

  UPGRADING  SOFTWARE

  AN OLD FRIEND REVISITED:                     (C)1994  by Lois B. Laulicht
  A  product review -- Quicken v.4 for Windows


  Intuit's Quicken for Windows v.4 is one of those pieces of software
  that almost anyone can use at their own level of expertise and
  discover that the program is essential for money management.  Not
  everyone has investments to track or other than payroll income to
  report.  However, most of us do have checks to write, budgets to
  maintain, and tax items to collate.  Quicken accomplishes these tasks,
  and more, in a straight forward and easily understood manner.  If one
  were so inclined, one could manage the many details of a small
  business using the Quicken tools. The newest Quick Books as a
  companion to v.4 caps off this versatile suite of money management
  tools and will be reviewed in the next months by WindoWatch.

  It seems to me that the question of upgrading to the disk version of
  Quicken v.4 is one that falls into two separate categories.  There are
  some of us who carefully upgrade to make sure their installed version
  has the most current features. There are others who must justify the
  upgrade in terms of what it will do for them. The new features on the
  disk version are quite limited.  There are some nice account buttons
  at the bottom of the check register to insure complete records of
  charges and credits and the snapshot feature is very nice.  I'm also
  sure that I'll really appreciate the improved links to Turbo Tax in the
  months to come.  However, the disk edition of v.4 might have waited a
  bit. It is my understanding that the CD-ROM version is filled with all
  sorts of reference data and other goodies. However---it's very hard to
  improve upon excellence!

  Installation of the program was hassle free!  I was upgrading from an
  earlier version and was impressed with how well data was protected
  while the software was installed and then configured. The handy quick
  tour of what the software offers for VGA monitor users can be referred
  to at any time and covers all the high points of the program.  The
  On-line Help is very complete but not very interesting without any
  graphic examples.

  The guts of any money management software is the check register. As the
  assorted items are entered into the register, Quicken's Quick Fill
  feature will later access the name of the payee and the amount of the
  check for regularly scheduled payments, or with minor editing, an
  unusual amount. This saves many keystrokes and is a real time-saver.

  One of the powerful features that Quicken provides is a way of
  categorizing entries in the check register or any other register one
  decides to establish.  For new users,  it might be wise to look at the
  categories options carefully before one starts entering or
  transferring data.  Taking the extra minutes to specify tax categories
  and other tax related items using the splits feature,  particularly
  for pay checks and credit cards,  pays off at tax preparation time.
  The "Getting Started" guide gives one a quick overview while looking
  at the manual provides the necessary in-depth guidance crucial to
  really utilize Quicken's fine points.  To use Quicken in ways that
  save one from the tedium of assembling canceled checks, receipts, and
  other supporting documents at tax time, one  must plan  before
  plunging.   It should be pointed out that entries can be categorized
  later using these more sophisticated features.  Using the single entry
  approach of the register,  one can also establish cash, investment,
  credit card and savings account registers, calculating and projecting
  interest earned. The versatility of the register approach to money
  management is inhibited only by the limits of the users imagination.

  The Electronic Payment option means that one can schedule payments
  well in advance and order Checkfree to pay bills on a specified date
  using their 800 telephone number and a modem.   Checkfree needs five
  business days to process your payments.  Should you make a mistake or
  choose to change an amount or stop payment on a specific item, the
  handy Email feature can send a stop payment instruction.  If a vendor
  you do business with cannot handle electronic payments Checkfree will
  instead send them a paper facsimile of your check.  Quicken obviously
  has the capacity to print checks with items for payment ready for
  signature.

  Balancing one's bank statement becomes a less tedious task with the
  Quicken drop down menu that prompts for the correct information and
  uses data already stored in program data files. A printed report can be
  generated listing the uncleared checks by date issued, check number,
  payee, category and amounts outstanding.

  These  tools keep you on top of your checking account chores. It
  simplifies the cash flow process and keeps one abreast of how money is
  spent.  Like many of us, you may not have quite enough money, but you
  won't ever be surprised by that short fall using Quicken. The
  financial calendar coupled with billminder keeps your transactions
  moving out and properly recorded in a timely fashion.

  For those with investments, the familiar Quicken interface makes
  somewhat complicated transactions easier to understand.  The trick is
  to keep transaction records current with sufficient detail to identify
  profitable instruments from questionable investments. One no longer
  has to wonder about the real cost of trading stocks or what the net
  profit or loss is.  Its all there....from stock splits, dividends,
  reinvestment of capital gains, and cash withdrawals of funds.  The
  amount of detail one chooses to enter for specific investment(s) is
  left entirely to the user. It becomes clear how this information can
  be used for general investment, retirement, college and tax planning.
  The manual  is most complete in this area and could easily become an
  investor's accounting bible.

  Quicken provides a very complete reporting interface and graphic
  capability. For instance,  if one is planning a home office addition
  one can easily determine the appropriate dollar investment with
  graphic display to determine the best option of either depreciation
  and/or expensing items for tax purposes. One can do interim reporting
  in terms of the planned dollar investment and quickly see if one is
  within budgetary and/or time constraints. These can be integrated for
  use with tax tools summarizing information consistent with year end
  tax planning. Additionally, comma delimited data, for spread sheet
  conversion, can be sent to the clipboard and then on to Excel or Lotus
  1-2-3. Other data or report material can be transferred to other
  Windows applications using normal cutting and pasting tools. If
  Quicken has any built in limitations it is the lack of DDE or OLE.
  Hopefully this will be one of the areas that Intuit will strengthen in
  future versions. The recent sale of Intuit to Microsoft increases the
  probability of inclusion of these features into future upgrades of
  Quicken.

  This is one of many money managers I have looked at over the last
  twelve months and is the one I have found the easiest to learn, the
  most versatile, and the most comprehensive. It is very reasonably
  priced at around $35 plus s/h.


  LOIS LAULICHT has been involved with computers since the early
  eighties.  She lives with her husband and their pair of German
  Shepherds in the West Virginia mountains writing and editing
  WindoWatch from their electronic cottage.

