Howtochooseandusepersonal-financesoftware.By:Mann,RichardO.,Compute!,0194357X,Apr93,Vol.15,Issue4Database:MASUltra-SchoolEditionHTMLFullTextHOWTOCHOOSEANDUSEPERSONAL-FINANCESOFTWAREContents1.BasicCheckbookFunctions2.BankReconciliation3.CheckWriting4.ElectronicBill-Paying5.ReportingandBudgeting6.TaxSummaries7.AdvancedFunctions8.Quicken6.0andQuickenforWindows2.09.AndrewTobias'ManagingYourMoney9.010.MoneyCounts7.0PersonalEdition11.MicrosoftMoney2.0ListenPauseStopSelect:AmericanAccentSettingsDownloadmp3?CloseSection:COMPUTE'SGETTINGSTARTEDWITHPERSONALMONEYMANAGEMENTWhenitcomestodollarsandcents,someofusarefairlytalentedoperators.However,manymoreofusfindourselvesatseawhenitcomestothingsfinancial.Ourskillsandunderstandingvaryfromthewhat-do-you-mean-I'm-overdrawn-I-still-have-checkscrowdtotheWall-Street-Journal-reading,CD-rate-watchinggang.Youmightbesurprisedtofindallkindsofprofessionalsandbusinesspeopleinthecheckbook-as-a-mystic-experiencegroup.Whereveryoufallonthescale,yourPCcanbeafinanciallifesaver.Today'spersonal-financesoftwarepracticallyrunsitself.Ifyoucanfilloutacheckandadepositslipproperly,youcanusetheseprograms.Infact,withyourbasicskillsandthecomputer'sadvancedskills,youcanaccomplishfinancialmiracles.Whatcanpersonal-financeprogramsdoforyou?Theirfeaturelistsgetlongereachyearandincludesomeimpressive-soundingfunctions.Basicfeaturesofferedbyalltheprogramsincludecheckbookfunctions,writingchecks,budgeting,bankreconciliation,taxinformation---本文来源于网络，仅供参考，勿照抄，如有侵权请联系删除---summarization,andelectronicbillpaying.Themoreambitiousprogramsaddinvestmentmanagement,payablesandreceivablestracking,anddozensofothersnazzyfunctions.OneprogramevenoffersitsownVisacardwithelectronicstatements.Inanutshell,theycanfreeYoufromworryaboutyourfinancialsituation-atleasttheworriesthatcomefromnotknowingwhereyoustand.Theycanconvertconfusiontocontrol,mysterytomanagement,'andaimlesswanderingtounerringprogress.Youinvesttimeandthesoftwareprovidesfinancialexpertise.Eventhosewithnomathormoneyskillscanfindsubstantialhelphere.BasicCheckbookFunctionsBeginbyautomatingthecheckbookitself.Asyouwritechecksandmakedeposits,yourecordtheminyourcheckregister.Everyfewdays,enterthechecksanddepositsintothecomputer'scheckregister.Theprogramdrawsavirtualcheckonthescreen-fillitoutjustlikewritingacheck.Oryoucanusethecheckregisterscreen,whichlooksjustlikeyourpapercheckregister.Eitherway,thecomputerhandlesallthearithmeticwithitsusualflawlessaccuracy.Ifyoutakeafewminuteseveryfewdays,you'llalwaysbeaccuratelyup-to-date.Then,whenthebankstatementcomes,you'llbereadyforanewandmarvelousexperience.BankReconciliationOnceamonth,yougetabarkstatement.Yourjobistoreconcileitwithyourcheckbooktoensurethatwhatyou'verecordedinyourcheckbookmatcheswhatthebankprocessed.Thisishowyoufinderrorsinyourcheckbookandthelessfrequentbutveryrealbankerrors.Mostbankstatementshaveaprintedformonthebackthatattemptstowalkyouthroughthereconciliationprocess.It'snotfun,andit'snoteasy.If,however,you'vebeenenteringyourcheckbookinthecomputer,theprocessissimplicityitself.Ittakesabouttenminutesandinvolvesmerelyfollowingtheon-,screeninstructions.You'llloveit;Ipromise.CheckWritingNextcomeswritingyourchecksonthecomputer.Entertheinformationonthescreenforabatchofchecks,thensendthemtotheprinter.Ofcourse,you'llneedtobuypre-printedchecks...