Money used to be such a simple matter. An envelope of cash at the end of the working week, and the biggest issue you had to face was how to make it stretch till the next one arrived. Nowadays, of course, our financial affairs are rather more complex. ISAs, pensions, endowments, current account mortgages and self-select share dealing over the Internet. Never before have ordinary punters had such options and such potential control over their money and their future wealth. But having so many choices brings complications of its own.

How do you keep track of your various accounts? How do you plan for the future? In fact how do you assess where you are at the moment?

How do you keep track of your various accounts? How do you plan for the future? In fact how do you assess where you are at the moment? The good news is that there is excellent personal finance software available--the market is dominated by two giant packages but there are good budget alternatives too. For a modest outlay you can get your finances in order and ultimately they will pay for themselves.

Packages for Everyone

Money, Money, Money One of the two most popular packages on the market is Money from Microsoft. It comes in a variety of versions, to suit everyone from PAYE employees and the self-employed to those running sizable businesses. Get hold of a copy of Money 2003 Standard and you will be held by the hand through the entire setting-up process. This takes the form of an exhaustive interview, with Money asking the questions. You'll be quizzed about all your financial accounts, goals, liabilities, income and expenditure. You'll probably be surprised by how complex your affairs are. At the end of the process Money will present you with onscreen versions of all your accounts--savings, current and so on--with a balance sheet total at the bottom showing where you stand. And now you're at Year Zero of your financial life, you can log each item of income and expenditure as it occur-- and the comings and goings of your account will be presented on screen in bank statement-like sheets. But knowing where you are now is only the start. The important thing is planning for the future, and Money will quiz you on your financial goals--provision for school fees, retirement at 60 with a pension fund of X amount, to pay off your mortgage by 2010 and so forth--and then produce reports telling you how you are faring so far. Monthly reports on all aspects of your financial health will then keep you on track to meet your targets.

Money will quiz you on your financial goals--provision for school fees, retirement at 60 with a pension fund of X amount, to pay off your mortgage by 2010 and so forth

Where Money scores very highly is in its support for dozens of online banks. So you can go onto the Internet, download your current account information from Barclays straight into Money, and then let the package analyse the good or bad news and provide reports and projections. Money also has online support from the excellent www.moneyextra.co.uk Web site, allowing you to import up-to-the-moment financial and stock information direct into your package.

Quicken Up The other big player is Quicken from Intuit and both versions, Quicken XG and Quicken XG Startup Edition, will do an equally good job of keeping you flush, although Deluxe delves deeper into investments and capital gains taxes. Like Money, it allows you to produce and monitor multiple accounts and produce sophisticated reports. Its initial grilling is just as thorough and it presents your accounts in a friendly browser-style interface, not unlike viewing a Web page. You can get news and current share prices via the www.quicken.co.uk Web site, and track your stocks in your personal portfolio within Quicken. And as your priorities and financial targets change and evolve, so can Quicken. You can customise your "homepage" to include details of your favourite accounts and monthly reports.

Financial Times A budget alternative to the big two, the Times Money Organiser will do a good, simple job of tracking your finances. It can deal with multiple accounts, presenting the information bank-statement style, and produces monthly reports and charts.

Small Businesses and Self-employed

If your financial affairs are a little more complex, you can move up to Money 20013 Financial Suite (inc. Tax Saver Deluxe). You'll probably learn for the first time exactly how much you are worth, as Financial Suite allows you to track and manage all your accounts, investments, loans, pensions and so on, and view your net worth. Handily for businesses, you can calculate the items and expenditure you can offset against tax, work out your company car benefits and analyse and manage cash flow.

Handily for businesses, you can calculate the items and expenditure you can offset against tax, work out your company car benefits and analyse and manage cash flow.

The tax benefits are there with Quicken XG Suite (Taxcalc & XG) , too. Many non-PAYE earners have had a nasty shock when the income-tax bill drops through the letterbox, but Suite will let you work out and anticipate your upcoming liability. In another pitch at the business market, Suite even includes a facility that tracks employee stock options. More practical for most businesses is the ability to quickly pick up on bank errors and to write and print cheques on your PC and send payments over the internet.

Bigger Business

Money has a pitch at the bigger business with Money 2002 Personal and Business. As the name suggests, it still takes care of the home user, but adds the ability to generate and track invoices, log customers and suppliers, prepare VAT returns, manage business accounts, produce Sales, Purchase and Nominal Ledgers, and generate Balance Sheets, Profit and Loss and Trial Balance accounts. Sage Instant Accounts 8, meanwhile, strips out the home-user aspects and concentrates firmly on the business. At a budget price, this long-time market leader puts powerful financial control within the reach of the smallest firm. All you require is a desktop PC. Once set up, complete VAT management, customer and supplier records, and a multitude of reports on cash flow, profit-and-loss, depreciation and more are there at the touch of a button

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