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Quicken Personal Finance Software 2007 Reviewer’s Guide

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Welcome to Quicken Personal Finance Software 2007.

The perfect complement to online banking.

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With more than 120 improvements to the features customers use most, Quicken 2007 provides the comprehensive tools you need to see your complete financial picture in minutes.

Redesigned Home Page

Quicken 2007 has been updated to give the product a new, dynamic look and make it easier for users to answer key financial questions right from the home page. Through a series of new visual cues, access to data is faster, important information is clearly visible and clutter on the home page has been greatly reduced.

Users will no longer have to leave the home page to answer basic questions like, “How much money will I have left this month after paying bills?” or “What bills are coming due this month?”

Not only will new users benefit from these changes, upgraders will appreciate the fact that they don’t have to relearn any of the functionality they have become accustomed to over the years.

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Get Instant Answers to Key Financial Questions.

Find Out Where Your Money Is Going

The new home page not only reduces clutter, Quicken 2007 makes it even easier to manage your money and forecast your account balances at a glance. Through a series of new integrated earning and spending modules, you can easily see what’s coming in, what’s going out, and what’s left every month to spend or save.

Though bank sites are good at showcasing transactional data, account balances and showing if a check has cleared, the ability to answer these key financial questions in one place enables Quicken to offer users unique and valuable information that their bank Web site just doesn’t provide. You can easily make year-over-year spending comparisons because unlike bank sites, there is no limit to how long your data is available.

Projected Cash Flow – This new module on the home page provides a clear representation of your account activity so you aren’t left guessing where you stand financially or caught off guard by having insufficient funds to pay a bill.

On the other hand, you could also see that you have excess cash this month, view the reason that occurred, make sure that all your bills are paid, view your credit card balance and pay the excess cash to your high-interest card all from the Quicken home page!

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Scheduled Bills and Income – Get organized and pay your bills on time with Quicken 2007’s increased bill pay functionality. Get immediate answers regarding what you need to pay and what has already been paid from all of your accounts.

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Improved Calendar – While the new home page offers you a monthly view of your financial status, the improved Calendar provides a daily view that helps you ensure your bills get paid.

With the improved, integrated Calendar, you can see your paychecks, bills, and expenses by day and month which makes it even easier to schedule bills, get reminders, and avoid late fees.

The Calendar has been improved to offer:

• Daily balances of your available cash.

• Ability to pay bills from the calendar (available to Quicken BillPay customers).

• Direct access to the calendar from the home page.

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New Scanner Integration Makes it Easier to Attach and Store

Electronic Images and Statements

Why have a separate financial paper filing system and a Quicken data file? Now you don’t need both, and finding critical checks and documents is easy because they can be attached right in the appropriate transaction or account inside Quicken.

Keeping track of these important documents, like check images, is crucial for tax purposes. The IRS suggests that you keep copies of checks (front and back) for three years for taxes and seven years for small businesses. Banks only make check images available for an average of 60 days, then charge the consumer a fee to retrieve a series of checks if they need them!

Introduced in Quicken 2006, image attachment enabled users to store electronic statements, checks, receipts, bills, warranty information and other important financial documents for as long as needed. Having this information stored logically with the transaction or account makes it easy to locate this record when preparing for taxes or in case of a dispute.

Quicken 2007 includes several enhancements to attaching electronic images and statements including:

• The ability to attach images directly from a scanner into Quicken.

• The ability to attach multiple images to a single transaction.

• The ability to attach multiple pages of a statement, bill or warranty.

• The ability to create additional transaction attachment categories to group documents.

• The ability to cut and paste images.

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Easier Setup Means You’re up and Running in Minutes

In 2000, a book was published called “Organize Your Finances in a Weekend with Quicken.” In 2003, Guided Setup was introduced that shortened the setup process to 26 steps, but asked the user to fill out information regarding every single thing they wanted to do now and in the future with Quicken.

Improvements to the setup process in Quicken 2007 means that you enter just some critical information about your income, bills and accounts and in under five minutes, you are up and running in Quicken (an 864% improvement compared to that book!).

