Customer Reviews

Quicken 2004 Basic

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I've used Quicken since 1994 when I bought my first computer and Quick 2.0 came preinstalled. Since then I've tried MS-Money twice. I keep going back to Quicken. It's intuitive, logical and makes reconciling the check book a breeze. I admit that my finaces are fairly simple and others may need the deluxe or small business versions of the program, but I think for the average person the basic program is perfect. I don't upgrade every year. I don't think there's a need to. I up grade about every two to three years. The program is very stable. I haven't had problems with bugs or crashes in any version. I highly recommend it.

I've used Quicken and QuickBooks for more than a few years and I find it disturbing that Intuit finds ways to force the user to update his or her software. The required update has nothing to do with the user's need for new features. It's all about Intuit keeping the milk flowing from its cash cow.

I haven't had the troubles some have reported they have had with the software. I just do not see the benefits flowing to me from my upgrade from Quicken 2000 to Quicken 2004. I'd imagine I'll need to buy another version in a few years, when Intuit changes the color scheme for the user interface...

I was warned!! Instead I thought I could put up with all the small inconveniences of 2004. Every one of the negative reviews is correct and then some. I've been using (and promoting) Quicken since 1996 and updating every other year. 2004 regularly crashes on Windows XP. The investment register is useless for record reviews. The help topics are not useful. I was excited the first time it took me directly to Intuit's knowledge base, until I found nothing in the knowledge base that applied. Their Indian customer service can barely speak English. Not that it matters much since they haven't a clue how solve problems other than uninstall and re-install. The final straw however came today when, during an online update, Quicken corrupted my data files. The only fix for this is to uninstall the program. My fix is to reinstall Quicken 2002 and wait until I see some positive reviews on a new version before buying another Intuit product, even though I'm in for a couple days re-entering data that won't transfer from version 2004.

Laughably, a couple years ago Intuit was used in marketing case studies as a better way to treat customers than Microsoft. Where did those managers go? They now make Microsoft look positively brilliant. Since I have loved Quicken for so long, I really hope Intuit is monitoring these site reviews and will Quickly correct these myriad problems. I'm just glad I didn't post a high recommendation on this product and have to eat those words now.

I am done with Intuit. Every time I upgrade to a newer version it is full of bugs. Then, when I call Intuit customer support to discuss THEIR bugs, they want a credit card number before giving out any information. HOW ABOUT ENSURING THE PRODUCT WORKS CORRECTLY BEFORE SELLING IT TO THE PUBLIC. I don't care if they EVENTUALLY offer a patch that can be downloaded. I have more important things to do with my time.

I was a loyal Quicken user for more than 8 years; BUT NO LONGER ... their idea of customer service is PATHETIC. I am going to give Microsodt Money a try

I used to LOVE Quicken but upgraded to 2004 Basic to take advantage of free offer with Turbo Tax. They shouldn't even give this product away. It is garbage! Full of bugs! Can't load "budget" on toolbar because it won't be there next time I get on but others work. Data was corrupted in transfer. Constant crashing when customizing. Crashes every backup. It converted file types wrong then there is no way to fix. Support folks don't speak English. They want to charge $1.95 per minute to help with this awful software. To top it off, I didn't like the new format - especially the budget function. I was sick to my stomach after 8 hours of messing with it and having lost 15 years of data. Bought Quicken 2000 on e-bay since Intuit wouldn't sell or download it to me. Thank goodness my backup data was fine. Quicken 2000 is a great product. It's horrible that Intuit has done this to us.

This software has gone from great in the 90's to terrible for the past few years. In 2004, there are NO OPTIONS for register colors - just all white. There are NO program color schemes. There is advertising at bottom that cannot be removed. While using splits, the error of not being able to open the category list, that appeared in the 2003 version, has not been fixed in 2004! BEWARE - files updated to 2003 or 2004 versions will not work on older, MUCH BETTER versions. You will be stuck with having to use the worst versions yet!

I agree with the other reviewer. I had been a quicken user for a long time. Since I upgraded, I have had nothing but problems! Their program is buggy as heck and they make you pay for their garbage. I am looking into alternative programs as we speak. Do not waste your money on this product. The $24 some odd you may pay for the product is nothing compared to the technical support you will be paying!

As a devoted Quicken user since 1995, I was just a little annoyed when Intuit told me they would cut off my online access for Quicken 2000. I bought 2004 Basic thinking I might at least get some improvements. After using 2004 for a short time, I was shocked at both the reduction in ease of use and the many blatant bugs I encountered.
In addition to the program being much slower and creating much larger files (slower backups), simple operations like copy/paste of investment transactions are no longer available. The worst part is the bugs. They can't even manage their windows correctly with some getting stuck in background or foreground. I've also had several program lockups. The help files, which in 2000 offered some explanation, now yield absolutely no new information over the dialogs they purport to help with.
This software is a total disaster. I reinstalled my 2000 and will do without online service.

I was essentially forced to upgrade from Quicken 98 because of Y2K problems, and I wish I hadn't. Quicken 2004 is a horrible program, full of useless advertisements for everything from Quicken's credit cards to Quicken's online banking services. To make matters worse, you can't get rid of these annoying self-promotions. They are always there, whether you like it or not.

Quicken has also demonstrated that they intend to keep moving customers in that direction. Quicken 2004 makes downloading bank account and financial information easy, but the functionality requires registration and appears to route the data through Quicken's servers. Quicken 2004 still allows you to download and import your account data using a data file, but the 2004 help file warns you that Quicken 2004 will be the last Quicken version to support that feature.

I agree with the other reviews: At one time, Quicken was a great program. Intuit's blatant greed has caused it to change a great, versatile program to a bloated advertisement for its other services. I don't trust Intuit and would never trust them to handle my financial data properly, so I'll switch to MS Money or some other accounting software when I make my next upgrade.

I've been a Quicken user since 4.0, and this 2004 version is awful (I upgraded from 2001). The new program is hard to use. I wish there was a way to convert back to 2001. Also, technical support via Chat is awful; the end conclusion for every problem is that you have to reinstall the software.