Product Description

Intuit Quicken 2004 Premier Home and Business.Quicken 2004 Premier HomeBusiness includes all the business features you need with the ease you want. And because it's from Quicken, Premier HomeBusiness provides familiar, user-friendly approaches to manage your business finances:Quicken 2004 Premier HomeBusiness includes all the business features you need with the ease you want. And because it's from Quicken, Premier HomeBusiness provides familiar, user-friendly approaches to manage your business finances: Create customizable estimates and invoices See where your business stands at a glance Generate business reports and graphs, including Schedule C Automatically track taxes for Schedule C Track accounts receivable and payable Track vehicle mileage, jobs and projects Write checks, print checks, or pay bills online* And more! Also includes everything in Quicken 2004 Premier to help you optimize your personal finances: Instantly set up and connect all of your financial accounts to Quicken to quickly and easily download your financial data directly into Quicken. Quicken 2004 works with over 2,000 banks, credit card, brokerage and 401(k) companies, so you avoid manually entering your financial transactions. You can be sure that Quicken is always up-to-date with your latest financial data. Schedule when you want Quicken to download your financial data so that Quicken is always up-to-date with your latest financial data. Track your investment holdings without taking the time to enter every historical transaction. You can decide to add in transaction details later for tax purposes or performance analysis. See your net worth over time with the Net Worth Monitor. View the breakdown of your net worth by cash, property, or stocks. See the average annual return for your entire portfolio and individual accounts compared to seled benchmarks for key periods (e.g. 1, 3, or 5 ... ... Read more

Reviews (26)

support
The support of this product is very poor. The first question from the company is about the customer's credit card number even if the product was just bought and it does not do what is described in the manual. I was trying to point out the problem with the program and the standard answer was: "Our product is flawless; the problem is with you". I am familiar with financial programs and accounting but after trying to use the program for two weeks I gave up and decided to return it.

Perfect for home based consulting business
I have a simple home-based consulting business with 2 employees and a small number of customers. Quicken Home & Business is the perfect accounting system for me. I was a financial officer for several companies and have used several high end systems. This is the easiest and most efficient accounting system ever made - an excellent product. If it covers your needs, you should consider yourself lucky.

Here are some highlights and pointers:

1. Data entry is extremely fast. As soon as you start typing, Quicken guesses what you are going to enter and fills it in for you. Check book entries are effortless. This is the most important feature of any accounting system because sole proprietors should not waste time with data entry.
2. Credit card transactions are automatic. Get yourself a separate credit card for business transactions and download directly into Quicken. I have used 4 different cards and the best integration is the with Quicken Master Card. It also earns you about 1% in airline awards or gift certificates. Just click on "one step update" and you have all new transactions ready to review.
3. Bank reconciliation is completely done for you. You never need to go through a bank statement again, matching up transactions. Quicken "one step update" downloads new transactions and finds the corresponding entry in your check register. You just confirm or add if it is a new transaction. When the monthly statement comes, you enter the ending balance and Quicken figures out which transactions cleared. You rarely need to even look at the bank statement.
4. Reporting is simple. Just choose from dozens of pre-designed reports and make small adjustments if needed. You can also export any report to modify it in Excel or Word if you prefer.
5. Invoicing is simple and quick. Just create descriptions for each service you offer and invoicing is a snap. Quicken tracks which invoices have been printed and tracks receivables effortlessly.
6. Tax reporting is easy. You can instantly produce a Schedule C and if you also purchase TurboTax (which I highly recommend), you can import data directly into your tax forms.
7. Manage cash between multiple bank accounts. If you choose a bank that is supported by Quicken, you can easily move funds between checking and savings.

A few pointers for using the product.
1. Don't confuse this product with other Quicken products such as Quicken Deluxe or Quicken Premier.
2. Intuit also produces QuickBooks, which is not a product I recommend. If you need the power of QuickBooks, there are other applications available that may be better.
3. Don't combine your personal and business financial data in one file. Quicken recommends you do this but you definitely should not. Instead, set up your personal Quicken file first. Then from the main menu, select File/New/New Quicken File. It is very easy to switch between your personal file and your business file and you will not have any problems with reports, tax forms etc. if you keep them totally separate. You do not need to purchase additional software licenses to have multiple files. I have 3 businesses and one personal file on my copy of Quicken Home & Business.
4. Create a liability account called "owners draw". Quicken does not explain this well, but this will become your owners equity account on your balance sheet. When you draw funds from the business (unless you do it through payroll), you assign the check or transfer to "owners draw" and this will accumulate on your balance sheet to show the true net worth or your business.

I wish that I read the reviews first
I tried to install this program a couple of days ago and was prompted to uninstall the previous version (Quicken 2002 Deluxe). I chose to do so. At the end of the installation process, I got the error message "Your program files may have been damaged. You will need to reinstall Quicken." I uninstalled using Add/Remove Programs and reinstalled with exactly the same result.

At that stage, having looked in vain for help on the Intuit site -- the solution to this error message did not work for me -- I went elsewhere and found dozens of negative reviews. Intuit seem to have hit rock bottom with this product.

So I decided to go back to using Quicken 2002, but of course it had been uninstalled and I can't find my original CD. So I chose to use the Windows XP System Restore function to roll back the clock. But although Quicken 2002 reappeared, my Quicken file no longer seems to work properly. The screen freezes and flashes when I switch from one account to another.

I called Intuit this morning and described my scenario. They offered to replace my Quicken 2002 at a total cost of $20 plus. It would take them two days to get it out of the warehouse and a further 7-10 days for shipping. Shouldn't they provide a free downgrade when their buggy software doesn't work?

I have been very impressed with this software.
This is first time I have used Quicken, and I am impressed with the sophistication of the software.It is very cool.Balancing my check book is easier then I thought, as well as, updating my investment portfilio. I did have to upgrade to a preffered online bank account to get automatic updates though. That cost about $3/month, but worth it.For my bank, online bill pay is another $3 more for 10 bills per month.Some investment accounts will not download to your quicken but the quotes will.Also, you definetly need to read Quicken 2004 for Dummies.It can take about 20 some hours to learn the majority of the programs with the book.I wouldn't even try without it.Once you learn it, if you have the time, it is worth it.At least so far for me.I just put in about 20 plus hours with it so far, and I haven't done too much on the business side, such as payroll.Good luck.

