Whether you just want a simple program to keep track of your spending, or you’re looking for an all-in-one application to monitor everything from your checkbook to your investments, Intuit’s Quicken line of software has a version that will make managing your money a snap.
Here’s a brief look at what each edition offers:
Quicken Starter Edition
Quicken's most basic edition offers users some fairly powerful budget-management tools. Checking and savings account information can be easily imported online from more than 5,300 banks, brokerages and credit card companies.
Once it’s in the system, Quicken allows users to categorize their expenses, giving them an instant read on where they're spending their money – whether it’s on housing, medical expenses, cars, debt or miscellaneous expenses like dining out.
Along with that rather powerful budgeting tool, the software makes it possible to flag tax-deductible expenses throughout the year that can be imported into Intuit’s TurboTax tax-preparation software at year’s end.
The software turns balancing a checkbook into an easy chore. It also allows users to pay their bills online, and to send regularly scheduled payments to help avoid late fees and other nasty consequences on things like rent payments and utility bills.
The 2008 version retails for about $30.
Quicken Deluxe
Along with the checkbook, budgeting and bill-paying features, Quicken Deluxe allows users to create savings goals and do online financial planning for retirement or college.
The emphasis is on budgeting. The software lets users create monthly budget goals and organize them by category. The software measures progress through the month, giving the user instant feedback on how they’re doing in each category.
The 2008 version retails for about $60.
Quicken Premier
In addition to the aforementioned features, Quicken Premier includes some fairly powerful investment-monitoring tools to help users manage their portfolios. It’s easy to create up-to-date net worth statements, and the software helps manage the tax consequences of various investment moves.
The 2008 retail price is about $90.
Quicken Home and Business
As the name implies, Quicken Home and Business adds a collection of tracking tools to the features found in other Quicken versions.
Along with tracking business-related tax deductions, Quicken Home and Business allows users to collect all of their personal and business data and to monitor their progress. Business expenses are easy to track, and it’s possible to produce up-to-the-minute snapshots of a business’s current performance by comparing sales to expenses.
The 2008 version retails for about $100.
