Amazon review, but I just had to chime in with others who have used Quicken for 10+years now because I am so frustrated with this version.My entire financial life is in Quicken Mac, and I am SO unhappy that I upgraded to 2003.My 12MB file with the last 10+ years of my life (loans, investments, credit cards, rental properties, etc. -- probably one of the larger Quicken files around) is at risk.You can't go back once you upgrade.Save yourself the aggravation, and wait for something better than 2003, unless you really don't mind starting over from scratch if things get hosed.

I have a G4 and a PC.The two primary things I still do (only) on the Mac are Quicken and iPhoto, and I feel locked-in to both programs.However, I'm *very* seriously considering dumping Quicken 2003 for Mac and moving to the Quicken for Windows.I *never* thought I'd ever do that, but this version of Quicken continues to annoy me every time I use it.Worse, it is starting to make me question the validity of my data.

It crashes doing simple QuickReports (inexcusable), there are countless UI bugs like when hopping from one transaction to another or scrolling, there's no way to see the list of downloaded transactions once you've reconciled (as there was in previous versions), and loading my United Mileage Plus credit card transactions is more painful than ever as of Q2003:The browser link that Quicken launches is obsolete, meaning I have to manually log in.Then I have to manually enter the download dates, save to a .QFX file, and manually import that into Quicken (since downloading that file no longer auto-imports it into Quicken).In addition, it is darn near impossible to get some banking transactions to "match up" with entries I already have in my register.I've never been able to figure out why, but I end up accepting the downloaded transaction and deleting the one I entered (or one that was auto-entered as a scheduled transaction) because Quicken refuses to acknowledge that they're the same transaction.This is especially annoying for loan-related transactions.Investment tracking is also messed up.Capital gains reports are inaccurate (forcing me to re-enter everything manually in Excel at tax time) -- just moving shares from one brokerage to another resets the purchase date and throws off short/long term calculations.In addition, some of my mutual fund transactions seem to be missing (despite my reconciling each and every statement), leaving my Schwab register hopelessly unreconcileable.Finally, Quicken has NEVER handled employee stock option or employee stock purchase plan transactions (with the funky withholding that goes along with them) very well.I have to wonder if anyone at Intuit has ever tried to enter their own stock transactions.

Switching to Windows won't be easy or fun.Intuit's suggestion is to simply "export everything to QIF and re-import on the other side".However, there are so many things that don't export that you're guaranteed a mess after you import the QIF files (like account to account transactions, as I recall).I fear I'm going to have to write off my 10 years of data, maybe export my banking and credit card transactions (just to maintain the history), fudge the balances to get a good starting point, and then gradually start over.With over 50 active accounts, this will not be easy or fun and I resent having to waste the time to do it.The only plus is that I've tried to simplify my life and I won't have to bother entering old data from old (hidden) accounts that are no longer in use.

Intuit NEEDS to create a migration tool (Mac to Win or Win to Mac, as I've seen reviews from people who have tried to go either way) that seamlessly translates one format to the other without losing any data.In addition, a repair utility would be very welcome.With all of the crashes I've encountered, I'm sure there are problems in my data file.However, there is no way to validate or repair a Quicken file short of exporting and re-importing, and as already mentioned you're probably better off starting over from scratch.

I, too, have beta tested Quicken Mac in the past (and presented bugs to Intuit some of which were even fixed, as well as done user experience testing for Intuit), but this is a tough program to test with real-life data.The 2003 beta program (like other recent ones) required a one-way upgrade to the new format, and suggested that you keep both the old and new versions up to date with the same transactions.I couldn't understand HOW to do this when downloading online transactions (and especially with regard to making online payments), and they offered no help on the matter.So, I guess I partially blame myself for not being more active in this beta and providing more feedback.Somehow, I doubt it would've made a difference.

Adopting a program like this, for some of us, is a serious proposition.Not having a way out (e.g. migration to the presumably more stable and better maintained Windows version) is a real shame.