You can instantly see where your money is going, get a sense of what income and bills you have coming in and going out that month, and begin to get a handle on your finances – and you have the rest of your weekend to spend with your friends and family.

Specifically, the setup process for configuring an online account in Quicken has been improved in several ways:

Getting Started: The setup experience went from 26 confusing steps in Quicken 2006, to a streamlined 10-step, five minute process that gets users up and running as quickly as accessing an online bank site. Quicken will automatically find, set up and download all accounts held at an institution, such as checking, savings, credit card and line of credit, in one step.

Improved Help: The Help section has more options to make sure you get your important questions answered quickly and correctly.

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Express Web Connect Improves One-Step Update to Enable Access to Your Complete Financial Picture in One Click

Though better than manually entering data, the customer experience of going to each financial institution Web site to download information into Quicken was difficult and time consuming. To solve this customer issue, Quicken 2007 offers Express Web Connect, an improvement that completely automates the process of updating Quicken, reduces the user effort down to a single click and enables users to make better use of their time spent with Quicken.

From within Quicken, users will now be able to enter a single PIN and password. Quicken will do the rest of the work by going to each financial institution and downloading the latest transactions and account balances. Another improvement is that during the download, you can work on other things in Quicken instead of waiting for the download to finish.

Last year, sixteen percent of the 2,700 financial institutions linked to Quicken in this way. With Quicken 2007, ninety-nine percent of the more than 4,400 financial institutions that connect to Quicken can be updated using this One-Step Update feature! That’s a 1000% improvement!

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Pin Vault Password Management- Managing your financial institution passwords has also been greatly improved by giving you more control. You can change your PIN vault password directly from the Manage My Passwords screen and clearly see if the PIN number for each account has been stored.

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More Than 120 Customer-Recommended Improvements

In addition to the redesigned interface, image attachment, improved setup and download, Quicken 2007 includes dozens of additional improvements to help people manage their finances.

Improved reporting – Customers told us that they wanted clearer, visual insight into their financial situation. We listened and made improvements to the features they use most, including improved reporting, printing, auto-categorization, instant insights and more.

Mini Reports- New Mini Reports are integrated into the home page to present more detailed data without having to click away to a new page. Click or fly over data on the home page to see a monthly account total and a monthly account average to help you determine when you are deviating from your normal spending patterns. These Mini Reports have been color-coded to correspond with the transaction type i.e. inflows – green, outflows - yellow.

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Account Balance Graph - This new graphic report, located by clicking any Cash Flow account and selecting “Overview,” gives you a quick, visual overview of where you stand financially throughout the month. You are provided with a monthly average which allows you to determine when you deviate from your normal spending behavior and get back on budget - without the time-consuming task of creating a budget.

Additionally, a Monthly Expenses diagram lets you see where you spend your money at-a-glance. Are you spending too much, or more than your normal monthly average, eating out or on clothing? With Quicken 2007, you will know right away and can adjust your budget accordingly.

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Improved Auto-Categorization/Auto Payee - In the past, users were required to manually specify the category for each transaction entry in their register. Now, transactions downloaded into Quicken will be more accurately categorized as the appropriate expense. Furthermore, the more accurate categorization will improve reporting such as on the “Spending Graph” tab.

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Improved Integrated Online Backup – Quicken Backup (both online and via CD) has been redesigned to be integrated into the software. A simpler interface provides less opportunity for user error and functionality has been improved. Users on Windows XP can now backup to CD without additional software.

Users who sign up for integrated online backup ($9.99/year) will also receive a client application which enables:

• Backup of non-Quicken files to storage space

• Scheduled or automated backup

Quicken Leadership in Personal Finance

• More people have bought Quicken than any other personal finance software combined (NPD Group/NPD Techworld, July 2006)

• Quicken is the #2 selling software all-time behind TurboTax (NPD Group/NPD Techworld, July 2006)

• More than 15 million people currently use Quicken software (Intuit Brand Tracking survey, 2006)

• Quicken has 72.3% of retail unit sales and 73.1% of retail dollar sales of personal finance software (NPD Group/NPD Techworld, May 2006)

