Microsoft Money Program, Should we buy?

11/10/02 | ken roberts

[Old Professer]

My son just got a computer and wants a program to help him runhis business; we were looking at Microsoft Money and it doesn't require a lot of hard drive space (a big plus); I was just wondering if any Freeper has experience with this and would they recommend it to a non-geek such as my son.

His computer was purchased used and we "uninstalled" MS Works Suite which wouldn't work and installed a new, registered copy of MS Works from Best Buy last night (me on the phone, he on the keyboard); that seems to work okay with one eror message so far that said he might want to rerun the installation procedure.

He does iron work here in Nashville: rails, fences, supports, etc., and must give bid sheets and invoices. No employees right now, but who knows?

Since he lives 55 miles from me, I can't just run over there at any time so I would really appreciate any advice from you great people out there.

Thanks, Ken

[Old Professer]

We bought the computer for my daughter and then replaced it with a more powerful model.

This one only has 32 MB memory and a 1.45 Gig H.D. so it isn't a powerhouse.

It is still more modern than this old Packard Bell C115 I'm typing this on and no matter what many say, this old thing keeps me on FR every day.

[Texas_Jarhead]

MS Money will work fine for a small, cash based business.

[rs79bm]

Microsoft Money is a great program, I use it frequently. However, contrary to what you believe or have been told, MS Money requires quite a bit of Hard disk space, sometimes 100MB and up. It should run on your computer, with the hardware you have mentioned. It does come along with a lot a graphical video tutorials, and the like, most of which you would be better of opting not to install. Good luck.

[sourcery]

I haven't ever used Microsoft Money, but I have been using Quicken for many years--highly recommended.

[general_re]

Seconded. I have used both, and I much prefer Quicken.

[evolved_rage]

Quicken also has a higher end versions that will generate invoices etc, Quicken Home & Business at about $90, I think you can hook it up to some Intuit payroll stuff too. Payroll is a pain. Quickbooks is great too, and will scale to handle 5 or more users.

[tjg]

I've been using Quicken also, for more years than I can remember. While there is a learning curve, it is a very stable program. I pay all my bills through my banks internet setup. It's virtually self balancing.

I highly recommend it.

[HitmanLV]

How are you? I have a used copy of Quicken Home & Business, 2000 or 2001 I think somewhere. If you are interested I'll look for it and send it to you free, no problem. I don't have the manual anymore, but go to your local library and there will be a few books on it. Its perfect for a small biz. I use the 2002 version now! :-)

I have to find it though - please let me know if you are interested and I'll look.

[Fractal Trader]

Quickbooks Pro is an awesome program for businesses. Does anything you could want for a business sized one to one thousand employees.

I have found my version easy to use and quite reliable. And most accountants are familiar with how to work with it. Don't know if you could say the same for MS Money.

[rs79bm]

seconded.

[RightOnline]

Ditto on Quicken......look at their "Quicken 2003 Premier Home & Business" software (Quicken home page).

Two more things. You didn't say what OS your son's system is running. I highly recommend Windows 2000 Professional (it's rock solid).........but you will DEFINITELY need to add more memory; 32MB just doesn't cut it anymore. Memory has gotten dirt cheap. I'd recommend going to www.kahlon.com to buy more memory; recommend at least 256MB. You'll be shocked at how cheap it is, and equally shocked at the difference in performance your son will see on his system.

[DallasMike]

I use MS Money for my personal finances and love it. There are other apps like Intuit QuickBooks Basic 2002 that may be more suitable for a small business though.

I would advise him to buy more memory -- perhaps even a new motherboard with a faster processor and around 256 MB of memory. You can buy motherboard bundles at places like MWave. You might be surprised at how cheap it is to get a good hardware combo that will allow you to cannibalize parts that you already have (like case, CD drive, and monitor).

[DallasMike]

I highly recommend Windows 2000 Professional

Dittos.

[TC Rider]

Win2K is a great operating system. But skip MS Money.

Go to www.intuit.com and get Quicken.

If his business grows, it's easy to migrate to Quickbooks, then Quickbooks Pro and on to their multiuser version.

I've used both with no regrets and the place where I work now, a biotech VC is still using the multi-user version of Quickbooks Pro.

[rivercat]

I have used Quicken since its very first version, that is, until this year. This year I took a hard look at both products, and Microsoft Money was a clear winner. So, I switched. Money also works better with online banking than Quicken.

[Old Professer]

You've got mail!

[BuddhaBoy]

The latest version of Money has been rated by reviewers to be better and easier to use than Quicken. Both programs are very powerful, and you should read a few reviews before deciding.

Both are huge, and will eat up a lot of drive space, but I chose Money and I love it.

[Abcdefg]

If you upgrade the memory, and I think you should, make sure you get the right kind. If it is a major brand PC, get the model number and go to their web site for info. Otherwise, open the case and try to determine the motherboard make and model number and go to their web site for the info. If none of that works, get any info you can from the memory already there.
Good luck.

[angkor]

I'd been using Quicken for a very long time (certainly back to 1992), but started getting more and more frustrated as it became severely bloated with buttons, videos, graphics, and so much nonessential fluff that I couldn't use it anymore. The old text-mode version was a joy, and its what made the company a raging business success.

But in trying to dumb it down for the "average" home user (who they must think is a monkey) Quicken made its program a real pain to use. At some point I spent more than a few hours trying to navigate around a new "upgraded" version, and that was that.

I'd always ignored MS Money, but a few years ago it finally became pretty capable, and now I use it almost daily. (If Quicken stripped-away all of the cartoons and went back to basics, I might be tempted to use it again)

By the way, a 32 MB computer with 1.5 GB hard disk is not going to run either program. Invest in disk and memory upgrades or buy a new machine for $500 - $700. I can and do run a Web browser on my cellphone these days, but that doesn't mean its a good general purpose computer.