Quicken XG review

Every year, Intuit and Microsoft vie to part you from your hard-earned cash with the latest versions of their personal finance packages, Quicken and Money.

But there are only so many new features they can add. With the latest release of Quicken XG, Intuit seems to have run out of ideas. A few changes have been made to the program's everyday workings, but new features are thin on the ground. To top it all, the revamp comes with new a price structure that won't go down well with existing users.

Before we start, we'd better just say that Quicken XG is no slouch at managing your finances. You get a set of highly effective tools for tracking bank and cash dealings. Quicken can analyse income and expenditure, as well as keeping tabs on savings and building society transactions.

Looking after investments is also a doddle, with portfolios of stocks and shares, as well as forms for purchasing and selling investments, adding dividends and so on. Savings plans like ISAs can also be dealt with.

When it comes to new bits, though, the most significant changes have been made to Quicken's online services - now called 'Advantage'. Advantage includes online banking features, and price tracking on stocks, shares and unit trusts. It also includes online forums where you can interact with other users and with Intuit's finance specialists.

The rub comes when you realise that you now have to pay for these services. The one-off £60 purchase price includes 12 months' use of online services, or you can subscribe to a range of monthly packages starting at £4.50 a month. Intuit has done away with the basic, no-frills edition of its software, is pushing users towards a subscription-based service.

If you're a business user, this price is still cheap for a full set of ledgers including VAT handling. Home users, on the other hand, are far better advised to go for Microsoft's Money 2003. Its Standard Edition costs just £25, and there are no extra charges for online services.