The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Fast Track Quicken Major Keary |
Deanna Ross will be familiar, at least by name, to most Melb PC members; she is a Quicken guru and has written an authorised guide to the 2002 Personal editions for Australian and New Zealand users.
Local users need a financial application that meshes with local regulations and accounting practices.
They also need documentation about configuring settings for localised features. This book is a physically
compact and concise (no waffle or padding) guide to the second editions of Quicken Personal 2002 and
Quicken Personal Plus 2002 that will bring users, including novices, up to speed and serve as a handy
ongoing desktop reference.
Quicken is capable of some fancy and sophisticated things, but the focus of everyday users is on a
specific band of requirements: banking; investments and all the implications of franked dividends and
capital gains; household accounts; the ins-and-outs and pitfalls of taxation; and planning. It is those
topics that are addressed in this book.
For new users, and those unfamiliar with the new look of Quicken 2002, an introductory chapter presents
a sound introduction. There is an assumption that the user knows his or her way around Windows and is
familiar with installing and using Windows-based applications. On reading through the chapter on
investing my impression is that potential users need to have more than a passing familiarity with the
tax intricacies of share dealing. Given that the reader knows about such things, the information is a
clear guide to using that feature of Quicken. In short, regardless of the financial application, it is
necessary to know what you are doing. That applies even to the shoe box method of accounting, which I
use. When the box wore out I bought a new pair of shoes, just to replace the box, and was quite miffed
when the Tax Office declined to allow the expense.
Anyhow, if you want an authoritative, concise, fast-track guide to Quicken Personal this is well worth
considering, especially as it has been written for local conditions.
|
Deanna Ross: Quicken Personal Authorised Guide ISBN 1-74009-860-9 Published by Pearson, 226 pp., RRP $24.95 incl. GST. |
 |
Reprinted from the December 2002 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