Intuit Stumbles on Quicken 2004
A major player in the personal finance software arena for years, Intuit and Quicken has helped thousands keep track of their personal finances.I have been a Quicken user since the early days (Quicken 1 and 2), have upgraded to new releases over the years and have always been very satisfied with the Quicken product.

Quicken 2004 Premier changed all that.

The release of Quicken 2004 was advertised as allowing you to get instant answers to questions like "Are my investments outperforming the market?" and "What is my return for the past 1,3 and 5 years?"Unfortunately, after upgrading from Quicken 2003 to Quicken 2004 Premier, the question I was asking most was "What happened to my data?"

Quicken 2004 has corrupted my personal finance information on four separate occasions (I know, "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me" ... I don't want to even think about "fool me four times...").

My financial books include four checking accounts, several credit card accounts, some loans, several investment accounts, and a smattering of other accounts.No account type is immune to corruption.

In my checking accounts, one major problem is that Quicken 2004 insists on making up numbers (really, really, BIG numbers, like as big as your computer can handle), creating transactions with random dates to go along with the made-up numbers, and then inserting these transactions in the register.At one time my calculated net worth was too large to display (I wish ...); another time I owed more than the United States GDP. On another occasion Quicken 2004 erased all of the transactions from one checking account, strangely keeping a balance that looked to be about right. In another account, I have been overdrawn once due to a Quicken 2004 error.

In the investment accounts Quicken 2004 decided to change the ticker symbols of some stocks in the investment accounts to unknown symbols on more than one occasion.It's not clear when this happened; it may have been during the updating process when prices are downloaded into Quicken.This caused trouble not only in evaluating the portfolio, but the reconciliations of the accounts were very challenging, because I was never sure if the difference was due to my error, or if Quicken had changed a symbol in one of the dividend re-investment transactions (which it did on two occasions).

A few of the shortcut keys that Quicken power users have grown accustomed to, no longer work in Quicken 2004 (hitting the space bar to select a check during reconciliation, for example).These are known errors and "will be fixed in the next release".At least that's what I was told when I discovered the issue in Release 1.It has not been fixed as of Release 5.

I was given the above information on one of my several attempts to get help by calling customer service.I was helped by "Jennifer", although I suspect her name was really Neeraja, or Srividya or something similar.Customer service appears to consist of very bored people, who are very far away, reading answers in OK English off of scripts to solve problems you did not call with.I was told once to reload Windows (I did not).Most of the time, I was told to run the File/File Operation/Validate option within Quicken 2004 (I did several times).I don't remember ever having to run that option on earlier versions of Quicken; I'm not sure it even was an option with Quicken 2003.On another occasion, I was questioned quite closely about the type of printer I had.Apparently, printers have become notorious corruptors of data in Quicken 2004.So, who knew? (I'm joking -- they're not).In no case, did the call to customer support solve my immediate problem.

Sending in questions via email was better in the sense that I did not receive any wrong or useless information.In fact, I received no information at all.All emails went unanswered.Bug reports are never acknowledged, but they never have been.

Running Quicken 2004 requires some serious horsepower.Intuit will tell you Quicken 2004 can run on a Pentium 200 or higher machine with 32 MB RAM and 75MB hard drive space.I originally installed Quicken 2004 on a spare Pentium 233 MHZ machine with 100MB hard drive.Big mistake.When I fired up the software, the lights in the house didn't exactly dim, but I bet they wanted to.Quicken 2004 is unbearably slow on machines below the recommended 300MHZ limit, and I wouldn't put it on anything less than 700Mhz.Quicken 2004 seems to be doing a lot of disk I/O and window rendering and all of that thrashing around costs performance points.My copy of Quicken is now installed on a Dell Dimension 4600, 2.79GHz, 512RAM, 111GB free hard drive, Windows XP Professional.As you might expect, speed is no problem.

On the plus side, Quicken has done a nice job with the charts and reports.So, even if the numbers are wrong, they look marvelous.The screen gets real busy, though, what with the Menu Bar, the icon bar, the Quicken Home side window, the main register window, the transaction window and the maddening Inuit advertisements (`Try Turbo Tax - the #1 tax solution year after year") at the bottom, all showing up at once.Intuit will tell you that Quicken 2004 works with a Super VGA (800 x 600).It will, but the recommended 1024 x 768 with 16 bit color monitors will make your life more pleasant.Again, the numbers might be wrong, but at least you'll have a shot at seeing them.

So, what's a body to do?Well, I'm digging through my files looking for my copy of Quicken 2003.I'll revert back to that.It worked fine, no funny stuff, had almost all of the features of Quicken 2004 and it was stable.In the meantime, I'll keep watching Intuit to see if they fix the new version, and begin to understand what customer service is all about. ... Read more

Product Description

Quicken Premier 2005 helps you invest, monitor and prosper with easy-to-use software. Thanks to more than 100 feature improvements to the most-used features, Quicken Premier 2005 includes all the features of Quicken Deluxe plus special tools to help you optimize your investments, monitor your net worth and view your complete financial picture in minutes. Instantly connect to your bank and credit card Web sites with a push of a button. You will have complete, up-to-date records without manually entering your data. Quicken provides a connection to more than 1800 financial institutions.* Intelligent investing insights alert you to more tax-efficient investments, opportunities to offset capital gains or loses, or when taxable events occur.* Stay on top of your investments more easily than ever with an investment area that looks just like a broker statement! Track your investment holdings without taking the time to enter every historical transaction. Its easy to add in transaction details later for tax purposes or performance analysis. See the average annual return for your entire portfolio and individual accounts compared to selected benchmarks for key periods (1 year, 3 year, 5 year). The investment sale optimization tool helps you to figure out what securities to sell based on criteria you set, such as minimizing capital gains taxes. Quicken Premier 2005 will provide you with the tools and financial expertise you need to help you be a success. ... Read more

Product Description

Intuit Quicken 2003 Basic.Organize your finances with Quicken 2003 Basic. Quicken 2003 Basic works just like your checkbook. Balance your checkbook and pay bills easily. Bank online conveniently. You can track where your money goes with reports and graphs. ... Read more

