Managing your finances with

Money
Microsoft

made easy!

UK EDITION

Managing your finances with Microsoft Money (UK Edition)

PUBLISHED BY Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, Washington 98052-6399
The example companies, organisations, products, domain names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places, and events depicted herein are fictitious. No association with any real company, organisation, product, domain name, e-mail address, logo, person, place, or event is intended or should be inferred. 2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, MSN, the MSN logo, Windows, and the Windows logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Intuit and Quicken are registered trademarks and/or registered service marks of Intuit, Inc., or one of its subsidiaries, in the United States and in other countries.

Part A Contents

Getting started with Microsoft Money

Exploring Money ......................................................................................... Browsing the Internet Within Money ......................................................... Essential and Advanced Modes in Money ................................................... Installing Money ......................................................................................... Protect Your Money File .............................................................................. Helping You Get Started With Money ......................................................... Creating a Bank Account in Money ............................................................. Managing Your Bills With Money's Help .................................................... Generating Reports to Learn More About Your Finances ............................ Moneys Other Key Features ........................................................................ Where to Get Help in Money ...................................................................... Backing up Your Money files ....................................................................... Restoring Your Money File From a Backup ..................................................

9
10 12 13 14 15 16 18 19 20 21 23 24 25

To find out more about how Money has online (Internet based) and offline (disk based) features ... see page 11

Generate reports to learn more about your finances ..."

see page 20

CONTENTS 3

Part B Contents
How do I open a Money file from a previous version? see page 32

Learning more about Money

Being Prepared! ............................................................................................ Opening a Money File From a Previous Version .......................................... Creating and Saving a Money File ............................................................... Converting a Quicken File to Use in Money ................................................ How Quicken Elements Convert In Money ................................................. Moneys Account Register ........................................................................... Getting Comfortable With the Account Register ........................................ Setting Up a Credit Card Account in Money ............................................... Tracking Your Finances with Money Categories ......................................... Categorising Your Income and Expenses .................................................... Protecting Your Money File ......................................................................... Reconciling Your Money Accounts .............................................................. Archiving Your Money File ..........................................................................

29
30 32 33 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52

How do I track the money coming in and the money going out ?"
see page 44

Day-to-Day Tasks With Money

55

Using Money to Record Deposits ................................................................. 56 Transferring Money Between Accounts ........................................................ 57 Create Recurring Transactions ..................................................................... 58 Paying Recurring Bills .................................................................................. 59 Using the Payslip Wizard ............................................................................. 60

$
How do I set up Money to use it online with my bank? see page 67

Using Money to Explore Internet Financial Services

63

Using Money with the Internet ................................................................... 64 Configuring Money to Connect to the Internet ......................................... 66 Setting Up Your Money Accounts to Use Online ......................................... 67 Background Banking with Money ............................................................... 68 Downloading a Bank Statement to Money From Your Bank's Web Site ..... 69 Online Updates & Favourites ........................................................................ 71

4 MANAGING YOUR FINANCES WITH MONEY

%
Which mode, Essential or Advanced, is best for me in the Reports centre? see page 74

Generating Financial Reports

73

Money Reports Explained ............................................................................. 74 Finding Your Way Around the Reports Home Page ...................................... 76 Generating Reports to Learn More About Your Finances ............................. 77 Changing the Look of Your Reports ............................................................. 78 Printing and Formatting Reports ................................................................ 80 Your Monthly Report ................................................................................... 82 Adding a Report to the Favourites List ........................................................ 83

...let the Money Budget assistant help you create a budget thats right for your needs ..."
see page 86

Financial Planning With Money's Help

85

Creating a Money Budget Thats Right for You ........................................... 86 Creating a New Budget ................................................................................. 87 The Budget Summary Home Page ............................................................... 88 Maintaining Your Cash Flow ...................................................................... 89 Using the Lifetime Planner .......................................................................... 90 Reducing Your Debt Using The Debt Reduction Planner ............................ 92 Taking Control With the Credit Centre ...................................................... 94 Managing Your Taxes ................................................................................... 95 Making a Will with Moneys Help ............................................................... 96 Creating an Inventory ................................................................................. 98

&
Important Records -- Need to know where to find them? Let Money help ... see page 99

Helping you Save and Invest

101

The Investing Tools ..................................................................................... 102 Creating Investment Accounts and Adding Investments .......................... 104 Tracking Your Investments in Money ........................................................ 106 Updating Your Share Prices ........................................................................ 107 Linking Money to MSN Money .................................................................. 108 Accessing the Enhanced Portfolio Manager on MSN Money .................... 109 Your Savings Centre .................................................................................... 110 Tracking a Savings Plan ............................................................................... 112 Choosing a Savings Plan ............................................................................. 113 Estimating the Value of a Savings Plan ....................................................... 114

Index

117
CONTENTS 5

Your getting started guide to

Money
Microsoft

start getting started

1
IN THIS SECTION Exploring Money Installing Money Protect Your Money File Helping You Get Started in Money Creating a Bank Account in Money Managing Your Bills with Money's Help Generating Reports to Learn More About Your Finances Moneys Other Key Features Where to Get Help in Money Backing up Your Money Files Restoring Your Money File From a Backup

icrosoft Money is a Personal Finance Manager (PFM) that helps you track and manage all of your personal finances. Whether it's your bank accounts, mortgage, investments or transactions involving your house and car, Money can help you manage the finances for them and much more. You can use Money to plan your bills, manage your cash flow and produce reports so you can see where your money is coming from and going to. In addition, Money has a number of planner tools to help you plan a strategy to get out of debt, budget for the future and forecast your long-term financial plan. Finally, Microsoft Money can not only download the latest investment and currency information from MSN Money, the program is also closely integrated with MSN Money so you can find that financial service you're after such as a mortgage, credit card or insurance. MSN Money also provides within Money a variety of financial tools and calculators, such as calculating stamp duty or planning a wedding. Note that to take advantage of the features in MSN Money, your computer will need to connect to the Internet. Please note that the availability of some online features is governed by the Internet Based Services Policy. Full details of which can be found at: http://money.msn.com/Money/2005/GBR/IBSP.asp

Getting Started With Money

GETTING STARTED USER GUIDE 9

Exploring Money
This top navigation bar contains links to Money centres. Click a link to a centre and related links will be displayed in the navigation bar below. The links in this lower navigation bar are related to the item selected in the upper navigation bar. When you click a different option in the top bar, the links in this lower navigation bar will change to suit. Clicking a number of the links will also open a drop-down menu with options for the selected centre.

Internet address box. Use this box to enter the address for a Web page. Moneys Help menu contains many useful links to information to help you get more from Money. Click to display a dialog for customising the button bar. Click to see the options for Online updates. Click this button to display Moneys help.

Click Back to replace the current page with the location last viewed.

The Left pane in each centre contains links to features for that centre.

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1
Offline and Online Features
The features within Money centres can be divided into three categories, those that are offline (on your PC), those that are online (on MSN Money) or a combination of both. Take the navigation bar pictured below for example. This has links to centres such as Accounts, Bills, Reports and Budget where you will find further links to offline features stored within the program on your computer.
This navigation bar has links to centres in Money which can be online, offline or a combination of the two. The link to the reports centre here does not require you to be online.

There are, however, other centres like My Money, Banking, Mortgages, Insurance and Students that are fully Online centres and will require you to have an Internet connection to take advantage of the features they provide. Selecting these centres whilst offline (not connected to the Internet) will display a page that gives you a description of what you will find within that centre should you want to go online.

Finally, Money also has centres that contain both online and offline features. Centres such as Home, Investing and Planning for example.

GETTING STARTED USER GUIDE 11

Browsing the Internet Within Money

Money also lets you browse the Web. Simply go online with Money and it will display the Web page within Money or if preferred, in an external browser. See Tools/ Settings/Browser settings to select the preferred browser.

Click Back to replace the current page with the location last viewed. Click Forward to replace the current Web page with the Web page or Money location that follows in the order they were originally viewed. Enter the address (URL) of the Web site to display it within Money. Click to display the Web site listed in the box to the left. Clicking this halts the download of the current Web page. Clicking this button refreshes the current Web page. The Web page is displayed within Moneys normal work place.

By using Money as your Web browser, its easy to move between features in Money and the Internet. MSN Money on the Internet for example, has financial planning tools as well as the latest news, calculators, articles, best buys and lots more. If you're viewing a Web site (such as MSN Money) using Money and you want to look at something else in Money, like your investments, simply select the place in Money and it will replace the Web page onscreen. Then, to return to the Web, click the Back button in the upper-left of the screen to return to the page you last visited. Going to a Web page for which there is not a link in Money is also easy to do using the Internet address box. Simply enter the address (URL) of the Web site and click the Go button . You can now browse the Web site within Money.

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Essential and Advanced Modes in Money

Some of the features in Microsoft Money have two modes. These are:
Essential This mode provides a simplified set of Essential: functions for a selected feature. This is ideal for those starting out with Money or for those who do not require full functionality. Advanced: This mode provides a more advanced dvanced: level of functionality for a selected feature making it suitable for experienced users who want to get the most from Moneys powerful features.

You will see these modes in the Reports and Budget centres as well as an Account Register. With the Reports and Budget centres, if this is the first time you have used them, the default mode will be Essential. With an Account Register, the default mode for 2-way (background) online banking is Essential. For 1-way (Web) online banking or accounts that are administered offline, Money will operate in Advanced mode.

Switching Modes
To switch between the settings, do the following:
Budget : Go to the Budget Planner in the Planning Budget centre and in the left pane, choose the Change Budget Settings option. An option for choosing which mode you want to work in is also available within the Budget assistant (wizard). Repor ts: Go to the Reports home page and in the left eports: pane, choose the Change Report Settings option. Accounts: Display the account register and in the left pane, click Change Account Settings and on the page that is displayed under the heading Register Detail, is a link for switching between modes. Note: Essential relies on all information being automatically provided by your bank, so this mode is only available with banks that offer 2-way background banking.

GETTING STARTED USER GUIDE 13

Installing Money
Getting started with Money is easy when you follow the simple installation instructions.

Installation
! Insert the Microsoft Money CD into your computers CD-ROM drive. @ The Welcome to Money Setup wizard appears onscreen. # If you want to change where the files will be stored on your computer, there is an option on the bottom left of your screen. $ When you are ready to continue, read the End User License and if you agree with the conditions, click I Accept. % The files will now be installed. When the Setup wizard is finished, a new screen will appear. Click Finish and the set up wizard will close. ^ You can now start Money for the first time and begin to set up your accounts. @

# $

TIP Upgrading? If you are upgrading from a previous version which is currently installed on the same computer, during the installation a prompt will appear onscreen asking if you want to remove that version. If you click Yes, the older version of the Money software will be removed but the data file containing your financial information will remain on the computer's hard disk. If you click No, the older version will be left on the computer and the new version installed. Please note that the older version of Money will not be able to open the Money file from the later version.

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Protect Your Money File

You can help make your Money file more secure by protecting it with a Microsoft .NET Passport or a password. When you start Money for the first time, consider these options carefully and also be sure that if you add a Passport or Password, that you keep a record of them in a safe place because if you misplace your Money file password or Passport password, you could lose access to all the data in your Money file. Once Money has created or upgraded your Money file, you will be asked how you want to protect it using either a Passport or Password. Note that if you choose neither, then the information in your Money file is less secure but you can protect your file later using the Password Manager option on the File menu in Money.

The first time you log in using a Passport, you must be connected to the Internet (online). After this first step, you can sign in to Money without being online although do remember that some features within Money will not be available if you are not connected to the Internet.

Microsoft .Net Passports

If you choose to use a Passport to protect your Money file, you will also be able to take advantage of additional services, such as the synchronisation of your investment accounts to MSN Money. A Passport is also more forgiving than a Password should you forget what that Passports password is. Simply go to the .NET Passport Web site and follow the prompts which will try to help you remember it. This option is not available for Password protected files.

Choosing How You Sign in to Money

If at any time you want to change how you sign in to Money, you can by opening the File menu and selecting the Password Manager option. This displays a wizard which will help you either set up a new Passport, use an existing Passport, assist you if you forget your Passports password or create a new Password. Simply read the text on-screen, choose the option you feel best suits you and follow the prompts.

GETTING STARTED USER GUIDE 15

Helping You Get Started With Money

Upon starting Money for the first time, you will be guided through a series of steps to perform two main tasks:
i Pro your Money File: Protecting your Money File: First you will be asked how you want to protect your Money file by selecting a method of signing in to Money. The options are a Microsoft .NET Passport, Password or no method of signing in (ie, no protection for that Money file).

Setting up Accounts and Bills

Before starting Money for the first time, if you have an Internet connection please connect to the Internet so Money can automatically download information it requires during the setting up process.

ii Setting up your main accounts and bills: The Setting your Money assistant is a wizard that helps you get up and running quickly and easily by asking you about your main bank accounts and giving you the option of setting up some bills. To save time, please dont try and enter all your accounts and bills here just the main ones you use all the time. Other accounts can be added later.

Upgrading?
When you are upgrading from a previous version of Money, and your file is protected by a Passport or Password, you will be asked to enter one of these during the steps required to convert the Money file for use with the current version of Money.

When you create an account for example, Money needs to go online to download the latest list of banks that support Money. If you are online, this will happen automatically. If you are offline however, you will be asked to either 'Connect to the Internet' or 'Stay Offline'. If you go online and choose 'Connect to the Internet', the list of banks will be downloaded and displayed in Money.

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If you instead choose to 'Stay offline', you can continue without choosing a bank name. To set up your accounts and bills in Money, follow the prompts on your screen and when finished, click the Next button to proceed to the following page. For example, to begin with, you will be asked what type of account you want to create. Click a radio button for the type of account required and click Next to continue. To return to a previous step to change a selection made, click the Previous button where available.

Tips for Getting up and Running

If you are new to Money, try this strategy to get acquainted with your new personal finance manager:
1. Install Money. 2. After starting Money for the first time, enter details for one or two of your main banks and perhaps one or two credit card accounts. 3. Click Finish to display the Money Home page and display the account register for the accounts created so far. To do this, click Account List in the Left pane and then click the name of the account. 4. You can now update the account from an online or paper based bank statement. 5. Where you can see regular bills in an account register, right-click on one and then choose the Make Recurring option. 6. Now start exploring Money by going to the various centres. Click the More button for the Account List in the Left pane and from the menu, click Categories and Payees or click Reports on the upper navigation bar to display the Reports centre.

Once you have finished setting up the first account, you will come to the Congratulations screen where you can choose to perform other tasks such as create another account, create bills or set up a budget. When you're ready, click the Finish button to close the Money Assistant and display the Money Home page. Note: You will also see the Money Assistant when you create a new Money file (File menu, New, New File option).

7. Once you have explored the features in Money, try adding more accounts. 8. Finally, plan for the future by going to the Planning centre.

GETTING STARTED USER GUIDE 17

Creating a Bank Account in Money

Money lets you create many different types of accounts to help you manage your personal finances. In this tutorial, you will see how quick and easy it is to create an account.

Creating a bank account

! Start by connecting to the Internet if your computer is not already online. Money will need to go online (Internet) to download the latest list of UK banks and the services that they support. @ Open the File menu and click the New Account option on the New submenu. # For this tutorial, ensure the Banking radio button is selected (by clicking it) and then click Next. $ Money will now go online to download a list of banks. When Money has displayed the list, click the name of your bank and then click Next. % If your bank name is not listed, choose the 'My financial institution isn't listed' link and then click Next. ^ The steps from hereon will vary depending on the option selected above. Follow the prompts on-screen to complete this tutorial.

