An Analysis of Quicken

1
An Analysis of Quicken

• East Coast Taxinators

2
Federal Tax Returns

• Fiscal Year 2003
• Georgia
• 6,058,197 individual returns
• 1,865,850 electronically filed

3
East Coast Taxinators

• A Critical Analysis of Quicken and comparable
  personal tax software programs
• Quicken - Christy Credille
• TaxACT Sarah Ruth
• TaxCut Nicholas Okereafor
• TurboTax Sarah Ruth

4
The Different Versions of Quicken

• Quicken 2005 Premier for Windows
• 79.95
• Quicken 2005 Premier Home Business
• 89.95
• Quicken 2005 Deluxe for Windows
• 59.95
• Quicken 2005 for Mac
• 69.95

5
What Can Quicken Do?

• Organizes Personal Finances
• Estimates Taxes
• Adjusts Withholdings
• Reviews Possible Deductions
• Estimates the Amount of Tax Refund or Payment Due
  to the IRS
• Alerts Users to Important Tax Deadlines and
  Potentially Overlooked Deductions.

6
Intended Audience

• Quicken has one version that targets small
  business finance, but its primary users are
  people doing personal home finances. Example
  Paying Bills, Balancing Checkbooks, Monitoring
  Cash Flow, and even Printing out Checks.

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Easy To Use

• Easy To Install
• Whether you buy the program in a store, or buy it
  and then download it to your computer, it is very
  easy to install.
• Learning Quicken
• There are pre-set templates and wizards to guide
  new users along.
• Help
• Quicken offers on-line customer service if the
  help topics in the program can not help you.
  There is also a phone number you can call for
  technical support, for a fee.

8
TaxAct Products and Prices

• Standard Free with 7.95 e-file charge
• Online Standard Free with 7.95 e-file charge
  (no download necessary)
• Deluxe Costs 12.95 with one free e-file option
  
• Online Deluxe Costs 7.95 with 1 free Federal
  e-file (no download necessary)
• State 1040 Costs 12.95 with a 7.95 e-file
  charge per return

9
User Friendly?

• Only three easy steps
• 1. Enter return data software asks pertinent
  questions, fills in forms and calculates return
• 2. Review return alert feature reviews for
  errors and missing information
• 3. File return print or e-file options available

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TAXCUT
A QUICK OVERVIEW

• Taxcut is a tax preparation software that was
  created by HR BLOCK to assist individuals,
  households and small business owners in preparing
  and filing their tax returns.

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IMPRESSIVE FEATURES

• Taxcut provides lots of features to consumers,
  but the most impressive aspects are listed below
• 1. Keeps consumers informed about recent tax
  code updates.
• 2. Imports financial information from other
  money management software programs.
• 3. Provides electronic filing for its consumers
• 4. Provides loans that equal the consumers tax
  refund from banks associated with HR Block.
• 5. Impressive interactive customer service.

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Taxcut is user friendly

• Taxcut comes with an interactive wizard that
  assists the user in completing already pre-set
  tax form templates.
• After the completion of all necessary tax forms,
  users can electronically file their taxes or
  print out the tax forms and send it by mail.

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AFFORDABILTY

• Taxcut standard 2005 ? 14.95
• Taxcut deluxe 2005 ? 24.95
• Taxcut premium 2005 ? 39.95
• Taxcut is compatible with both Windows and
  Macintosh operating systems and the prices for
  the software are the same.

14
Turbo Tax

• Designed for individuals without accounting
  experience
• Product Capabilities
• Maximizes deductions
• Provides all forms required by the IRS
• Updates consumers on new tax laws
• Offers helpful tips on financial organization

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Many Different Versions

• TurboTax Basic
• 29.95 with free e-file after rebate offer
• TurboTax Deluxe
• 39.95 with free e-file after rebate offer
• TurboTax Premier
• 69.95 with free e-file after rebate offer
• TurboTax State
• 29.95 with an unspecified fee amount to e-file

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Recommendations

• TaxACT
• User-friendly
• Inexpensive
• Simple filings do not require downloads
• TaxCut
• Compatible with Quicken and Microsoft Money
• HR Block