Upgrading to H&B 2008

Yes. You'll be underwhelmed. ;-)

Underwhelmed? Can you expand on your comment please.

The Quicken improvements from one year to the next are usually very small. A common strategy is to upgrade every other year.

IMHO, the upgrades in the last 5 years have been mostly about eye candy. In a way, Intuit is a victim of its own success.

In my further HO, the only notable improvement from 07 to 08 was the addition of transaction tags. But in trade for that, you get a broken tax planner, a lot of screen flicker during updates, and a host of other annoyances. (Before anyone flames me, yes I acknowledge the new screen layout, but the prior screen layout was just fine.)

As it turns out, I violated my own alternate-year rule this year in a momentary period of weakness! If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't have upgraded from 07 H&B to 08 H&B.

If I were you, I'd upgrade to 2007 H&B. I bet you can find it on eBay, and in other places. It'll be cheaper than 08 and you won't have to adjust to a new UI. And you won't be missing out on anything cool.

$.02.

If you were to trust yourself to a count of complaints in the Quicken Forums, you would probably have avoided Q2007.

I have never listened to the general opinions of others about any software, but I do listen to specific complaints about software. I listen to those complaints for two pieces of information: an accurate description of the problem ... and proof that the problem will happen to every user.

If any problem described will affect me in a way I can't accept, and if it's been demonstrated to occur to all users, I would not purchase the product.

If there is even the slightest doubt about what you can expect from from a new version of Quicken (or if you just like to be safe): I think you should wait until near the likely end of the "patch cycle" (ballpark: 4 -6 months after initial release), then buy the product, knowing that you can return it within 60 days and get your money back.

One of the reasons for upgrading to 2008 was the ability to download Paypal as a financial institution.

My timing for upgrading was bad. I used to use 2004 and by the time they discontinued support for 2004 I was left with getting 2007. No real complaints with Basic.

Waiting is an option. I am not in any real hurry to upgrade other than the rebate offer will run out shortly. I would like to upgrade from basic to H&B so that my personal and business accounts can be in one file. That's why I thought about H&B because I need to send out invoices from time to time. Should I skip 2008 and get H&B 2007 instead?

Hi Laura,

I've been a H&B users since it first came out, many years ago. I typically wait a couple of months after each release before upgrading -- to see if there are bugs that get worked out and because I can then pick up Quicken at a great price on eBay. I gather that 2008H&B is very stable (reading the posts here and talking to a user-friend who is very happy with it). I just bought a copy on eBay yesterday for $21 including shipping. I've always felt that Quicken is a bargain at almost any price -- I've run my business with it for years and only need an accountant at tax time -- so the annual upgrade is an easy expense to justify. While recent years have not offered huge improvements, I have never felt anything but pleased I upgraded.

As John Pollard points out, one must be careful about drawing conclusions from reading newsgroup posts. More often than not, NGs are where folks go to complain in addition to finding answers to problems. Not too many people come to this NG just to say how happy they are with Quicken. When you compare the number of posters in this NG to the total number of Quicken users, you find that you really have no idea how the bulk of the users feel about their experience with Quicken.

John B.

I don't remember anyone ever phrasing a question about "upgrading" that way. :)

If you're having problems with Q2007, using another "version" of Q2007 is unlikely to solve them.

Nothing I have read or seen (I have both Q2007 and Q2008) would suggest a single reason to get Q2007 instead of Q2008; if I were betting, I would bet that Q2008 would have fewer problems, for users of earlier versions, than Q2007.

I do not have any H&B version of Quicken except Q2004, so I can't address any H&B issues you may be experiencing.

Since you have the time, why not wait a while, follow the Q2008 commentary, and make your decision, say, around the end of the this year, or in the first quarter of 2008.

Actually, prior to '08, Quicken used Classes instead of Tags, but the functionality and usefulness was virtually the same.

John B .

I am not having any problems with 2007 BASIC. I just want the extra functionality that I gain from H&B.

I don't mind waiting for 2008 to become stable but I don't want to postpone upgrading to H&B. I guess I'll go find a copy of 2007 H&B on eBay.