Reviews (29)

Problems With Quicken 2003 Are Now Overcome
In the spring of 2003, I upgraded from Quicken 2000 to Quicken 2003.I have used various versions of Quicken since the DOS days.Immediately after this upgrade I had many problems running the reports.My entire computer would freeze and I would need to shutdown and restart Quicken.I most cases I was unable to get the information I need from Quicken.Recently, I purchased a new laptop with Microsoft Money was installed on it.I moved the Quicken 2003 data file onto the laptop and used Microsoft Money to gather some of the detailed information I needed to prepare my tax return and the financial aid application for my kids.I was about ready to trash Quicken and use Microsoft Money until this week when I upgraded the operating system of the computer that the Quicken 2003 was installed on.After upgrading from Windows 98 second edition to Windows XP Home edition, all of the reports work and work well, apparently the functionality of Quicken 2003 on Windows 98 is not as compatible as desired or expected based upon the wording on the Quicken 2003 product packaging.Since all is now working well I am going to stay with Quicken for now.

this software sucks.
This software does a terrible job to match the short sale and cover short transactions in my brokerage account. I have to manually specify those transactions to the right types ONE BY ONE and it still couldn't calculate the trasaction proceeds correctly. It is so frustrating. It wastes both money and time to use this software to track capital gains.

Ok So Far
I am all too familiar with software disasters.I have developed a philosophy of staying away from new releases because of this.I decided on Q3 B because my bank advised that they were no longer supporting Q2k.I went with the basic version due to in the past not really using the features from the deluxe packages.I am running a 1.8 Gb, 512mb ram, W2K machine.The install went well although it took a while to convert the files.Apparently there is an encryption process that occurs which I will research later. The interface is a little more cluttered, but overall I was up and running in about 90 minutes.Also, the online update downloaded a software patch (expected) to update the app with the latest an greatest.Problem was, it turned my screen grey and did not give me any notice or status of what it was doing or the progress until completion.I worked with another machine for a while and when the drive settled down and the CPU utilization was at three percent, I rebooted.Everything came up fine.Hopefully by the time I have to upgrade again they'll have Quicken 2006 fully debugged. :)

Risks Using Quicken
Before you give Quicken such a favorable review, you might want to check the 4 month problem they have had with Credit Card downloads.These have compromised the integrity of customer financial records. Their final solution has been to have customers manually check 4 months of statements and enter missing transactions by hand.

In the course of this problem they gave out incorrect information stating how soon the problem would be fixed, and stating that when fixed one would be able to download the missing transactions. For months they did not even inform customers that the problem continued past the original June 24 deadline.

Howard Sloane

Not User Friendly
I guess I am just too dumb, but I did not find Quicken easy to use. The help menu is useless.The screens are hard to understand and the menu names do not make sense.

I used to use an Excel spreadsheet and I think I will just go back to this. ... Read more

Product Description

Create Checks and Manage Finances - For Home and Business! Works stand-alone and with Quicken, QuickBooks, Money and other accountingsoftware!

• One-pass check printing from Quicken™, Quickbooks™ and Money®
• Check Designer Pro™ - Unlimited Design Capabilities
• Create drafts and checks by phone and fax
• Checks sent by email feature!
• Schedule your bill payments
• Financial reports for home and business
• Create personal and business-size checks
• American CheckBooks templates & refills included
• Includes 100 blank checks!

Features

• Manage your finances more efficiently - Schedule your bill payments, collect recurring payments or service fees, or create a check draft for immediate deposit
• Track all accounts, check payments and receipts online from one location
• Import records from financial software or print filled out checks directly through QuickPass
• Send checks by email, or create new drafts by phone and fax
• Draw from 300 hand-crafted images to add to your checks, with Check Designer PRO

Features

• Generate tax summary and personal donation reports
• Software for turning charitable donations into tax savings
• Easily track cash and noncash contributions during the year
• Fair-market values for commonly donated items; expert advice
• Information on donating automobiles to charity and other overlooked deductions

Reviews (5)

Not worth the time or the money (and don't download it!)
I downloaded this software directly from H&R Block as part of an offer for the rebate to get the software free as part of purchasing it with Taxcut. So, I downloaded it with Taxcut, figuring, why not? It's free! WRONG! The rebate if only valid for "retail" purchases (i.e. not downloading it - what a ripoff!).

The software is completely useless, the fields are tiny, you can't enter medium to long charity names, and then you have to edit them in Taxcut (twice the work). It is simpler to use Taxcut honestly. I would never ever buy this software again and I would never again get baited into things I don't need by "free" rebates!

Buggy Software that Does Not Save Time
After manually entering many "non-cash" items, I found the total amount for this category was not reflected in the summary page and shown as $0. The data would also not export to Taxcut. When contacted, the technical support "help" was to re-enter everything and if that did not work, to re-install the software. The software did not save me time - it doubled the time it would have taken to just enter the information directly into Taxcut.

Good for the basic stuff, nothing more
I had no install or functional issues with this product, however my complaint is this: for $19.99 this software should know armoire, stereo CD player, etc.Basically it has a database of the most common household and office items, nothing more.In the long run will it help you save more money?Maybe, depends on what you are trying to claim.

I expect more from H&R Block.

This software is awful
Warning: After successfully saving my file, I continued to input over 100 line items in this program (a very time consuming task). When finished, I tried to save but received an error message. Then when I tried to open my file, the message said it wasn't a valid file format. My file was corrupted and cannot be retrieved, and the technical support had no idea how it happened or whether it could happen again. They suggested that I back-up the file, but since this all happened in one sitting, I didn't have the chance.

The non-cash charitable contribution section is a great idea, but it's cumbersome: you have to scroll down a very long list each time (no key words). Plus, there are many every-day items that aren't on the list; bicycle helmet is, but dishware isn't.If the item isn't on the list, you have to enter it manually and assign a value, which is what I was trying to avoid by buying this program.Also, some of the distinctions are laborious; you need to indicate if a women's top is button down or v-neck, for example.

I haven't tried the alternative, but I won't buy this program again.I am in the process of returning it.

Good for large deductions
After getting it configured with all the specs it needs (charity names, etc), easy to use and acurate.I took a sample list of what it has into my local Goodwill store and prices were pretty accurate for clothing and more so for furniture.

