Money 98 Financial Suite

Microsoft seemed to lose interest in Money for a while. Just as Intuit was launching another multimedia finance management extravaganza, Bill Gates was thinking of making deals with former rivals that included selling off Money as a going concern. Finally, the rumoured deal fell through, and now things look set to liven up again in the personal finance manager market with the arrival of Money 98.

Last year, multimedia was the buzz word of the moment, but that's no longer the case. Now the Internet and Web centricity is the way to grab people's attention. Microsoft isn't the only one going down this route, but most of its recent releases, like Office 97, have been heavily infused with Web-flavoured features. This time the programmers have gone one better. Money 98 looks and acts just like a Web browser - one which is permanently logged on to a site dedicated to keeping your finances in order.

Surfing the Net profit

In this respect, Microsoft is probably giving us a taste of things to come. As developers start using programming techniques and embedded controls from the Web environment, so its programs are quite naturally going to look more and more like an application-orientated Web site.

The Money 98 Financial Suite now consists of four major parts. Money itself still manages your financial dealings, turning income and expenditure transactions into graphs, reports and financial statements. Tax Estimator has the job of making sure you'll be ready for self-assessment and, so far, links with third-party TaxCalc or SmartTax to produce your next tax return. Goal Planner gets it's own module and helps you plan for future financial commitments, while Money Manager is a Web-updated library of financial advice and calculation Wizards.

All these parts are accessed from what appears to be a Web browser - in fact, when I pressed the Help key in no particular context, up popped the Internet Explorer 3.2 help index. The interface features all the usual hyperlinks to get to associated information, and once past the Homepage you could easily be driving a neatly designed, multiframed Web site.

The home page itself consists of a customisable summary of your financial position, with useful tips from the Expert Assistant based on your situation. You might see a paragraph detailing how you could save some interest, for instance, by paying off a loan from your savings. Money can keep track of your savings accounts and compares the interest rates with the debts you owe.

You also get a column - this is laid out like a typical Web page, don't forget - for the latest financial news and advice from the Money Insider pages on the real Internet. This is just the first clue that Money 98 isn't an island unto itself. A click of a button and the program downloads the latest Internet information and headlines from its associated Web site, updating Money Manager with share quotes and stock market news in the process.

On-line finance

Microsoft, just like Intuit, has been keeping an eye on the latest on-line developments in the UK. Banks in the UK have been notoriously slow to take on board the principles of electronic home banking, which have been commonplace in the US for a long time. The business community has been able to employ BACS and such for a while, but so far home banking has been an alien concept this side of the Atlantic. Thankfully, a couple of the major nationals are now supporting at least statement downloads, and even go so far as on-line electronic transfers.