TIP Editing the bank details. Click the Account List heading (left pane) and on the page that is displayed, click the name of the account. The Account Register is displayed. Go to the left pane and click the Change Account Settings details link and on the page that appears, you can change the account numbers, account type and much more.

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Managing Your Bills With Money's Help

Do you have a bill to enter but are not sure where to enter it? One off bills can be entered in an account register and for recurring bills, there is the Bills Summary page in Money.

Entering one-off bills

! Go to the Money Home page and click the Account List heading in the left pane. In the list displayed, click the name of the account the bill is to be added to. @ Click the Withdrawal tab. If this tab is not visible, tick the Show Transaction Forms check box by clicking it. # In the Pay to box, enter the name of the person/business you are paying. $ Now continue entering details in the other boxes. For example, if it is a cheque, enter the cheque number into the Number box. % To help you can keep track of your spending using Money reports, select a category and if appropriate, subcategory for the bill. ^ If this is a recurring bill, you can mark it as such by ticking the Make recurring check box. The Create a recurring bill page will be displayed after you click the Enter button. @ $ # % ^

1
!

TIP Recurring Bills To tell Money a bill is a recurring one, right-click it and choose 'Make Recurring'. This will take you to the Create a recurring bill page with most of the details already entered for you. You can also add recurring bills by going to the Bills Summary Home page by clicking the Pay bills heading in the Left pane of an account register. Enter details of recurring bills by clicking the New button and selecting the Bill option from the pop-up menu.

GETTING STARTED USER GUIDE 19

Generating Reports to Learn More About Your Finances

Money's reports let you to check the health of your finances. You can view most information as a report or chart and then print, export or email it. You can also customise reports to view the information that most interests you. For example, you can generate a report showing the balances of all your accounts, or you can customise it to only show the balance on selected Money accounts.

Generating a report
! ! Click Reports on the upper navigation bar to display the Reports centre. @ On the Reports home page, click the type of report you want to generate. The report/ chart will be displayed. # To select the date range for the contents of the report, click the Date Range dropdown list and select from a series of predefined periods or create a custom one. Note: this option is not available for all reports. $ To change the type of chart used for the report, go to the left pane and click the Change view option and from the submenu, select the type of chart you require. % In Advanced mode for Reports, you can change the look of the report and the content included within it, by selecting the Customise option in the left pane. Note: To switch to the Advanced mode, go to the Reports Home page and click Change report settings in the left pane. Follow the prompts on-screen.

$ %

TIP Exporting Reports. To export a report so that the information can be used in Microsoft Excel, display the report and click the Export to Microsoft Excel link in the left pane. Give the file a name, click OK and the file will be opened in Microsoft Excel (if available).

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Money's Other Key Features

Money has many key features and over the next two pages are details on three functions that are worth exploring to help you learn more about how you can make Money work for you. Whether its planning a debt reduction strategy or getting the latest financial information about the pension you need for later in life, Money has the right tools to help you get more from your money.

The lower navigation bar for the Planning centre contains a drop-down menu with links to powerful features like the Lifetime Planner and Debt Reduction Planner.

Using Money to Help Manage Your Debts and Plan for a Lifetime Ahead
Planning your financial future may sound complicated but Money makes it easy thanks to its planning features. Whether its creating a budget, forecasting your cash flow, or creating a plan to reduce your debt, Money has many features to help you. To explore these features, click the Planning link on the navigation bar pictured on the right and then select the related options you require on the navigation bar below it. Click Planning Tools for example and the dropdown menu contains links to a number of tools such as the Lifetime Planner, Debt Reduction Planner, Financial Event Modeller, Credit Centre, Savings Centre and the Will Maker Worksheet.

Click Planning and then take a look at the many features for that centre to learn more about how Money can help you manage your money both now and in the future.

GETTING STARTED USER GUIDE

21

Managing Your Investments With MSN Money

Making your money work for you has never been easier thanks to Money and its integration with the online UK MSN Money. With investing tools that not only help you learn how to get more from your money but also let you track investments, managing your investments with Money has never been easier. To explore these features further, click the Investing link on the navigation bar.

Go Online for the Latest Money Updates and Information

Searching for a mortgage or credit card? Or perhaps you want to update Money with the latest financial information available from banks and other financial institutions. Money brings you the latest MSN Money tools that will help you learn more about Pensions, Mortgages, Company Cars, Tax and much more. To explore these financial tools, ensure your computer is connected to the Internet and click the required link such as Mortgages in the upper navigation bar. Now explore how these features can help you now and in the future.

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Where to Get Help in Money

The help in Money is provided in two ways, online (Internet) and program based (offline). By having the help Internet based (online), Microsoft is able to provide the most complete, up-to-date help information for this version of Money.

Online Help
The majority of help files for Money are now online. To view these, connect to the Internet if you are not already online and click the Show Help Pane button on the Money desktop or open the Help menu and click the Microsoft Money Help option. The help topics will be displayed in a separate pane to Money. Please note that there may be a small delay as the list of topics is displayed depending on the speed of your Internet connection.

Offline Help
There are a small number of offline help articles to help you get started. While offline, to display this help, click the Show Help Pane button on the Money desktop or open the Help menu and click the Microsoft Money Help option. The help topics will be displayed in a separate window to Money.

Money Support
You can find additional help by visiting the MSN Money Web site where you will find information relevant to Money users like details about the services offered by UK banks and articles to help you get the most out of Money. To learn more, go to the 'My Money' centre and then select 'Microsoft Money'. To visit the Money Support Centre where you can find technical articles and support information, open the Help menu and click the Money Online Support option. Note: You will need to be connected to the Internet to do this.

GETTING STARTED USER GUIDE 23

Backing Up Your Money Files

You now know how long it takes to enter your financial details, so why risk losing them when all you have to do is back up your data regularly? Dont wait, back up now and play safe in case your Money file is affected by viruses, fire, theft or hardware faults. You should have multiple backups on removable storage (such as CD or floppy disk), ideally held at another location.

Backing up to floppy disk

@ ! Open the File menu and click Back Up. The Backup dialogue appears. @ Ensure the Back up to floppy disk radio button is selected. # Place a blank floppy disk in your computers floppy disk drive. $ Click OK. The Back Up to Floppy disk dialogue appears. Click Back Up Now. % Money will now compress your Money file and save it to one or more floppy disks. This creates a file with the extension .mbf. ^ It is recommended that you repeat this process to a second floppy disk (or other removeable type of media) and place the second backup in a new location away from your computer. $

A RECOMMENDED BACKUP STRATEGY

Option
Daily

Description
Back up daily to your computers hard disk. This creates a file with the extension .mbf. Back up to an external media. Swap between at least two disks, CDs or tapes and keep one of them off-site. Partially verify the file by copying it to your hard disk. Copy the Money file ('.mny') to external media. To verify, copy it back from that external media to another part of your hard disk and double-click it to open it into Money.

TIP File too big for a floppy disk? If your file is too big for floppy disk, then click the Backup to hard disk option in step 2 and select a removable external storage device such as a USB card reader or hard disk. If you have a CD Writer, you can also copy .mbf back up files to a CD for safe keeping.

Weekly/Monthly

Quarterly

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Restoring Your Money File From a Backup

If you accidentally delete your Money file or your file becomes corrupt, you can use the Restore Backup function to get up and running again. Please note that you should only restore a backup made with the same version of Money.

Restore from a backup

! Open the File menu and click Restore Backup. @ Click the Restore from backup radio button. # Then click Next. $ You now have three options. Click the appropriate radio button and click Restore. % If you selected to restore from the default backup (the file you last backed up), a dialogue will appear for you to choose a location and name for your new file. Click Restore and the file will be created and opened in Money. ^ If you asked Money to search your hard drive, it will locate the appropriate files and then present a list of files you can restore from. Please note that this may take a while depending on the number and size of hard drives on your computer. If however, you select the Let me browse for a different backup file option, Money will display a dialog for you choose the file. To finish the task, choose the location and filename and click Restore. $ @ #

TIP What happens when you restore? When you use the Restore function you are copying and converting a backup file (.mbf) to a Money file (.mny).

GETTING STARTED USER GUIDE 25

Your user guide for

Money
Microsoft

B
user guide

2
IN THIS SECTION Being Prepared! Opening a Money File Creating and Saving a Money File Convert a Quicken File How Quicken Elements Convert in Money The Account Register Setting Up a Credit Card Account Tracking Your Finances With Categories Categorising Your Income and Expenses Protecting Your Money File Reconciling Your Money Accounts Archiving Your Money File
ow that you are up and running with Money, in this part of the Money User Guide you can learn even more about the powerful features that will help you manage your personal finances. In this chapter, you can learn about creating and saving a Money file, how to use the Account Register, tracking your finances using categories and much more. Money is available in two packages ... Money: Money lets you define and work towards financial priorities from your Home page. Some of the key features include tracking your bank accounts, the Reports centre where you can see where your money is coming from and where it is going and the Credit Centre. Financial Suite: The Financial Suite contains all the great features in the standard version of Money but also comes with a printed User Guide (this manual) and Digita TaxSaver 2004. TaxSaver 2004 helps you calculate and file your tax return for the 2003/2004 tax year based on details from Microsoft Money plus any other information you enter.

Learning more about Money

LEARNING MORE ABOUT MONEY 29

Being Prepared!
When you sit down to start working with Money on a day-to-day basis, it may appear to be a daunting task having to remember all the documents youre likely to need, as well as any possible problems that may lay ahead in getting everything to balance. But with Money its quite easy and only needs to be done once! Here are some tips to help get you started with Money.
Investments. For these, you will need details of buys, sells, dividends and share splits. Payslip details. If you want to track the different parts of your payslip (Gross pay, Tax paid, National Insurance deducted, and so on), you should also have your latest payslip(s) to hand. Loans. For entering details about loans, you will need Loan Agreements.

Documents
Remember... having all the information you need close at hand may seem like a lot of work, but if you spend a little time now, it will save a lot of time later! Start by putting all your bills, receipts and other papers in trays near your computer where you use Money. Some of the documents you will need are:
Cheque books, debit card and cash withdrawal slips. These are important so that you know what withdrawals (cheques and so on) have not been accounted for in the starting balances for the accounts in Money. The last two or three statements for each account that you want to set up and keep track of in Money. Deposit details. Statements, paying-in book, bank paying-in slips and other documents listing deposits. Details of your bills such as your mortgage, loans and so on. The dates when they come out of your account if on standing order or direct debit.

Opening Date and Balances

When you create an account in Money, you will need to enter an opening balance. Here are some tips:
Base the amount on either the opening balance of the account when it was first opened, or the opening balance of a previous statement. Enter all transactions (deposits, bills, transfers and so on) from that date onwards so that your Money accounts will balance with your statements. When entering details of your accounts, check back to see which bills you have paid that have not yet come out of your account. For example cheques, direct debits that have recently been set up but not started, payments on debit cards that have also not yet been debited and so on.

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2
Choosing a Date
How far back in time the date is will depend on a number of things. A popular choice for those using Money is to start with a statement from two to three months ago. Here are some other points in brief:
How much time do you have to enter the information? The more transactions an account has, the longer it will take. Try and have all your bank accounts in Money start from approximately the same date. This is especially important if you transfer funds between accounts. As a guide, try to leave it two or three working days after using a debit card/cheque so transactions not included in your starting balance are kept to a minimum.

Tracking Your Finances

After entering information from your last two or three statements, go to the Reports centre and confirm that the Payee names, Categories and Subcategories that you have used are sufficient to give you the right level of feedback about your finances. To track and budget bills efficiently, ensure you categorise related bills.

Credit Card Accounts

When creating credit card accounts, it's generally better to start with the opening balance of the statement that is related to your recently opened (in Money) bank account. For example, if the opening date of your bank account in Money is the 1st April, and from that account is a payment going to the credit card company on the 5th April for a statement received on the 24th March, then your credit card account in Money needs to be based upon that 24th March statement. You would then ensure that the opening balance of the credit account in Money balances with the opening balance for the credit card's statement and then enter all credits and debits from that point onwards.

Something else to consider when choosing your opening date for an account in Money is the statement download service offered by your bank. If the bank insists on including the transactions for the last 90 days, but you only started entering transactions 30 days ago, Money will add the excess transactions (60 days) and adjust your opening balance appropriately. So choose a date that matches the period of your downloadable bank statement.

LEARNING MORE ABOUT MONEY 31

Opening a Money File From a Previous Version

Opening a Money file from a previous version is easy when you follow these simple instructions. Do note however, that you can only have one Money file open at any one time.

Open Money files

! ! Open the File menu and click Open to display the Open File dialogue box. Note: The look of this type of dialogue box can vary depending on the version of Windows you are using. @ Click the file you want to open in the dialogue box so it is highlighted and click Open. # A screen appears with information about converting your Money file. Read the information and click Next. $ The file will now be converted.

TIP Protected Files If the file is protected with a Microsoft.NET Passport or Password, you will need to enter these prior to the file being converted.

% When you have finished answering the questions, a Congratulations screen will appear. From here you can choose to set up other accounts, enter details of some bills or click Finish to display the Money Home page.

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Creating and Saving a Money File

If you need to create a new Money file, you can by simply following the step-by-step instructions on this page.

Creating and saving a new Money file

! Open the File menu and select New File from the New submenu. The Create New Microsoft Money File dialogue is displayed. @ @ Type a name for the file in the File name box. # Click OK to close the dialogue and have Money create a new money file for you. Your current file will be saved. $ The Money Setup Assistant appears. Click Next. % Select an item from the options presented onscreen for protecting your Money file. ^ Continue to follow the prompts on-screen which will help you to set up an account. Please note that Money will need to connect to the Internet to download a list of banks and the services they offer with Money. & After setting up the first account, you will come to the Congratulations page. From here you can choose to set up other accounts, enter details of some bills or click Finish to display the Money Home page.

TIP New Files. You do not need to create a new file to create a new account. New Money files however are useful for keeping your different types of accounts separate, or for creating files for your children or a charity you help to run. You can also use a new file to experiment with various Money tools without it affecting your accounts.

TIP Linking accounts. If you need to link accounts such as those for you and your spouse, then the accounts need to be in the same file.

&

LEARNING MORE ABOUT MONEY 33

Converting a Quicken File to Use in Money

Converting your Quicken file (Quicken 98 and later) to a Money file is a simple process. Important: your Quicken files will remain unchanged by the conversion process.

Converting Quicken files to use in Money

! Open the File menu and click Convert Quicken File. The Convert Quicken File dialogue is opened. Note: The look of this type of dialogue can vary depending on the version of Windows you are using. @ Click the Quicken file you want to convert so it is highlighted. # Click Convert. Money saves your current file and then displays a screen with information about the conversion. $ Click Next to display the Converter wizard for Quicken. % Follow the instructions, taking time to read each screen carefully. Click Next to proceed to the next screen. %

TIP Prepare your Quicken file. To help save time later, there are a few things you can do like open the budget to convert and save it. This is useful because Money converts the last budget you viewed. Its also a good idea to make sure your file is in good shape by validating it in Quicken and then backing it up.

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TIP Differences in account balances? If you change an account in Quicken, and then import the file into Money before Quicken recalculates the account value, the Money and Quicken balances may differ. If you want to confirm Moneys balance, open Quicken and then the register for the account in question. Now update the account balance. The balances in Money and Quicken should match.

