Available in major retail stores beginning October 23, Quicken Deluxe 98 for Windows features seamless Internet integration that provides up-to-the-minute financial news and information from the World Wide Web to help consumers invest more productively and save time when making important financial decisions such as buying insurance, selecting a mortgage, and filing taxes.

Embedded browser technology in Quicken 98 also enables users to directly retrieve their checking, credit card and investment account data, significantly reducing the need for manual input of data and placing all of the information in one location in Quicken.

"This year's Quicken Deluxe helps customers do more than organize their finances; it helps them take their money further by saving hundreds of dollars on purchases like insurance and mortgages and by helping them manage their investments better," said Scott Cook, chairman and co-founder of Intuit.

Intuit also today announced a new product - Quicken Home & Business 98 - along with improved versions of its other popular Quicken products: Quicken Basic 98; and Quicken Suite 98, a money-saving bundle of three Intuit products - Quicken Deluxe, Quicken Financial Planner(TM) and Quicken Family Lawyer(TM).

Consumers Get More From Their Money With Quicken Deluxe 98
Quicken Deluxe 98 helps users identify smarter, more efficient ways of investing their hard-earned dollars. In addition to providing free stock and mutual fund price quotes, Quicken now delivers free news, analysis and research on specific stocks and allows users to track their portfolio against major market indexes. The news feature will be dramatically enhanced beginning in October with a Reuters company news feed. Plus, a streamlined and more customizable Portfolio View allows users to easily analyze their stock and mutual fund performance.

With 401(k) accounts being a major savings and investment vehicle for many families, Intuit found consumers wanted assurance that their retirement plans were on track. Quicken 98 includes 401(k) Tracker to help them easily follow the value and performance of their retirement accounts, and by being better informed, make better investment choices.

Quicken Deluxe 98 users can optimize their life insurance - and this Winter, auto insurance - premiums through apples-to-apples comparison shopping among leading insurers. By linking directly to Intuit's InsureMarketSM site on the World Wide Web, consumers can obtain the right coverage in a fraction of the time it takes via traditional methods. Quicken Deluxe 98 also lets consumers shop for and select loans from leading U.S. lenders using links to Intuit's new QuickenMortgageSM marketspace on the Web. QuickenMortgage provides consumers with an automated pre-qualification interview to find an appropriate mortgage or help them determine when to refinance.

Taxpayers can use Quicken Tax Planner and Tax Deduction Finder to help save money by estimating their tax liability throughout the year and finding overlooked deductions. With current and objective information at their disposal, taxpayers can easily prepare tax estimates or play "what-if" scenarios to help chip away at tax bills.

Stay On Top of Finances With a Lot Less Time and Work
Consumers can use Quicken 98 to radically reduce the hassle of data entry. With improved Internet integration, users have rapid access to current account balances from their banks, brokerages and credit card companies.

In a single mouse click, investors can retrieve current balances and stock and mutual fund transactions from their own investment accounts at leading brokerages and mutual fund companies via the Internet and never again have to manually type in stock purchases, dividends or sales into their Quicken registers. Without the hassle of entering data, users have more time to focus on important research and investment decisions. Investors may also place trades directly with their financial institutions via links to their Web sites in Quicken.

Online banking users also have less work with Quicken Deluxe 98. Instead of making separate telephone connections through the proprietary networks of each of their financial institutions, a single call now connects consumers to the Internet where they can easily move between Web sites of multiple institutions to apply for online banking services, check account balances, and see what checks have cleared or pay bills online. Online banking provides the latest account information from participating financial institutions at home or work, day or night.

Emergency Records Organizer Helps Prepare for Emergencies
Emergency Records Organizer was developed in response to customer requests. This new feature in Quicken Deluxe 98 helps users gather, categorize and maintain crucial personal information in one safe place for use in a financial emergency. The organizer can store detailed, confidential information - bank account and PIN numbers; the location of safe deposit keys and boxes; the names, addresses and phone numbers of family, professional advisors, doctors, work associates and more. Once data is entered, users can easily update the information and print copies for safekeeping. The Emergency Records Organizer is flexible, allowing users to customize information for distribution to family, friends and health and legal professionals on a "need-to-know" basis.

Customers also said they wanted to automatically track recurring payroll information such as income, taxes, retirement account contributions, medical withholdings and other payroll deductions. A step-by-step guide within Quicken 98 helps users quickly and easily enter their paycheck information once. From then on, Quicken does the accounting.

Tradition Of Customer Focus
Intuit's tradition of relentless customer focus is at the heart of Quicken 98, according to Scott Cook. "Customers told us they wanted a way to organize their vital records and we delivered Emergency Records Organizer," he said. "They said they wanted business tools in Quicken and we created Quicken Home & Business. They asked for the ability to track payroll deductions and the performance of their 401(k) and we delivered both in Quicken 98.

"We've also delivered the full value of the Web, much less hassle in terms of data input and increased organizing capability within the product. At the end of the day, users of Quicken 98 will have spent a lot less time inputting information and much more time making smart financial decisions."

Pricing and Availability
Quicken Basic 98 and Quicken Deluxe 98 are available for Windows 3.1 as a 16-bit application and Windows 95 as a 32-bit application. The anticipated street price for Quicken Basic 98 is $39.95 minus a $10.00 rebate for upgraders; for Quicken Deluxe 98, $59.95 with a $20.00 rebate for upgraders. Both products are also available in versions for Macintosh with the same prices and rebates.

New Internet capabilities in Quicken 98 require users to have Internet access. Those customers who don't already have Internet access can sign up for service with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) such as Concentric Network, Intuit's preferred ISP.