I’m thinking about adding a personal finance program for me to pay my bills with. I’ve checked out the Amazon site and basically I see two programs: Microsoft Money 2006 and Quicken 2006.
anyone using these programs? Anyone know of any better ones?
blue
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what are u really trying to do?
lots of banks have software you can "write" checks with.
what do u want to do besides have the computer write the checks and keep a record of the checks u write.
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter
Bobl, I've just taken over the task of paying all the household bills. After two months of writing checks and stuffing envelopes, I decided that I'd prefer to do all the bill paying online. Some services cant be paid for online, so I'd like to write a check from my computer for those.
It's important for me to be able to open one program and know that I have every bill paid with a click of a button(s).
I also want to see an accurate running total of the checkbook and be able to keep a copy of all transactions.
blue
I don't use either micr money or quikenbut my understanding of them is that you will print your checks out on the computer and mail them, but they will keep your checkbook register and other informationif you want real on-linepayment like in the adds, I believe you are going to have to use one of the banks or credit union 's systems. but the details of these are all different and so you have to figure what you want.I just am in the beginning stages of using my credit union for on-line payment. they have a new system. before they took your money on the day you entered a payment, now it's on the day the payment is to be made. also there may be lead times, like you can't pay a bill today, u have to schedule the payment. you can set up reoccuring paymnets. think u can also download records to quicken or micro money. don't think it is all automatic.depending on how you want to handle your payments, some places will set it up so they take your money from your account. or they will charge a credit card. I don't like the take your money stuff. I have one account they charge my credit card.most banks have web sites, might want to check out the bank you use and what they have. might a demo of their system on-line. my credit union does.
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter
because this thread is entitled Home Finance, hope it doesn't get moved to the tavern.the subject is applicable to the business side too.
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter
"if you want real on-linepayment like in the adds, I believe you are going to have to use one of the banks or credit union 's systems. but the details of these are all different and so you have to figure what you want."Not really.I did electronic billpayment starting around 91 until a few years ago. I was using Checkfree service which was built into Quicken. The only reason that I stop was that they no longer supported the direct dialup service that I was using. To continue using it I would have to upgrade to version that where not compatible with my OS and that in turn would cause other problems.Also the new versions where suppose to be more "user friendly" but hid a lot of stuff behind "forms" and it took extra work to right to the heart of things to do what I wanted to do.I did beta testing Quicken for several years in the mid to late 90's and also volunteer tech support on Quicken forms, both with and without Quickens blessings.You can use electronic billpayment with ANY bank via a 3rd party such as Checkfree (and you might not even realize that you are working through a 3rd party). However, to get the full integration with the bank, showing when which checks have cleared, deposits, etc, then you need to have data interchange with the bank.Now there is a standardized format that has been worked out between the banks and banking software and 3rd party service bureas. However, there still needs to be an agreement between the software company and the particular bank. And the bank sets a new of terms as to what part is free or what fees are charges. And if they deduct payments immediately or when they clear.
good infoIT surec is making things easier:)
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter
I also want to see an accurate running total of the checkbook and be able to keep a copy of all transactions.
blue
Is that with or without wife?
Hehehe. Robert, actually my wife can keep a very accurate register. I'm the one that makes all the errors. I don't do the basic math carefully enough and before you know it, it's all messed up.
Thanks to everyone that responded. I think Jake has given me the tidbit that I was looking for. I'm going to get the quicken version. I think it's about 70 bucks before rebate. The rebate process seems daunting, but before I buy online I'll try a local shop.
blue
We use Quicken for personal finance and the rental business. We use Quick Books Pro for the maintenance business. We use Dan's brain for cash lol. DanT
Dan, I've got QB pro too and it works well for us. The only thing I hate is that they force you to subscribe to their payroll update service. Because of the grudge that I hold against them, I'm leaning away from Quicken, but I don't want to let my stupid grudge get in the way of making a better decision.
I'm not that fond of Microsoft either, so in many ways, it's a draw.
blue
It's probably not the most efficient way, but I use Quicken foir evereything. I have one account for my checking account, and I creat another "account" for every job. Then I list all income and expenses by job. I try to enter transactions 2-3 times a week so I don't get too far behind. The program has several report features, and I can call one up and easily see how income vs expenses is doing. So far I have not tried to have a line item for the contracted amoiunt so I can see how I am doing against that ... I guess it can be done. Anyway, when the end of a job, or the end of the year hits, i can see all the details, or just what I want, for the whole year.
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
Ed, it doesn't sound efficient. Quickbooks would be much better.
blue
It probably is not efficient, but I make it work. Too dumb to know the difference :)
I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it done the right way.
I've never tried MS Money, but I have been using one version or another of Quiken or Quikbooks for the last 15 or so years. I've had good luck with it, but as someone else said, it really depends on what you want to do. Quiken makes many different versions that keep adding features and $$$ to the cost. If this is for your personal finances and all you want is to balance the checkbook, print checks, and track expenses, the most basic version is fine. As you go up in cost, additional features get added- planning tools, home inventory, etc. Most of these add-ons offer little in value, IMHO.
If you want to use this for your business, then Quikbooks is a good option. I have used the basic version when I was treasurer of a small non-profit (Vol Fire Co) and QB pro for the larger 30 person (non-construction) organization I'm involved with now. For that operation, we chose QB pro because it was the least expensive option with the best learning curve that could transmit data directly to the accountant at tax time (the accountant recommended it to us). So far it has worked well. We do not use the payroll component as we have enough people to outsource that.
FWIW, I am currently using "Quiken 2004 Premier Home & Business" for my personal stuff. It is a kind Quiken on steroids with a Quikbooks lite module tied in. It works great for my home based side business, but I don't even know if they still sell a version like this.
Good luck.
I've used both programs but gave up MS and stayed with Quicken.
MS required me to save all my information on the MS system, not my computer. MS swore it was safe and everything was private, but who knows.....
With Quicken, you load the software onto your computer and enter and store all the information on your computer. You back-up your information to another device (I use a memory key) that I keep in my computer desk. Nothing is stored off site. No one else has control over or access to my information.
Quicken is pretty easy to use and the learning curve is not that great. At the end of the calendar year, it summarizes everything nicely. Since I also use Quicken to prepare my tax returns, I can quickly and easily import my data to my income tax program and everything is assigned the correct spot in my return, that is, the two programs are compatible, so everything works right. I no longer use a paper checkbook, although I still elect to receive monthly statements from my bank.
Cost is reasonable. I don't update Quicken every year - don't feel it's necessary. Can't say I'd have the same freedom of choice if I was using MS since the data would be stored off site.
I used to use Managing Your Money by Andrew Tobias. It was the greatest financial planning software ever devised. Had a built in calendar that automatically opened first time I used the program each day - so deadlines were easy to track. Was compatible with Quicken. Unfortunately, he is no longer updating the program and it is woefully out of date and basically unusable. Too bad as it was really impressive.
Hope this helps.