Quicken 2001 Deluxe by Intuit

Description

Intuit's Quicken 2001 Deluxe, complete with a host of new and enhanced features, will make your life tidier and easier than you'd ever imagined possible. Is your desk a mess of bills and tax forms? Did you transfer your financial information to your computer before the Internet changed everything? Balance your current and savings accounts online; plan for retirement, college or end-of-year returns and track investments minute by minute–all within an easy-to-navigate Web-based series of pages. Quicken 2001 Deluxe has a transparent installation, and setting up your accounts is very quick and simple; even accessing your bank's information online (if available) takes only a few minutes. Though it's a little less helpful than Microsoft's Money in offering advice to financial novices, and its Web integration isn't perfect, Quicken makes up for these minor problems with its simplicity and powerful planning features.

New features are plentiful, as Intuit takes great pains to listen to its customers: Palm integration, easy updates, tax withholding help and car and home value estimators are all tremendous advantages over old versions. The tax help in particular is nice, acknowledging the stress involved for most people and making it simple and easy to make the right decision without resorting to cartoon characters or cheesy humour. Each planning tool (reducing debt, buying a house, retirement, etc.) is excellent on its own, but unfortunately is just that–on its own.

The tools are not as well integrated as Money's, and while each individual Quicken program is generally better, those with a lot on their financial plates may find Money's synthesis more helpful. Those who know a bit about their money and want a simple, less flashy toolbox for keeping track of all their investments will find much to love about Quicken 2001 Deluxe. —Rob Lightner

Platforms

Windows NT, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me