From managing your checkbook and budget to the daily tracking of business and investment data, Microsoft Money has a version that can handle the task. Offerings range from the simplest version for beginners, Microsoft Money Essentials, to the fairly robust Microsoft Money Plus Home and Office edition.
A perennial second-place player in the financial software marketplace behind Intuit’s Quicken, Microsoft’s Money line is less expensive than comparable Quicken versions. Bear in mind that some of the most powerful features available through the higher-end Microsoft Money Plus Premium and Microsoft Money Plus Home and Business suites are only free for a short time through second-party software provider who participate in Microsoft's Value Pack program.
Here’s a look at what each Microsoft Money version can do:
Microsoft Money Essentials
Microsoft Money Essentials has all of the basic tools you could expect for managing cash accounts and a household budget. Bank and credit card transactions can be downloaded from most major institutions. The software automatically categorizes them for easy budget management. The budget management section allows users to set goals and regularly track progress toward meeting them.
When tax time rolls around, tax-deductible expense records can be swiftly downloaded into any of a number of tax-preparation software applications. Microsoft Money Essentials is only for users who want to keep track of their finances going forward; anyone who needs to important old financial data needs to step up to Microsoft Money Plus Deluxe. The retail price in 2008 stood at about $20.
Microsoft Money Plus Deluxe
Microsoft Money Plus Deluxe includes all the cash-management features of Essentials and adds tools for tracking investment portfolios and taxes.
Microsoft Money Plus Deluxe’s cash-management features are enhanced by banking and budget management tools which, among other things, alert the user to bills that are due or overdue. A tax tool helps search for deductions and gives users the ability to estimate their taxes before they finish a return. Its investment management section also offers some financial planning tools to help reach retirement, college and other long-term goals.
Its 2008 retail price is about $30.
Microsoft Money Plus Premium
Microsoft Money Plus Premium provides all of the aforementioned management features, with an additional component to help investors make the most tax-efficient investment choices. It also comes with discount coupons for a pack of other software services, including tools for tracking tax-deductible donations, mailing software and credit report access.
Its 2008 retail price is about $50.
Microsoft Money Plus Home and Business
Microsoft Money Plus Home and Business includes all of the aforementioned features along with a suite of tools designed to help manage a small business. These tools help business owners create estimates and invoices, monitor invoices and receivables, create business reports and graphs, and track items that will need to go on Schedule C at the end of the tax year.
Microsoft also touts a discount pack for additional services that could include everything from credit monitoring and online data backups to the ability to do business payrolls online.
The 2008 retail price is about $60.