New or Improved Features in Quicken 2007

|Name |Basic |Deluxe |Premier |Home & Business |

|Manage Cash Flow & Control Spending |

|NEW! In/Out/What’s Left & Instant Insights |X |X |X |X |

|Improved! Scheduled Bills and Income |X |X |X |X |

|Improved! Calendar |X |X |X |X |

|See Where Money is Going | | | | |

|NEW! Cash Flow Details |X |X |X |X |

|Improved! Mini-Reports |X |X |X |X |

|Improved! Auto Categorization/Auto Payee |X |X |X |X |

|Simplified Download Experience |

|Improved! Getting Started/Setup of Accounts/Express Web Connect |X |X |X |X |

|Improved! Ongoing Experience – One Step Update & Download In |X |X |X |X |

|Background | | | | |

|Improved! Online Account Management and Error Messages |X |X |X |X |

|Improved! Security – Multi Factor Authentication Support |X |X |X |X |

|Improved! Support 4400+ Financial Institutions |X |X |X |X |

|Improved! Interface |

|NEW! Look & Feel / Better Organization |X |X |X |X |

|Improved! Image Attachment |

|NEW! Scanner Integration | |X |X |X |

|Improved! Store More Images/More Categories | |X |X |X |

|NEW! Investments Image Attachment | |X |X |X |

|Other Notable Product Improvements |

|Improved! Backup – Online & CD |X |X |X |X |

|Improved! Printing Improvements |X |X |X |X |

|NEW! Migration Wizard/Discoverability |X |X |X |X |

|NEW! Quicken Home Inventory Manager– Support and Special Pricing! | |X |X |X |

Online features require Internet access and are subject to change. Services vary among participating financial institutions or other parties and may be subject to application approval, additional terms, conditions and fees.

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• A new look and feel that makes Quicken easier and more valuable. The Quicken interface has been updated to give users a new, dynamic look while at the same time not requiring existing users to relearn any of the functionality they have become accustomed to.

• At-a-glance forecasting provides insight and helps control spending: See money coming in, what’s going out, and what’s left to spend or save. Quicken 2007 enables you to easily monitor your monthly cash flow and answer key financial questions right on the home page without having to navigate several clicks away.

• Get up and running in just five minutes: Set up accounts, income, upcoming bills, and download all available transactions in the time it takes to make popcorn. Instantly see your cash flow, where you’re spending your money, your asset allocation and more with minimal effort.

• Simplified download experience: Dramatic improvements to account data download make it possible to get your account activity from all of your financial institutions into Quicken with just one PIN and password. Connectivity to financial institutions has nearly doubled in the last year to more than 4,400, ninety-nine percent of which enable this One-Step Update of account data.

• Scanner integration and virtual file cabinet: Users are now able to attach multiple images directly from their scanner into Quicken. File limits have been increased so you can store more images, including the backs of checks and multiple statement pages.

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Settings in the improved One Step Update let you manage all of your accounts on a single page.

Click on “Cash Flow Details” to determine how money is flowing through your accounts and see itemized details of financial trends.

Links to the appropriate Help sections have been included in the setup process to provide more useful guidance

Information goes from Register to the Spending Graph/Reports instantly.

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The ‘In’ module projects all income and inflow of cash for the month.

With the home page’s ‘Scheduled Bills and Income’ report, users can quickly and easily see how their financial status will be changing by outlining future obligations and income.

Improved Calendar View shows you upcoming bills and income as well as your estimated daily balance.

See all of your bills coming due this month and initiate payment right from within Quicken - despite the methods you use to pay bills.

See your projected daily balance each and every day of the month.

Simply enter your existing ID and password to set up and download all accounts held at that financial institution (80% of Quicken users already have an online ID for their bank).

Easily see money coming In, money going Out and What’s Left each month to spend or save.

Having all of your account information and passwords in one place saves valuable time.

The ‘Out’ module projects all cash expenditures and bills for the month.

The “What’s Left” module reconciles the ‘In’ and ‘Out’ modules and clearly shows how much additional cash is available – or alerts that there will be a shortage of cash.

