.KEYWORD quicken
.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE Track your finances on the fly with Pocket Quicken
.FEATURE
.SPOTLIGHT FIGALT cover.gif
.SUMMARY Landware’s Pocket Quicken application is an excellent extension of Quicken for the PC. Chris Phillips reviews the latest version, Pocket Quicken 2.0, which improves this handy software by adding color support, foreign currency support, budget tracking, a pop-up calculator, a better QuickFill feature, and improvements to the overall appearance. If you’re looking for a great way to track your finances, you’ve got to check it out.
.AUTHOR Chris Phillips
As a loyal user of Quicken for almost a decade, I was very excited when Landware released the newest version of their companion program, Pocket Quicken (at http://www.landware.com/pocketquicken/index.html). Pocket Quicken has taken the best features of Quicken and done what Quicken never could, made them portable. Their latest version, Pocket Quicken 2.0, continues this trend by adding color support, foreign currency support, budget tracking, a pop-up calculator, a better QuickFill feature, and improvements to the overall appearance.
.H1 Overview
Pocket Quicken is somewhat unique among Palm OS programs because it’s a companion program to its Microsoft Windows counterpart. Pocket Quicken by itself will function just fine, but it’s really designed to be an extension of the Windows version of Quicken (a Mac version is due out soon). Because of that, I’ll assume that anyone interested in Pocket Quicken also uses Quicken for Windows.
For those familiar with Quicken, Pocket Quicken feels and functions in much the same way. You can track multiple types of accounts (checking, savings, credit card, investment, etc.). Each account has its own separate register that functions like the register in your checkbook. Register entries are made via a form that looks like a check, so it’s very intuitive. You can review your transaction history to see if you remembered to pay that bill or make that deposit. You can even create a budget to help you track certain categories and make sure your spending stays under control. The best part is that when you HotSync with the computer running Quicken, all transactions are synchronized between Quicken and Pocket Quicken, keeping your finances organized and up to date.
.H1 Getting started
Landware has done an excellent job of making installation easy. You download and run the executable file from their Web site. This installs the program on your PC. Perform a HotSync operation to install the program to your Palm handheld. Next, perform a second HotSync operation. This one will automatically locate your Quicken data and copy it to your Palm handheld. This includes a limited transaction history for each account and your category and class information. If you don’t want to track all your accounts, simply remove them from Pocket Quicken, and they won’t synchronize next time.
It’s that simple. Now you have your account information and a limited history on your Palm handheld for each account you have in Quicken. One word of caution if you have a limited amount of memory available on your Palm handheld: keep your history file short. I have years worth of transactions and could easily fill up the memory on my Palm m505 if I didn’t limit the transaction history to 500.
.H1 Working with accounts
Pocket Quicken has a security feature that allows you to set a four-digit PIN. If you enable this feature, you’ll have to enter the correct PIN every time you start Pocket Quicken. The large keypad that appears when you start Pocket Quicken makes entering your PIN easy, as you can see in Figure A.
.FIG A Large buttons make it easy to enter your PIN.
Obviously, this feature protects your data from prying eyes if you lose your Palm handheld, or if you let someone else use it. Once you enter the correct sequence, you’ll see the account summary. If you haven’t enabled the security feature, you’ll immediately be presented with the account summary, pictured in Figure B, when you start Pocket Quicken.
.FIG B From the account summary, you can choose to work with Accounts, Registers, or Budgets.
If you tap on the name of an account and then tap the Details button, you’ll see a screen that includes the name of the account and what type of account it is. You can also choose to enter additional information like the account number and contact information.
You can also choose to see information related to the balances of the account (current versus ending balance), and find out when the last HotSync for this account was. Watch out! You can also change some information here, like the account name, which could cause problems with synchronization with Quicken. Your best bet is to leave the fields that are already filled in as they are.
.H1 Working with registers
The Register screen is laid out just like a checkbook register. Here you can see a summary of each transaction. This is where I really appreciate the fact that they added color support. Payment amounts are in red, deposits are in black, and each line of the summary alternates between a white background and a light blue one. While you’re looking at the register for one account, you can quickly switch to another account by selecting from the pulldown menu in the upper-right-hand corner. If you tap on an item, you can see the detail.
For transactions that have already been synchronized with Quicken, you can only view the details or choose to delete the transaction. You can also choose whether you want to see the ending balance, the current balance, or the available credit for a credit card account.
.H1 Entering transactions
One of the best things about having Pocket Quicken is that you can record transactions at the time you make them. If you write a check, you can enter the information in Pocket Quicken while the clerk is processing the transaction. What this means is that you never again have to mess with recording a transaction in your paper checkbook register and then go through the laborious process of re-entering those transactions into Quicken later.
