Microsoft Money 2005

As before, Money 2005 is inextricably linked with the Internet - in fact, you can't really use it without being online. So you'll need to activate the product over the Net, though no product key is involved. Instead you'll need a Microsoft Passport - not everybody's favourite authentication process. The program is automatically updated when you first log in; rather disturbingly for a 2005 app, it performed a program update the very first time we logged in.

Pulling data from your online bank is relatively straightforward, and we had no problems importing first direct statement data straight into Money 2005, although it did involve a visit to the first direct website. Money 2005 can pull this type of data down all by itself but thus far only the Nationwide Building Society site lets you do this. So-called screen-scraping or scrubbing technology would extend this facility to a wider range of sites, but Money 2005 lacks this feature.

Money 2005 is a time-limited program - its Internet-based services are available for two years after activation, or 1 September 2007, whichever is earlier. After this, its ability to directly interface with online financial institutions ends and you'll need to type it in manually if you want to update your share portfolio. You will, however, still be able to download and import your bank statement data into Money 2005. That may seem restrictive, but for an application costing £21 it's not an incredible imposition. When all's said and done, however, Money doesn't offer anywhere near the sophistication and power of Quicken, which remains our accounting software of choice.

Author: Roger Gann