^ After the conversion, a Summary dialogue box is displayed. Read it and if you want to save the information, click Save Summary. & To continue with the conversion process, click Finish to close this dialogue. * You will next be asked how you want to protect your Money file. Read the information on-screen and select the appropriate options. ( When you have finished answering the questions, a Congratulations screen will appear. From here you can choose to set up other accounts, enter details of some bills or click Finish to display the Money Home page. ^ &

LEARNING MORE ABOUT MONEY 35

How Quicken Elements Convert In Money

THE QUICKEN CONVERSION IN DETAIL
Quick How converts Quicken Element How it conver ts
Categories Unlike Quicken, Money only supports one level of subcategories. If you have a transaction categorised in Quicken as Recreation:Camping:Equipment, after conversion it will be categorised in Money as Recreation:Camping-Equipment. While in Quicken you might have subcategories of the subcategory Camping called Equipment and Permits. In Money they would just be two subcategories; Camping-Equipment and Camping-Permits. With Transaction Groups, Money does not import scheduled transactions assigned to Quicken Transaction groups. However, it is easy to add those transactions to Moneys Accounts & Bills list after conversion. Simply right-click the transaction in the Account Register and click Add to Bills & Deposits. If you use multiple budgets in Quicken, Money imports the most recently used budget from your file as the active budget even if you have a budget with more recent dates. Other budgets are imported as archived budgets. Money imports the password for a Quicken file, but not the password for a transaction. Money does not import memorised charts and reports, but you can recreate them in Money and save them as Favourites. Supercategories are not imported. Other categories and subcategories are imported as described above. If a Quicken Investment Account has a Linked Current Account, it will be converted into the Cash Transactions section of the Investment Account in Money. If a Quicken Investment Account doesnt have a linked Current Account, Money will create a Cash Transactions section. If specific lots are identified for an investment transaction, Money copies the lot-handling information and assigns the criteria to custom. If a significant amount of data in Quicken is inconsistent, or if you do not specify particular lots for a transaction, Money assigns lots using the First In, First Out method. Lot information is only converted for shares, managed funds, and bonds.

Transaction Groups Budgets Passwords Memorised SuperCategories Investment Charts

Lots

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THE QUICKEN CONVERSION IN DETAIL

Quick How converts Quicken Element How it conver ts
Short sells Whenever the number of shares in a Quicken file is negative, Money automatically converts the sell transaction into the following transactions: If necessary, a sell transaction is created to record the sale of any remaining shares in that account. The lothandling criteria for this transaction is set to First In, First Out. A short sell transaction is then created for the remaining number of shares. Whenever the number of shares in a Quicken file is negative, Money automatically converts the buy transaction into the following transactions: A cover short transaction is created for any number of shares up to and including the current balance of short sell positions. Money also converts any lot-handling data in Quicken, as described above. If necessary, a buy transaction is then created for the remaining number of shares. Any short activities in Quicken that are not sell transactions will not be converted to Money. Also, in Money, you can only sell short-sell shares, bonds and managed funds. If any other investment type is shortened in your Quicken file, it will not be converted to Money. If you did not track investments in Quicken and you want to start tracking them in Money, it is a good idea to assign categories to your investment transactions. Use the Investment Categories dialogue box to set up the way Money automatically categorises specific types of investment transactions. Click Settings on the Tools menu, click the Investment Settings link on the page that is displayed and finally, click the Investments Categories button. Enter the categories and subcategories you want to use for each kind of investment transaction. Money and Quicken implement classes differently, which means you may end up with versions of the same class. After conversion, you may want to check for duplicates and delete the extras, or go to Moneys Categories and Payees page and turn off classifications. Money does not convert any information from a Quicken Debt Reduction Plan. Use the Debt Reduction Planner to set up a debt reduction plan in Money. Note: Money does not require a dedicated VAT account, so therefore Quicken's VAT Accounts are not converted. Please note that Money cannot convert Quicken business files or accounts.

Investment Categories

Class List

Debt Reduction VAT Accounts Business

LEARNING MORE ABOUT MONEY 37

Moneys Account Register

The Account Register is one of the places within Money where you will be spending time entering details of income and expenditure (called transactions). Because the Account Register has some very powerful features, try reading the following to learn how you can take care of your finances more effectively.

The VAT Box

On the Transaction Form for an Account Register, is a box called VAT. Here are some important points to know about using the VAT box.
You must first enable VAT entries. Click Settings on the Tools menu, then on the page that appears, click Categories. Tick the Enable support for Value Added Tax (VAT) check box. You must also tick the VAT enabled box on the Change Account Settings page for that account. To see this page, display the Account Register for the appropriate account and click Change Account Settings in the Left Pane. For the VAT box to be active for a specific transaction, the category selected for the transaction must be VAT enabled as well. Click Accounts and on the related navigation bar, click Account Tools. On the dropdown, click Categories & Payees. Double-click a category and enter a VAT rate. Warning: If you create a transaction and then later activate VAT for a specific category linked to that transaction, you must re-enter the amount (in the Amount box) for Money to calculate the VAT. This is because Money lets you override a VAT amount if required for situations where not all items for the amount entered have incurred VAT.

Keeping Track of Your Cash

There are a number of ways in which you can keep track of how you spend your cash. The simplest way is to enter cash withdrawals into the appropriate Account Register and simply assign categories to what you are using the cash for. An example being Cash Withdrawal for miscellaneous cash use or the Car & Petrol/Diesel categories and subcategories for when buying fuel for your car . Or, if you want to take an even more detailed approach, start by creating a Cash Account in Money. Then when you take cash from an account at your bank, open Money and transfer the amount of money from the account you withdrew the cash from (such as your Current Account in Money) to the Cash Account in Money. To record details of how the cash was spent, enter the details of each purchase into the cash account as a separate transaction (Withdrawals), ensuring you categorise each transaction so you can track where you spent your cash later.

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2
Tracking Cheques and Deposits
Money lets you keep track of how you spend your money in many ways using reports from the Reports Gallery. You may however, want to track a very specific item of expenditure and Money lets you do that, using the Find and Replace wizard (Tools menu). Click Advanced Search, then click Next. Now click the Category tab. Click Clear All and then click the category of spending (so the box is ticked) you want a report on. This might be the Cash Withdrawal category to learn how much cash you have withdrawn this month. Click Next and the wizard will tell you what you have spent in total. There is a Create Report button for you to generate a report to print or view onscreen. If you wanted to know what you have spent over a specific period, then before you create the report, click Back, then click the Dates tab and choose the period. If you want a report on cheques you have written, click the Details tab for the Find and Replace wizard. By entering a range of cheque numbers to report on (as well as ensuring the other criteria on the other tabs is correct), you can have Money tell you about cheques entered, totals, what the money was spent on, and also whether there are any cheque numbers missing which need to be tracked down. Find and Replace is a very powerful tool for creating custom reports to see details about your income and spending.

Cash Back?
If you use your debit card to buy groceries (or other items) as well as get cash back on your debit card, you need to know how your bank will handle this transaction, especially if you download online statements from your bank. If the bank records it as a single transaction like Money does, you won't have a problem reconciling or matching it to online statements downloaded from the bank. If however, they record the transaction as two transactions (groceries and cash back), then you need to enter the groceries and cash back as separate transactions in Money in order to reconcile it with your online bank account statement(s).

LEARNING MORE ABOUT MONEY 39

Getting Comfortable With the Account Register

A Money Account Register looks a little like your bank statement with a list of the transactions and balances for a selected account. The Account Register is where you enter new transactions such as deposits, transfers and withdrawals. You can also download details of transactions from your bank and have them inserted automatically in the appropriate register.

The Account Register

! Click Accounts on the upper navigation bar. @ On the page that appears, click the name of the account for which you want to display details. # The Account Register in advanced mode will be displayed. To enter your first transaction, click the Show transaction forms check box so it is ticked. Now click an appropriate tab such as Deposit and enter the details. $ To change the way transactions are displayed in the Account Register, click the Change register view box to open a drop-down list. To sort the transactions by payee, you would click Sort by Payee from the Sort by submenu. % Click a link in the left pane to perform a new task (such as Pay bills). % !

$ #

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TIP Transactions. The term transaction is used to describe an item that affects the balance of an account. Making a deposit is a transaction as is entering a withdrawal.

^ The Ending balance of your account is displayed here. & Pictured here is part of the register known as Transaction Forms. You can turn it off by clearing the tick from the Show transaction forms check box. To enter details directly into the Account Register, doubleclick a row in the grid. * In the Pay to box (Withdrawal tab), if you enter the name of a previous payee, and right-click that payees name, a menu is displayed with previous amounts paid to this payee (bill). ( The Split button lets you detail items that need to be assigned to multiple categories for a single transaction. An example would be petrol, sweets, drinks and so on bought at a petrol station using a single payment. _ To track your income and spending, assign categories to transactions. You can then generate reports to help you see where your money is coming from and where it is going.

& *

TIP Transaction Forms. To turn this off, clear the tick from the Show transactions forms check box.

LEARNING MORE ABOUT MONEY 41

Setting Up a Credit Card Account in Money

Although you may receive credit card bills in the post, they are not like other bills for services (such as phone or electricity bills). Credit cards are similar to loans. Your charges, after all, are short-term loans made to you by the credit card company and Money enables you to track your credit card transactions. As a guide, try to create an account for each card you hold.
TIP Tracking account details. If you want, you can simply track your monthly balance, or you can have more control over your account by tracking individual purchases you make, or the credit limit for your card and so on. Click Change account settings in the accounts register. Then select the appropriate options for the Account tracking section on that page.

Creating a credit card account

! Make sure you have details for your credit card account to hand. @ Click Accounts on the upper navigation bar and from the lower navigation bar, click Account Tools. On the dropdown menu, click Account Setup. # The Choose an account type page is displayed. Please note that for this step, Money will need to connect to the Internet to download a list of banks. Click Credit Card and then Next. $ On the Select a Financial Institution page, Money will download the latest list of banks. Select your bank and Click Next. % A wizard will be displayed with a series of questions. Continue to work through each step answering questions about your credit card. ^ When you get to the end of the questions for this wizard, click Finish. $ # @

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TIP Opening Balance. When you are asked by the wizard to enter how much you owe on this credit card, look at your latest credit card statement for the previous balance and enter that figure. Then when you enter into Money the credit card transactions, your Money account will balance with the credit card statement.

& To enter details of transactions, click Accounts on the upper navigation bar and then click the name of the account to display that accounts register. * If the 'Show transaction forms' check box is ticked, you will see three options (tabs) on the Transactions Forms pane: Charge tab - Use this to enter purchases made on the credit card.

2
&

TIP Making a payment. When you pay your credit card bill, record it in Money by opening the account register from which the money is being paid (such as your current account). Click the Transfer tab and select a credit card account from the Common Transfers menu or an account from the To list. Enter the amount and click Enter to place the transaction in the register. When you display the register for the appropriate credit card account, the amount you owe will have been adjusted.

Credit tab - Use this to enter a credit when you have returned an item or been overcharged. Transfer tab - Use this to enter details of a transfer from the credit card account to another account, such as when transferring your balance to another credit card. ( Money will also keep you upto-date with your credit limit and what you owe.

FREQUENT FLYER MILES

Subject What is it? Description Frequent Flyer Miles lets you track air miles and the loyalty points you can get on a number of credit cards, store cards, mobile phones, and so on. You can have one Frequent Flyer Miles account (Air Miles) linked to several credit card accounts and also add miles earned from other sources, such as your mobile phone bills. You can also have several Frequent Flyer Miles accounts, with one tracking Air Miles and another tracking points from a store loyalty card scheme. To create a Frequent Flyer Miles account, go to the Account List and click Add a frequent flyer plan (Left Pane). Follow the onscreen instructions.

LEARNING MORE ABOUT MONEY 43

Tracking Your Finances with Money Categories

A key strategy in managing personal finances is knowing where your money is coming from and going to each month. To track this in Money, you can use what are known as categories. These are listed on the Set up your categories page. To display this, open the Account Tools drop-down menu from the lower navigation bar and click Categories and Payees. Money comes with a number of pre-defined expense and income categories. If you prefer, you can create your own categories to assign to spending and income specific to your personal finances. These can then be tracked within Money.

Create a realistic budget. Its easy to create a reasonable budget when you can see exactly where your money is going. And comparing your actual figures to the budgeted ones will let you know precisely how youre doing. Plan for your financial future. By using the transactions youve already entered, plus information about your household, Money can help you to plan ahead.

Business Use
Let's say your job entails window cleaning and landscape gardening. In order to gauge which of these two jobs is bringing in the most income, first you would need to create two new categories for these jobs. Once these categories have been set up (this will only take a minute or two), when you come in from a days work, you can sit down with Money and make a deposit using the Account Register for the account the money is to be deposited into. When you create the deposit, you can split it between the two categories of work the money was derived

The Benefits of Using Categories

Assigning a category to every transaction puts useful information at your fingertips. Using categories can help you:
See where your money is going. Creating a report or chart by category can help you to see where the bulk of your earnings is coming from and what it is being spent on. This information lets you decide whether, and where, you may want to make adjustments.

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from. Because you have already created the new categories, much of this work is simply point and click. As you have assigned the income to appropriate categories, when you generate reports such as Income and Spending in the Reports gallery (Advanced mode), you can see which of the categories is generating the most income. If you divide each main category into subcategories, Money will display even more detail on your earnings.

Category Groups
When you create a new category using the New Category wizard, or when you use a category for the first time , Money will ask you What group does this category fall under? Money uses category groups to present you with information about your finances. If for example, you created an expense category called Internet Provider, you may like to assign that to the Bills category group. Or, if you prefer, perhaps choose another category group you feel is more appropriate to the way you use the Internet (such as Computer Expenses).

LEARNING MORE ABOUT MONEY 45

Categorising Your Income and Expenses

When you create a new transaction (deposit or item of expenditure) in an Account Register, one of the options you have is to assign that transaction to a category and, if required, subcategory.
TIP Adding subcategories. To add a subcategory, click the category on the Set up your categories page and click New. Click the Add a subcategory to an existing category? option and answer the questions onscreen, clicking Next to go from one screen to another.

Creating new categories in Money

! Click Accounts and open the Account Tools drop-down menu. Click Categories & Payees. @ Click New to display the New Category wizard which will ask you some questions. # Select the appropriate options, clicking Next to go from one screen to another. On the final screen, click Finish to add your category to the list. !

Assigning a transaction to a category

! On the upper navigation bar, click Accounts. @ Now click an account name (such as a bank account) to display the account register you want to create a transaction for.

TIP Transfers between accounts. The transfers of money between accounts, such as from a Current account to a Credit Card account, cannot be assigned to a category.

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TIP Multiple items and categories for a single transaction. If there are multiple items for a single transaction, you can choose to use the Split transaction function where each item can be assigned to different categories. For example, if you buy petrol along with some drinks and sweets and you want to create detailed reports that accurately show how you spent your money, use the Split function to record details for all these items.

# Click a tab such as Withdrawal or Deposit. Note: Tab names vary depending on the selected account. $ Click the Category box and the list of categories will be displayed. Many categories will have subcategories as well. You may for example have a category called Household and then another subcategory called Furnishings. When adding details of some new furniture you have purchased, you would scroll down until you saw the Household: Furnishings category. % If a predefined category does not exist for your transaction, type a name for your category and the New Category wizard will appear to help you create a customised category. ^ To complete the task of entering details of a deposit or expense, continue to enter the appropriate details into the other boxes for this transaction and click Enter to place the transaction in the account register.

$ ^ $

TIP Dont overdo the categories! Only use as many categories and subcategories as you need to generate the information you want from Money.

