Quicken 2008 Deluxe [OLD VERSION]

- Does not work with Vista
Despite the fact that Quicken claims Vista will support this software - and after spending hours trying to install it - this software does not work with Vista. Don't waste your time.

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- Can't import MS Money files
If this will be your first personal finance application, or your finances are straightforward, I suggest Quicken because it seems to handle personal finances well without any bloat. However, if you're a long-time MS Money user looking to switch, you should think twice only because migrating your data is difficult to do and cannot be done completely.

I bought Quicken because I'm tired of how bloated and quirky MS Money has become and hoped Quicken would offer core functionality without the bloat and quirkiness. Unfortunately, Quicken can't import MS Money files very well. I expected to find an import function that I just point at my .mny file and Quicken would import all my info. Nope. You have to export accounts one by one then import them. You lose all the links between accounts like transfers, so many accounts have to be corrected manually. But that's only for those accounts that can be exported/imported--apparently some account data (from IRAs, 401(k)s, etc.) can't be exported/imported. That further scrambles any accounts you did import.

Inuit does have available an application that will do some automatic conversions and importing for you, but it doesn't come with the package (it should be built in to Quicken, but, instead, you have to search Inuit's website to find the app buried deep in a forum - bogus.) Even with this additional app, you still can't import everything.

The bottom line is, if you're in a similar situation, I think you're stuck for now. Hopefully, someone will develop a non-bloated app that will provide core personal finance functionality that can easily convert and import a full Money file. I will buy that, because I can't wait to ditch MS Money.

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- Crap
[...]

Quicken came with my first Windows computer, a Packard Bell, back in 1996-ish. It also came with Microsoft Money. Both sucked then, but Money was better. I downloaded the trial version of Money and 20-minutes later uninstalled it. So I went to Wal-Mart and decided to give Quicken Deluxe a try. Long story short, it's even worse!

First of all, what modern day program doesn't allow you to order your transactions by date in descending order - so the most recent date is on top? Quicken wouldn't let me do it! And if it's possible, I couldn't figure out how and frankly all you should have to do is click twice on the date column header like any other self-respecting spreadsheet-like program. This alone is a brick wall for me.

I have a nearly new top of the line laptop. Lots of speed, lots of RAM, lots of other things I don't use at their full capacity. Quicken runs like a freakin' remote control car running out of batteries. You try and scroll quickly down through your transactions - it can't keep up. Rubbish.

When is Quicken going to realize that categories are EXTREMELY important and that the program should not make it a freakin' pain in the you know what just to change/edit/add categories. You have to go into this menu that operates just as bad as the scrolling I just whined about and make changes that should have been (1) more user friendly and (2) capable of being done solely in the register instead of what feels like a third-party category management software program band-aid.

Most importantly, the user interface, easy-of-use, and presentation of the program is no better than the ancient version of Quicken that came on my Packard Bell computer over 10-years ago. Sure it has tabs but ever since Firefox came up with tabs in its web browser, everyone has tabs. They don't help a thing in Quicken.

Don't buy this. Don't buy MS Money. Read a MS Access book, learn Access, and create your own money management tool. It'd be 100% customizable then, more user friendly, better looking, and you won't ever have to worry about exporting your data. Heck, you can even use Excel and have a better experience.

Wow, Intuit, what a waste of money you've produced! I'm sorry for being so negative, but this software is buggy, slow, ugly, and just plain no good.

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- Upgrade from Quicken Deluxe 99 on XP
I have Windows XP. I've been running Quicken Deluxe 99 for a long time.
I starting getting more and more bugs in the program. I decided maybe it was time to upgrade to Quicken Deluxe 2008. I saw it on sale here for $[...] and jumped on it with the free shipping. WOW. I had read some negative reviews but decided I would just do everything manually and not try anything fancy like download information from a financial institution. Like before, each transaction would be entered manually and would be reconciled every month.

Conclusion: I returned the program (I hope they accept it) to Amazon. I couldn't even upgrade my Quiken 99 program accurately. I spent about half an hour with online customer service and decided that I am too old for this crap. Maybe in my 20s or 30s I would have spent the five weeks learning the program and working out the bugs. But as soon as I saw it couldn't even upgrade my financial information accurately, I knew what kind of fight I had on my hands. This would be a marathon. Wisely, I gave up right way (well, after a half hour). I returned the program to amazon and saw the price went up in the last few days. It was now over $[...]. Maybe the $[...] program doesn't have the same bugs.

Finale: I simple reinstalled Quicken Deluxe 99 on Windows XP (actually, it is only supposed to be used with Windows 98) and all my bugs went away in my old version. So far, even on XP, I'm having almost no problems at all compared to that abortion they call Quicken Deluxe 2008. I would rather keep my financial information in a spreadsheet.

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- Quicken converting from Money
I had Money on my old machine but needed a different software as Money isn't compatible with Vista. The information re. Quicken said it could convert from Money - in the event I found it couldn't - but not before I'd bought it, taken it from the packaging and installed the software, so it was useless but unreturnable.

Warning - check that the software will do whatever you need it to do before opening the packaging.