Financial Software Review: 2008 Microsoft Money

Microsoft Money essentials is the latest in a long line of evolving personal finance management software produced by the well known software giant Microsoft. If the company name doesn't give this software credibility the software itself does. Loaded with a compendium of great, easy to use features that have both utility and function, Microsoft Money essentials can help one effectively organize, plan and manage one's finances in several key areas.

Advantages of Microsoft Money Essentials 2008

One of the best features of The 2008 version of this software is the free trial. This allows one to try the software without risk for 60 days to see if it is the right financial management software for one's needs and goals. If one doesn't like the software, simply cancel the agreement before the free trial offer expires and no financial obligation should becomes due. Some of the other features Microsoft Money Essentials 2008 offers are the following:

• Organize multiple finance functions in one digital location
• Prepare financial statements and documents for lenders
• Affordable Software
•Improves and/or maintains record keeping
• Helps develop financial discipline
• Tax preparation

Depending on which version of the Microsoft Money Essentials software has, one will be able to do all the above and more as the software is able to export data to both Tax Cut and Turbo Tax both of which are well known tax preparation software packages.

Cost, System Requirements and other considerations

Compared to one of its main competitors Quicken Basic, Microsoft Money Essentials in its most basic format costs $10.00 less at $19.99. Like Quicken, there are premium versions of the software that offer more features and benefits for a higher price. However, overall, the Microsoft prices are significantly lower than Quicken.

The system requirements for Microsoft Money Essentials is available on the Microsoft money website but in a nutshell, the software is not too demanding in terms of operating system, and processing speed. Pretty much any computer that was manufactured as a Pentium II or higher has a good chance at running Microsoft Money Essentials with relative ease.

Microsoft has been producing and coding financial software for several years now and the Money line of software has gone through several generations of improvements. A user of this software can be assured the software is designed to be relatively user friendly, easy to install, and functional.

Even the earlier versions of this software were quite functional and easy to use with features such as mortgage amortizations calculators, loan interest calculators, checkbook record keeping etc. Microsoft Money Essentials 2008 takes old and important features to the next level with enhanced features, improved benefits and updated Internet interactivity.

If a user takes full advantage of the features and benefits provided in this software package they may find themselves with highly organized and well presented personal financial information just mouse clicks away. Individuals who are seeking to also manage their home based business can take advantage of Microsoft Money Plus home and business, a part of the Essentials product line that includes small business management software features in addition to all the great benefits of the standard Microsoft Money line.

Microsoft Money Essentials 2008 is essentially a complete personal and depending on which version of the software one has, business finance organization software package. The price is reasonable across the board and can be well worth it if one is disciplined enough to use the software properly. The benefits include functional and user friendly features for financial presentation, calculation, budgeting, expenditure tracking, bill arrangement and more. For individuals in need of a new and improved way to manage personal finances, Microsoft Money Essentials 2008 may be worth the time and effort required in checking out the free trial.

Personal Finance Software: Microsoft Money vs Quicken

Both Microsoft Money and Intuit Quicken are leading financial software providers in terms of U.S. market share. The two software packages both come in three primary versions from the most basic to the premier, each with additional functions and features not necessarily available in less expensive versions. Furthermore, both Microsoft Money and Intuit Quicken have a small business management component to their software packages. The two products seem to be competing with each other as their product designs and packages illustrate.

Microsoft Money advantages

• More affordable than Quicken: At $19.99, $29.99 and $49.99 for the essentials, deluxe and premium versions, Microsoft Money software out values Quicken's starter, deluxe and premier finance software packages for PC's at $29.99, $59.99 and $89.99.

• Microsoft engineering: It's probably worth mentioning Microsoft has some of the best and brightest software engineers and programmers in the World. It is quite likely the Microsoft's talent pool, experience in the industry and management know how has had a positive influence on the evolution of 

Microsoft Money software over the years.

• Since Microsoft also designs operating systems such as Windows, it is also beneficial from a functionality and integration perspective that Microsoft Money is made by the same company as many popular operating systems. This can lead to smoother and more familiar features, styles and formatting.

