Software Shop: Buy Quicken 2003 Deluxe Online

Average Rating:

The main change for 2003 is the interface, which is an improvement over previous versions. It is much easier now to see how one's overall financial situation is progressing, in addition to keeping an eye on individual accounts. The interface does require some adjustment time for those of us who are veteran Quicken users, because it is quite different. For a new Quicken user, my sense is that the program would be much easier to learn than the previous editions.

There are some advertisements for other Quicken products within the software, but they are placed in positions that aren't intrusive or distracting. The ads also offer information about services that would be helpful to many users. While some persons may be annoyed by any kind of ad in a product they have purchased, the practice doesn't bother me.

Intuit has taken a large step forward with this new, streamlined interface, a change lamented by many veteran Quicken users. In my opinion however, the upgrade from Quicken Deluxe 2002 was a wise investment. For dissatisfied users of Microsoft Money or persons new to personal financial software, I highly recommend this product. For current users of Quicken who are willing to exercise patience with a new, redesigned layout, I recommend it as well.

The installation was painless, registration was as simple as automatically loading last years information and sending it across. Once I opened up my Qdata - it took less than 3 minutes to convert the 2002 data to 2003. In less than 10 minutes, I had downloaded my transactions using the one step update.

One problem is that it refuses to download the R3 update using the auto update - I had to manually download and install the R3 release.

The interface is better than 2002, there are ads but these don't bother me. For e.g. on my accounts screen - below the investment accounts I have a small GIF for quicken brokerage and below the credit card list, I see a gif for a quicken credit card. Ofcourse, I would like to lose them but I really don't care.

If quicken starts pushing more and more features into their new Premier version and forcing deluxe users to buy Premier - this may be my last quicken upgrade.

I have Windows 2000 running on a AMD Athlon 1GHz

I am a software professional and have been using Quicken since the first release. Years ago, I could honetly say that I was thrilled with Quicken, but I can no longer recommend the product after receiving the 2003 release. The software is buggy, the user interface is cumbersome, and the software constantly bugs the user with advertisements and sales piches for Intuit's online services.

It appears to me that the company is using its flagship product primarily as an advertising tool for more lucrative online service offerings. Intuit offers no way for the end user to disable the constant nagging and in-your-face advertising "features" of Quicken 2003.

The registration process is one of the most annoying things about the software. Intuit insists that the user register as a "member" of their online service, even if the user has zero interest in any of their online offerings. To add insult to injury, the registration process is flawed. Intuit offers no way for a previously registered user to detect prior registration settings when reinstalling the software. I wasted hours trying to get software that I paid for to work.

I recommend that you save your money and do some homework. I am looking for another financial application. I would rather go through the pain of converting my accounts and online banking to another vendor before I would ever consider another full-price Quicken "upgrade".

NOT RECOMMENDED!