Question: Do I Have to Upgrade Personal Finance Software Every Year?
Quicken, Microsoft Money and some other financial software titles offer new versions every year. Is it worth your dollars to buy new financial software annually?
Answer: The primary reason for upgrading to the latest financial software is to get new features and bug fixes, or patches, for problems that existed in the previous version. However, before you buy the latest version, consider this:
- If your financial software version is still supported (you can get tech support and all features requiring an Internet connection still work) and you are installing updates, you should be getting the same bug fixes for your existing software version.
- The latest version of your financial software may not have eradicated all bugs in the previous version of the software.
- Ironically, with a new financial software release comes the possibility of new bugs. The newest software version from any reputable developer will have been well-tested and quite functional, but annoying glitches can surface when the software is being used by the general population after testing.
The Two Extremes: Annual or Almost Never
Many financial software users like to upgrade every year because they enjoy having the latest "whistles and bells", faster-running software or the latest version takes advantage of new technology they have, such as a new operating system.
On the other end of the software-upgrading spectrum are people who rarely upgrade, some going a decade before they upgrade their financial software. Few people fall into this group, because eventually they buy a new computer and their old software will not run on the new system. And, unless you are only using financial software to maintain account registers and to run a couple of simple reports, newer versions offer time-saving features that are worth the cost.
Another problem with waiting too long to upgrade your financial software: if several upgrade versions of your software exist between the version you currently use and the new version, you may not be able to upgrade directly to the new version. To get around this, you need to install an version from between your old version and the new one and let the software convert your data files, then you can install the latest version and let it convert the data again.
If this is the case, you need to contact tech support for your software. They should be able to provide you with one or two downloads of old versions.
The Happy Medium for Upgrades
Annual upgrades are not required, but be sure to upgrade at least every three years to take advantage of new technology that will run better on your system. Within three years enough improvements will have been made to the financial software to make it worth your money as well. One caveat to the every-three-year rule is if your software has a obsolescence policy that cuts off support and features like data downloads sooner.
The exception to the three-year rule is Microsoft Money Plus, which you need to upgrade every two years to continue using online services required to use many features in Money.
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