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(More customer reviews)I am a long time Quicken user, dating back to 1993. Lately I have used Quicken 2002 Basic ever since August 2001. Sitting on the fence post for several years, looking and listening to the horror stories that others have had with Quicken upgrades made me reluctant to upgrade. So what were my options with a program that is quickly becoming extinct and technical support that is now 3 years since evaporated?
First, I took Microsoft Money up on their trial offer - downloading Microsoft Money Deluxe and took a test drive of the program. 35 Megs of download file later, I installed the program. Installation was a snap. The program found my Quicken 2002 data file and converted it to Money - NO data errors as a result of the conversion (I had only 8 months of data in that file). After playing with it for 20 minutes, entering in several transactions, I didn't like the feel of how the program took my data - it felt like an older program that needed a major amount of work to get it up to date. It reminded me of my Quicken 2002 program with functionality. Needless to say - I dumped it - right then and there.
That left me with Quicken or a full blown accounting package (like Peachtree) as my remaining upgrade options. Quicken became my next choice - taking Quicken up on their 60 day guarantee - what did I have to lose?
Here are my experiences with Quicken 2008 Deluxe thus far:
Installation: For me, this was an upgrade from Quicken 2002 - the only version on my present computer. The installation program found Quicken 2002 and backed up the Quicken 2002 data files in a separate BACKUP file directory in Quicken. The program then uninstalled 2002 and installed 2008 - 10 minutes total time. The end of the CD install, the program looked for patches and program updates on Quicken web site and automatically downloaded and installed these patches - without problems. NO reboot required. NO freeze ups/crashes in the installation process.
Registration: I could not register my program on-line - I am using IE 7.0 and for some reason, even disabling my firewall, shutting off Norton anti-virus and accepting all cookies that Quicken recommends in the error message, I still couldn't connect to register the program. There is a service bulletin of how to disable registration screen that will nag you each time you start the program - I did that and to this time (two days now) - NO registration prompts.
Data Import: I have 8 different data files with data going back to 1/1/94. The oldest (and largest) has 15,000 transactions in it. All of my data files were imported into the Quicken 2008 format without any noticeable data errors. All of my files passed integrity and validation by Quicken before data was converted to 2008.
Bank Download: This was something I have not experienced in Quicken 2002. The banks were not really hot on this point back then when 2002 was released. I was with Wells Fargo bank at that time. Wells charged a monthly fee (like they did on everything) to connect with the Wells computer to transact any business through Quicken - I passed - the cost/benefit was not there for me.
That is not the case today. Banks and credit card companies encourage it! What I did fined were some entries of mine that didn't exactly match the banks entries were downloaded and added in to the accounts directly. More so in the credit card transactions area since who you buy from and the name of the entity processing the charge is different. I manually entered these items for years! Duplicates had to be removed and the accounts had to be reverified for accuracy. Now - I have set the download parameters to receive my approval of any changes first before automatically posting to my accounts. Two hours to straighten out that mess! Called: Learning curve.
Stability: I have not experienced any Quicken program loader issues, switch file issues, Splash screen logo issues, data corruption issues that others have experienced when installing and using Quicken 2008. The printing of reports works fine.
I had one crash with 2008 already, but the crash was of my doing. I tried to back out of an on-line transaction too quickly and the program couldn't release my Internet connection before I requested Quicken to perform the next process. After recovery, I went back and reperformed the task, this time being patient. When performing these tasks - be patient - the program eventually responds and releases control back to the user. If not - Quicken will crash! I didn't lose any data as a result of this crash.
In all - this version appears to be stable, or at least as stable as my Quicken 2002 version was.
Backups: ALWAYS! I backup each and every time I exit a Quicken session. The attachments also get backed up in a separate file directory for backup. I don't like the creation of separate file folders for each attachment file, since the program is not generating a separate file name for each attachment. The program does generate a separate file folder name each time an attachment is created. Seems odd to me, but that is the program.
Thus far - Quicken 2008 Deluxe was a good upgrade for me.
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Quicken 2008 DeluxeSet goals now and save for what you really wantProduct InformationPlan save and control your finances with Quicken Deluxe 2008. Quicken letsyou see your finances your way instantly. Now it's easier than ever to manage apersonal budget pay bills on time track your investments maximize taxdeductions - and find more ways to save. Quicken Deluxe 2008 gives you allof the features of Quicken Starter Edition - plus additional tools to help youmanage spending and savingsIncludes all the features of Quicken Starter Edition plus additional toolsto help you and your family better manage savings and spendingMake online banking even better -- bring all your online accounts togetherin one placeConnect to your banks 401(k)s brokerage or mortgage accounts with asingle passwordGet suggested spending limits and set savings goals based on theday-to-day information you enter -- and then check your progress through themonthLet Quicken help you accurately track and categorize expenses for simplertax preparationStart saving for what you and your family really want - vacations better daycare a new home - by staying on top of your everyday spending. Quicken Deluxe2008 replaces the old-school concept of "personal money management"with a smarter way to keep track of your money and set longer-term savingsgoals.New FeaturesSee where you can save more - A new "My SavingsPlan" instantly shows a summary of your actual spending and compares itto what you planned to spend for the month. You can quickly see where youhave room to spend or save more. Set flexible spending targets on regularexpenses like gas and groceries and then easily check your progressthroughout the month.Track your 529 contributions - Include 529 contributions as part ofyour overall net worth. See how you're progressing on your college savingsgoals.Get reminders of scheduled bills an
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