Product Reviews

With all the hoopla and sniping that's regularly aimed at Microsoft for making more money than Colombia's cocaine barons, it's fitting that the software giant has just revamped its range of financial management software, Microsoft Money. The Money range consists of three products, each aimed at different people. What unites them all is the idea that the user will be able to get the most from their money.

Money 2001 Standard

The basic, cheapest version of Money is easily enough for most of us, covering everything from savings to investments with debt planning and budget monitoring in-between. It's designed, as most Microsoft products are these days, around Internet Explorer 5.5. The Web plays a big part in the software too, with a click leading you off to MSN or the Moneycentral sites. Both, of course, are Microsoft-owned, but thankfully the advice they provide is unbiased and helpful.

If you're a bit worried about getting started with a financial program, Money is designed to take you gently through the set-up process. All you need to hand are your latest bank and credit card statements, and after answering some simple questions for about 20 minutes, you'll have a complete run-down on your financial status, arranged on your customised Money home page. That includes graphs to show your accounts at a glance, as well as advice on areas you might want to think about. Topics covered vary from getting out of debt to handling credit cards, for example. Money can handle all types of accounts, too, from the standard current and credit card accounts, to loans, savings (including ISAs) and mortgages.

Money includes several 'Expert Assistants' that are designed to help you with common financial tasks such as reducing debts, investing, planning to buy a home, dealing with tax, and so on. In addition, there's a section devoted to Planners, which includes budget planning, although you get more of those in the other two versions of Money.

Using Money day to day is simple enough. It uses features like AutoComplete to make entering transactions easy. Recurring transactions are easy to set up, and it's also simple to pay your bills, and see just where your money is going at the end of the month.

Money 2001 Financial Suite

One step up from the Standard edition, Money Financial Suite is designed for those with a few more investments, and who are concerned about long-term financial planning. The most obvious differences are in the long-term planning areas, starting with the Planning Centre, where you can create a Lifetime Plan that'll give you an idea of how things will look financially in years to come. You can add a variety of different elements to the plan, including increased income, increased expenses like children, and early retirement.

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Money is even sensible enough to remind you that creating a plan like this isn't necessarily a replacement for independent financial advice.

Various worksheets are also included to help you plan your will, to see if a company car is a good idea for you, to manage your mortgage, and more. To complement all this planning, Financial Suite helps you keep track of your TESSAs, ISAs, PEPs, pensions and shares within the Investing Centre. All of this information is simple enough to set up, and advice from Moneycentral is usually just a click or two away. Integration with the Internet is as good here as in the Standard edition, and if your bank supplies Money-compatible information, you can download statements straight into the program to make the management of transactions even easier.

Money 2001 Personal and Business

While this actually might sound less professional than Financial Suite, in reality this is the heavyweight of all three versions of Money. Aimed at those who run a small business and the self-employed, Personal And Business has all the tools of the other two versions of Money plus a wealth of extras.

The Business Centre in Money Personal And Business provides you with an integrated invoicing and accounting system. It lets you create outgoing invoices, record sales and purchases, manage details of customers and suppliers. There's also a section that will help you prepare VAT returns if you're registered. If your turnover isn't big enough to be VAT-registered, there's a nominal ledger facility to record transactions.

The software makes it easy to generate profit and loss reports to see how well your business is doing, and balance sheets that'll tell you how much your business is worth. Any reports you generate can be printed, complete with your company details and a logo if you wish. All of the business accounting is kept separate from the personal side, so you can use Money Personal And Business for managing both.

Like the other versions of Money, Internet integration is tight. There are various helpful links throughout to help you with topics like debt recovery, as well as VAT guidance. While using Money Personal And Business isn't going to replace the services of a good accountant, if you need some help running your small business, everything you really need is here.

Your Best Buy

Microsoft has done a good job in segregating Money into three distinct products. For those of us who find the idea of financial management terrifying, Money Standard is the way to go - it's compact and easy enough to learn. It does, however, lack the depth that keen home financiers need.

For this reason, unless you're a small business owner, Financial Suite is your best bet. It has the growing room and extra features that will encourage and inspire all those interested in better financial management. Not only is it easy to use, it looks good too. So, it looks like you'll never have an excuse to go overdrawn again...

Whichever option you choose, however, Microsoft has done its usual slick job on the individual packages, making sure that whatever your level of financial need - from coins down the back of the sofa to Swiss bank accounts - you get the most out of your cash with Money.

£26 (£30) (Standard), £43 (£50) (Financial Suite),

£60 (£70) (Personal & Business)