Microsoft money is financial software designed for individuals and businesses. There are three distinct versions: Microsoft Money Essentials, Microsoft Money Deluxe and Microsoft Home and Business. You can select whichever version is right for you.

General Features

Create a simple budget using preset or custom categories for regular expenses like groceries and car insurance.

• Assign categories to your transactions
• Use the Spending Tracker to monitor specific categories.
• Provide automatic Online Updates by connecting directly to your bank or brokerage
• Download credit card transactions
• Schedule and pay bills automatically
• Perform both manual and automatic backups of your data
• Create budget reports

Installing Microsoft Money

You must be logged into Windows as an administrator to install Microsoft Money. During the install process, you will be asked if you want to replace your old version of Microsoft money, select No if you want to keep both versions, otherwise the old version will be deleted.

Insert the installation CD. The installation should start automatically. If it does not, click Start -> Run and type D:\setup (where D is the letter of your CD-ROM drive). Then click OK.

If you downloaded the application, locate and double click on the installation file. (Depends on where you saved the file.) If it is a trial version, double click on webinst.exe.

The installation program will begin. Accept the Microsoft licensing agreement when prompted. When the message “Money is ready to go!” appears, click on Finish.

Starting Microsoft Money

Double click on the Microsoft Money program on your desktop to start using it. If there is no desktop icon click on Start->All Programs->Microsoft Money.

The trial version will display a reminder of how many days are remaining in the trial. Click on Remind me later to clear the screen.

Windows Live ID

Microsoft Money requires a Passport or Windows Live ID account. If you do not have one, you will need to create one. A different Passport or Windows Live ID account is required for each version of the application on your computer. You can use your existing account to log into the application.

A Passport or Windows Live ID is also equired to use Microsoft Money’s online features, however, you can choose to work offline by clicking on the box but you still need to login to use the application.

Importing Existing Files

You can either convert an existing money data file or create a new one. Before converting an existing file, backup it up. The Money program will automatically search for and convert files from an earlier version or from Quicken to a format that works with the new version of the program. It will also create a backup file in case you want to revert back to the earlier version. If you have multiple files, the application will only offer to convert the most recently used file. However, it will offer to convert any file you try to open to the new format.

Creating a New Account

To set up a new account, you need the name of your bank and the account sign in information for online access so the application can both fetch and update your account information from the bank. Allowing automatic updates prevents you from having to add all of your transactions manually.

• Select Create New Account
• Then select the type of account such as banking, credit card or investment.
• Select the financial institution from the list
• If you choose the online banking option, click on Accept so Microsoft Money can download your transactions.
• Enter your online banking access ID and password
• Log onto the bank
• Microsoft Money will download your transactions
• When it is finished, a Congratulations message will appear. Click finish.
• You will then be taken the Money home page.

Savings and Spending Budget

Creating a budget is the foundation for controlling your spending. This feature is designed to help Microsoft Money users effectively budget monthly expenses. Microsoft Money Savings and Spending Budget allocates 60% of your monthly gross income for regular recurring expenses like food, clothing, insurance, taxes and utilities. The remaining money is allocated as follows: 10% is allocated to unplanned expenses such as doctor bills and auto repairs. 10% is set aside for savings and debt reduction. 10% goes to retirement savings. 10% is your monthly personal spending amount.

Investments & Credit Card Accounts

Investment and credit card accounts can be added using the same procedures as setting up the first account.

Summary

Microsoft money can help an individual or business keep better track of all of their financial account with the convenience of a single application. If a problem with the application arises, Microsoft offers both telephone and online assistance which should help you fix Microsoft money.