I would say one could do the same by walking through a charity shop to place the value on donated goods but if one does not have a local shop or the time then pick this up.

One draw back I found is that when you set it up, you have to select one year or the other (2004 or 2005) could not choose both or revert back and rechoose.Although I suspect if one would remove it (registry entries too) and reinstall it, then you could select another year and track this years donations.

The other draw back is entering the items, for each one, you have to enter the date, would not use the same date used in previous entry, which I needed as I dropped off a couple of bags of clothes.


BTW This product may or may not have been included free inside the Taxcut Deluxe packages like mine was. ... Read more

Product Description

Microsoft® Money 2005 Standard There's so much more to life than managing finances. Microsoft Money 2005 Standard makes it simple to see where your money is going by automatically consolidating all your transactions in one convenient place. It's like an always-current snapshot of your spending and budget. Money has answers to all your financial questions, so you can get on with your life. 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

Amazon.com Product Description

Would you like to protect your assets against financial threat? Achieve a lifetime of financial security for you and your family? Avoid lawsuits and hassles from those who want your wealth in their pockets? If your answer is "yes," this complete electronic encyclopedia of techniques and strategies to safeguard assets from financial disaster is for you. This treasure from Dr. Arnold Goldstein, one of America's foremost authorities on debt management and asset protection, is newly updated and packed with the latest secrets. Dr. Goldstein is an attorney, professor, and author of more than 100 books on finance and law. His strategies have helped thousands of people shelter their assets successfully. ... Read more

Product Description

Mastering QuickBooks Premier 2004 is a must-have simulation for the beginner, as well as a handy reference tool for experienced business accountants. The step-by-step narration guides you through a myriad of the latest QuickBooks tools and procedures, then helps you quickly and easily apply them to your own real-world projects. ... Read more

Features

• Easy-to-follow guides for applying QuickBooks to your own real-world projects
• Manage your Accounts Payable, handle payroll and reports, track inventories and more
• Search for topics with easy keyword searches
• Get special tips for solving common QuickBooks problems
• Start generating your own invoices, manage your bank accounts, backup and restore files

Amazon.com Product Description

Whether you're calculating a lease payment or yield to maturity,splitting a restaurant bill, or simply comparing the prices of different sizedpackages, the Financial Assistant will help evaluate financial problems quicklyand accurately.

If you know how to fill out a paper form, you already know how to use the MoneyMagazine Financial Assistant. Whether you work on Wall Street or are gettingready to buy your first home, the Financial Assistant will help you makeinformed decisions.

The Financial Assistant includes a collection of 45 problem-solving worksheets,conveniently grouped into 8 categories. Manage over 150 different financialdecisions including loans, leases, mortgages, marketing and investment analysis,personal finance, everyday math, savings, tuition, and retirement planning. There's no need to memorize obscure keystrokes or to understand complexfinancial terminology. Simply select the appropriate worksheet and fill in theblanks--the answers are instantly calculated for you.

The Financial Assistant provides customizable schedules for savings, mortgages,loans, depreciation, and more. At your desk or on the road, the FinancialAssistant can compare loans and interest rates as well as help you make informedleasing, renting, or buying decisions.

The Financial Assistant includes an optionally installable set of electroniclessons ("Money 101") created by the editors at Money magazine to helpyou invest, save, borrow, and spend more wisely. If you're interested in thebasics of banking and investing in mutual funds, or you just want to controlyour debt, the essentials of each lesson can be absorbed in just 10 minutes. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

TaxCut Standard 2002 offers many new features, like nine-year tax preview, Home Office Assistant, Retirement Savings Enhancer, and free H&R Block financial planners. In addition, you still get your favorite standard features such as auto entry and financial data imports.

H&R Block financial planners assist you in determining if your investments support your financial goals and if your asset allocation matches your risk tolerance. You can also create what-if scenarios for future savings. Nine-year tax preview shows you all the ways that the tax legislation of 2001 will affect you now and in the future. Home Office Assistant walks you through a series of questions to see if your home office qualifies for tax purposes. Retirement Savings Enhancer provides ways to increase your tax and retirement savings to ensure you get the most out of your 401(k).

The improved Error Check feature catches mistakes or omissions that could cost you money or flag your return for an IRS audit. Entry Manager tracks where your data originates, guides you to related forms, and itemizes your entries. It also allows you to flag entries as tentative, so you can go back and review them before you finalize your return. The H&R Block tax law assistant helps you understand the implications of changing tax laws, provides information about how the changes affect your taxes, and ensures you get the maximum tax benefit possible under the new laws. Auto entry automatically imports W-2 and 1099 information from participating employers and financial institutions. Auto entry saves you valuable time and prevents costly data entry errors, and makes it easy to deal with multiple W-2s. ... Read more

Features

• No more wading through paperwork for hours -- the simple Tax Assistants bring you the financial assistance you need, step-by-step
• Work out the total taxable value on your stock portfolios, options, and capital gains with no trouble
• Then print out and mail your tax return and get your refund back in time at all!

Reviews (33)

Seriously buggy---may cost me big time
This software has a serious bug that may cost me a great deal of money.

My wife lived in Illinois for a year while I lived most of the year in California.In such a case, it is imperative that we file our Federal returns separately, otherwise Illinois will tax us on the money I earned in California!

TaxCut not only didn't warn us of this, it incorrectly computed the Illinois taxes using the part-year resident form. This was in spite of my having specified that my wife was in Illinois the whole year, and in spite of it being very plainly stated on the Illinois form that under such circumstances, a couple filing jointly could not use the form!

Unfortunately, I allowed TaxCut to e-file my return before I checked the state returns.Now I have to file an amendment.

I was also unable to get any help from TaxCut's customer support to stop the e-filing before it went through.

I'll never use their software again.

Great product, easy to use, helped me get a bigger refund
I don't understand why the average customer review is only 3 stars.I've used this product for 3 years now, and found it very easy to use, efficient, accurate.It's less expensive than Turbo Tax, but just as good.

This year, I tried using a free online service recommended by the IRS to do my taxes.After spending a few hours with it, I realized it lacked the ability to account for money I'd previously paid the IRS toward this year's tax bill.So I did what I should have done in the first place - got the latest TaxCut software and re-did my tax return (in half the time).TaxCut got me a bigger refund.