LEARNING MORE ABOUT MONEY 47

Protecting Your Money File

You can help make your Money file more secure by protecting it with a Microsoft .NET Passport or, if you prefer, a Money file password. Ensure if you add a Passport or Password to your Money file that you keep a record of them in a safe place because if you misplace your Money file password or Passport password, you could lose access to all the data in your Money file. A Passport is more forgiving than a password should you forget what that Passports password is. Simply go to the .NET Passport web site and follow the prompts which will try and help you remember it. This option is not available for Password protected files.

Create a password for your Money file

! This option is for those that do not have an Internet connection. Open the File menu and click Password Manager. @ The Manage Your Password wizard appears. Click the I want to use a Money Password radio button. Click Next. # Carefully enter your password into the New Password box and repeat that step in the Confirm new password box. $ Click Next to continue. % The final Congratulations screen appears. Click Done to finish. The wizard will close and your Money file is now protected. # @ !

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TIP Want to remove or change your Microsoft .NET Passport? Open the File menu and click Password Manager. The Manage Your Password wizard appears. Click the Remove button and on the next screen, confirm this action by clicking the 'I want to remove my Passport from my Money file' option. Click Next and then the Done button on the final screen to close the wizard.

Adding a passport
! If you have an Internet connection, you can protect your file using a Microsoft .NET Passport. @ Open the File menu and click Password Manager. The Manage Your Password wizard appears. # Click the I want to use a Passport option and then Next. $ On the next screen, select the appropriate option by clicking one of the two radio buttons and then click Next. % The steps from hereon will vary depending on what choice you made in step 4. For example, if you chose in step 4 the I want to use an existing Passport and clicked Next, a screen will appear where you enter your email address and password before clicking the Sign In button. ^ Continue to follow the steps until you get to the Congratulations screen where you click Done to close the wizard. # @

TIP Want to remove your password? Open the File menu and click Password Manager. The Manage Your Password wizard appears. Click the I want to change or remove my Money password' option and click Next. Now click the Remove button. Select the 'I want to remove my Money password', click Next and on the final screen, click Done to finish. The wizard is closed.

LEARNING MORE ABOUT MONEY 49

Reconciling Your Money Accounts

Ever wondered whether the information in Money matches that on your statements? You should, because reconciling the numbers in Money with those on your bank statements is vital to your financial well-being.
TIP What is reconciling? Reconciling an account is when you make sure that the transactions on your bank statements balance with the appropriate transactions in Money. TIP Sorting transactions in the register. To change the way transactions in the register are sorted, click the Change register view dropdown list and click the Sort by option. From the submenu, click the required item for sorting the transactions in the register.

Balancing the books

! Make sure you have the appropriate account statement to hand. @ Click Accounts on the upper navigation bar and then on the page that appears, click the name of the account for which you want to reconcile. # In the Left Pane, click Balance this account. The Balance Wizard is displayed. Click Next. $ In the Statement date box, enter the date for your end balance shown on your statement. % In the Starting balance and Ending balance boxes, type the appropriate amounts shown on your account statement. ^ Enter any service charges or interest earned/charged during this balance period into the appropriate boxes. Click Next. @

$ %

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TIP The steps to a balanced account. The questions the wizard displays for helping you balance your account can vary depending on whether the amounts you enter match those in Money.

& Compare the transactions on your statement with those in Money's account register. * For each transaction in the account register that matches one on your statement, click the box in the C column to mark it as cleared with a tick. If a transaction was entered incorrectly in the account register, doubleclick the field that is incorrect and type in the correction. If any transactions shown on your statement aren't in the Money account register, and are valid, click New, enter the transaction details and then click the box in the C column to mark it as cleared. ( In the Left Pane, click Next, and then follow the instructions on the screen. _ When your account is balanced, Money may display this screen.

2
& *

TIP From cleared to reconciled transactions. When you successfully finish balancing your account, an an R (for reconciled) will replace the ticks for all the transactions that you have cleared in the C column.

LEARNING MORE ABOUT MONEY 51

Archiving Your Money File

In the File menu is an option called Archive. Choosing this does two things. Firstly, it makes a complete copy of the Money file you have open and saves it to disk. Secondly, after saving a complete copy of your Money file, it then deletes transactions in selected accounts up to a specified date.

How to archive your Money file

! Open the File menu and click Archive. @ The Archive dialogue box appears. Start by reading the information in this dialogue box. # Then enter a date by typing it or if you prefer, by selecting one from the dropdown calendar. Any transactions dated before the date you select will be removed from selected accounts in the Money file you have open, but not from the archive you created on disk. $ Click OK and a dialogue box appears. Type a name for the archive file in the File name box. Click OK to save the file and close the dialogue box. Note: The look of this dialogue box can vary depending on the version of Windows you are using. $ ! @

TIP Why you need to use the Archive feature? As you use Money year after year, the accounts will fill up. When you want to remove transactions up to a certain date, simply use the Archive feature to do this. One of the benefits is that it speeds up the generating of reports.

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% Next to appear is a dialogue box listing a number of accounts that can be archived. Simply tick the accounts you want archived by clicking the tick boxes next to the account name. ^ Then click OK. When you do this, two things happen. First, Money saves all the information in the open Money file to a Money file on disk. This is your archived file. Secondly, transactions in the selected accounts (see step 5) will be removed from the open Money file up to the date you specified in step 3.

2
%

LEARNING MORE ABOUT MONEY 53

3
IN THIS SECTION Using Money to Record Deposits Transferring Money between Accounts Create Recurring Transactions Paying Recurring Bills Using the Payslip Wizard
his section walks you through some of the most common tasks you need to do in Money on a day-to-day basis. Tasks such as entering deposits into a specific account in Money so you can keep track of money coming into your accounts. Or how to itemise items that go to make up a deposit using the Split function in an Account Register. This section also demonstrates how to set up recurring transactions like transfers that happen each month or bills due at regular times whether it be once a month, once a quarter or once a year. Speaking of bills, you will also find details in this section on paying recurring bills as well as using the Payslip wizard to record details of your wages.

Day-to-Day Tasks With Money

DAY-TO-DAY TASKS WITH MONEY 55

Using Money to Record Deposits

After you deposit money into a bank or investment account, use Money to keep track of it by entering the details into the appropriate Account Register.

Recording details of a deposit

! Click Account List in the Home pages left pane. @ On the Account List page that appears, click the name of the account to which you want to add a deposit. # Click the Deposit tab on the Transaction Forms pane. If this is hidden from view, tick the Show transaction forms check box. $ In the From box, enter details of who the deposit is from. Previous entries will be listed on a drop-down menu. % Enter the date or choose it from the drop-down calendar. ^ Select a category so you can keep track of the type of deposits made into your accounts. If the deposit is linked to your salary, use the Payslip wizard which is under the Special heading. & Use the Memo box to record useful information about the deposit. * When finished, click Enter.

TIP Split Deposits. If you have several items to deposit that will clear at different times, use one deposit slip for each type of deposit to make reconciling (balancing) the account easier when you get your bank statement.

# $ & % ^ *

TIP Split button. If there are multiple items on the paying-in slip that are recorded by your bank as a single transaction, and you want to keep track of all the items (postal orders and so on), then use the Split function.

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Transferring Money Between Accounts

Transferring money between accounts in Money, like transfers to pay a credit card, is easy when you follow these simple step-by-step instructions.

Transferring money
! Click Accounts on the upper navigation bar to display the Account List page. @ Click the account you want to make the transfer from. This will display the Account Register for that account. # Click the Transfer tab. $ Choose the account the money is being transferred from using the From box. % Choose the account the money is being transferred to using the To box. ^ In the Pay To box below, enter the name of the person the account belongs to, generally your own name. & Continue to fill in the required details like the amount you want to transfer. If the transfer is a recurring one, tick the Make Recurring check box. * Click Enter to place details of the transfer into the appropriate accounts. Note: If you ticked the Make Recurring check box, the Create a recurring transfer page will be displayed. ^ # $ % * * !

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TIP What next? After you have entered details of the transfer, wait until the transfer has been applied by your bank. Then select the transaction in the Register, click the Options menu and click then Mark As. Finally, from the submenu that appears, click Cleared. TIP Make Recurring check box. If you have recurring transfers, click the Make recurring check box so it is ticked and after you click the Enter button, the Create a recurring transfer page will be displayed.

DAY-TO-DAY TASKS WITH MONEY 57

Create Recurring Transactions

Having to remember when a recurring bill or deposit is due is a thing of the past with Money. Now you can enter details of recurring deposits, transfers, bills and other regular transactions and then ask Money to remind you when they are due.
TIP Forthcoming Transactions. The Money Home page has a box which lists forthcoming bills and deposits. If the Bills & Deposits box is not present on your Money Home page, click the Customise content or layout link on the home page and add the Bills & Deposits box now. TIP Tracking recurring transactions. If you want to track and report on recurring deposits and bills, ensure you assign them to the appropriate categories.

A new recurring bill

! Click Bill Summary in the left pane of the Home page. The Bill Summary page is displayed. @ Click the New button and select Bill from the menu. If this was a deposit or transfer, you would select the appropriate option. # Now work through the options on the Create a recurring bill page. $ When finished, click OK. $ @

Enter details for an existing recurring bill

! Go to the account register which is used to pay this bill. @ In the register, find details of the bill among the transactions listed. # Right-click the bill and from the menu, click 'Make recurring'. $ Check the details which have been entered automatically for you, make any changes required and when finished, click OK.

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Paying Recurring Bills

After you have set up a recurring bill, Money will then tell you when that bill is due. When it does, you can then tell Money the bill has been paid.

Paying bills
! Click Bills on the upper navigation bar in Money. @ The Bills Summary page is displayed containing a list of bills and deposits. # Click the bill that you want to enter into an Account Register as having been paid. The bill will become highlighted. $ To pay the bill, click the Enter into Register button under the list of bills and deposits list.

TIP Forthcoming Bills. The Money Home page has a box which lists forthcoming bills and deposits.

% If paying by cheque, enter a cheque number into the appropriate box. When all the details are entered, click Record Payment. The transaction will now appear in your Account Register for the appropriate account.

If the Bills & Deposits box is not present on your Money Home page, click the Customise content or layout link on the home page and add the Bills & Deposits box now.

DAY-TO-DAY TASKS WITH MONEY 59

Using the Payslip Wizard

If you want to track your Payslip deductions (Income Tax, National Insurance and so on), you can by using the Payslip wizard in the Account Register.

Entering your payslip details in Money

! Ensure you have your payslip. @ Click Account List in the left pane of the Home page and on the Account List page, click the name of the account into which your salary is paid. # Click the Deposit tab. From the Category drop-down list, click Payslip to display the New Payslip wizard. $ The wizard will now present a series of questions. Click the appropriate radio button and click Next to continue. % The last window the wizard displays is one where you can enter details of your salary from your payslip. Click each tab and enter the appropriate amounts. When finished, click Done. ^ The wizard will now close and you will be returned to the transaction form in the Account Register where you can enter any other required details. Click the Enter button on the Transaction Forms pane when finished. Details of your payslip will be placed into the register.

^ #

TIP Deductions after Tax tab. These are deductions after tax where the amount is deducted from your net salary (after tax). Examples would be Company Social Club Membership or Child Care.

TIP Deductions before Tax tab. These are deductions before tax is calculated on your remaining salary. An example of this would be a deduction for your Occupational Pension Scheme.

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TIP Fluctuating payslips? If your salary varies and you have set it up as a recurring deposit (by selecting the Make Recurring check box on transaction forms), you can ensure the correct figure is entered into your register using options on the Bills Summary page. Start by simply using an estimated figure when creating the scheduled deposit. Then, when you have been paid, correct the estimated amount by clicking Enter into register button (Bills Summary page) and then adjust the figure in the Amount box on the Record this deposit in your Account Register dialogue box.

Scheduling your salary to be entered into Money automatically

! Ensure you have your payslip. @ Click Account List in the left pane on the Home page. Click the name of the account into which your salary is paid. # Click the Deposit tab. From the Category drop-down list, click Payslip to display the New Payslip wizard. $ Answer the questions for the Payslip wizard. After the wizard has finished, click the Make recurring check box on the transaction form in the Account Register so it is ticked. % Click Enter and a page, Create a recurring deposit, will be displayed where you can enter further information. ^ On this page, click the Automatically enter transaction ...: box so it is ticked. & Click OK to finish. ^ % # $

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DAY-TO-DAY TASKS WITH MONEY 61

4
IN THIS SECTION Using Money with the Internet Configuring Money to Connect to the Internet Setting Up your Money Accounts to Use Online Background Banking with Money Downloading a Bank Statement to Money From Your Banks Web Site Online Updates & Favourites

oney lets everyone connected to the Internet make the most of the services on offer. Whether its downloading a bank statement to make entering information into Money quick and simple, or getting the latest financial news, Money will revolutionise the way you bank online. All you need is an Internet connection!

How the Internet Can Help You

Put simply, there are several ways Money can help you online. Like working with your bank. These services vary from bank to bank and the services available to you in Money will depend on those provided by your bank. Another way to use Money on the Internet is to browse the Web for financial information. MSN Money on the Internet for example, has financial planning tools as well as the latest money news, calculators, reference articles and lots more. MSN Money also has timely articles from leading financial journalists to help keep you informed. Please note that the availability of some online features is governed by the Internet Based Services Policy. Full details of which can be found at: http://money.msn.com/Money/2005/GBR/IBSP.asp

Using Money to Explore Internet Financial Services

USING MONEY TO EXPLORE INTERNET FINANCIAL SERVICES 63

Using Money with the Internet

The Internet is an international network of computers that contains a nearly infinite amount of information. You can work, learn, shop, communicate with others, or just have fun, all from the comfort of your home. On the Internet, you can:
Get up-to-date information fast: No waiting for normal business hours to find what you need. View Web pages all over the world: Using Money's built-in Web browser, you can view documents and Web pages on computers all over the world by typing the Web address (sometimes called a URL) that identifies the location of the computer. For example, http://www.microsoft.com/uk/ is the address for the Microsoft Web site. There are Internet links in many places in Money including your Money Home page. Conduct common financial transactions: Download online statements from your bank or broker to your computer, pay bills online with banks that support it, download the latest market quotes, and much more. Read investment news and financial tips: You can use MSN Money to get late-breaking investment news, share symbols and financial tips. There are also news, articles and tools relating to mortgages, pensions, tax and borrowing. Money will also use MSN Money to get the latest UK and international share prices.

Getting Connected!
To connect to the Internet, you will need to have a dialup modem or broadband connected to the computer Money is installed on. You will also need to sign up to an ISP. An ISP is an Internet Service Provider that provides the gateway to the Internet for you. This gateway will typically be a phone number you dial using your modem so you can access the Internet or a broadband connection. If your computer is already configured to connect to the Internet via your ISP, Money will use that configuration from the settings for your browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer. If you do not have an Internet connection, then you will need to configure either Money or Windows to connect to the Internet.

The Advantages of Downloading Account Statements

One of the most common ways that you can combine using Money and the Internet is to download account statements from your bank. There are a number of reasons for doing this:
It saves time. Once you process your downloaded statement, Money can automatically update your appropriate account register(s) with that information, saving you from entering every transaction by hand.

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It's accurate. Downloading statements helps you keep your Money file consistent with your bank's records. It's timely. It lets you know which transactions have cleared the bank as soon as they clear. And you can enter unknown transactions (such as interest accrued, finance charges, and bank fees) without having to wait for a paper statement. It double-checks your entries. For transactions you've entered manually, Money automatically matches them with the downloaded transactions and lets you correct any discrepancies. Get an account balance at any time, day or night.

