Rating: 
Summary: Behind the times
Review: (I would rate this product 2 1/2 stars if I could)I opened up a new small business and was trying to decide whether I should upgrade my Quicken 2002 deluxe to either Quicken 2003 Home and Business or the Microsoft Money equivalent. I ultimately ended up upgrading to Quicken and now think this is a mistake of epic proportion. There is good news and bad news. First the good news. The program does a lot of cool stuff that I need to do. I pay all my bills online and have never had a (major) problem. Occasionally, I will get the little annoyances like when all my transactions were duplicated and I had to go back and delete two years of double transaction. However, I must say that the program overall is a time saver and helps me keep track of all my expenses, both home and business. I never thought I would ever need all those little accounting details until the IRS did a complete anal exam and wanted everything in excruciating detail. Sure did come in handy. HOWEVER, for some reason, Quicken refuses to upgrade their user interface to the new millennium. There are so many features that are stuck in the 80s and 90s that it makes it more difficult to use. For example, to set preferences, you have to click the menu-preference-preference item several time to get them all. All other software brings up one preference screen with tabs in it to set all the preferences at once. And then the big beef. Here is a "suggestion" I sent today to Intuit. I will let it speak for itself. --------------------
This is not going to be a happy comment. So if you are not emotionally prepared for a very unhappy customer, please forward this message on to someone else. It won't be abusive or anything like that, but I am going to vent some of my frustrations. I just purchased Quicken 2003 for Home and Business. In general, I am pleased with the product as it should do just about everything I need it to do. BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT, some of the marketing that is forced in my face every time I use the program is so despicable and outright onerous that some days I just feel like throwing the whole computer out the window. Why must I put up with all the blatant advertising? No other program on the market puts users through such trials and tribulations. In fact, when I was choosing between Quicken and Money, I almost bought Money hoping that it would not subject its users to such treatment. I can't tell you how much I dislike using the program knowing that every time I look at the screen, I am going to be bombarded with advertising and marketing. I can tell you, that because of it, I will NEVER use your services. That is how much I disdain your mistreatment of customers. OK, fine. That should be enough. I think you get the idea. So my suggestion is obvious. Tone down your advertising, or at least allow the users to turn off the display of ALL advertising. For example, the little links on the bottom like "Can your business benefit from Quickbooks?" Do I feel better? Not really as I still have to endure the painful experience of these little annoyances ever time I use Quicken. I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE have more respect for your customers and their sanity. -------------------- Bottom line, would I buy Quicken 2003 if I had to do it all over again? Maybe, but I would investigate Microsoft Money more thoroughly first. Reading the comments about Money though, seems like there is no best solution. Good luck!
Rating: 
Summary: Useful, but packed full of features
Review: A lot about this program is great -- the set-up was simple and it took very little time and input for me to get up to snuff. I also appreciate the graphing of important information so I can glance at a chart and see the info I need, rather than study columns of numbers (which you can if that's what you want to do). And downloading info from my bank is *really* useful. But there's a LOT of features. In fact, there's so many, it's distracting. I maybe use 40% of the program, which makes me think I ought to have purchased a lesser version. Still, I'm happy with it overall.
Rating: 
Summary: D**ned if you do...
Review: Although all the previous reviews I've read about Quicken 2003 have been right on the money about this version of the program, no one has offered any solutions! After lots of research, I was able to get q03 to print from windows xp - open the printers folder, highlight your printer, right click and click on properties, click on the "advanced" tab on the top, click on "print processor", choose "winprint" and "raw" and click ok until everything is closed. Doing this enabled me to finally print reports and statements. Hope it works for you.
Rating:
Summary: Quicken 2003 Home and Business gets low marks
Review: As a software engineer, I am shocked at the low level of help documentation with Quicken for Home and Business. There should be What's This Help on every object in every screen. There is none.
There should be context sensitive help on every screen. In many places, p
ressing F1 merely opens the help file to the last place the user was viewing. This is frustrating to the user, who was obviously not able to find the answer during the last attempt to find help. Register Report Printing: You should be able to print a register report with the Windows standard Ctrl-P. However, Ctrl-P prints the entire check register, not the report in focus. You have to press the printer icon to print a register report. There should at least be a warning that you are about to print the entire check register, especially when it is not even in focus. Ctrl-P should always print the window in focus. In reports, it does not. There should be a way to assign a checking deposit to several invoice payments. Each invoice is paid for with one check. One Deposit contains many checks (each for a separate invoice payment). Therefore, there must be a one-to-many relationship between checking deposits and invoice payments. This should be able to be accomplished from the split category dialog, but it is not. The user should be able to select invoices from within the split category dialog.
The Manual Match feature of accepting downloaded transactions should have a one to one correspondence with the items being matched, but it does not. For example, It is possible to select multiple invoices using the manual match for a deposit into a bank account. When the deposit contains three checks for three invoices, the split category should clearly designate the invoices that are being paid. However, even though the invoices are selected manually, they are not referenced in the split category. In the Invoices account, the three invoices that were paid by the split deposit should have three individual payments posted to the account. However, only one posting is made, and no invoices are referenced by it. Therefore there is no way to tell which invoices have been paid. Import and Export are buggy. I had to rename all my accounts to get it to work. This cost me a handsome telephone support fee to find out. Customer support is free online using chat. One representative terminated the chat session without notice after I pointed out that the solution she had offered had nothing to do with the problem I had stated. Three out of three times I was told my issues were beyond the scope of chat and I would have to call in and pay a per minute charge for support. When I called for support I was told that there were no solutions for the failings in the program, but I had to pay anyway. Poor documentation, poor support, poor features and poor programming make Quicken 2003 Home and Business a big waste of time and money for the business owner.