My only reservation is that TaxCut charges a little more to E-file your return than the online service would have charged.But accounting for the bigger refund, I'm still way ahead.

I'm sure TurboTax would be just as good for most people.But TaxCut costs less and works very, very well.

My first tax-prep software
I can't really compare this software to others, but I can say that it did a pretty good job for me. Just spend about 20 minutes answering questions in the beginning, and it will do most of the rest. My tax return consisted of several jobs for both my wife and I, working in two different states, mutual fund and stock purchases and sales, interest and capital gains income, and a mortgage. I thought this would make my return to complicated for a comuter software, but everything I needed was here. Nad if for some reason you don't like what it does, you can manually change any entry. However, if you manually change entries, you will not be allowed to e-file.
I installed this on my desktop, and again on my laptop to do some work when my wife was working on the desktop. This worked fine. But there is no clear way of letting one computer know what you did on another computer, so multiple installations are for the most part useless.
The one thing I don't like is that it seemed like procrastinators are rewarded for their laziness in that this software gets cheaper the nearer you get to April 15th, to the point where it become free after rebate.

Good alternative to Turbotax
I bought Taxcut this tax season because I was not interested in having Intuit's intrusive product activation features placed on my computer. I found Taxcut to be a decent alternative to Turbotax. (Is there any reason, though, why we have to put up with H&R Block putting Earthlink advertising on my computer?)

-1 stars would be even more accurate!>:(
i had an almost identical experience as the person from Oregon...when using this software. I want to voice my utter disgust with this product.

After corrupting my tax data file TWICE with this product, and getting nothing from their technical support except "start over", and getting no idea as to why my submissions were rejected, i ended up manually printing out each form (which in itself wasn't straightforward), and sending snail-mail, TWO days after the tax deadline. The TaxCut people quickly agreed to refund me my $..., though thats zero consolation considering the money i'm going to lose from filing late with the IRS!!

i assure you, no matter how cheap they sell TaxCut, it is simply not worth it! it should not be trusted to handle official government documents. period. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

AnyTime Deluxe allows you to organize all of your activities. Keep track of your calendars, schedules, to-do lists, addresses, and notes. Whether you're at the office, at home, or on the road, working alone or in a group, AnyTime Deluxe is a flexible and easy-to-use organizer.

Manage and prioritize tasks, check off items as they are completed, and sort by due date or priority. A new feature allows you categorize and view all to-do items from one location. Use the calendar management features to schedule all appointments, events, and meetings quickly and easily. For repeating events, schedule regular meetings, monthly events, holidays, birthdays, and to-do items with just one entry. Even set alarms and reminders so you're never late and never miss another appointment or deadline again.

The contact manager can be used to organize names, addresses, e-mails, phone numbers, and personal information including birthdays, anniversaries, spouse and children names, special dates, and more. It is also fully integrated with your calendar. Drag contacts to your calendar to schedule appointments and meetings or assign tasks. Even send e-mail to multiple contacts or connect directly to Web sites directly from your address book. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Great Networked Calendar
We have owned this product in Versions 7 and 9 for our law office for several years. If you need for more than one user to access the program simultaneously, as we do in the office, the program networks seamlessly.You could pay a fortune for a multi-user calendar like this from other vendors. If you have more than two users needing access, you can buy a license. I have seen many complaints in these reviews about technical support; I have e-mailed a couple of times and received a thorough response within 24 hours. The interface for the calendar and address book is easy to use. I highly recommend the program because of features, ease of use, and price.

Works well
Have been using this (actually version 9) for a week or so.It seems to do everything you'd want, and is very similar to the paper day-timer I used years ago.

No problems. No complaints.

Do not buy if you want support
Anytime Deluxe 9.0 sounds good for the money.Mine quit working on WinXP after 2 days, and tech support did not reply to my complaint for over a week, when I was given the address to their FAQ page.It contained no helpful information. After calling them, the tech support person admitted there was a problem, and had me modify my registry.The software ran for about 2-3 days, and then stopped working again.I have called and written emails and tech support has not responded in over a week.Even at its best, the software is mediocre - so save your money and buy some software that works and that the company will support.

Uncooperative and Annoying
I bought Anytime because I already had version 2.0.I liked the earlier version, but many of the things the older version had were either missing or less user friendly in 8.0.I couldn't load the files from version 2.0 directly into the new, (fortunately the old computer is still running so I could manually copy one to the other.)The entry process had a lot of unecessary steps which slowed down the process.Version 2.0 reminds you of missed date entries, the new one doesn't.

The version 8.0 has a lot of bells and whistles, like fax/cell/watts numbers, direct connection to e-mail, and a few others.The technical assist to Anytime is non-existant, either by 3 no-responce e-mails or 45 minutes on the phone.I'd stick with version 2.0 if you can load it into your computer, otherwise stick with Outlook.

This software is very good for the price
I have looked all over for some good organizer software.Places like IBM want 80 bucks for lotus organizer.This software is only 30 bucks and does everything i need, sets alarms for appointments, keeps track of my to do list, and keeps addresses.If you want some good organizational software that wont break your piggybank but has a nice looking easy to use interface, this software is great. ... Read more

Product Description

Quicken has developed into much more than just a program to balance checkbooks. Quicken Deluxe 2000 is a complete application for managing, analyzing and planning all aspects of financial health. Some of the improvements to Quicken Deluxe 2000 are: Tax Withholding Estimator - This feature helps determine the proper amount to withhold from a pay check. Tax Alerts - built-in reminders of important tax events Life Event Planners - Help prepare for important life events such as sending the kids to college or that all-important retirement Home and Car Comparables - Get up to date comparables on the value of your home and car Compare your investments against other stocks and mutual funds Employee Stock Option Tracking See an account overview of any accounts, all on one page Background Download of important financial data silently while surfing the net ... Read more

Features

• Balance checkbooks
• Assign categories to checkbook entries to track where money is going
• Write and print checks or pay bills online
• Set personal reminders for paying bills, taxes or any other type of financial deadline
• Track investments of all kinds, including personal stock portfolio, employee stock options, 401k, Mutual Funds, etc

Product Description

Help protect your family and property, quickly and easily! Create a legal will, make final arrangements, and access extensive legal information. As an added bonus, included Free on your disc is the Nolo's Encyclopedia of Everyday Law. Get answers to all those questions you couldn't afford to ask! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Solid and User Friendly, Great for Straightforward Situation
BOTTOM LINE:Quicken Lawyer Wills (`QLW') is a great, low-cost alternative to hiring a lawyer to prepare your will, which will run you a minimum of several hundred dollars.It takes just minutes to prepare a will, but its legal manual/support resources are extensive enough for those that want to spend much more time understanding the what/why behind their document.

