Microsoft Money 2003 Financial

You'll already have noticed that this section is dominated by two players. Although we're all for the little guy, Microsoft Money and Intuit Quicken are so far ahead of the field in terms of slickness that there is really no competition.

Historically, both packages have offered an entry-level personal finance version; a mid-range edition, boasting extra features such as tax return software and a personal and business cut, incorporating invoicing and billing.

There's currently a hole at the top end of the Money range, as the last version, Personal and Business 2002, was very disappointing. Its inability to email invoices direct from the program - you have to print them out and post them - persuades us it is a very good personal finance package, with a very poor business end bolted on. Better to go with Money 2003 Financial Suite. This is nothing more than the basic edition of Money with Taxsaver attached. As we're increasingly being asked to self-assess, the extra £8 this will cost you is a bargain.

Some of Money's features will never be used: the ability to calculate capital gains and the will creator are useful, but are you going to use the air miles tracker? And the boast that it can 'Download bank statements directly into Money' is qualified by a footnote that says 'options vary by financial institution'. Seamless downloading of statement information is one area that's never really got going and, while Money is rather better than Quicken at this, the list of banks hooked up is far from comprehensive.

If you use Money to get your finances in order, create a snapshot of where you are, use reports and charts to plan where you're heading, and you won't go wrong.

Contact: Microsoft 0870 601 0100
www.microsoft.com/uk/money

System Requirements:

• Windows 98 or above
• 166MHz or faster processor
• 32MB of Ram (64MB recommended)
• 75MB of free hard disk space
• Internet Explorer 6 or above
• Double-speed CD-Rom

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