Rating: 
Summary: Splendid piece of software
Review: I am a money convert. I switched to quicken and have never looked back. I just love the new Home and Business version with its business capabilities. You can manage bills accounts receivable etc with all the power a small one-man business needs at a very reasonable price. The user interface is very friendly and logical. I find that it fits previous versions handily so the learning curve is minimal. Buy this product!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Can't Print , Obnoxiously Intrusive
Review: I am very disappointed in this release of Quicken. This is my 3rd version, upgrading from Deluxe 2001. It's in all probability my last. I've encountered print problems with both 2001 and 2003 (different OS, different printers). Was finally able to resolve printing issue in v. 2001 with update they released. Not so with 2003. I have the latest update (R3) running XP Pro. Intuit Support is sketchy at best and I refuse to pay for it. (First and last time I spoke to them, regarding the 2001 printing issue, the response I got was "Well, you had two months to try the product and if you didn't like it you could have returned it under our money back guarantee. Now it's too late.") I have searched Intuit Support and the web and cannot find a fix for the printing issue. In order to print a Reconciliation Report, I have to save in Notepad in .TXT format, then print from there. The layout in Notepad is horrible and going through several steps to print is a royal pain. The program's interface is bloated and busy to the point of being annoying. I don't bank online, yet every time I launch the program I'm prompted for Quicken to be the default Web Connection for data from my financial institution. Doesn't seem to be a way to turn this prompt off. I just want to work on my finances, I don't want or appreciate their constant ads on the main page for everything from their credit card to Quicken Brokerage online. I also have M$ Money 2003 Deluxe, and would use that soley were it not for the fact that there is no means to assign passwords to individual files/accounts and the .NET passport tie-in. Since I handle other family members finances as well, I must be able to assign passwords, hence my choice of Quicken. The program has great capabilities, but all in all I'm extrememly disappointed in it's performance.
Rating:
Summary: Terribly Buggy and Hard to Use
Review: I don't know how Quicken ever became the leading personal finance program with a program this hard to understand and with clear bugs (atleast on Windows XP). I'm GREAT with computers, but this program constantly stumps me with an interface that is FAR from intuitive. What's worse, I suddenly experienced a serious bug in the program that wiped out my customer list! Quicken does NOT OFFER ANY FREE SUPPORT, EVEN IN SITUATIONS WHERE THERE IS A BUG IN THE PROGRAM. And the online chat support was a disaster. In order to follow the support persons instructions, it closes the chat window and you have to start from scratch. Huh? AWFUL!! Quicken should be ashamed and people should stop buying the product.
Rating:
Summary: A great new version of the # 1 finance software!
Review: I have been using Quicken for well over a decade now, and it is an indispensible part of my financial management. This NEW version of Quicken Home & Business is a great upgrade and builds upon a solid history. Quicken has long been the # 1 rated and # 1 best-selling finance software for a good reason. It's the fastest, easiest way to do finances. I love it! This new version features a more intuitive organization, lets you automatically schedule your financial transactions to be downloaded (so you don't have to waste time when you start quicken), has better investing and tax modules, and is just generally EVEN EASIER and FASTER to use. I run a small consulting business and Quicken Home & Business is perfect... I don't need all the full power of QuickBooks. For the user who asked about multi-user, sounds as though you should get QuickBooks, which is Intuit's real easy-to-use BUSINESS software. Quicken is really only meant for the personal finances, i.e., Schedule C stuff is fine and it does invoices and job tracking for the independent consultant or contractor, but it's not meant to run a whole business with multiple employees -- get QuickBooks for that. In all, this is a great product whether you are new to Quicken or looking to upgrade! I highly recommend it!!
Rating:
Summary: A great new version of the # 1 finance software!
Review: I have been using Quicken for well over a decade now, and it is an indispensible part of my financial management. This NEW version of Quicken Home & Business is a great upgrade and builds upon a solid history. Quicken has long been the # 1 rated and # 1 best-selling finance software for a good reason. It's the fastest, easiest way to do finances. I love it! This new version features a more intuitive organization, lets you automatically schedule your financial transactions to be downloaded (so you don't have to waste time when you start quicken), has better investing and tax modules, and is just generally EVEN EASIER and FASTER to use. I run a small consulting business and Quicken Home & Business is perfect... I don't need all the full power of QuickBooks. For the user who asked about multi-user, sounds as though you should get QuickBooks, which is Intuit's real easy-to-use BUSINESS software. Quicken is really only meant for the personal finances, i.e., Schedule C stuff is fine and it does invoices and job tracking for the independent consultant or contractor, but it's not meant to run a whole business with multiple employees -- get QuickBooks for that. In all, this is a great product whether you are new to Quicken or looking to upgrade! I highly recommend it!!
Rating:
Summary: Trust me: Don't buy it! Don't install it! Don¿t use it!
Review: I have been with Quicken since 3.0. I have loved the software and have been a strong advocate for it. Now that I have upgraded to Quicken Premier 2003, my attitude has complete changed. I have never seen such terribly written software before. This is purely pitiful. I have recently upgraded from Quicken 2000 Deluxe and I have had nothing but trouble. First of all, of course, it couldn't convert my old data file. I had a ton of errors to sort through. Secondly, the interface constantly locks up on me (I am using XP). Thirdly, the interface is so obscure, you will find yourself running in circles just trying to accomplish what used to take minutes. The help is pitiful. The support is even worse. The interface is absolutely retched, extremely slow (I am running at 1.3 GHz) and riddled with bugs. Intuit is no longer interested in making good software. I hate to sound so negative. I am not one who complains so much, but this software is more than a disappointment, it has been a complete waste of my time. Trust me, don't buy it, don't install it, and don't use it. You will be very sorry. Even if you are given it for fee.
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