Intuit Inc. has knocked down the No. 1 barrier to using personal finance software: the time and effort associated with getting started, according to Intuit’s press release.
Quicken 2005 for Mac introduces Express Setup, a feature that means fewer set up steps and faster downloads for customers. The product also includes a new Home Inventory feature that enables users to easily keep a digital photo catalog of their belongings. These and other new and improved features make Quicken 2005 the best tool for managing finances, as well as organizing other important aspects of life for the Mac user.
The prospect of setting up accounts and manually entering transactions has prevented many people from automating their finances. Express Setup makes setting up accounts as easy as visiting a financial institution’s Web site. There are no paper statements to gather, and no tedious columns of figures to enter. Data from checking, savings, and credit card accounts downloads automatically into the program. In just minutes, users can begin tracking income and expenses, balancing accounts, paying bills and more.
“We created Express Setup in response to one of the top requests of our customers: Make it easier to get up and running with Quicken,” said Anouk Holleran, Intuit business leader, Macintosh products in the press release. “It also makes it easier for more financial institutions to support Quicken for Mac and offer download to their customers.”
By compiling and aggregating data from multiple accounts and institutions, Quicken 2005 for Mac provides a more complete financial picture. Financial institution Web sites typically only offer an overview of individual or linked accounts, such as checking and savings.
Quicken for Mac connects readily with more than 1,100 financial institutions nationwide and provides the “big picture” needed to control personal finances. Quicken 2005 for Mac also includes an updated tax planner that easily estimates tax liabilities, helping prevent surprises on April 15. Full integration with TurboTax (sold seperately) makes transfer of relevant financial data to state and federal tax forms a breeze.
“The renowned ease of use, reliability and breakthrough performance of Mac OS X allow for an outstanding user experience,” said Ron Okamoto, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations in the press release. “With Quicken 2005 for Mac, managing your personal finances has become even easier, creating a more efficient and organized financial life for Mac OS X users.”
In addition to minding financial assets and tax liabilities, Quicken 2005 for Mac helps organize other important aspects of a customer’s life. The Home Inventory feature works with Apple’s iPhoto to create and maintain a photographic inventory of valuables and other non-financial assets. This utility makes cataloguing possessions as simple as snapping digital images and doing a bit of drag-and-drop. Exclusive to Quicken 2005 for Mac, this feature can help expedite insurance claims and help ensure adequate reimbursement in the event of a loss.
Quicken 2005 for Mac will be widely available in retail stores on Aug. 11, 2004 or directly from Intuit at http://www.Quicken2005.com. The suggested retail price is $69.95.
Maybe this time they can get a better dock icon. The 2004/2003 versions icon clashes with the rest of my dock.
Maybe M$ will bail us out someday and finally make Money available for the Mac. Ha! Oh well, I can dream can’t I? I never thought I’d say I truly WANTED and NEEDED something from M$, but anything is better than this crap Intuit shoves down the throats of Mac users every year. 🙁
Hmm, so they want $69.95 for yet another woefully minor and inadequate upgrade for Quicken. No thanks. Bring it up to feature parity with your Windows version and maybe then we can talk Intuit…
And yeah, count me in as another that would love to see Microsoft Money for the Mac. On the Windows side it blows Quicken away and even a cripped Mac version would surely be far better than what Intuit is putting out for the Mac right now.
Express set up? Jeebus am still setting up my investments in ’04 which it did NOT carry over from ’03. Now with ES you’ll be lucky if ’05 imports your Bank’s name
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Instead of worrying about stupid meaningless features like iPhoto integration, they should be working on their totally sh*tty file format to make it work completely cross-platform with their Windows version. That way you wouldn’t have to worry about losing over half your data every year when they put out these pitiful upgrades. Geez, if Microsoft could do it with Office, why haven’t these clowns done it yet with Quicken after all these years?!?! Intuit is an absolute joke.
Tell me about this garbage from Intuit! I set up using QuickBooks – only to find that it is NOT a fully cross-platform solution as promised.
My accountant can import my files, but he can’t export them again for my Mac.
Lies… Lies…. Lies…..!
But these stupid idiots are the only game in town for accounting on the Mac…. too bad.
“But these stupid idiots are the only game in town for accounting on the Mac”
WHAT?!? Go to Apple’s Macintosh Product Guide and you’ll find a ton of accounting solutions.
It’s as I’ve said before for all those people who say there is no software for the Mac–you’d be surprised what is available for the Mac. It just might not be the brand name that you expect.
This is the only game in town for accounting.
http://www.myob.com/us/
Have been using it for over a decade and unlike the earlier versions of Quicken it actually follows the standard accounting rules.
Over the past 8 years, I started with Quicken, migrated to Money, and onto Moneydance. The later, I’ve enjoyed the best so far. It’s stable, and focuses on doing the basic features really well (call it quality over quantity). On a Mac, the interface is clean, simple, and refined.
Yeah, right, Money? You mean that program that last week locked people out from their own finanical data becuase someone at Microsoft updated a .Net server?
How would that be better than Quicken? I’ve been a user of Quicken since it first did online banking – using OS/2. (Windows version of Q). And I’ve never wanted to use any other version once I got the Mac version. But then I don’t do a lot of investing.
I have Quicken 2005 already, and though it’s not on par feature-for-feature with the Windows version, I am enjoying the better stability and minor feature increases.
myob is great for some accounting.
for my company it was a waste of time and money.
absolutely.
it will not work for a construction company
if you are doing it right.
that goes for the same QB for Mac. it does not work
for a construction company coding and tracking jobs.
<<Yeah, right, Money? You mean that program that last week locked people out from their own finanical data becuase someone at Microsoft updated a .Net server?>>
I use Microsoft Money via Virtual PC (it’s literally the only app I need Virtual PC for) and have never experienced *any* problems with it ever. I don’t store my data on their website (nor do most Money users) so this issue you mentioned didn’t impact me at all. I have been able to download all of my information from my bank as well as several credit cards I have for years without ever having a hitch. I’ve never switched back to Quicken because I’d essentially have to re-enter most of my data since their import tools are so useless. So yeah, I’d love to see Microsoft Money for the Mac. I’m no Microsoft lover by any means, but I know I can trust Money with my data and have read far too many negative reports on Quicken to feel that I can currently trust it.
I’m in the process of switching to mac right now, and so far my biggest frustration is finding a program to replace ms money.
Quicken 2004 was bundled with the new mac, but it’s horrible for what I use it for. Checking/Savings/Money Market. I don’t let it get online. I just don’t trust MS that much.
Anyone have any suggestions for a mac replacement for money?