Exploring MSN Money and the Web from within Money

Another area to explore on the Internet using Money is MSN Money where you will find financial planning tools as well as up-to-date news and reference articles. You can even search for a particular financial product, such as a mortgage, that suits your financial needs. Using Money as your Web browser makes it easy to move between Money and the Web. If you're viewing a Web site (such as MSN Money) using Money and you want to look at something else in Money, like your investments, simply select the place in Money and it will be displayed instead of the Web page. Note: Your Internet connection will not be closed. Going to a Web page for which there is not a link in Money is also simple using the Internet address box in Money. Simply enter the address (URL) of the Web site and you can then browse the Web within Money or, if you prefer, using an external browser. Moneys internal browser lets you perform tasks such as filling in forms, downloading information, viewing pictures and video and printing Web pages.

Before you can do all this though, you will need to contact your bank about their online banking services. Once registered, you will receive security details such as a User ID and Password. What you get varies from bank to bank. With some banks, Money connects directly to the bank, sends an ID and Password for you and then issues instructions on your behalf for the tasks you want to perform such as downloading a statement, paying a bill and so on. With other banks you need to go to their Web site to download statements. When provided by the bank, Money contains details of the Web services available.

USING MONEY TO EXPLORE INTERNET FINANCIAL SERVICES 65

Configuring Money to Connect to the Internet

Money uses Microsoft Internet Explorer settings to connect to the Internet, so the manner in which Money connects to the Internet will depend on the way Internet Explorer is configured. You may, for example, need to tell Internet Explorer to connect to the Internet or it may do that automatically depending on how your Windows dial up connection (Start menu/ Settings/Network and DialUp Connections) is configured.

Connect to the Internet

! If your computer is not configured to connect to the Internet, you have two options. You will need to either: Connect to the Internet using the ISP details provided with Windows, such as MSN. If this is the case, go to step 2. Contact an ISP and obtain from them the necessary software (usually provided on CD) required to connect to the Internet. @ In Money, click Settings on the Tools menu. On the page that is displayed, click the Browser settings link. # Click the Connection Settings button. $ Now click the Setup button on the dialog that appears. % The Internet Connection wizard appears onscreen. Read the text on each of the screens and click Next to continue. Depending on your version of Windows and how it was set up, details of some ISPs in your area may be provided. %

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Setting Up your Money Accounts to Use Online

If you have an existing account in Money that you want to use online and Money knows about your bank and the services it provides, Money will guide you through the steps needed for you to enable the account to use online.
TIP Advanced and Essential Modes for Two Way Banking. If the account you are enabling for background online services has no transactions it in and you then enable it for online services, Money will switch it from Advanced to Essential mode. If you prefer the Advanced mode, you can revert to it by clicking the Change account settings link in the left pane of the Account Register and then selecting the appropriate option in the Register Detail section of the page. Note: A VAT enabled account must be in Advanced mode.

Setting up accounts to use for background (2-way) banking

! Start by connecting to the Internet if you are not already online. Be sure to have ready any pin numbers and passwords you will need. @ On the Money Home page, click Manage online services in the left pane (Account List group). The Manage Online Services page is displayed. # Locate the name of the account on the page you want to enable for online services in the 'Financial Institutions that are not set up for background online services' section. $ Click the link for the bank in the To Do column. Money will now ask you to confirm the name of the bank. % Now follow the onscreen instructions. These will vary depending on the services offered by your bank. Continue to follow the on-screen prompts until the setup is complete.

4
!

@ # $

WHICH ACCOUNTS ARE SETUP?

Subject
Account Setup

Description Description
To see which accounts in Money are set up for online services, click Manage Online Services in the left pane on the Money Home page. The Online Services Manager will tell you about financial institutions that are not set up for background online services but can be. It will also show you financial institutions that are set up for online services and financial institutions that have no online services.

USING MONEY TO EXPLORE INTERNET FINANCIAL SERVICES 67

Background Banking with Money

A background banking account in Money is one where Money connects directly to the bank via the Internet, sends an ID and Password for you and then issues instructions on your behalf for the tasks you want to perform such as downloading a statement, paying a bill and so on.

Setting up a new background banking account

! Click Accounts and then click Add a new account in the left pane. Select the Banking option and click Next @ A list of banks will be displayed. Select yours from the list and click Next to continue. # Money will now download details from your bank. If your bank supports background banking, you will be presented with several options. Select the appropriate one that enables you to sign in and use Money with your bank. Click Next. $ Enter the required details for signing in, click Next and then select the appropriate options on the Choose Account Update Settings screen. Click Next. % Money will now connect to your bank, download details for your accounts and either add the accounts to the account list or ask you to match the accounts to existing ones in Money. A new background account added to Money will displayed in Essential mode.

TIP Automatic updates from your bank. Money will automatically download transactions from your bank provided your account in Money is protected with Microsoft .NET Passport. Money will also give you the option of storing your password(s) for this online bank. Note: If your file is not protected with a Passport, Money will not allow you to store your passwords and therefore will not automatically download updates for that account.

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Downloading a Bank Statement to Money From Your Banks Web Site

If your bank provides statements that can be downloaded to your computer, Money will either capture the statement automatically or allow you to import it after it is saved to disk. You can then create a new account for this statement, or if an account already exists, reconcile the transactions with that account in Money.
TIP Important! The first time you download a statement containing transactions for accounts not already assigned to equivalent accounts in Money, you will be asked to assign one or more of these bank accounts to account(s) in Money. Please ensure you match the account on the bank statement with the correct account in Money.

Downloading online bank statements

! Click Accounts and then click the name of the account you want an online statement for. @ Click Connect to bank in the Left pane and then click the Go to (bank name) Web site in the submenu. # The banks website will be displayed in Money. Enter the required sign in details if required. $ Display your statement and choose the appropriate option for exporting it. Money supports many statement formats. This includes files that the banks Web site may call Money statements. Supported formats are OFX and QIF with OFX being the preferred option and QIF the least preferred. % The first time you import a statement with an account not already matched to an account in Money, you will be asked to link the bank account with an account in Money. Ensure you choose the correct one as Money will download transactions to this account from then on. Click Next and then OK on the Import summary dialog. %

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USING MONEY TO EXPLORE INTERNET FINANCIAL SERVICES 69

TIP Be Prepared. When you connect to your banks Web site, you will need sign-in details such as a password, or PIN number, to access your statements. To save time, ensure you have them ready before starting this tutorial.

^ Money displays the You have statement(s) to read page. Click the statement you want to process. & The items on your statement will now appear in the appropriate account register. * The transactions can be changed by first clicking the entry in the register. Two buttons will appear, Accept and Change. To edit the transaction, such as assign it to a category, click it twice and make your changes. Or if preferred, you can click Accept. ( The items from the online statement left to review in the account, will be noted in the left pane.

& ( *

TIP Download often to save time. To save time editing transactions in your online statement, download statements often so you dont have lots of transactions to process all at once.

TIP Cheques. Cleared cheques may just be represented by a number on the online statement, so its useful to have your cheque stubs handy. Then you can enter details about each cheque, helping you to track what the outgoing amounts were used for.

WORKING WITH ONLINE STATEMENTS

Subject
Cleared Column

Description Description
In the Cleared Column, C in the Account Register, you will see an E for items added or matched to transactions on an Online Statement. These will change to an R (for Reconciled) when you balance your account. If you have saved your online bank statement to disk, you can process it by choosing Import from the File menu in Money.

Import Statement

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Online Updates & Favourites

With banks Web sites changing rapidly, Money makes it simple to keep track of their addresses. Many other tasks in Money such as updating financial information can be automated so that you have the latest share prices and so on. Money also lets you add links to your favourite Web sites so getting to where you want to go online is quick and simple.

Manually updating a banks Web site URL

! Click Account List on the Money Home pages left pane. @ From the Account List page that is displayed, click the account you want to update to display that account's register. # In the left pane, click Change account settings. $ In the General Information section is a link Update contact information for this bank. Click this now. % In the left pane, click Update advanced Web settings and in the dialog box that appears, change the appropriate details. ^ When you have finished, click OK ^ %

TIP Adding Links to Your Favourite Web Sites Within Money, you can add links to your favourite Web sites by displaying the Web site in Money and then clicking the 'Add to favourites' option on the Favourites menu.

INTERNET UPDATES
Subject
Share prices & Money Updates

Description Description
Choose Update Now and you can choose to download share prices and Money updates. If Money is able to connect direct to your bank (two-way banking) and your file is protected using a Microsoft .NET Passport, choose Customise Updates and you can choose how often Money retrieves your updates.

Customise Updates

USING MONEY TO EXPLORE INTERNET FINANCIAL SERVICES 71

5
IN THIS SECTION Money Reports Explained Finding Your Way Around the Reports Home Page Generating Reports to Learn More About Your Finances Changing the Look of Your Reports Printing and Formatting Reports Your Monthly Report Adding a Report to the Favourites List

icrosoft Money lets you do much more than just enter transactions. When you need to know where your money is coming from, and where its going to, the Money Reports centre has lots of different types of reports for you to choose from. The reports are listed in boxes on the Reports home page. To help you further, the reports you use the most can be added to a favourites category. The Reports centre in Microsoft Money has two modes. These are: Essential: This mode provides a simplified set of functions with only essential reports listed on the Reports Home page. Advanced: This mode provides a more advanced dvanced: level of functionality which includes access to a more comprehensive list of reports.

Generating Financial Reports

Charts and Graphs

Many of the reports in Money can be presented in a number of ways, from a text-based report to a bar, pie or line chart. You can also customise many reports, from choosing the period the report is based on, to the level of information displayed. So when you need to know how youre doing financially, go to the Money Reports centre and take a look at your options.

GENERATING FINANCIAL REPORTS 73

Money Reports Explained

One of the most important principles to remember about reports is that in order for Money to generate them, you need to categorise transactions (deposits, withdrawals, etc) as you enter them. Money can then track those transactions and produce many different types of reports. So before you head for the Reports home page, if youre new to Money, make sure you assign transactions to an appropriate category. What you are doing when you assign a transaction to a category is telling Money how youre earning your money and what youre spending it on, enabling Money to look at all the different transactions and present a report on how you earn and spend your money.

Click to change from Essential mode to Advanced mode. Click a report name to have Money generate that report and display it on-screen. Please note that reports in essential mode cannot be customised other than setting the period (dates) the report is for.

The Reports home page (Essential Mode) will also display mini versions of the Spending by Category, and Spending by Payee reports.

The Money Reports

When you visit the Reports home page, the types of reports listed will depend on whether you are in Essential or Advanced mode. To change between these two modes, click the Change report settings option in the left pane of the Reports Home page.
Essential In the essential mode, you will see a list of Essential: links to the most commonly used reports. These include reports on your Spending by Category, Spending by Payee, Credit Card debt and a link to the index for the available Monthly reports. You will also find on the Reports Home page (in Essential mode) mini versions of the Spending by Category, and Spending by Payee reports. To display any of these reports, just click their name on the Reports Home page.

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 A dvanced In advanced mode, you will see a dvanced anced: comprehensive list of links to various types of reports. These types include Income and Expenses, Assets and Liabilities, Tax Reports, Investment Reports, Comparison Reports, available Monthly reports and your Favourite Reports. All the reports are listed in separate boxes for each type and the reports generated can be customised where necessary. This includes being able to change the name of the report, the type of chart and style of fonts (typefaces) used, which accounts are included and much more. To display any of these reports, just click their name on the Reports Home page.

Monthly Reports
Click the name of an available Monthly report and you will see on-screen a summary of your financial situation prepared at the end of every month. A link to the latest completed Monthly report is on your Money Home page in the left pane. The Monthly report lets you compare your spending for the last two months, see your Net worth, investments, potential problems that may be looming and much more.

My Favourites
If there is a report that you use regularly, save it as a favourite and you can access it quickly from your Favourite Reports drop-down menu on the Reports navigation bar and you will also find it listed in the Favourite Reports submenu on the Favourites menu.

You Choose!
If you find the report you are using does not display the information in the way you want, try choosing another report or go to advanced mode and customise an existing report to create a new one specifically for your needs. As you can see, Money is bound to have a report that suits your needs!

The mode you are in is displayed here.

GENERATING FINANCIAL REPORTS 75

Finding Your Way Around the Reports Home Page

Click to open a drop-down menu listing your favourite reports.

Click Reports to display the Reports Home page. Reports are listed in these boxes on the Home page. The type of reports you see will depend on what mode you are in, Essential or Advanced. This tells you which mode you are in, Essential or Advanced. This is the reports navigation bar which is displayed when you click Reports on the navigation bar above. The Left pane. Related links can be found here. Use this link to change the mode you are in. There are two modes to choose from, Essential or Advanced.

Click a report name once and the selected report will be generated and replace the Reports home page on-screen.

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Generating Reports to Learn More About Your Finances

Money's reports let you check the health of your finances. You can view most information as a report or chart and then print, export or email it. You can also customise reports to view the information that most interests you. For example, you can generate a report showing the balances of all your accounts, or you can customise it only to show the balance on selected Money accounts.

Generating a report
! ! Click Reports on the upper navigation bar to display the Reports centre. @ On the Reports home page, click the type of report you want to generate. The report/ chart will be displayed. # To select the date range for the contents of the report, click the Date Range dropdown list and select from a series of predefined periods or create a custom one. Note: this option is not available for all reports. $ To change the type of chart for the report displayed on-screen, go to the left pane and click the Change view option and from the submenu, select the type of chart you require. % In Advanced mode for Reports, you can change the look of the report and the content in it, by selecting the Customise option in the left pane. Note: To switch to the Advanced mode, go to the Reports Home page and click Change report settings in the left pane. Follow the prompts on-screen.

5
@

$ %

TIP Exporting Reports. To export a report so that the information can be used in Microsoft Excel, display the report and click the Export to Microsoft Excel link in the left pane. Give the file a name, click OK and the file will be opened in Microsoft Excel (if available).

GENERATING FINANCIAL REPORTS 77

Changing the Look of Your Reports

After generating a report in Advanced mode, you will find in the left pane a link called Customise that allows you to change the level of detail included in your reports as well as the look of them. Do note however, that you cannot customise or change the look of the Monthly reports and that the available options for changing reports varies depending on the selected type of report.

Selecting the amount of detail in your reports

! Ensure you are in Advanced mode and click the name of the report on the Reports Home page. @ Click the Customise link in the left pane. # Click the Account tab and tick the accounts you want included in the report. $ Click the Category tab and tick the categories you want to include in the report. % Continue to click the other tabs such as Details and take the time required to become familiar with the options you have for customising reports. ^ If you are not happy with your selections and want to start from scratch, then click Reset. Note this button will be greyed if no changes have been made. & When you have finished selecting your options, click OK. & $

@ #

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Changing the look of the report

TIP Chart Options. The options available to customise the charts for reports will depend on the type of report selected.

5
! # @

! Ensure you are in Advanced mode and click the name of the report on the Reports Home page. Click the Customise link in the left pane. @ If you would like your report to have a specific title, type one here. # Click the Rows & Columns tab and choose how you want the information displayed as a report (not a chart). $ Click the Chart tab and select from the available options for that report. Note: Many options may be inactive (grey). % When finished, click OK. Money now saves your customised format for this report automatically. When you view the report or chart in the future, it will contain your up-to-date information.

TIP What if some options are unavailable? Not all chart options are available with all chart types. If an option is light grey, it means that the display setting doesn't apply to the current chart type.

TIP Applying changes while you work. Choose an option and click Apply. The change will be applied to the report so that you can see if that is what you want. When youre happy with the look of the report, click OK.