As a software engineer, I understand that deadlines are often more important (to a company with an annual release schedule) than quality and sometimes it means bugs are often deferred (or maybe not even found).It's unfortunate that that really seems to have been the case with Quicken Mac 2003.

I wish there was a more direct line of communication (for reporting and resolving bugs) with the company for those of us who are serious heavy-duty users of this software.If you're one of those people, you should avoid Quicken 2003 for Mac.

UPDATE 9/24/03:The early reports seem to indicate that Quicken Mac 2004 is no better than 2003.I've since purchased Quicken Windows 2004 and am trying to figure out just how much of my data I'm going to attempt to migrate (vs. leaving behind forever on the Mac).It all comes down to how much time I want to spend massaging, re-typing, and reconciling my transactions, one miserable account at a time... ... Read more

Reviews (48)

It stinks!
After yet another frustrating and fruitless session with this worthless software, I logged on here at Amazon to write a scathing revew.Lo and behold, many other reviewers had beat me to it!Kinda makes my day to see I'm not alone. Quicken camebundled with my new Mac G5 -- but Apple wasn't doing me any favors.Where to start?Poorly designed interface, difficulty of use, absence of many keyboard shortcuts, and a worthless Help section head the list.I was using Microsoft Money 99 on my old PC before making the switch and I loved it:easy to use, easy to look at, straightforward instructions and a plethora of shortcuts made it user-friendly.It was everything Quicken for Mac isn't, in other words.
Somehow I accidently deleted several weeks of register entries -- gone forever.Okay, I'm a computer klutz, but this NEVER happened in over 5 years of using Money '99.I tried to find 'list of payees' in the Help section.Pretty simple, you would think, but it only came up with 'On-line Payee' - something quite different.That's just one example of many.Also, I found it extremely tedious, bordering on impossible, to set up new categories and subcatagories of payments. On the other hand, Quicken has a lot of fancy bells and whistles I'll never use, and I doubt that most customers will, either.Since I have a Mac now, I obviously can't go back to MIcrosoft Money, but there's gotta be something out there that's better-and cheaper--than Quicken, i.e., anything!Maybe it just got fat and lazy over the years -- but whatever the reason, don't even THINK about buying it.

Causes more work than it saves.
Quicken 2004 came as part of the software package on my iBook.I tried to set up my accounts but I found the user inferface baffeling and difficult to use.Worse yet it seemed to crash quite frequently.As for linking to accounts online, it does not seem to support Ameritrade brokerage accounts.

DON'T BUY THIS PRODUCT!!
I switched from Windows to Mac about six months ago.I LOVE my Mac, but I absolutely HATE Quicken 2004 for Mac.It's full of strange bugs, lacks many of the features of its Windows counterpart, and, worst of all, Intuit customer support is completely clueless about how to help me with any of this when I call them.The online Help feature is worthless, too.It tells you to do things you either can't do, or that don't work.It's awful.I wouldn't recommend this to my worst enemy.

Made for Mac Users
i've been a faithful mac user since the first one came out.
I could never understand quicken (too complicated and boring).
My needs are simple I need to figure out how much i make and
determine where it goes. i have two kids so i need to save money for college and retirement. there isn't much left over for stock, mutual funds and bonds. if you want an intuitive, colorful web-based personal financial software...i strongly suggest www.moneypants.com

A waste of money...
I finally made the switch to a Mac a few months ago, and while I'm thrilled with the PowerMac G5, this edition of Quicken leaves much to be desired.
This version of Quicken is a poor substitute for its Windows counterpart. It's nothing more than a bare-bones program with a clunky interface.
I agree with the reviewer who wishes Apple would bundle its own Personal Finance software in a future edition of iLife. Until then, it's back to the old checkbook... ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Quicken Financial Planner
I thought I was the only one out there who was mystified by the lack of updates to Quicken Financial Planner. It was the best program of its kind and I have found nothing to replace the now useless planning tool.

Intuit, what could you have been thinking!
I absolutely agree with the other reviewers' comments about Quicken Financial Planner! And I'd like to challenge all you software developers out there: Why doesn't somebody who knows how to do it buy (or take) this once-marvelous software program, update it to current tax law, and offer it as your own product (with continuing support)?

