The program opens with a home page, now called "My Finances". Here is an overview of all your finances at one quick glance. The home page lists all accounts, and can display net worth, hot stocks, budget progress and more. This page can easily be customized.
The checkbook register is where it all began with Quicken, and that register is included with Quicken Deluxe 2000. For each account set up, the checkbook register is the main screen for entering deposits and payments. Data entry is made easy by the use of drop down lists and hot keys. Every entry is assigned to a category, which is what makes Quicken so powerful. All charts, graphs and reports are generated based on these categories. It continues to ship with a complete set of categories based on the type of account, but the user can add or delete categories to suit individual needs.
Building on the strengths of earlier versions, QD 2000 makes it is very easy to view financial status in a matter of seconds, via a complete set of Reports and Graphs for financial analysis. All reports are arranged in categories, now titled: Own and Owe, Spending, Investing, Taxes and Business. The Own and Owe reports readily calculate or graph net worth or view account balances. The Spending reports shows all aspects of where your money comes from and is being spent. The Investment reports will establish an Investment portfolio and then track its performance, while the Tax reports track all tax-related data. The Business reports cover all aspects of business accounts. Of course, it has the ability to generate custom reports, which can all be saved and called up at a later date.
Quicken Deluxe 2000 has improved the user interface making it easier to find its features, through a series of "Centers"--Investing Center, Household Center, Tax Center, Planning Center and Reports and Graphs Center.
The Investing Center allows easy access to all of the Quicken Investment tracking features. Quicken Deluxe 99 introduced a feature called Personalized Alerts, which automatically alerted the user to opportunities for quick action. Follow mortgage rates, stock prices, account balances, budget goals and more. The list of alerts can be extended by downloading more from the Quicken web page. QD 2000 now also includes Insider Trading Alerts.
The Household Center allows the user to view all aspects of home finances: assets, loans, automobile expenses, to name a few. Research mortgage rates and life insurance and automobile insurance rates through the Quicken web page. This is a very powerful feature. New this year are Home and Car Comparables, which can download estimated values for any car or home from the Quicken web page and update the values monthly. Or research values of other cars on the web if thinking about purchasing a new car. Likewise, research home values in other cities when thinking of moving.
The Quicken Home Inventory can create and track a complete inventory of every item that you own. This can be critical in the event of filing an insurance or warranty claim. Information entered at purchase time can be imported into the Home Inventory.
Also included here is the Emergency Records Organizer which provides a way to organize and communicate important information to family, heirs, physician, or legal counselor when away or in the event of a medical emergency.