GENERATING FINANCIAL REPORTS 79

Printing and Formatting Reports

Before printing your report, you may want to look at the options for choosing the fonts used as well as selecting the column width. You will also need to check that you are printing on the right size paper for your printer. If you are printing the charts in colour, check that the settings for your printer are correct.
TIP Can I print my chart in colour? If you have a colour printer, Money prints your reports and charts in colour automatically. If you don't have a colour printer or you've set the option for your printer to print charts in black and white only, Money prints your reports and charts in shades of grey.

Formatting a report (changing column width and font)

! Money lets you choose a suitable font (typeface) for your report. Start by selecting the report and clicking Customise (Advanced mode). @ Click the Fonts tabs on the Customise Report dialogue box. # Click the font in the Font: list. A sample of the font style is displayed to the right of the Size box. $ Select a size for the text from those available in the Size list box or type in a size. % Select the attributes for the column width. You can choose from fixed width columns or have Money automatically choose the width depending on the font, size of text and width of text. ^ Click OK. ! # $ ^ @ %

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TIP Orientation of your paper. When you choose the options for Print Setup, you might like first to experiment with the orientation of the paper (Portrait or Landscape). The one you choose may depend on the layout of the report, the fonts you use or the way you want to present the reports in a binder.

Printing your Money report or chart

! On the File menu, click Print Setup and then Report and Chart Setup. @ Check the options are correct for your printer and the size of paper in the printer. Click OK. # Go to the Reports Home page and click the report you want to print. $ Right-click the report. Highlight the Print item and click or... % ... click the Print this report link in the left pane. ^ Choose the page range (option not present for all reports) and the number of copies you want. Also select the print quality. & Click OK. ^

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!

TIP Exporting Reports. To export a report so that the information can be used in another application such as Microsoft Excel, right-click a report and click Export to Excel. Give the file a name and click OK.

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GENERATING FINANCIAL REPORTS 81

Your Monthly Report

The Monthly Report is a summary of your financial situation prepared by Money at the end of each month. The Monthly Report includes the following sections for Spending, Net Worth, Expert Assistant, Investments, Potential Problems and Next Month that includes a cashflow forecast.

Displaying and using your Monthly report

! Click Monthly Reports on the reports navigation bar and select a monthly report. @ To view a long report, either use the scroll bar on the right of the screen ... # ... or click a section heading in the Left pane. $ On the page are links to further information. Click a link to view the related information. % To print the report, rightclick it and select Print. ^ To change the options for the information in different sections of the report (like the type of chart used), right-click and then select the required option from the pop-up menu. Note: The options will vary depending on the section of the report you right-click. ^ % # !

TIP Accessing monthly reports on the Reports Home page? In advanced mode, you will see a list of available reports for the different months in the Monthly Reports box on the Reports Home page. In Essential mode, click the Monthly Reports link (Reports box) and a page will be displayed with the available monthly reports.

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Adding a Report to the Favourites List

Money lets you create shortcuts to your favourite reports on the Favourite Reports menu on the lower navigation bar. This means you can create a new report based on an existing one that has been customised and then create a link to it. When you next generate a favourite report using this link, it will use the customised settings with up-to-date (new) information.

Adding a report to Favourites

! Go to the Reports Home page and click the report you want to add to the Favourites menu. @ If required, customise the report. It is recommended this is done in Advanced mode. # When the report appears onscreen, right-click the report and from the pop-up menu, click Add to Favourites. $ In the Add to Favourites dialogue box, type a name for your favourite report into the Report name box. You can if you prefer, choose an existing name from the dropdown list. % Click OK to close the dialogue box and save the report. ^ To display a favourite report, open the Favourite Reports drop-down and click the reports name. Or, open the Favourites menu, click the Favourite Reports option and click the required report on the submenu.

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TIP Renaming a favourite report. Open the Favourite Reports drop-down menu and click Organise Favourites. Select the report you want to rename and click Rename at the bottom of your screen. Type a new name and click OK.

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IN THIS SECTION Creating a Money Budget Thats Right for You Creating a New Budget The Budget Summary Home Page Maintaining Your Cash Flow Using the Lifetime Planner Reducing Your Debt Using the Debt Reduction Planner Taking Control With the Credit Centre Managing Your Taxes Making a Will with Moneys Help Creating an Inventory
lanning your financial future may sound complicated but Money makes it easy thanks to its planning features. Whether its creating a budget, forecasting your cash flow, creating a plan to reduce your debt, or taking control of your credit, Money has the following features to help you: Lifetime Planner Plan for your lifetime ahead! Life Planner: Moneys Lifetime Planner can help you accomplish your goals such as buying a house, paying for your childrens education and more. Budget Planner: When you want to create a budget Budget Planner: that is easy to stick to, go to the Budget Planner and create a budget where you can plan for your expenses and goals and then still have cash for yourself. Debt Reduction Planner: Try using the Debt Reduction Planner: Reduction Planner which encourages you to pay off your highest-interest debt first and then follow that by paying the minimum monthly payment on all other debts. That way, youll have more money left over to enjoy life! Credit Centre: Use the Credit Centre to see a Credit Centre: summary of your debt accounts and learn about credit management. You can also try simple what-if scenarios.

Financial Planning With Moneys Help

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Creating a Money Budget Thats Right for you

By budgeting wisely, you can pay your bills and your debts; put something aside for your goals; and cover miscellaneous expenses throughout the year. To help you, Microsoft Money lets you create a budget which is fully integrated with other parts of the program. All you have to do is tell Money how much you earn, what your bills are and how much you want to save. Its that simple! To do this, you can choose from two types of budgets, Essential (simple and quick) or Advanced which is more detailed and requires more time.
dvanced Budgets: A dvanced Budgets: The Advanced Budget mode provides you with functions to enter more detail about your budget as well as the ability to plan long term. So while the Advanced Budget will a take little longer to set up and manage, they will also provide a more in-depth analysis of where your money is going to and coming from. With an Advanced Budget, you can: Create a detailed budget with expenses broken down into categories and sub-categories. Create and access multiple budgets. Track irregular or one-off expenses. Allocate funds towards your savings goals. Reallocate funds from one budget category to another.

Which Budget is Right For You?

To ensure you get the most from your budgets, choose the right budget for your needs. And dont panic if youre not sure which one is best because you can switch from essential to advanced at any time. Budgets: Essential Budgets: With an Essential Budget in Money, you can track all your monthly expenses or if you prefer, only the most used categories such as how much you spend on clothes or dining out. An Essential Budget is quick and easy to set up and allows you to:
See how much you're spending in the budget categories you select as favourites. Create a simple budget for regular expenses. Compare your income to expenses. Compare actual monthly spending to your budget.

The Budget Assistant

If you are new to Money, creating a new Money file, or did not set up a budget in a previous version of Money, when you go to the Budget centre for the first time, you will be guided through the setup process by the Budget assistant. This is explained on the opposite page.

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Creating a New Budget

Creating a new budget in Microsoft Money can be as easy as a few clicks of the mouse button with the Budget assistant.

Creating your first budget in Money

! On the Money Home pages left pane, click Budget Summary. @ The Welcome to Budget page is displayed. Start by clicking Next. # You have two choices. 'Track all monthly expenses' (a detailed budget) or 'Track monthly spending only in my favourite categories' (simple budget). You can only select one. $ Click Next and enter details for your budget. Continue to follow the on-screen prompts and after clicking the Finish button, you will see the Budget Summary page. % Before going too far, decide on whether you want to use the essential or advanced mode. Not sure which one you are in? See the top right-hand corner of your screen and the current mode is displayed. ^ To switch modes, go to the Other Tasks group in the left pane and click the Change Budget Settings link. Read the information onscreen and choose your budget mode. # $

TIP Multiple Budgets. When you are in advanced mode, you can create multiple budgets by clicking the Create new budget link on the Budget Summarys left pane.

BUDGET ASSISTANT NOTES

Subject Enter Income page Description Enter the income that you want to include in your budget. Note that Money doesnt automatically include recurring income youve set up in accounts. Select the categories that you would like to monitor. Note that many of the boxes here will be populated if you have already set up some bills and assigned them to categories. Enter the expense limits that you want to set for your budget with the categories selected on the previous page. This allows you to choose up to three categories from those selected on the Select budget categories page to track closely. Note the links on the left pane that let you go back to another page in the assistant.

Budget Categories

TIP Budget Assistant Options. If you choose 'Track all monthly expenses', you will be asked for details on your income, the categories you want in your budget, the expenses and finally your favourite categories to track closely. If you choose 'Track Monthly spending only in my favourite categories' then you will only be asked to select your three Favourite Categories.

Enter Expenses page

Favourite categories

FINANCIAL PLANNING WITH MONEYS HELP 87

The Budget Summary Home Page

Click one of these links to perform a common task.

After creating a Budget, when you click Budget Summary on the Money Home page, the Budget Summary page is displayed. The example here is in Advanced mode.

Click to open a drop-down where you can choose the period for the budget.

Click to create a new budget. Clicking this link displays the 'Set up a budget' worksheet with pages for reviewing your income, reviewing your expenses as well as setting your spending limits, creating savings goals and displaying a budget summary for this new budget. This link is only available in Advanced mode. Click this link to change the mode you are in. There are two modes to choose from, Essential or Advanced. Click this to display a page where you can choose which accounts that are set up in Money are included in your budget. This is done by ticking the check boxes next to the account names.

This is a grid containing details of items in your budget. Advanced Mode only.

Keep track of your spending for your favourite categories on this page.

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Maintaining Your Cash Flow

Forecasting your cash flow will help you to predict how much money you will have based on your current balance and scheduled bills and deposits. By using the Forecast your cash flow chart, you can allow for any regular but unscheduled expenses, such as groceries; ensure your balance doesnt go below a certain amount; and get an accurate forecast by scheduling all your forthcoming payments and deposits.

Reviewing your cash flow in Money

! Click Accounts and on the lower navigation bar, click the Account Tools dropdown. Click Cash Flow Review. @ Select the account(s) included in the forecast from the Account drop-down. # Open the Time Period drop-down menu and select one of the available options. $ As you select different attributes, the graph here is updated. Note: Right-click the chart and there are various options to change the display. % To edit transactions in the selected period, click an appropriate button. Click Add to add a transaction or Edit to change a selected transaction; and Delete to remove the transaction from the Cash Flow Forecast. ^ Click Try cash flow scenarios in the left pane to create charts based on various predefined scenarios. % ! ^ @ #

FINANCIAL PLANNING WITH MONEYS HELP 89

Using the Lifetime Planner

Money's Lifetime Planner helps you accomplish your long-term goals. These might include retirement, paying for your children to go to university or another major event. Your lifetime plan is automatically integrated with information you enter elsewhere in Money. For example, if you update your investment and other accounts in the Accounts centre, they're automatically updated in the Lifetime Planner.
TIP When to review your plan. Your lifetime plan results will be as useful as they are up-to-date. Therefore, you should review your plan every 3 months, or when something happens that could affect your financial picture, such as changing your career or another major event such as having children.

The Lifetime Planner

! Click the Planning option in the main navigation bar and then open the Planning Tools drop-down. Click Lifetime Planner. @ Click Get going on your plan to display the first page. This is where you enter information about yourself and other people who live with you. When you have finished, click Next. # Now enter details about the income for you or your partner and details of what events may effect your salary in the future. Click Next to continue. $ Continue to work through each of the sections, reading the guidance notes and clicking Next to continue. You can also go from section to section by clicking the section heading in the Left pane. % When you get to the Results section (the Summary page), you will see a graph. To see a summary of how a figure is arrived at for a specific year, move the mouse pointer over the graph and double-click a year. A Details box appears with a summary for the selected year. #

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TIP Financial Event Modeller. This feature takes the guesswork out of creating a credible lifetime plan. It lets you test hypothetical life events and compare the bottom line results to what's in your actual plan. Ask the Modeller questions like What if I don't work for a few years? What if my living expenses go up? If you like the results, you can always go into your actual lifetime plan and add the event you just considered. To display it, click Financial Event Modeller on the Planning Tools drop-down.

^ Work through the Results section until you come to the Taking the Right Steps page. This is in the Action Plan section (click Action Plan in the Left pane). Now take the time to read the guidance text. You will also find a number of tick boxes so that Money can tell you if it looks like your money will run out before the plan ends or remind you to review your financial goals. There are also links on the page to further details. & You may also like to print your plan and then discuss it with your partner, financial adviser and so on. To print the plan, click Print from the File menu. You have the choice of printing the whole plan or a specific graph or analysis. * When you have reviewed your plan, click Finish. ^

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Reducing Your Debt Using the Debt Reduction Planner

Because you have better things to do with your cash than spend it on paying more interest on your debts than you have to, why not pay a visit to the Debt Reduction Planner? It may help you become debt-free by helping you create a plan that works for you.
TIP Changing debt account details. If details about a debt account change such as the interest rate, update this information so that Money can correctly recalculate your debt reduction plan. Go to the Debt Reduction Planner and the Include debt accounts in your plan page. Click the account you want to update and then click Edit Debt Info. Enter your changes and click OK.

Reducing your debt

! Click the Planner option in the main navigation bar and then open the Planning Tools drop-down. Click Debt Reduction Planner. @ Click Continue on the Debt Reduction Planner home page to display a page where you can tell Money which debts you want added to your debt reduction plan. # Accounts such as those for loans and credit cards will be listed in the register. To have Money integrate your debts into the plan, select the appropriate account/debt and then click Move Up. This button will be greyed if no row is selected in the Debt Accounts Not in Debt Plan section of the grid. $ To add a debt that is not listed, click the New Account button to create an account for that debt. % When finished, click Next at the bottom of Moneys screen to display the Define your payment plan page. @

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TIP How the Debt Reduction Planner influences the interest on your debt. When you enter a debt in your debt reduction plan, Money assumes that interest starts accruing immediately, so the minimum payment reflects the interest that will accrue until the payment date. If you have not entered an interest payment because you don't owe any interest during the first month of using the debt reduction plan, the plan will automatically adjust your total balance on that debt.

^ This is where you define the payment plan. Start by clicking the preferred option for Base my plan on (see an example on the previous page). & If you are making a one-off extra payment, enter the amount here (previous page). * Now experiment with different settings and the text on the bottom of the page and in the Left pane, will reflect the selected attributes for your plan. When you are happy with the selected attributes, click Next. ( To see a different view of the plan, select an option from the View drop-down menu. Click Next to continue. _ Time to take action to clear your debt. To schedule a payment to clear the debt, tick the required box(es). Ticking a box will add a scheduled payment to the Bills Summary page so that Money knows how much money to pay off from each of the selected debts. Q Click Finish. _

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Taking Control With the Credit Centre

Use the Credit Centre to see a summary of your debt accounts and learn about credit management. You can also try simple what-if scenarios, as well as order a credit report.

The Money Credit centre

! Click Planning and open the Planning Tools drop-down menu. Click Credit Centre. @ Go to the Your Credit Report section in the Credit Centre to order a credit report from Experian, the UKs largest credit reference agency. # Learn how you can pay off that debt quicker by trying different debt reduction scenarios using this tool in the Credit Centre. $ Unsure how much a purchase will cost you? Then scroll down the page and use this tool to help you calculate the true cost of a purchase. % Credit related accounts. To see a list of your accounts in Money that are credit related, scroll down the page to this section in the Credit Centre. ^ Not sure which credit card to go for? Then click here to compare credit cards on MSN Money. This task requires a connection to the internet. $ ^

TIP Want to know what that credit card or loan will really cost you? Then use Moneys How much will this purchase really cost calculator by entering the appropriate figures like the interest rate and monthly payments and then click Calculate. All will then be revealed in the text below the calculator button!