Intuit Quicken advantages

• A primary advantage of Quicken is that the same company also makes tax preparation software and small business management software. The advantage is exporting and transporting data from one file in one software, to another file in another software can be enabled by similar design features. An example of this is the exporting function of quicken to Turbo tax which is also an Intuit product.

• Quicken credit card: A unique differential advantage quicken has to Microsoft Money is the Quicken credit card. This card allows card holders to download financial records and history quickly and easily into the Quicken software without a lot of hassle. In effect, the Quicken credit card allows card holders to consolidate accounts with account record keeping at home.

• Another advantage of Quicken is the company really tries to add value and has some partial success doing so with the add on features. For example, Quicken allows users to print their own checks, download financial data directly from financial institutions and pay bills online through Quicken's bill payer service.

Disadvantages of both Intuit Quicken and Microsoft Money

While Quicken seems to have more capacity than Microsoft in terms of providing services and allowing it's users to organize their finances, the fact remains that neither Microsoft or Quicken are full service banking institutions, data entrists or financial planners. They are merely software packages to help organize and analyze information. Microsoft does not appear to attempt to go beyond this role in the same way Quicken does, perhaps out of knowing the limits of the software's capability. However, Microsoft's software is less expensive perhaps in reflection of the less complete service options.

What both Quicken and Microsoft Money fail to tout is the fact that financial institutions sometimes do a great job of preparing and presenting personal financial information all by themselves. All Quicken and Money do are replicate the data and consolidate it for further review and manipulations. This may or may not be and advantage to someone who already has an organized of comfortable financial record keeping system in place.

Microsoft Money and Intuit Quicken are both well marketed, professionally designed, and multi-generational software packages that have been years in the making. They are both produced by experienced software designers and both serve a similar function i.e. organization and presentation of personal and in some cases, small business financial information. Each software has slightly different advantages and similar disadvantages.

The advantages are in the software capabilities, pricing and formatting and the disadvantages are in the actual real life utility of the software i.e. they are both good software packages but neither one performs financial tasks already existing financial institutions such as banks can't and don't already do via financial statements and reports.

Introduction to budgeting with Microsoft Money

Microsoft Money is great software that assists in creating a budget. The software is user friendly and helpful in organizing finances. Microsoft Money, which comes in the traditional, essential, deluxe, premium and home and business versions, allows the software's user to speedily gain control of budgeting through its specialized software tools. These tools can help a software user create an existing budget in addition to potentially improved budgets. Microsoft Money's budget features include the listed items below:

• Software created average spending amounts
• Expense categorization
• Spending tracker
• Budget timing
• Graphical and spreadsheet output displays
• Financial record keeping

Prior to utilizing Microsoft Money's budgeting tool, it is important to know what one's total income and expenses are so they may be inputted into the software. In other words, organizing income statements and expense bills to accurately enter financial information into the software helps ensure the quality and utility of the budget. Setting up a budget using Microsoft Money is fairly simple using the following steps.

1-Click budget
2-Simple or advanced budget options
3-Listing income source(s)
4-Entering budget items ex-gas, utilities
5-Enter all dollar amounts

Keeping up to date with inputting numbers, accounts and expenses not only helps build greater attention to one's budget, but can also help with budget improvements. Microsoft Money's output budget display includes a budget summary of total income and expenses in addition to graphical illustration of where money is spent, how much money is being spent on various types of expenses, how much money is not spent and where that money is coming from.

Looking up transactions and money allocations is a cinch for Microsoft Money after the information is entered in to the program. The hardest part of budgeting with Microsoft Money is entering all the pertinent financial information and keeping up to date with it. The budgeting benefits of Microsoft Money include a greater awareness of one's finances, how to organize them, how to keep track of them, and how to interpret financial scenarios that might not be so easily recognized had Microsoft Money not been used.

The budgeting benefits of Microsoft Money don't stop with its budget creator. In fact, Microsoft Money has many helpful features that can assist with enhancing a budget. For example, Microsoft Money organizes finances by setting bill reminders, balancing the digital checkbook, and by reviewing spending patterns. Microsoft Money's software quiet simply, helps its users gain more control of budgeting.

Sources:

1. http://www.microsoft.com/money/default.mspx
2. http://www.microsoft.com/money/support/support_manual.mspx
3. http://tinyurl.com/64l7jwf