Product Reviews

For several years now the two leading producers of personal finance software have been pursuing the usual course - that of trying to outdo one another by adding more and more accounting features. A couple of versions ago, for instance, both Microsoft Money and Intuit's Quicken finally perfected usable online banking. This was followed swiftly in the next release with the option to access value-added Internet services. Last time round, however, Microsoft tweaked little more than a few toolbars and bundled tax-calculating software into Money 2004.

It's no surprise, then, to find that Intuit has performed a similar catch-up exercise in this latest version of Quicken XG. You get Quicken and TaxCalc 2004 bundled together, along with operating enhancements and a new user interface.

Controversially, in the last update Intuit also introduced Advantage, which is a subscription bundle that includes all the usual online banking features, plus online support and upgrades each time a new version is released. If you didn't opt for a subscription, which costs £49 (£54 inc VAT) per year, then the Advantage module expires after one year, leaving you without the connectivity you might expect from this generation of personal finance software.

If you did opt for Advantage on the basis of getting your hands on 'free' upgrades each year, then you might be wondering just what you get with this release. Well that nice new interface now has a simplified 'at-a-glance' sidebar for an overview of your balances and quick access to your accounts, plus much easier ways to customise and personalise your homepage. Like Money, you can now see your Net Worth displayed all the time on-screen and there's a calendar on view to show stock alerts and up-and-coming financial events.

As part of the Advantage package, you can now have up to three online support consultations with a Quicken expert and schedule automatic bank statement downloads, as well as receive product feature updates throughout the year. You can also secure data with a remote Internet backup, which could be useful for offsite storage in case of emergencies.

For the new user, there's also a redesigned setup wizard, which is probably where Intuit gets the timings for its 'take control of your finances in as little as five minutes' claim. For the self-employed,

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who are used to ploughing through self-assessment forms from the Inland Revenue, the inclusion of TaxCalc 2004 is definitely a bonus. Integration between Quicken XG and TaxCalc is improved, so they seem a little less like two separate applications bundled together.

Although there doesn't seem much of any substance here for the existing user looking to upgrade, let's not forget Quicken XG still offers plenty of features for the personal and small business user ready to computerise their accounts for the first time. Quicken can analyse all your income and expenditure through cash, bank and credit card accounts, along with deposit and building society savings. Like Microsoft Money, you also get plenty of online integration with your financial institution - but this does mean you need to subscribe to Advantage.

Business users in particular will find there's plenty on offer. For instance, Quicken can be used to prepare estimates and turn these into invoices later without re-entering any of the data concerned. The self-employed user will also find job and project tracking very useful, with the ability to email HTML invoices to a customer. You can also track business and vehicle mileage within the application then transfer this data to TaxCalc at the end of the financial year. Estimates and invoices offer on-screen layout customisation, and you now get a proper purchase ledger to effectively track supplier invoices and bill payments as well.

Quicken XG also makes light work of dealing with your personal finance issues. Like Money, it offers the ability to track investments with portfolios of shares and stocks. You can purchase and sell shares, add dividends when these are issued and make re-investments as and when required. Using a series of wizards in the investment centre, you can also handle most other types of investment without the need for a great deal of knowledge beforehand.

There's no doubt that it's getting harder and harder to justify upgrading your accounting system every time a new release comes along - mostly because truly innovative new features are few and far between these days. Intuit may well have shot itself in the foot expecting a subscription each year based on the premise that you'll want to upgrade to the latest version. It may also find it hard to justify the subscription cost based on the Advantage services while the likes of Microsoft still provide the bulk of these services free.

For the first-time business user, however, Quicken XG does provide a sensible entry-level set of ledgers, including VAT handling. Just remember you'll be paying each year to continue using the Advantage online part of the software. Intuit has realised not everyone will want the full deal, however, so if you just want home accounts then check out the new Quicken Money Manager, or if you want to include investment management and planning then try Quicken Investor.