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Managing Your Taxes

To help make completing your tax return in Digita's TaxSaver easier, a number of categories in Money are assigned to the appropriate tax forms and lines (boxes). To ensure you take full advantage of this, ensure that transactions you create in an account register are assigned to these categories before exporting data from Money to import into Digita TaxSaver.

Exporting tax details from Money

! Open the Tools menu and click Settings. On the page that is displayed, click the Tax Settings option and ensure the Tax Year start date is set correctly (6 April for the UK). @ Now open the File menu and click the 'Export to TaxSaver' option. # Select 'Tax Year in Progress' or 'Completed Tax Year' as appropriate. If youre going to export to TaxSaver so you can file your tax return, choose 'Completed Tax Year'. Click Continue. $ On the next page are headings for the two main tax forms (SA100 & SA101) and under each are the Tax Form lines along with their totals. Click Continue. !

TIP Categories and Tax Forms To see how categories are mapped to tax forms and form lines, go to the Categories and Payees page in Money and double-click the name of a category such as 'Taxes:Income Tax'.

% In the left pane, click 'Use TaxSaver' (the default option for this page when displayed). ^ Now click the Export your Tax information as a TXF data file ... link and follow the prompts. The file, once saved to disk, can be imported into Digita TaxSaver.

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Making a Will with Moneys Help

A Will is the legal document in which you state how you would like your assets to be distributed when you die. If you die intestate, (without a legal Will) your estate is divided according to English law between family members and any other people who might have a valid claim to your estate. This can have financial implications for your loved ones. Even if you already have a Will, you can use the Will Maker Worksheet as a reminder tool for updating your Will; as practice for re-drafting your Will; or to help you understand more about your Will.
TIP Renaming Wills. To Rename a Will, select it from the Left pane and click Rename on the Welcome screen.

Creating a Will
! Click Planning and open the Planning Tools drop-down menu. Click Will Maker Worksheet. Now enter your name and address (click the Address Setup button). @ You can create two Will Worksheets. Click one in the Left pane. # To rename either of the worksheets, click the worksheet in the Left pane and click the Rename button. Type a name and click OK. $ Click the Details radio button to create a Family Will. Information from the Lifetime Planner will be entered here automatically. You can also enter or edit it manually. % Click the Executor and Guardian radio buttons to enter further details. You may for example, wish to nominate a family friend as an executor or guardian in the event of your sole executor, guardian or beneficiary failing to outlive you.

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TIP Providing for your dependants. In Money's Lifetime Planner it has been estimated that it can cost more than a 2,500 per year and in some cases much more, to support an adult dependant whether they are elderly parents or mentally impaired relatives (though this value will vary with every circumstance). You need to make financial provisions for any minors that will be cared for by guardians, to help ease the burden on the guardians. They must be able to cope with the financial and practical aspects of looking after your children.

^ Click Gifts to enter details of legacies (specific items/ money) given to specific people/persons or organisations. To start, click New and enter the details in the boxes below before clicking Enter. Note: Items listed in the Home Inventory will be listed in the Gift Description drop-down list. & Click Estate to enter details of how to distribute the remainder of your estate (after debts, tax, funeral expenses and legacies). * Click Results and then read the guidance text. ( Now enter a period here. The maximum period allowable is 6 months (182 days). _ If you want to edit this Will in a word processing program such as Microsoft Word, click Edit this Will in a Word processor. Your word processor will be started and the Will opened within it. (

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TIP Only Suitable for England and Wales. This worksheet is only suitable for use in England and Wales.

FINANCIAL PLANNING WITH MONEYS HELP 97

Creating an Inventory
Keep track of your possessions with this worksheet. If you ever have to file an insurance claim, this list will come in handy.

Inventory worksheet
! Click the Customise content or layout link on the Home page. Now click the Home Inventory option from the Add content list box and click the Add button. Click Done and the Home Inventory box will be added to the Money Home page. @ Click the Go to my home inventory link in the Home Inventory box on the Home page. On the page that is displayed (Home Inventory), click a category for the item to be added from the Left pane. If you select the All category, ensure you select an Asset Type when entering details of the item. # Click New to display the Inventory Details dialogue box. $ If you have a picture of the item stored on your computer (BMP, JPG or GIF formats), click this and select the image. % Choose a category for the item from the Asset Type drop-down list. If you select Appliances, the item being added will only appear in the inventory list when either the Appliances or All item in the Left pane is selected. #

TIP Home inventory links? To see the links in Money for Home Inventory and Important Records, customise the Money home page so the Home Inventory box is added complete with a series of links for this feature.

@ %

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TIP Asset accounts. Use asset accounts for personal property or other items that are costly. Generally, you would create an asset account for items like cars, houses and so on.

^ Use the Location box to enter details about where the item is stored. & In the Current Value and 'Replacement Value' boxes, enter the appropriate amount for the item. If you need to calculate the amount, why not use Moneys pop-up calculator! * If the manufacturer has a Web site, enter this into the Manufacturer Web Site box. When you next need to visit the Web site, you can access it from here by clicking the Go button. ( When you have finished, click Update and the details will be added or updated in the Inventory list. _ If you want to print only the items of a specific type (such as Appliances), select the category from the Left pane and click Print from the File menu. To print all the items in the Inventory List, click All and then click Print. &

TIP Important Records Organiser. The Important Records Organiser in Money lets you keep a record of important information such as who to contact and where in the case of an emergency. To display the Important Records Organiser, go the Money Home page and click the 'Organise important records link in the Home Inventory box. If this is not available, click the Customise content or layout link on the Home page.

TIP What am I worth? To include the sum total of your inventory list in your Net Worth report, go to the Reports centre and click the Net Worth option in the Assets and Liablities group. Now click Customise in the left pane and tick the Include my home inventory in my net worth box.

FINANCIAL PLANNING WITH MONEYS HELP 99

7
IN THIS SECTION The Investing Tools Creating an Investment Account and Adding Investments Tracking Your Investments in Money Updating Your Share Prices Linking to MSN Money Accessing the Enhanced Portfolio Manager on MSN Money Your Savings Centre Tracking a Savings Plan Choosing a Savings Plan Estimating the Value of a Savings Plan

aking your money work for you has never been easier thanks to Microsoft Money. Its investing and savings tools not only help you learn how to make your money grow but also let you track investments and savings. The Investing centre in Money lets you create and view your investment portfolio as well as track its performance. Market prices can be updated online or edited manually if you prefer. Even if you don't want to play the markets for real, you can use Money to watch investments for the time when you do want to dive in and start a portfolio. A 'Savings Account' is any account that you use for saving rather than for day-to-day living expenses and with Moneys Savings centre you can keep an key on the performance of accounts such as ISAs, Bonds, or National Savings. The Savings centre is divided up into three sections; one to help track your savings plans, another for estimating the value of a plan and a third to help you choose a plan. Please note that the availability of some online features is governed by the Internet Based Services Policy. Full details of which can be found at: http://money.msn.com/Money/2005/GBR/IBSP.asp

Helping You Save and Invest

HELPING YOU SAVE AND INVEST 101

The Investing Tools

The Investing tools in Microsoft Money let you create and view your stock portfolio as well as track the performance of your stocks or other shares. You can also update the market prices of your investments with a few clicks of the mouse button. Money also lets you link your investment portfolio in Money with your investment portfolio on MSN Money, enabling you to keep track of your investments where ever you are in the world.

The Risk Factor

Think carefully about the risk factor before choosing your investment options. At one end of the scale, there is less risk to be taken when placing your money in deposit accounts offered by banks and building societies (Savings). At the other end, you can gamble a lot of money on high risk ventures which offer no safety net. Most people tend to invest in balanced investments somewhere in between high and low risk ventures. If this sounds like your sort of action plan, you may like to spread your investments, which means having some lowrisk, some middle-risk and some higher-risk investments. This is fine provided you do not intend to realise your more volatile investments in the short term. Many people find its a good idea to set aside money for suitable investments that will mature at the time they need them.

Investing Your Money

Choosing an investment is not always easy because the market has expanded very quickly, particularly over the last 20 years. Large and small investors are now faced with a myriad of options so it is always useful to write down your priorities with regard to how you want either to spend or save your money, both now and in the future. It may not be possible to do everything you want to. For example, many people find there is little point tying up money in long-term high-performing investments if their short-term needs are not met. So before investing your money, it may be wise to make sure an emergency fund (around three months income) is tucked away safely.

Tax Planning
When planning your investments, consider the tax implications but try not to let the tax position dominate your decisions. Some investments enable you to defer tax until your taxation rate is reduced, such as at retirement. Other investments enable substantial amounts of money to be sheltered from tax. If in doubt, consult a professional tax adviser.

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Linking Money on Your PC with Your Portfolio on MSN Money (UK)

Left panes links to investing tools. Click Portfolio Manager to display a list of your investments. Click Investing to go to the Investing home page pictured below. Note: the MSN Money home page is displayed if you are online.

Review Regularly
With the tools provided by Money for keeping an eye on investments that interest you, it is wise to review your investments regularly. What represents good value today, may be quite different in the future. Tax legislation may change, interest rates fluctuate, and the economic fortunes of companies and markets will alter, to say nothing of your own changing circumstances. A good investment strategy will have a review built into it at least once a year.

Portfolios, Accounts and Investments

To use Money's Investment features successfully, you should understand the difference between Accounts, Investments and Portfolios in Money.
Connect to the Web to get market, share, fund and other information.

Keeping an eye on your investments has never been easier thanks to the improved integration between the Microsoft Money software on your computer and MSN Money on the Internet. A few clicks of the mouse button is all that is needed to ensure Money keeps up-to-date with how your investments are doing. The Portfolio Manager on UK MSN Money has also been enhanced making the adding of investments to your portfolio quicker and easier than ever. You can also use MSN Money to view share prices, see the latest market news or research stocks, funds and ISAs.

Accounts: Creating an investment account is the first step in entering your investments into Money. You can then add your individual investments to it. Generally, you'll create one investment account for each brokerage statement you receive. One such account may contain several investments. Investment Por tfolios: A portfolio is an overall view Investment Portfolios: ortf of all your investments. Investments: These are specific stocks and shares, Investments: unit trusts, and investment trusts or employee share option grants. You only need to add an investment to Money once. If for example, you had Microsoft shares in one account, they could be added to other accounts without having to add the investment again.

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Creating Investment Accounts and Adding Investments

With an investment account, Money lets you track all of the stocks, funds, unit trusts, and other investments in your portfolio, as well as update investment prices manually or by downloading them from the Internet. You can also get up-to-date information about your investments or track the cash portion of your portfolio with an associated cash account.

Creating an investment account

! Ensure you have a statement for this account to hand and click Investing. Now open the Investing Tools menu and click Portfolio Manager. @ In the left pane, click the Work with accounts link and from the submenu, click Add an account. This displays the Account wizard. # Select the type of account and click Next. The steps to creating an investment account from hereon will vary depending on the type selected and whether you are online or not. In this example, we have used Investment and are online. Click Next. $ Now click the name of the financial institution or if it is not listed, click the My Financial Institution is not listed link. % The steps that follow, will vary depending on the financial institution selected. Follow the on-screen prompts to create an account. ^ Continue to answer the onscreen questions and when ready, click Finish. !

TIP Investments. When adding investments (like a share), you only need to do it once and it can then be added to one or more investment account/portfolios.

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TIP Associated Cash Accounts. It is quite common for an investment account in Money to have an associated Cash account. This can be used for tracking money received (dividends and so on), money spent on brokerage fees and buying new shares.

Adding investments
! To add investments, start by returning to the Portfolio Manager by opening the Investing Tools menu and click Portfolio Manager. @ In the left pane, click the Work with investments link and from the submenu, click Add an investment. This displays the New Investment wizard. # Choose the account you want to add the investment to from the drop-down list. $ Click Next and follow the onscreen instructions. % When you have finished, the investment will appear in the Portfolio Manager. To see this investment in your account register, go to the left pane, click the Work with accounts link and from the submenu, click the name of the account. This displays that accounts register. % # $

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TIP Symbols. A symbol for an investment (share) must have at least three characters. If it only has two, it is generally followed by a full stop such as BS. and so on.

TIP ISA. If you want to track the integral parts of an ISA (such as shares), use an investment account. If however, you prefer to just track the ISA as a whole, use a savings account.

WATCHING INVESTMENTS
Subject Investing Description To play the market without spending, add investments to the Investments to Watch account. You can see how the shares perform in the Portfolio. This will not alter your Net Worth or other accounts in Money.

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Tracking Your Investments in Money

To track your investments in Money, you can use the Portfolio Manager in Moneys Investing centre. Here you will see your different Investment Accounts listed and your investments that have been added to those accounts.

Tracking investments
! Click Investing, open the Investing Tools menu and click Portfolio Manager. @ To select a different view for the register, click Change Portfolio View and click the required option from the menu. # Right-click an investment in the register and click See Price History to display a chart. Note: The options on this pop-up menu vary depending on the item selected in the register. $ Use the scroll bar (if applicable) to reveal items hidden from view. !

@ # $

TIP Alerting you to price highs and lows. When alerts you have set up on MSN Money, such as one to tell you when a share price drops below a target price, are triggered, you can now view them in the Alerts Centre in Money. Display this by clicking Investing Alerts in the left pane of the Portfolio Manager.

% To select the type of figures displayed in the Status Bar at the bottom of the Portfolio Manager, click Settings on the Tools menu. ^ Now click the Investment settings link, and then the Portfolio Manager button. & Click the Status Bar tab and select your options. Click OK to close the dialog and then Save on the Change your investment settings page.

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Updating Your Share Prices

Finding the latest prices for your investments by scouring the newspaper can be a chore, but with Money, you can download the latest prices at the click of a button. This can take just a few seconds so even if you just want to watch some investments to get a feel for playing the market, you can with Money. Dont have an Internet connection? No problem, you can update your share prices manually as well!

Updating share prices

! Click Investing, open the Investing Tools menu and click Portfolio Manager. @ Click the Update Prices link in the Portfolio Managers left pane and start by clicking Pick Prices to Download. Tick the investments you would like to download the latest share prices for. # Click Update Prices now and Money will go online to get the latest prices. You will need to connect to the Internet to do this. $ You can update the prices manually by clicking Update Prices Manually. % Select the investment you want to update. ^ Type the amount in the Price: box. The currency symbol for Price: changes to reflect the currency used for the selected investment. & Click Update to add the price to the list. * Click Close to finish. %

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Linking Money to MSN Money

Keeping an eye on your investments has never been easier thanks to the integration between the Microsoft Money software on your computer and MSN Money on the Internet.

Linking your Money to MSN Money on the Web

! Your first task is to tell Money you want to access your portfolio from any Internet-connected computer. To do this, start by opening the Tools menu and click Settings. @ On the Settings page, click the 'Access your Money data on the Web' link. This displays an assistant to guide you through the steps. Read the help text on-screen and click Next to continue. # If Money finds investment data on MSN Money that belongs to your Passport, then Money will give you two options. Choose one and click Next. On the final screen, click Finish. $ Having set up the link between Money on your computer and MSN Money on the Internet, you can now follow the progress of your investments that you have in both Money and MSN Money. That includes updating Money with any new investments added to your portfolio on MSN Money. One way this can be performed is by selecting the 'Update Now' option within Money on your PC. ! @

TIP Breaking the Link Between Money and Your MSN Money Portfolio. If after setting up a link between your Investment portfolio in Money and MSN Money you want to break that link, you can by clicking the 'Access your Money data on the Web' option on the Tools/Settings page. Doing this means that Money will no longer update itself with investment details from your MSN Money portfolio although updating share prices will continue.