QLW is published by Nolo Press, a well established publisher of self-help legal books.When creating a will, the software creates all of the legal language for you - you do not write a single word of legalese - and docs are tailored to each state's requirements.To get information from you and have you make decisions about the content/structure of your documents, QLW follows the typical "interview" format - easy to use and informative along the way.My wife and I each created wills in literally 20 minutes (but you probably have to put a bit of forethought into it, especially if you are married).

PROS:
- Ease of use:idiot-proof interview format
- Legal help:good offline manual, good resources at Nolo website
- Clear execution information:tells you exactly how to execute the will
- Address book: enter a person's info (i.e. you spouse) and don't need to enter again in other parts of same doc
- Ease of use for married people:prepare one spouse's will and QLW has a function to flip the names to create the other spouse's will without starting from scratch

COMPETITORS:Kiplinger and Broderbund also publish estate planning software but I've had a chance to look at them (pre-installed on my computer when I bought it) and I'd stick with Quicken.

GET A LAWYER IF:While QLW functions well as an advisor, guiding you through the specific provisions within a will, it has its limits and is candid enough to admit it during the interviews/tutorials.Get a lawyer for situations like: you expect to owe federal estate taxes ($1.5 million limit in 2003 and going up rapidly), you own a small business or you expect to have a messy family situation upon death (i.e. an ex-spouse or children that don't get along) or live in a community property state.

THINK ABOUT QUICKEN LAWYER PERSONAL:If you have the sense to prepare a will and are in a life situation to start preparing a will, you probably could stand to have a few other basic estate planning documents like a living will/healthcare directive and a power of attorney (especially if you're married).So for a few bucks more, I might check out Quicken Lawyer Personal instead which will do all of this plus prepare a will for you (see my review of Quicken Lawyer Personal for more info). ... Read more

Product Description

Especially for Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT. Allows you to pay bills, download your bank statements, calculate financial planning, manage your investments, simplify taxes and more. ... Read more

Features

• Organize Your Finances
• Reduce Debt Now
• Easiest Way to Get Help
• Electronic Checkbook
• Save and Budget

Reviews (1)

My Favorite Version of Microsoft Money
I used to own this version of Money and recently upgraded to Money 2003. I have since gone back to the 99 version. Firstly, the 99 version has many planning tools on it, such as a budget planner, many different calculators, such as a rent vs. buy calculator to see if you are ready to buy a home, a savings planner, interest calculators, and many more comprehensive calculators and planners that are easy to use and helpful. When I started using Microsoft Money 2003 Standard, I was very dissapointed to find that there are absolutely no calculators or planners on it besides a budget planner. And not only that, but it is full of ads! When I start Money, I get a pop-up ad to invest or buy something, and there is always an ad on the side margin. I never had a problem with Money 99 and for anyone interested in the Money software, 99 is your best bet. ... Read more

Features

• Complete tax solution for small business owners
• Improved Schedule C interview; improved error check
• Extra assistance on depreciation, business expenses, and more
• Forms for self-employment, corporations, partnerships, estates, and non-profits
• Free after rebate: H&R Block tax advice, TaxCut Personal State, and e-filing

Reviews (10)

Use At Your Own Risk
I selected this product because it was the only comprehensive business product I could download (why pay for and wait for shipping if you can avoid it?).

I experienced many of the problems of the other reviewers, including:

--Gaps in the interview process that simply refer you to IRS instructions.

--Software refused to launch after installing state product, requiring a reinstall. Fortunately, I had already printed out a draft of my return, so I'm just looking at having to do some data entry rather than start from scratch.

--State product for my state (NY) was worse than the free, fill-in version of the form available from the New York State website. Not only did it simply display the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance instructions instead of walking me through my return, but the "updated" form refused to print because, according to the software, it wasn't approved by New York State.

Fortunately, TaxCut offers a no-questions-asked refund, which I took them up on for the state business product. Because the refund is for a downloaded product, I didn't have to mail any disks back or fill out any forms to get my refund.

I'm sticking with TaxCut, bugs and all, for my federal return because it is less than half the price of TurboTax , and because I don't want to pay for and wait for shipping of a product I have no way of knowing is any better.

Here's what I suggest for other intrepid souls who wish to use TaxCut to file their business returns:

--View the product for what it is: simply an aid to filling out your own taxes.

--Become thoroughly familiar with your own tax situation; get tax books and download the IRS forms and instructions as well. Don't rely on the software to know anything you don't--and be pleasantly surprised when it does.

--Check your completed return carefully for any anomalies (mine inexplicably included a form I didn't need).

--Do not purchase the state product; you'll do much better with the interactive forms available from your state website.

Worst software I've ever tried to use
I purchased this software based on reviews I read on Amazon where Turbo Tax wasn't rated as highly on the day I was researching. In reading the reviews today, I am gratified to learn that my problems were common among other users.
The problems I encountered were extreme difficulty installing the software and then not having updates available yet.When they finally were available, then I had trouble getting the updates to download and function properly.I had a problem getting assistance because the help people operate on East Coast time so they aren't available in the evenings when I'm working on this. I cannot believe that any product related to taxes would provide such limited hours of support.Long and short - after about 6 frustrating days, I gave up on TaxCut.I went to the IRS and my state website and downloaded extensionforms as I had run out of time, patience, and sanity.For the aggravation I just experienced, I want to warn anyone else that this software is horrible.Since I had to do so much uninstalling and reinstalling, my computer is noticeably slower than before my Tax Cut experience.I hope that I didn't screw up my computer as they had me doing all kinds of things to it to try to get the software to download.They said the registry was not fully installing for some reason.Now I think maybe my computer was trying to tell me something - like "please don't load this garbage into my hard drive" -STAY AWAY FROM TAX CUT HOME & BUSINESS!