The Account Balance Graph and charts provide instant insight into where your money is going on a monthly basis.

“Quicken has never been as good as it is in 2007. All key information is either in front of you or can be reached with one key stroke. It is faster, more intuitive and links key planning needs such as tax planning and cash flow management.”

~ Charles Marino, Lutz, Fla

The Calendar includes reporting features that outline all of the transaction types for a day in a given category such as expenses, income, etc.

“The new interface is awesome. The Quicken main page view is a great way to see inflows, outflows and savings for the month. It allows me to quickly make adjustments to my monthly budget.”

~ Jeffrey Weil, Sudbury, Mass.

Deposited Income and Scheduled Income are clearly outlined via new Mini Reports; accessible right on the home page.

Rename a payee or change the category once and Quicken learns from you going forward.

“Wow! This software is really amazing and will be really useful for our personal finances. It has so many great ways of keeping track of what we receive and owe. I love that it can download information from my online bank account. I am really excited to be able to use this wonderful software and I would recommend it to anyone.”

~ Raylinda Hirschi, Washington, Utah

“I have often selected financial institutions based on their ability to connect directly to Quicken - even leaving banks when they have switched to the cumbersome WebConnect feature of manually downloading transactions. Automating the WebConnect procedure within Quicken opens up a whole new array of financial institutions I can now do business with. I will not leave Quicken to do my banking. I need my entire picture with me at once - not only one bank's view. In this day and age - very few people bank in only one place.”

~ Mark LaRosa, East Hanover, N.J.

Quicken 2007 Financial Institution Connectivity update…

* More than 4,400 banks, brokerages, 401(k) providers, and credit cards now connect to Quicken Personal Finance Software via Open Financial Exchange (OFX). Ninety-nine percent of which have the ability to download data into Quicken via One-Step Update.

* Using bank deposits as a proxy for households, more than 80% of U.S. households have the ability to download data into Quicken.

* More than 1,700 financial institutions have added connectivity to Quicken personal finance software in the last 12 months.

* Quicken connects to 47 of the top 50 U.S. Banks and 94% of the top 150 banks (Based on deposit data supplied by FDIC and NCUA).

* More than 80 brokerages offer connectivity to Quicken including nine of the top 10 online and full service brokerages (Based on total consolidated capital. Provided by Institutional Investor).

* Over 1100 credit cards connect to Quicken including 33 of the top 50 credit cards. (Based on receivables. Provided by Thomson Corp.).

* Twenty 401 (k) providers offer connectivity to Quicken including nine of the top 10 largest 401(k) providers (Based on total record-keeping assets).

Did You Know…?

• More than 63 million people currently bank online.

• 10 million people have started online banking in the past 12 months.

• On an average weekday, 16 million Americans do some online banking -- five times the number that goes into a bank.

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New language on the home page mirrors the words people use to describe their finances.

Improvements to Quicken Customer Support

• The new S.P.E.C.S. (Support, Phone, Email, Chat System) customer support system launched in December 2005 to coordinated phone, email, chat and self service under one system and created a unified knowledge base for reps to access.

• This less complex, unified system has enabled customers to get the right help when and where they need it and agents to more quickly and accurately help customers. It is an easy to use self-help system for customers with all help channels accessible on one Web page.

• Just two months after the launch of SPECS, customer satisfaction rose 40%, customer first issue resolution rates are up across all channels. Customer satisfaction ratings remain high across all channels:

• Phone (6.44 out of 7)

• Chat (3.18 out of 5)

• Email (3.29 out of 5)

• “Smart Assistant” online database answers customer questions before they need to contact us and increased the consistency of answers across all help channels.

• Beginning August 1, 2006, free 24/7 live chat will be available.

• Other free support options include: 24/7 email with a promised response within 24 hours, a toll free 800 number (800-811-8766), Knowledge Center Support that anticipates customer needs, Self serve knowledge base, Online FAQs and interactive training videos and support archives for older versions

• A free Quicken Users Forum () is also available that provides an avenue for customers to ask and advice from other Quicken users or help others by providing answers to their questions. Over 6,000 users registered in the first five months of operation.

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