Customer Reviews

Quicken(R) 2003: The Official Guide

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Aside from a few tidbits, I didn't find this book much more helpful than reading the help screens within Quicken itself. I guess since it is in book form it is easier to reference than the screens but I was looking for a book that offered insight into using Quicken, not how to navigate menus. This book follows the ol' "If you want do this, do that" format which I really believe is beneath most computer users these days. I had to re-enter a lot of data having found things out myself rather than through the book. I bought the book specifically for this purpose and found it worthless in this regard. I was looking for something that related Quicken to real life situations e.g., where to find the reams of data that Quicken requests, how a complicated financial statement translates into a Quicken entry, the pros and cons of entering the same transaction different ways in Quicken, and the different ways to set up the same portfolio, to name a few. More examples would have been useful.

I purchased this book to get detailed info on various aspects of Quicken 2003 practical usage. This book offers merely a description of menus and features - no deeper insight how to tackle more serious challenges, which will inevitably arise in the moment you will create multiple checking & credit card accounts, start to transfer funds in between them, run the reports etc.

The problem is that the book tells you not much more then what is obvious from the interface to any computer literate user; if you're in doubt, you can still check online help. In all honesty, I found the basic 70 page long user guide which comes with boxed Quicken more helpfull then this book....

Just a sample of the quality and depth of information offered by this book, randomly opened at the pages below:

pages 210-211: "Another new feature....is that the report window is automatically minimized to the Quicken task bar when you click outside the window...to view the report again, click it's name in the taskbar and the report reappears."

.. I bet nobody would ever figure this out without having to look for info inside this book. I think that giving this book 2 stars out of 5 I'm still doing a favor to the author and the publisher.

This book DOES NOT COVER anything to do with the Small Business side of the program. I was very disappointed in it.

I needed a reference guide for Quicken 2004. After purchasing the Dummies version, this book is by far the better text. It provides clear, concise information with screen shots for all aspects of Quicken 2004 including items you may not know about. (Records Organizer Household Organizer!) Those were not mentioned in the other text. She gives suggestions for how to set up your files the way that you want. I highly recommend this book whether you are an expert or just beginning. It is well worth the price!

Very handy when setting up the software. I appreciated all of the great screen shots offered.