Which Is Better Quicken Or Microsoft Money

compuserve I've been banking online as long as I've been online. I've always avoided checks, preferring to do every bit much as I can electronically.

I used QuickBooks under DOS, and ComputerServe Finance under OS/two. Even though I took "Home Economics" in school - we were all required to acquire how to balance a checkbook - it never made sense to me why I should accept to reconcile how much I Think I accept with how much the Depository financial institution knows I take.

I used QuickBooks, then OFX (Open up Financial exchange - arguably the start public "Web Service," even though it's SGML and bailing-wire - and moved forwards as new, better personal finance managers (PFM) came out.

I diligently have exported and imported, massaged and cajoled over 20 years (yes, 20) of financial data from my first sole-proprietorship at 15 until today moving accounts and account data from depository financial institution to bank and from PFM to PFM.

To this day, I'm convinced that Microsoft Money 95 was brilliant, wonderful and before its time. It had a forward/astern browser similar metaphor and was unapologetic about it. It wasn't trying to be like the MDI (Multiple Certificate Interface) "peer applications" of time. It focused on one matter and one matter only - to be a local annals for all your money.

Then came the fancy stuff, and the ad and upselling. I upgraded like clockwork. Oh! A new version of money! Information technology must be 365 days meliorate! I paid my $49.95, and then got the Deluxe the next twelvemonth for $79.95, so the super Deluxe Concern Edition. It got slower and slower. Remember I've got Money files with data going back decades, plural. I tried culling the data, to include but the concluding ten, then five, then ii years. Still slow. Painting slow.

Accounts open and closed, banks changed account numbers, banks inverse OFX servers, things broke. I got downloaded transaction data like "JITB#45,21312323423,$%@#$@ - $4.95" and wondered why my bank was swearing at me, rather than telling me I spent $four.95 at Jack In the Box on the corner of Walker and Jenkins so plotting it on a map.

redrocker@200665111650 Of form, this isn't all Coin'south mistake, information technology's the banks, it's the data consortiums like OFX and IFX (disclosure, I was the OFX Vendor Committee Chairman for 2 years and I suck likewise. I could take done a LOT more.) and it's the back finish systems.

Data's not pretty, and Coin and Quicken are forced to create local rules to parse out the data they get from bank and the bill payment clearing firm and built lists of rules of regular expressions to convert JITB#45 into "Jack In The Box."

Plus, if you don't log into your Coin or Quicken for a few months, just try catching upwards and reconciling, especially if your bank just holds 90 days or less of account history.

I switched this year from Money 2006 to Quicken. Sadly, it's even worse. It paints unspeakably slowly, and in the v months I've been using it, information technology's updated itself at least three times, presumably in order to play well with Vista. Regardless, it's the same old story. Chasing information feeds in order to go my small listen around my smaller money. Even more, these OFX feeds that bring this data into Microsoft Money and Quicken may starting costing extra.

And then, I stopped. I log into my bank's websites directly. I use their online tools, and they proceed to go better, calculation Ajaxy goodness, some powered by Corillian/CheckFree (my employer).

(Past the way that's not a screenshot of my account...whoever that is did a lousy blurring job.)

I never idea I'd say information technology and I know Chris "Mr. Desktop App" Sells will disagree vehemently, but if I tin get an application online, I'm more probable to employ information technology, and use it often.

Sure, a lot, if non all, of the cool features of a site like Wesabe could be had via a continued local desktop awarding, just so there's all the updating and what not.

Perhaps there'south a infinite in the world for a Personal Finance Manager - a MoneyKiller or QuickenKiller - written in Adobe Apollo, Wink or Silverlight. Perchance online apps that manage coin will become smarter with new Browser Plugins like Google Gears (one time in that location'southward a security story). Either style, I don't recall the future of my money involves a 350 megabyte CD-based installer.

Exercise you apply Quicken, QuickBooks or Microsoft Money? Practise yous connect to your bank from inside those apps?

Well-nigh Scott

Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Master Architect in finance, at present speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-upward comic, a cornrower, and a book author.

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