Worst program EVER
If this product even exists next year, I will be amazed.

This program is by far the WORST program I have ever used. The interface is bad. The installation is buggy. The data entry only "remembers" the first letter of what you type and you don't find that out until later in the interview process. The updates disable the program so it no longer loads. The tax forms are still "out of date" and "unapproved" even though it is days before the corporate filing deadline. And then there is that slight problem of it not printing.

Oh, and I tried installing this on three different computers with three different configurations (XP-Pro, 98, NT).It doesn't work on any of them!The fact that it does not work (in different ways, of course) really shows its bugginess... I would have almost thought the install on my CD was bad if it was consistently sucky.But no.This is just a horrible piece of software.

At one point I did get some semblance of the software to run (no printing, but I didn't know that until I finished the effort), but in the so-called "interview" it just lists off almost random questions that you have to figure out what the hell they mean.If I was that much of a tax-wiz, I wouldn't need a program like this! I expected some layman's-language guidance, but instead get random quotes from the IRS form. With no explanation, even when I click on the supposed "help" (which tells me how to use my mouse or tab in the program - gee that helps).

I am absolutely taking them up on their 100% guarantee and getting a refund. This embarrassment of a program should never have seen the light of day, and can only be horrible joke of some kind. Run away from this program, and get a refund if you already wasted your money on this.

Buggy and Crude, and That's the Good News!
I had been a faithful TurboTax user since 1996, but this year decided to give TaxCut a chance as I do not like the way Intuit does business, and was hoping for a better option. Unfortunately, I will have to go back to TurboTax next year as TaxCut is very substandard.

I have a moderately complex tax return (including a Schedule C business) and have a fairly firm understanding of the tax codes that pertain to me, which was a good thing, as the interview is NOT complete in several important areas, and presumes that you know how some specifics apply to you. This was especially true in business deductions, and the dreadful Schedule D interrogation. I had one issue on a broker statement that was never addressed in the interview, nor was any help available on how the program wanted it entered (it was a 'cash in lieu' transaction). I checked the help pages and indexes, but it had no idea. I finally had to essentially do my Schedule D by hand and make sure the numbers were correct, as the only way to enter it was as a dividend (which it technically was not.) I have never had problems like this with TurboTax. I am grateful that I had no foreign taxes paid this year; I don't think I would have had the patience for that.

Another problem I had was with the entries for the form 8606 ('Nondeductible IRAs') which couldn't figure my basis from my 2002 return plus my 2003 contributions. The verbiage used to ask the questions in the IRA interview BEGS you to make an error in entering the basis. When I used the 'show form' function, unlike TurboTax, it will not show the IRS form, it shows the IRS form plus a lot of TaxCut worksheet entries intermingled with the real form which is extremely annoying, when all you really want to do is look at the real form to see what the program is doing for certain entries.

The interface itself is laughable. It takes up about the middle half of my monitor, and there is no way to maximize it. Why on earth TaxCut would ignore huge bands of space on the sides of the presentation and make the font small and hard to decipher in a central window is a mystery to me. Beware of the interview. If you have anything other than an extremely simple return, it is inadequate, and you will need help (I recommend the J. K. Lasser "Your Income Tax 2004" book) figuring out how to enter some data.

My overall biggest complaint, though, without doubt, was the error check at the end of the program. After I finished entering my data, it said I had nine errors that had to be corrected, and ten warnings, that I should examine. In all cases the 'errors' were due to things TaxCut did not do correctly. For instance, it imported my 2002 TurboTax results and saw I filed Schedule C-EZ, but this year I needed a regular Schedule C. TaxCut was not smart enough to delete the C-EZ, and in fact came up with a paragraph long explanation of where I needed to look for entries pertinent to the C-EZ and manually delete them or change them to refer to the new Schedule C, and only then could I delete the Schedule C-EZ (which was, at any rate, empty.) The other 'errors' were because TaxCut doesn't grasp what 401K contributions do to your W-2. I wrestled with fixing these errors for about two days. Ugh.

I can't recommend this product. I gave it two stars only for the simple reason that after all was said and done, it did compute the taxes correctly, and the state taxes were actually a snap.

Save yourself a headache, buy TurboTax instead. I don't like Intuit either, but I like staying sane more than I dislike Intuit. Never again will I use TaxCut.

BEWARE of the Business Product
TaxCut Business has many problems.I am suprised that it is even on the market.This product does not even deserve 1 star!

The interview is not exhaustive.The user must have a fair amount of tax knowledge to adequately utilize the software.The interview does not suggest forms that should be used.

The update process corrupted my data.A long session with tech support concluded with me re-entering the return.

After this pain, for some reason, I decided to stick with it and download the state business product.After much work, the return would not print because the forms had not been approved by the state.When I asked customer service about this, they assured me that approved forms would be available in a few weeks.Well, as of this writing it is 3/9/04.Business returns are due on 3/15/04.Exactly how long should I wait for "approved" forms?

All in all, the product is difficult to use.If you are not an advanced computer & software user, you will really feel some pain.

I could go on, but read the other reviews, some good points are brought up.

I'm on the way to return the product for a refund. ... Read more

Product Description

Manage your finances and plan for the future. Enables you to track your checkbook and spending, manage investments and taxes, budget and reduce debt, manage financial goals and more! ... Read more

Features

• Save time by going online -- Download checking, credit card and other transactions automatically, for faster financial management
• Manage your investments more effectively, with up-to-the-minute information
• Achieve financial goals with the built-in planning tools -- get out of debt, save for retirement, or prepare for a major purchase
• Tax time is easier than ever, with the simplified tax tools
• Also includes complimentary financial services at no extra charge

Reviews (18)

I Am Disappointed
I just purchased Quicken Home and Small Business Legal Suite 2003.I am surprised that the software is no longer supported and that no updates are available.I am also surprised that there is not a residential lease document.There was a residential lease document in Quicken Business Lawyer 2000.

There are also far fewer legal forms available in the software than were available in earlier versions of the software.

Quicken Lawyer Bundle 2003
This is exactly what every small business person, good neighbor and informed consumer needs!! Excellent product, simply has everything we wanted and more...easy to use...very self-explanatory and has great on-screen guides.

