Customer Reviews

Quicken 2010 The Official Guide (Quicken Press)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I was reluctant about this book, and frankly about Quicken 2010 itself.Quicken Premier 2010 I've been using MS Money for the past decade or so, but when MS decided not to support and make newer versions I decided a change was needed.
I've been using Quicken 2010 for over a month now and will tell you that I simply love this software. It is everthing they claim and so much more. I use it for my daily banking activities, my credit cards and my 401K tracking. Quicken makes it so easy to track each of them. If you want Quicken will download details from each of your accounts web sites, but you don't have to. For instance, I want to have total control over my everyday bank, but for the credit cards and the 401K I run updates about once a week to every 10 days. Because I use my debit card as most people would cash (I seldomly carry cash), I have a lot of transactions to report. This can get overwhelming if you're not used to it, but the book made it simple for me to get started. I knew how I wanted to approach my use of the software, and frankly other books about Quicken 2010 weren't quite available when I orded this. And I'm glad for it. This book has everything about the software in it. It has a no nonesense approach and tells you how to get the job done. You don't have to read it from cover to cover, just use it like you would a refrence manual- for that's what it is.
On a personal matter I wasn't sure if I wanted to have Quicken 2010 convert all my MS Money files over and even how to do it, or if it could. I made my choice after reading what this book has to say on the matter. So as not to convince you to do what I did, I won't tell you what my decision was. But I'm glad I did what I did.

If you're new to personal finance software or just need some insight into what it can do, I recommend this book. I bought it, and would do so again, even though I've been using personal finance software for well over 15 years. Just let me say that I've never had a late fee imposed upon me, have never missed a bill, and I know exactly how much I have at any given moment- to the cent, and so much more, all because of personal finance software of which Quicken 2010 is a great product and this guide will increase your knowledge of just what you can accomplish with it.

This book is well-written, easy to read and well-organized; it covers Quicken admirably (but don't expect it to be a finance primer). It details seemingly all of Quicken 2010's features - EXCEPT for Home & Business. I assumed that "The Official Guide" would cover ALL versions, but Caveat emptor....
If you have Quicken Premier, this book is perfect; it you have a less feature-packed version, this book will make you want to upgrade. If you have Home & Business, you're completely covered for the "Home" features, but left hanging for the "Business" features.
I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone wanting (needing!) a written guide to the nearly endless features in Quicken 2010, but if you're looking to explore Quicken's small business features, look elsewhere. Unfortunately, of the three Quicken 2010 books available via Amazon, only one, Quicken 2010 for Dummies, addresses business features. Who'da thunk?

Every year I update my Quicken software by buying the latest version. I also have been buying Maria Langer's Official guide for each new version of Quicken.

A copy of Ms. Langer's Guide belongs on your desk. It covers every feature of Quicken in a simple, easy to understand, way. Since I'm an experienced Quicken user, I don't refer to the guide often. But,when I run into a new problem, or have a lapse of memory, I go for the Guide. I've always felt that the Guide was well worth its' cost.

Don't buy the Guide at a local retailer. It's greatly over priced. Buy it at Amazon where you can get it at a big discount.

I just converted from MS Money to Quicken 2010, This book helped smooth the bumps. I have found it to be a faster, more detailed resource than Quicken's Help System.

... but not a very insightful guide to using Quicken 2010.
There are no preview pages available for this book, so I bought it based on popularity and returned it after looking through a few chapters.

It provides about the same level of information that is available in the Quicken help file. In fact, unlike the book, the Quicken help file is searchable and handy when I am using Quicken. The content of the book is mainly screenshots of every dialog page in Quicken with a description of every button within those.

I imagine that this book has not changed much since the early versions when connecting to your banks on the Internets was a novel idea that people needed help getting familiar with. There is one part I noticed that explains how e-mail works something like going to the post office, but the post office is a computer (sorry, no page number because I don't have the book anymore).

In fairness, this book could help a basic computer user with installing and setting up account links; but, if you are reading an Amazon review, this book is already beneath your level.

I was quite disappointed with this purchase. It was mostly pointed towards those who have never used Quicken before. I've been using it for as many years as it has been around and hoped it would iron out a few problems I had with the new version, but The Guide was of no help.

Meanwhile, Intuit came up with a coupla updates which have cleared most of my problems.

I am quite disappointed.
I was a Microsoft Money user--this book did not help me. I know I can modify a register. My question would be how to get to the register to modify it. I can't easily tell you that. (part of the problem just may be that Quicken is not as user friendly as Money).
If I want to modify [something] and I'd like to know if it's on the account list, or the setup tab, or the peference icon --and it's just not easy to navigate. This book just didn't help in understanding quicken's organization.

It seems to have been written by someone going over the program. For example, if on the screen is a transaction windows. The book essentially says:
to add a new transaction click the "add" button (in a half a page); to delete a transaction, click the "delete" button (another half a page); to modify the transaction, click the "modify" button. If you modify a transaction, a register with 6 fields comes up (check #, date, description, amount, etc.). If you want to change the check number, click in the check number field and type in the new number. If you want to change the amount, click in the amount field and type the new number....
I am being a little harsh--because I'm very disappointed. True, the author occasionally does give little explanations of why you would want to do something.
And it might help if you're in the section doing things as she explains them.
But a read-through doesn't give you any great command of the program.

I was a Microsoft Money user for as long as I can remember but when Microsoft stopped updating it I switched to Quicken 2010 and decided I may as well buy this book to learn how to use the program.
I have to say that after reading the book and learning what I could do with Quicken 2010, I should have made the switch years ago.
As far as how the book is written, it offers real advice and practical examples for everyday users and even offers you advise on what you may or may not even have to or want to read depending on your situation and needs.
The Authors give great examples of their own personal uses and experiences with the programs and even walk you though setting up customized screens that for me at least have proven very helpful.
It really does help you get a handle on you financial situation and is so easy to use once you read about what you can do and how to do it that you find yourself wanting to read more and more about other things you can do with the program. In fact, once I started using Quicken 2010 with the help of this book, I found that I wanted to upgrade my original version of Quicken 2010 to Quicken Premier for the additional stock tools that version offers. When I did I was pleasantly suprised to learn that it was just a matter of obtaining a simple unlocking code for the version I had originally purchased for an additional fee and that I did not have to buy an entirely new version for full price.
I definitely think anyone will benefit from this book if you are or are planning to be a Quicken 2010 user

For those of you who are new to Quicken's Personal Finance software and who are using the Quicken Deluxe or Premier version, this is a very good reference source. Lots of screen snapshots to go along with explanations of the various available options. Also includes detailed information on converting data from Microsoft Money in one of the Appendixes.

You will have to search elsewhere though if you are looking for information about the extra features which come in the Home & Business or Rental Income versions as there is no mention of it here.

Quicken 2010 for Dummies devotes 2 of its chapters (Minding Your Business and Managing Rentals) to those topics.


Quicken 2010 For Dummies

The guide is great for first time users. I had a very old version of Quicken and it answered my questions. As a U.K. user it wasn't wonderful in explaining how to "convert" to Sterling. (I got a clear and direct answer from the publisher). Once set up I think I will only have the odd need to refer to the book, but still a useful standby.