If you make it possible to export our current QFP data into your new program, that would be even better! Then market it well, in terms of what it can do for me.(Intuit never did this competently.The only way Ifound out about it was upon recommendation from my accountant.)

This was a fantastic financial planning tool -- in fact, I still use it, even with it's hopelessly outdated tax information, because I've not been able to locate anything else remotely as well-conceived. (Has anyone else out there?) With a few keystrokes, I can try out a multitude of different investment strategies, or possible purchases/standards of living, and see their long-term effect upon our net worth. It's QFP that allowed me to see -- way back in '98, when most financial planners were saying "don't even think about it, in your position!" -- what an incredible effect converting our SEP-IRAs to Roth IRAs would have, long term.

Intuit, what in the world could you have been thinking, to abandon this gem?And if the genius who actually developed QFP in the first place is reading this, how about YOU taking it back, and making it your own product?Remember -- the Boomers' retirements are coming!And if you do, PLEASE let me know!

-- springchicken@ameritech.net

A good product goes downhill
I've used the Financial Planner for a number of years and found it helpful ... until recently.The additions of Roth IRAs a few years ago and other more recent tax changes required the planner to be updated.It is no longer accurate.I tried installing one of the patches, but it wouldn't install.So I'm left with my favorite financial planner being almost useless.It still helps me consider all the options for planning my retirement, but it could have remained GREAT. Intuit is not supporting this product adequately, so now I'm in the market for something better.Too bad, it really was great a few years ago.Too bad for Intuit and their customers.

Great concept, no support
This is a superbly planned program. It walks the user through a simple but detailed interview leading to a conclusion about the adequacy of one's plans to their idea of retirement. My big complaint, however, is thatIntuit has not supported the program at all. They posted a minor touchup ontheir website two years ago, then abandoned further revisions. The mostcurrent edition fails to acknowledge the 1998 tax reforms, such as capitalgains tax reduction, and exemption of capital gains on sale of a home. ... Read more

Features

• Tracks late rent with a list of tenants that have not yet paid
• Keep a list of tenants whose leases will expire in 30, 60, & 90 days
• List of allowed vehicles
• Building or unit income
• Vacancy reports, tenant payment history, tenant incidents

Features

• Keep track of the following information
• Late Rent - a list of tenants that have not yet paid
• A list of tenants whose leases will expire in 30, 60, & 90 days
• List of allowed vehicles
• Building or unit income

Features

• Keep track of the following information
• Late Rent - a list of tenants that have not yet paid
• A list of tenants whose leases will expire in 30, 60, & 90 days
• List of allowed vehicles
• Building or unit income

Features

• All you have to do is provide the content -- Hollyword does all the formatting
• Set the margins for Character name and sets for all-caps; finish entering the character name, and HollyWord automatically sets the margins for writing dialog!
• Also adds page numbering, scene numbering, mores and continues -- you can set what you want it to add
• You can even rearrange the whole format instantly, with just a mouseclick!

Reviews (1)

From the creator of HollyWord
From Writers Guild member Bill Simon, the creator of HollyWord:

Dear Fellow Writer,

In earlier times, writers used pen and paper - and some still do.

When the personal computer came along, writers who could type sent up a cheer. Not only a faster and cleaner way to get a first draft, but we could readily make changes and still finish with a clean draft.

But for screenwriters, it wasn't so easy - all those margin changes, and retyping the same character names over and over, and the rest. The first screenplay formatters were a help, but they were expensive, complicated, tricky to use, and often maddening.

Enter HollyWord - the screenplay formatter for people who don't want to know about computer complications - people who just want to write.

You'll be up and running in minutes after you get the program. Since HollyWord runs under Microsoft Word, there is much of anything new for you to learn. Install HollyWord, open it, and start writing your script. HollyWord AUTOMATICALLY does all the complicated formatting for you.

You just write - HollyWord does the rest.

My products all carry an unconditional guarantee. You can't lose!

