Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU), the leading provider of financial software and Web-based services for consumers, small businesses and accounting professionals, today introduced Quicken® 2002 Deluxe for Macintosh. The new product is built natively for Apple's new OS X operating system and helps consumers make more informed financial decisions, easily update financial account information and minimize taxes.
Through Quicken's new enhanced features, which operate under an easy to navigate, yet powerful user interface, consumers can manage all key aspects of their finances. Financial accounts can be set up more quickly and updated in one step from multiple accounts. Consumers can avoid manual data entry by downloading bank, credit card and now brokerage transactions into Quicken from over 1,000 participating financial institutions. Additionally, the new Capital Gains Estimator allows consumers to see the tax-impact of their investment decisions before they take action, enabling them to forecast their year-round tax situation and help lower their tax bill.
"In today's turbulent economy, there is a growing need for Americans to stay on top of their financial situation," said Adam Samuels, product manager for Quicken for Macintosh. "Quicken 2002 Deluxe for Macintosh provides consumers with easy to set up tools, and functionality that automates tedious tasks allowing consumers to better plan their financial lives. Quicken's One-Step Update and investment downloading capabilities save consumers valuable time and provide information that helps them make better financial decisions."
Quicken 2002 Deluxe for Macintosh utilizes the power and flexibility of Apple's new operating system, Mac OS X, to deliver a financial software package that gives consumers additional stability and an improved interface. One of the most popular software applications for the Macintosh, Quicken 2002 will still be compatible with Mac OS 9.0.4 (or later) versions.
"Our research showed how excited our customers were about OS X," said Samuels. "We're thrilled to be able to take advantage of this great new OS - Quicken has never looked better!"
Quick and Easy Set Up
Quicken 2002 Deluxe for Macintosh includes a number of helpful tools called "Assistants," which aid consumers in the setup process. Quicken provides step-by-step instructions to help set up financial accounts and connect to banks and credit card companies. Once set up, Quicken 2002 Deluxe for Macintosh can identify recurring payments made from these accounts and prompt users to schedule them to help avoid missed bills and late charges. The Quicken Assistants also enable consumers to start tracking their investments immediately by simply entering their securities list, the number of shares held, and the current value as listed on their brokerage statement.
Automate Tedious Tasks
American's have an average of 13 financial institution accounts1 and spend an average of 2.2 hours per month balancing their checkbook.2
To help reduce the amount of time and steps associated with downloading transactions from various financial institutions, Quicken 2002 features One-Step Update. With this feature, consumers can download their bank, credit card, brokerage transactions, and stock quotes from multiple accounts in a single step, thus eliminating the need to connect to each financial institution individually. "Downloading your information into Quicken greatly reduces the hassle of tedious data entry," said Samuels. "And by using the PIN Vault, customers only have to input one PIN number to connect to all their different financial institutions."
After users download their transactions, the new Automatic Reconcile feature helps keep checkbooks balanced by automatically reconciling online bank balances and their Quicken register balance when they match. If there are any discrepancies, Quicken will notify the user.
Strengthening its investment capabilities, Quicken 2002 Deluxe for Macintosh allows consumers to download their most recent transactions from participating brokerages directly from the Web into Quicken via OFX technology, the leading industry standard for online banking and payment. Currently TD Waterhouse and Fidelity Investments, which house over 44% of all online investment brokerage accounts3, offer direct connectivity to Quicken. As a result, consumers will be able to track the value of their investments and see a complete performance analysis. Information needed to simplify tax preparation like cost basis, income and capital gains can be kept without having to manually enter any buys, sells, dividends or interest. Intuit will announce increased connectivity between brokerages and Quicken throughout the year as more brokerages are added.
Make Better Tax Decisions
The average consumer spends 6.7 hours manually calculating state and federal taxes4 and Americans still overpay $2 billion annually to the IRS5.
Quicken 2002 Deluxe for Macintosh can now easily forecast year-round tax situations to help lower the tax bill. By using the new Capital Gains Estimator, consumers can compare the tax implications of selling different stocks and mutual funds before they conduct a transaction. This feature takes the uncertainty out of tax time by providing a clear picture of the tax impact of investment decisions based on their current tax situation. It will even know if the proposed trade will move the user into a new tax bracket!
The product also helps consumers better prepare for tax time and more accurately track taxable items with Quicken's improved Tax Category Setup. Quicken 2002 Deluxe for Macintosh can help ease the uncertainty of tax time by ensuring that consumers have the right tax categories set up. Additionally, consumers can easily import their Quicken data into TurboTax® when they are ready to do their taxes.
"As a result of the current administration's tax initiative, tax laws are going to change annually for the next ten years," commented Samuels. "Consumers are seeking guidance on how to best prepare and avoid paying huge tax bills. Quicken's tax features are the best available for helping people make smart investing and tax decisions."
Availability and Pricing
Quicken 2002 Deluxe for Macintosh is expected to be widely available August 22, 2001. The suggested retail price is $59.95 less $20.00 mail-in rebate for previous users. Consumers can learn more about and purchase Quicken 2002 at http://www.quicken2002.com/mac or by calling 800/952-2558. Additional information about Quicken 2002 for Macintosh is available online at Intuit's pressroom located at www.intuit.com/company/press_room/vpk_quicken_mac/.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Information concerning Quicken 2002 for Windows can be found in a separate release distributed by Intuit on August 22, 2001 located at www.intuit.com/company/press_releases/2001.