No support?
I bought this software a few months ago but didn't get around installing it until today. When I tried to register the software I got the message that the software is no longer supported! I was asked to call an 800 number to get a discount on an upgrade. This is the first time I ever ran across a name-brand software package that discontinues support before the software is even one year old! While I may still use the software I found it appalling that the publisher of this software dares to force customers to pay for an "upgrade" immediately upon installation of software that they just purchased.

Support ended after just a year and a half????
I am an owner of Quicken Lawyer 2002 Personal Deluxe. I had to reinstall the software when my computer quit. I bought a new one and installed QLP2002. When I went to use the automatic web update of the software, I was informed that "This version is no longer supported, and Web Update is not available... we recommend that you upgrade... for only $29.99. It is an outrage that Nolo has revoked patches they had previously made available. The lack of any support is the reason I will NEVER purchase another Quicken Lawyer product.

No long-term support?
I am an owner of Quicken Lawyer 2002 Personal Deluxe, which according to Amazon is just ONE VERSION BACK from this one.When my computer went south last week, I bought a new one and installed QLP2002.When I went to use the automatic web update of the software, I was informed that "This version is no longer supported, and Web Update is not available... we recommend that you upgrade... for only $29.99."

While, yes, I'm sure that legal things do change, they do not change that much, and I find it reprehensible that Nolo has revoked patches they had previously made available.Imagine any other manufacturer doing that -- "sorry, Office 2000 is no longer supported, so you can't download the patches we previously made available to you.Either use Office 2000 with none of the bugs corrected, or pay $400 for Office 2003."Ridiculous.So, while I did like the software, the lack of any longer-term support is a real turn-off for me. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Handmark's PocketMoney is the perfect system for PDA users who want to keep track of their expenses with up-to-the-minute specificity. Whether you need to track outgoing expenses while on the road, figure out just how much gas your car is guzzling, or divide a restaurant bill evenly between diners, this program can handle it all.

PocketMoney is a quick and easy way to track your incoming deposits and categorize your spending. PocketMoney supports all kinds of global currencies for the PDA user who spends money across multiple international borders. This program is easy to synchronize with your desktop and can export directly into Excel or Quicken. Additionally, you can update multiple PDA units by beaming information back and forth.

PocketMoney also comes bundled with a fantastic program called CheckPlease. For anyone who has ever had a long dinner with friends, you know what happens when the bill comes. Calculating the tip and each person's portion is always a problem. Well, this problem is solved with CheckPlease. Simply enter the information from the bill, what percentage you'd like to leave for a tip, and the number of people paying, and CheckPlease will spit out an indisputable, bottom-line number.

PocketMoney is also any commuter's best friend. MPG, another program included with PocketMoney, keeps track of your gas bill and tells you exactly how your vehicle is performing. By entering the type of car you drive and how much you spent on your last pit stop, and keeping a record of how far you've driven, your gas budget will be a mystery no longer. --Kendra Hayden ... Read more

Reviews (5)

This product is misrepresented
The product works well as a stand alone application, but does not work with MS Money.It is completely useless for those looking to something that will transfer back and forth.

The one Palm app I use daily!
I am a HUGE fan of PocketMoney and have been for a year and half ever since I tried out the demo version.This simple little program is easy to use and will help you to keep your finances in line with minimal effort!I have tried Pocket Quicken as well and I'm happy to say that Pocket Money 2.1 is easier to use and more powerful (as well as less expensive!) than even Pocket Quicken.And as I mentioned in my title, this the only Palm app that I use on a daily basis..aside from the Datebook!

I use this in place of Quicken or MS Money.You heard me right...this little app is robust enough to be your stand alone financial software.Even better is that it's portable and does many of the things the desktop money managers do.Of course you can use it as a supplement for Quicken/MS Money as it does export QIF files, but on it's own, PM has the power and features to do everything you need.

Setting up accounts is easy as is doing the actual tracking of debits/credits and so on.You can set up recurring payments, regular deposits, and so on.You can set up which accounts are counted as part of your total net worth on the overview screen so that you always have a snapshot of just how much money you really have.The portability factor is great...stop at an ATM or purchase something and you can quickly record the transaction with a minimum of stylus taps and not have to worry about entering the receipts in your desktop PC when you get home.

The app is stable (never crashes), small in size (only a few hundred Kilobytes) and the password screen is a welcome basic safety feature.Plus, all your card info and bank contact data can safely be stored in this app in the event that you lose your wallet or need to call your bank!

If you buy just one Palm application or if you feel the need to organize your finances (and keep them organized), Pocket Money is a worthwhile purchase.I can't say enough about this great product!

2 accounts at once!
Both my wife and I like to keep track of our expenses on the road.PocketMoney allows us to both track expenses on our Palms and beam account changes to one another when we return.Really a time saver.

Pocket Money
This product has a great format on the Palm, however as one who is not a wiz on the computor I gave up after spending about 6 hours trying to get it to interface with my Quicken.Might be a great product for those who are very computor literate but if your of the load and use nature, stay away.Also when I went to the Pocket Money support group I got a whole lot of instructions that may or may not have been in English for all the good they did.

Amazing product!Exactly what I bought my Visor for!
Pocket Money is an amazing product.

The program works very cleanly.Within 1 hr of playing around with it, I actually had, for the first time in one place, a listing of what my net worth was!To me, that's an amazing feat.I've got my 401k totals there, stock holdings, checking accts, savings accts, home equity, credit cards, the amount of change sitting in my drawer, and even the amount of money sitting in my pocket!

It took only a few minutes, and the results are truly a peace of mind, because, with every transaction, whether ATM, or in a store, or wherever, I can open up the program, and quickly add the amount of the purchase or deposit or transfer, give it a category if I want, and who it went to, and that's it.Done.I can forget about it until my next transaction takes place.

Now I don't have to wonder if I'll have enough for this item or that.Just by putting in bills that I know are coming in at the beginning of the month, I can see how much I *really* have, rather than the tempting figure that sometimes prints out on an ATM receipt.

Thanks makers of Pocket Money! ... Read more

Features

• Tax software guides users through California tax returns
• Interview-based wizard system
• Up-to