Most paper checkbooks have a column for recording cleared checks while you’re balancing. Since I balance electronically, I have found a different use for this column. If I’m running around without my Palm m505 (this almost never happens), and I write a few checks, I still record them in my paper register. Then when I get home and enter them into Pocket Quicken, I check them off as cleared. This way I always know when I have transactions that need to be entered.
Entering transactions is very easy. When you start Pocket Quicken, you’ll be presented with a list of accounts. Simply tap on the balance of the account you want to work with, and you’ll be shown the register for that account, as seen in Figure C.
.FIG C The register looks just like the register in your checkbook.
Tap on the New button and select whether you want to enter a Payment, Deposit, or Transfer. Transfer is for moving money between accounts you track with Quicken. This is a nice feature because you only have to enter the transaction in one account and then the other account will be updated automatically.
Once you have selected the type of transaction, you’ll see a form that very closely resembles the layout of a check, as you can see in Figure D.
.FIG D Entering a transaction is easier than writing a check.
You can enter the information manually or use the drop down menus. Once you’ve entered a transaction (e.g., $100 to Coop Electric Co. to pay your monthly electric bill), the transaction will be memorized. This is very handy because next month when you pay your bill, Pocket Quicken will recognize the payee (Coop Electric Co.) within the first several letters and offer to complete the entry for you automatically. If you tap on the down arrow to the right of the Pay field, Pocket Quicken will automatically fill in the name of the Payee, the amount you paid last time, and the category you used. If all this is correct, you just tap Done. This can make your bill paying very quick each month. Payments, Deposits, and Transfers all use the same form.
You can also split a transaction between multiple categories, just like you can in Quicken. So if you take $100 out of the ATM, but $50 is from your Groceries category and $50 is from your Entertainment category, you can easily enter it that way, as shown in Figure E.
.FIG E You can split each transaction between multiple categories.
.H1 New features
A new feature in version 2.0 of Pocket Quicken is the ability to work with budgets.
Now, before you get too excited, you need to know that Pocket Quicken doesn’t synchronize with Quicken’s budgets. This feature works only within Pocket Quicken and allows you to set a budget amount for one or more categories and then monitor your actual spending versus your budgeted spending for the month, quarter, or year. You have to set up these categories one at a time. Those who are heavy users of Quicken’s budget feature are likely to be disappointed with Pocket Quicken’s variation. But again, keep in mind, this is designed to be an extension of Quicken, not a replacement. I think this feature is designed to help track a few priority or problem categories rather than track and plan your entire budget.
Visually, version 2.0 is a significant improvement from 1.0. The use of color makes it easier to read and use. Landware has added icons for certain functions that help clarify which direction data or funds are flowing. They have also added a pop-up calculator, pictured in Figure F.
.FIG F The pop-up calculator can be accessed anytime without leaving Pocket Quicken.
It’s very nice to be able to perform calculations without having to exit Pocket Quicken. Finally, they have added support for foreign currencies. This feature requires you to set up the currencies and conversion rates in Quicken and then perform a HotSync operation to get the information on your Palm handheld. Then you can begin tracking transactions in the proper currency while you’re traveling abroad. Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to test this feature.
.H1 Conclusion
Pocket Quicken is a great program. Did I say great? I meant life changing! After using version 1.0 for almost two years and then seeing the improvements they have made in version 2.0, I doubt I could go back to using Quicken by itself. The time I save by recording transactions when I make them is priceless, as is the fact that I always have an accurate and updated balance. Pocket Quicken is intuitive and easy to use, and they have done a great job making it work the same way Quicken does. The QuickFill feature greatly reduces the time it takes to record a transaction, and the pop-up calculator ensures that I don’t make a basic math error.
There’s still a little room for improvement. If they were going to add the budget feature, I think they should have designed it to synchronize with the budget you already have set up in Quicken. This way when you make changes to your Quicken budget, it will automatically be updated in Pocket Quicken. I don’t like having to update my budget twice. That is the only criticism I can find for this program.
If you’re a Quicken user, you owe it to yourself to try Pocket Quicken. You can download a trial version from their Web site that will work for 30 days. Pocket Quicken retails for $39.95 and can be purchased at http://www.landware.com/pocketquicken/index.html. Registered users of version 1.0 can upgrade for $14.95.
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on Pocket Quicken, visit http://www.landware.com/pocketquicken/index.html.
For more information about Palm computers, visit http://www.palm.com.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
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