Bill Simon ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Easy to use
The home screen is divided into three sections with icons representing Income, Accounts and Payees.All transactions are recorded using a combination of these icons which are easy to set up.Record keeping requires little effort and the system allows construction of budgets; reports of expeditures against budgets, itemized expenditures by category and dozens of others. I have tried Money and Quicken and think this by far the easiest to use.It was originally developed by Computer Associates for Kiplinger Personal Finance.

Simply Money is easier to use than Quicken or Microsoft Mone
Simply Money is easier to use than Quicken or Microsoft Money.If you don't want intergalactic, this is the program for you.

Works fine on XP for me.Read the other reviews; Simply Money is sold by Simply Media that has 40 or so titles.You can get tech support at simplymedia.com, under tech support.They have posted a free updated manual (searchable; printable; free) and a Quick Start Guide.

The new version has both the Quick Start Guide and the Manual on the CD.

So if you want to do checks and things like that, this is perfect.If you want intergalactic, do Quicken or MM.

Unresolvable Bugs
Unfortunately Simply Money has unresolvable bugs that render it useless. One bug causes an invalid record to appear at the beginning of the checkbook register. Simply Money will then display an error and close whenever you attempt to use the Balance function or scroll up to the top most entry in the register.

Before year 2000 the way to fix this issue was to export the finance group to a Simply Money file format (.MXF) and then import it back in. Unfortunately, if you are tracking investments and have transactions in the year 2000 the import will fail because Simply Money cannot handle '00' as a year for importing investment information. Since you cannot import the file to fix the checkbook register, you cannot fix the invalid transaction in the register and the Balance function is rendered unusable.

Additionally, some dates default to the wrong century in the entry windows so you have to be watchful to ensure the proper date is recorded.

These bugs will never be fixed because development ceased on this product several years ago

Stay away from this product.

Simply Money Y2K Fix
I have been a user of the Simply Money for six years. I agree with other comments already made.The programme is easy to use but needs updating as some of the functions such as transferring between accounts shows the year as 1900 instead of 2000.If this could be fixed I would have no hesitation in recommending it to new computer users because of its simplicity. I have not been able to establish who has the ownership of the programme. Incidently the version being offered is suitable for windows 98.

Not New but Pretty Good
First I'll vent.What I received is not Simply Money 2.1, it is version 2.0b repackaged, which I have already had for several years.Further the publisher identified is not Victory Multimedia but Simply Media according to the packaging.The simplymedia.com web site indicated on the case doesn't appear to even exist.I have not tested the fax # stamped on the CD.

I have used Simply Money for 8 years and am generally pleased with the product.I was hoping to find the much needed bug fixes, including some annoying Y2K issues, fixed in this "new" release.

However if you seeking an alternate to the expensive and bloated Quicken or MS Money, this could be it.The reporting is more extensive and versatile than Quicken.It is easy to setup and use.The stored data are reliable.When windows goes south, I've never lost more than a couple of transactions.

The down side is: this product suffers neglect.Its had too many owners who do nothing.The online banking features are probably long since obsolete, but I don't use them.It is not a bad product and probably could compete with the "big boys" if someone would fix it and bring it up-to-date, a relatively modest effort.

Bottomline: Great value, full featured, quite useable, but needs some fixes and modernizing.It is not a new version , so don't get burned like me. ... Read more

Features

• Integrate your business process and your technology to better serve both your employees and your customers
• Manage contacts with ease and efficiency, and link them to specific names for better search results
• Record and track important information like client SIC code and industry, referrals, quotes and more, all from a single user interface
• Never miss an appointment again with the list of Activities, Appointments and To-Do lists
• For managers, the Sales Opportunity screen handles sales forecasting and manages any future sales you have in the pipeline

Features

• Manipulate columns and sections, import graphics, and preview fonts to create attractive papers
• Work with style sheets, do mass-mailing with the Print Merge, and cut-and-paste headers, footers, paragraph borders and more
• Draw from multiple character sets, from the European alphabets to Greek, Arabic or Cyrllic
• Add foreground & background colors, inter-character spacing, and custom fields
• Spell checker for 28 languages