Money 99 Financial Suite

When it comes to personal finance managers, there are really only two that continually battle it out for pole position - Microsoft's Money and Intuit's Quicken. There was a time when the difference between these two was easy for a reviewer to define. Quicken offered financial bells and whistles galore, complete with multimedia presentations. However, all this came at the expense of ease of use. Money, on the other hand, was easy to set up and use but, when it came down to it, the Microsoft application was limited in features in comparison to Quicken. Basically, Money only concentrated on tracking your bank account debits and credits.

That's all changed dramatically with the arrival of Money 99. Obviously no longer content with the 'basic but easy' tag, Microsoft seems to have had a long, hard look at Quicken 98. The result is a new financial suite that's packed to the brim with extra features.

Microsoft hasn't forgotten the basic money-tracking features central to any personal finance manager. Money 99 provides you with the means to track all your income and expenditure from bank, cash and credit card accounts. You can also create separate accounts for mortgages, investments, loans and so on, building up a proper balance sheet of your net worth based on all your assets and liabilities.

Day-to-day transactions are input directly through the on-screen register (where you fill in the details of your transaction on a line-by-line basis) or onto a simple form for a slightly more user-friendly approach. You decide whether it's a payment or a deposit, choose a category for analysis purposes and Money stores the posting and updates all the accounts affected.

That's about it when it comes to tracking your ins and outs. However, right from the start, users will come across clues that Money now does far more than merely balance your bank account. When you first load the software, you're presented with a rigorous Personal Profile interview. This asks about your financial situation and needs, providing a plan of action that not only offers some relevant suggestions but also points you to the particular part of the software where you can implement your aims.

The Personal Profile interview is a good start and a clue to where Microsoft is heading with Money 99. It's now clearly intended as the place where everything to do with your financial lifestyle can be found.

Planning for the future

Keeping to this theme, the expanded version, Money 99 Financial Suite, adds even more to the mix. You now get integrated long-term financial planning, courtesy of the Lifetime Planner, Debt Reduction Planner and Budget Planner. These use the information in your data file, along with answers to questions about your stipulated goals, to arrive at a plan for life. Furthermore, as you use Money 99, the software keeps you up to date with tips and advice. These will include personalised suggestions, which are linked to and updated in accordance with your actual financial position. For example, Money will tell you when the goal posts have been moved due to a change in your financial situation. This might happen if your salary is increased or your bonus payment doesn't live up to expectations. Money will help you to adjust your plans accordingly.

The Planner Wizard asks about your income, and what sort of savings and investments you expect to achieve. Once the software knows what assets, loans and living expenses you have, the results screen can be used to improve your plan based on Money's suggestions. The Debt Reduction Planner can hone this even further. Should you wish to diminish a crippling financial burden, you can select and prioritise those debts you would like to pay off. You can decide either how much you want to pay off per month, or choose when you'd like the debt to be reduced to zero, and let the Wizard sort out a suitable reduction plan.