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MANAGING YOUR FINANCES WITH MONEY

Accessing the Enhanced Portfolio Manager on MSN Money

Adding investments to the UK's MSN Money is now quicker and easier than ever thanks to an enhanced MSN Money Portfolio Manager that brings you instant analysis on your investments as well as access to your data from any computer connected to the Internet.
TIP Adding your MSN Investments to Money on your PC. Ensure you have linked Money to MSN Money using the tutorial on the opposite page. Then sign in using your normal passport before opening the Tools menu and clicking Internet Updates. Now select Update Now and follow the prompts on-screen.

Accessing the UKs MSN Money Portfolio Manager on the Web

! Ensure the computer you are using is connected to the Internet and then go to UK MSN Money http://money.msn.co.uk/ using an external browser and not from within Money. @ Click the Investing option on the top navigation bar and then the Portfolio option on the Investing navigation bar. # You will now see two options, the Deluxe Portfolio Manager (using ActiveX technology) or the Basic Portfolio Manager (HTML based). To use the enhanced Portfolio Manager, click the Deluxe Portfolio Manager option. $ Now follow the on-screen notes on downloading the MSN Portfolio Manager. If you have not already signed in with your passport, you will now be asked to do so. % After signing in, you can now start to use your MSN Portfolio Manager and remember that any investments added to MSN Money can be added to your portfolio in Money with the click of a button.

@ #

HELPING YOU SAVE AND INVEST 109

Your Savings Centre

In the Savings centre in Money you can view and manage the details of all your savings plans (ISAs, National Savings and so on). Your Savings centre also contains tools that let you add or edit a savings plan; estimate the future value of a savings plan; choose a savings plan and go online to the Internet to compare your savings rates to the best in the market with MSN Money. There are also functions in the Left pane where you can do the following:
Track Your Plans: This is where you view and edit the ack Your details of all the savings plans you have set up. From here you can also record payments into, and withdrawals from Savings accounts, as well as set up details of any regular payments that you are going to make into them. Estimate Plan Value: Use this to produce a graph, Estimate Value: showing an estimate of how much one of your savings plans is likely to be worth on a specific date in the future, so you can see whether it will cover the cost of a planned event for example. Choose a Savings Plan: Just what you need when Savings looking to set up a plan, information about the different types so you can choose which one is best for you. This option is based on information that you enter about your circumstances, how much you want to save and how long for.
Left pane with links to other functions. Link to Moneys Savings centre.

Details of your savings accounts are entered here. To add a new or existing savings account, click New Saving.

Personalised feedback based on information entered for the selected account.

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MANAGING YOUR FINANCES WITH MONEY

Saving Your Money

By saving regularly, you may not change your standard of living now, but you may be able to make plans for later. However, savings should only be part of your overall financial strategy. Before committing to a savings plan, consider the following areas:
Emergency funds: Many people find it useful to have about three months' expenditure money in the bank or building society to 'cushion' them in an emergency. Life assurance: If you have dependants (such as Life assurance: children or a partner who does not have an income), life assurance can provide some financial protection in the case of your death. Pension and re tirement planning: Pension schemes retirement represent one of the biggest tax breaks available, and can give a much-needed boost to the state pension. The earlier you take out a pension, the more it will be worth when you retire. You may also consider funding your long-term retirement plans through ISAs which can offer greater flexibility than pension plans. Disability pension/Critical illness/Permanent pension/Critical illness/Per ermanent health insurance: health insurance: These types of insurance are designed to support you financially if you are unable to work because of illness or an accident. Repaying debts: If you have outstanding loans, epaying check that you are not paying more interest than you would receive from a savings plan.

Gaining Access to Your Savings

If you need instant access to your money, you are likely to have to pay for this with lower rates of growth (interest). Some banks and building societies offer a slightly higher return if you are willing to give notice of a month or more, others may allow you one or two penalty-free withdrawals without notice each year. If you feel that six months is too long to wait for your money, but find the higher rate attractive, remember you may be able to give notice to withdraw every three months and then cancel it if you do not need the money. You may therefore be able to obtain a higher rate and effectively have a maximum of three months to wait for some of your savings. If you like this idea, you must make certain you can cancel the notice without problems.

Savings Plans Supported by Money

New in this version of Money is the National SavingsEasy Access Savings Account. Also included are Fixed-Rate Bonds, Guaranteed Income Bonds, Guaranteed Growth Bonds, Guaranteed Equity Bonds, Endowment Policy, ISA, National SavingsCapital Bonds, National Savings-Children's Bonus Bonds, National Savings-First Option Bonds, National Savings-Fixed Interest Savings, National Savings-Indexlinked Savings, National Savings-Income Bonds, National Savings-Investment Account, National SavingsOrdinary Account, National Savings-Pensioner's Bonds, National Savings-Premium Bonds and Bank/Building Society Savings Account.

HELPING YOU SAVE AND INVEST

111

Tracking a Savings Plan

Money lets you track many of the different types of savings plan you may have. You can also use this function to edit details of each savings plan. If you do not have a plan yet but would like to know more about which one may be suitable, go to Choose a Plan.
TIP What will my savings plan be worth when it matures? If you have a savings plan and want to know what it is likely to be worth on a future date, use Moneys Estimate Plan Value function. If the plan is of a fixed duration, then get an idea of what it may be worth at maturity. Otherwise, if it is an openended plan, get an estimate of what it might be worth on a date of your choice. You can use the estimator to try out what if scenarios. Find out what combination of contributions and growth is likely to be required to return the sum that you want for a particular date.

Tracking a savings plan

! Go to the Savings centre by clicking Planning and then Savings Centre on the Planning Tools drop-down menu. @ To add an existing savings plan to the list (such as a savings account), or create a new savings plan, click the New Saving button. # The New Savings Plan wizard will now guide you through adding a savings plan. $ Click Finish to add the plan to the list. % You can now track the plan. Right-click a savings plan and click Go to History on the pop-up menu to create a chart for an account. ^ If you would like to set up contributions, click the Make a transaction link or Set up a regular contribution link. These can be found under the list box of accounts. & Take note of the personal feedback at the bottom of your screen. $ #

! %

^ &

112

MANAGING YOUR FINANCES WITH MONEY

Choosing a Savings Plan

There are many different types of savings plans available, ranging from the general purpose building society account, through to plans which are targeted at specific groups of savers, such as pensioners. Money has details of around 12 different types of National Savings plan alone. When considering setting up a savings plan, there are numerous factors that you should always consider. This can make the choice of plan quite complicated. What is the amount you intend to save and will it be by means of a lump sum, regular contributions or both? What amount of risk are you prepared to take with your savings to get a higher rate of return? How long will your notice of withdrawal be? Are you saving for a particular date, and if so, when?

Choose a savings plan

! Go to the Savings centre by clicking Planning and then Savings Centre on the Planning Tools dropdown menu. @ Click Choose a Plan from the Left pane. # Read the guidance text on the Welcome page for this planner. $ Click How much can you save? and enter the appropriate details into the boxes on the worksheet. % Now click How do you want to save? Click the radio button that best describes how you want to save. ^ When finished, click the Results option and you will be presented with a number of savings plans that are appropriate to the information entered. & If youre unsure about what the name of a plan means, click on the name of the plan to see a more detailed description. ! $ @ %

&

HELPING YOU SAVE AND INVEST 113

Estimating the Value of a Savings Plan

Use Moneys Estimate Plan Value function to get an idea of what a selected plan may be worth at maturity. If it is an open-ended plan, use this feature to find out what it might be worth on a date of your choice. You can use this feature to try out what if scenarios by seeing what contributions and growth are likely to be required to return the sum that you want for a particular date.

Estimate plan value

! Go to the Savings centre by clicking Planning and then Savings Centre on the Planning Tools dropdown menu. @ Click Estimate Plan Value. ! $ % & ^

# In the dialogue box that appears, select a savings plan and click OK. $ Welcome radio button. Enter an End date if you are saving until a specific date. If you leave this blank, Money will estimate the value over the coming five years. % Click the Contributions radio button to enter details of how much you will be contributing to the plan over the selected period. ^ Enter how much you will contribute to the plan and the frequency of your contributions.

114

MANAGING YOUR FINANCES WITH MONEY

TIP Choosing a different savings plan To estimate the plan value of a different savings plan, click the Welcome tab and click Select Savings Plan. Then from the dialogue box that appears, click the savings plan you want an estimate for and then click OK.

& Continue to enter details and when finished, click the Growth Rate radio button. * Enter a percentage for the expected growth rate for your savings plan into this box. ( Click the Results radio button. This page will tell you in both chart and text form, how your savings plan will perform over the period you have selected. _ To change the graph type, right-click the chart and click the appropriate option from the pop-up menu. Q Hold the mouse pointer still over the chart and details about the plan at that time in the future will be displayed. W To Print, click Print from the File menu.

7
*

HELPING YOU SAVE AND INVEST

115

A
accessing your savings, 111 account (balancing), 50 account cash, 38 investing, 103 new, 18 account register, 38, 40 account set up (online), 67 account statements (online) 64 account transfers, 57 adding a passport (.NET), 49 advanced mode, 13 budgets, 86 reports, 75 advanced search, 39 advantages of using online statements, 64 alerts (shares), 106 archiving your Money file, 52 asset accounts, 99 assigning a transaction to category, 46 assistant (set up), 16 assistant (budget), 87 associated cash accounts, 105 automatic updates (bank), 68

B
back button, 10 backing up your Money files, 24 balance of your account, 41 balancing your accounts, 50 bank details (changing), 18 banks Web site URL, 71 being prepared, 30 benefits using categories, 44 bill summary page, 58 bills (entering), 19 bills (recurring), 58 browsing the Internet within Money, 12 beginners (mode), 13 budget assistant, 86 budget categories, 87 budget (creating), 87 budget summary page, 88

C
cash back, 39 cash flow, 89 cash (tracking), 38 categories, 44 tax forms, 95 categorising income and expenses, 46 category groups, 45

changing a bank's details, 18 changing a passport, 49 changing modes, 13 charge tab, 43 charts (reports), 20, 79 cheques, 70 cheques (tracking), 39 choosing a savings plan, 110, 113 choosing how you sign in to Money, 15 cleared column, 70 connecting to the Internet, 66 converting old Money files, 32 converting Quicken files, 34, 36 creating a bank account in Money, 18 creating a budget, 87 creating a new Money file, 33 creating a recurring transaction, 58 creating your investment accounts, 104 credit card accounts, 31 setting up, 42 credit centre, 94 credit tab, 43 customise button bar, 10 customise content or layout, 98 customise reports, 20, 78

Index

INDEX 117

D
date (choosing one for an account), 31 date range (reports), 20 day-to-day tasks, 55 debts (managing them), 21 debt reduction planner, 92 deductions, 60 deposits (entering), 56 deposits (tracking), 39 Digita TaxSaver, 95 documents, 30 downloading a statement, 69

F
favourite categories (budget), 87 favourites (reports), 83 favourites (Web sites), 71 files (archiving), 52 files (new Money), 33 files (opening), 32 files, (Quicken), 34, 36 finances (tracking), 31, 44 financial event modeller, 91 find and replace wizard, 39 forecasting cash flow, 89 formatting a report, 80 frequent flyer miles, 43

investing accounts, 104 MSN Money, 103 investing tools, 102 investments adding, 105 MSN Money, 109 tracking, 106 ISA, 105 ISP, 64 itemising transactions, 47

K
keeping track of your cash, 38 key features, 21

Money account register, 38 Money file (new), 33 Money files (opening), 32 Money's location on your computer, 14 Money support, 23 Money updates, 71 monthly reports, 75, 82 MSN Money, 65, 103, 108 multiple budgets, 87 multiple items for a single transaction, 47 my favourites (reports), 75, 83

E
editing a banks details, 18 enter expenses page (budget), 87 enter income page (budget), 87 enter into register, 59 entering one-off bills, 19 entering account details, 30 entering deposits, 56 enabling VAT box, 38 essential mode, 13, budgets, 86 reports, 74 estimate plan value (savings), 110, 114 expenses (categorising), 46 exploring MSN Money, 65 export to TaxSaver, 95 exporting reports, 20, 77, 81

N
.NET Passports, 15, 49 navigation bars, 10 net worth, 99 new account (creating), 18 new budget, 87 new categories, 46 new Money file, 33 new password, 48 new recurring bill, 58

G
generating reports, 20, 77 getting connected (Internet), 64 getting started with Money, 16

L
left pane, 10 lifetime planner, 90 linking accounts, 33 linking Money to MSN Money, 103, 108

H
help button, 10 help menu, 10 help (where to go for it), 23

M
make recurring, 58 make recurring check box, 57 making a payment (credit card), 43 managing investments with MSN, 22 Microsoft .NET Passports, 15 modes (essential and advanced), 13 modes account register, 67 reports (advanced), 20, 74, 76

O
offline and online features, 11 offline help, 23 one-off bills, 19 online account statements, 69 online accounts (setting up), 66 online help, 23 online services manager, 67 online updates button, 10 opening date and balances, 30 opening balance for your credit card, 43

I
import statements, 70 important records organiser, 99 income (categorising), 46 installing Money, 14 Internet Address Box, 10 Internet Based Services Policy, 9 Internet (connecting), 66 inventory, 98

118

MANAGING YOUR FINANCES WITH MONEY

P
passport (Microsoft .NET), 49 password manager, 15, 48 passwords and passports, 15 paying recurring bills, 59 payments (credit card), 43 payslip wizard, 60 Personal Finance Manager, 9 planners in Money debt reduction, 92 lifetime, 90 planning tools, 21 plans (savings), 111 portfolios, 103 portfolio manager (MSN Money), 109 prepared (being), 30 printing reports, 80 protecting your Money file, 15, 48

reports centre, 20, 74, modes, 74 reports (generating), 77 reports home page, 76 restoring your Money file, 25 risk factor (investing), 102

T
tax planning (investing), 102 taxes (managing), 95 TaxSaver, 95 tips for getting up and running, 17 track your plans (savings), 110 tracking a savings plan, 112 tracking account details, 42 tracking your cash, 38 tracking cheques, 39 tracking investments, 106 tracking recurring transactions, 58 tracking your finances, 31, 44 transactions, 41 transaction forms, 41 transfer tab, 43 transferring money between accounts, 57 two-way banking, 67, 68

S
salary (entering), 60 saving a Money file, 33 saving your money, 111 savings accessing, 111 plans, 111 savings centre, 110 savings plan (choosing), 110, 113 savings plan (tracking), 112 scheduling your salary, 61 selecting your preferred browser, 12 setting up accounts and bills, 16 settings (tools menu), 66 share price updates, 71, 107 signing in to Money, 15 split button, 41, 56 split deposits, 56 statements (downloading from your bank), 64, 69 statements (import), 70 strategy for backing up, 24 subcategories, 46 symbols (share), 105

Q
Quicken file (converting to Money file), 34, 36

U
updating share prices, 107 upgrading?, 14, 16

R
reconciling accounts, 50 recurring bills, 19, 58 recurring transactions, 58 refresh page button, 12 register (account), 38, 40 removing a passport, 49 reports customising, 78 formatting, 80 monthly, 82 my favourites, 83 printing, 81

V
VAT box, 38

W
Web site links (adding), 71 will maker, 96

INDEX 119

he manuscript for this book

Cover Layout

Litho Studios

was prepared in electronic form. Text files were prepared using Microsoft Word 2000. Pages were composed in PageMaker 6.5 for
Proofreader

Book Content/Layout

Digita International

Windows with text in ITC Officina Sans Book and text Stone Serif ITC. Composed pages were delivered to the printer as electronic prepress files.

Lionbridge Technologies

Author and Indexes

Larry Hickmott