Quicken 2008 for Windows has been updated to release 7. Quicken 2008 users will be prompted to update when they open their software, or can update with Quicken One Step Update. Release 7 fixes the following bugs:

1. Online Banking: Resolved an issue where Quicken incorrectly generated a CC-899 error.
2. Tax Planner: Fixed a problem where Tax Planner refreshed to the current year when it looked at past year information.
3. Paycheck: Resolved a crash in Paycheck setup.

Quicken 2008 Versions and Prices | Quicken 2008 Review

A reader in our discussion forum discovered Microsoft Money 2004 back up files appeared to be empty on the USB thumb drive used for the data back ups.

This reader assumed that the back ups were failing because an older, unsupported version of Microsoft Money was being used, but was that really the problem? Check out the forum thread, Microsoft Money 2004 Back Up Trouble to get the answer.

• Before You Upgrade Your Financial Software
• How to Back Up Microsoft Money and Money Plus
• Money Plus Review

Still waiting on your tax refund, or wondering when you can expect that rebate to hit your mailbox so you can do your part to stimulate the economy? The IRS has a couple of links you can use to get tax refund and tax rebate information online:

Where's My Tax Refund?
Click the link above after you gather this information:

• Social Security number - if married filing jointly, use the primary Social Security number on your tax return. If you (or IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number)
• Filing status on your 2007 income tax return (Single, Married Filing Joint Return, Married Filing Separate Return, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow(er))
• Exact refund amount shown on your 2007 return

Where's My Tax Stimulus Rebate?
Click this link after you gather this information:

• Social Security number - if married filing jointly, use the primary Social Security number on your tax return. If you (or IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number)
• Filing status on your 2007 income tax return(Single, Married Filing Joint Return, Married Filing Separate Return, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow(er))
• The number of exemptions claimed on your 2007 tax return.

Your rebate information will not be available until the payment is scheduled, and you can find the schedule here.

One feature that is missing from Mint will soon be available, and that feature is investment account tracking. Mint recently partnered with Motley Fool to offer a mix of personal finance and investment advice, and a couple of days ago the Mint.edu blog posted a link to sign up to beta test a future investment account feature.

From the Mint.edu blog, the investment account feature will:

• Pull together all 401(k), IRA, brokerage, and mutual fund accounts in to one secure place.
• Compare stocks, accounts, or your entire portfolio to relevant market indices like the S&P 500 to show you whether you are beating the market.
• Will help you understand what fees you’re being charged, by whom, and when.

This all sounds quite nifty, and the third feature covering brokerage account fees is rather unique and will be very eye-opening for many folks.

Interested in participating in the Mint beta test for investment features? Sign up here.

Mint Online Personal Finance Software Review | What's a Beta Test?

Small business owners "wear many hats", so it's easy to procrastinate about sending out customer invoices. But, if you don't bill your customers, what's the point of operating your small business?

Billing Manager from Intuit may be a solution for you. Billing Manager is free online billing software that generates an invoice in five minutes and keeps historical billing records. You can add merchant services to Billing Manager to accept credit cards for a reasonable rate, and see when a customer has not made a payment on time.

Learn more about Billing Manager and you may decide to trade in your spreadsheets or other less automated invoicing or billing solutions.

OK, so financial software is not going to be a gift everyone's mom would appreciate. But, if your mom is interested in keeping a closer eye on where her money goes and she likes using a computer, then why not consider a gift of financial software? Even if the financial software is downloadable, you still can find ways to wrap the gift.

If your mom already uses Quicken, you could give her one of my favorite Quicken reference books to help her to use Quicken to the fullest or to understand parts of the software that she is not quite sure how to set up. I also have a list of Microsoft Money reference books, but for some reason I have not found any books for versions past Money 2006.

• How to Gift Wrap Downloaded Financial Software
• Best Basic Desktop Financial Software: SplashMoney Desktop for Mac and Win
• Best Do It Yourself Financial Planning Software

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A reader posted a question in the forum about Microsoft Money 2003 doubling budgeted amounts. This may have started happening after he deleted recurring payments. Have you resolved this problem with Microsoft Money? If so, please respond to this thread in the discussion forum or leave a comment.

• How to Set Up Microsoft Money Plus Savings and Spending Budget
• How to Choose Spending Categories for Budgets

SplashMoney has five versions to choose from so you can manage your money whether you are at home or on-the-go. SplashMoney started out as personal finance software for Palm OS devices, then added desktop software to synchronize with once Quicken did away with importing QIF data a few years ago. Now SplashMoney Desktop is available all by itself for your Mac or PC, or buy SplashMoney for your Pocket PC, Smartphone or Palm and SplashMoney Desktop is included.

What I like about SplashMoney is that is it easy to use. You won't find a retirement or college fund calculator, and you won't be able to download investment transactions, but a lot of people are looking for financial software without "the kitchen sink" thrown in. What you will find in any version of SplashMoney no-nonsense account tracking and budgeting with an attractive interface and decent tech support, although I doubt you will need it.

Check out my reviews of SplashMoney Desktop for Mac or PC and SplashMoney for Palm, Pocket PC and Smartphone for more details. SplashMoney has a fully functional 30 day free trial, so you can't go wrong taking it for a test drive.

• Why You Need Financial Software on Your PDA
• More PDA and Smartphone Personal Finance Software

The Mint team can add another award to their shelf: one of the top online productivity software applications for 2008. Over 1.9 million votes were cast by Webware readers and Internet users across the globe to choose the Webware 100 winners for 2008.

Mint is web based personal finance software that organizes credit card and bank accounts in one place with spiffy automated features. And, Mint gives you personalized money-saving ideas without blinding you with annoying ads.

Read more in my Mint Review.

All Webware 100 Winners

Looking for really simple accounting software for your small business? Take a look at Less Accounting, which is simple, web based accounting software for small business owners. You will not get features like an integrated CRM or calendar, but if you don't need that stuff, $20 a month buys a subscription with unlimited entries, the ability to send, track and manage online invoicing, SSL encryption and other data security measures.

Check out LessAccounting

Have you used Less Accounting? Please let me know what you think of it in the comments.

Want free desktop small business software? Consider GnuCash.