Quicken is the gold standard of personal finance software. It includes everything you need to track your spending, build a financial plan, manage investments and control your finances. And if your needs are not overly complex, Quicken can help you manage your business finances as well.

The Quicken Home & Business version has everything you need to manage payables, receivables and cash flow right at your fingertips. In fact, millions of small business owners use Quicken – rather than its big brother QuickBooks – to track both personal and business expenses and to maximize tax deductions.

Quicken lets you:

1. Quickly track how your business is doing. Quicken's "Business Center" provides an overview of unpaid invoices, upcoming bills and more.
2. Separate business and personal expenses for proper reporting with tools and reports like the Schedule C tax form.
3. Simplify tax preparation and find hidden deductions. Keep an ongoing record of business expenses, including mileage. Scan and store receipts, cancelled checks, and tax forms in Quicken so you know where they are at tax time.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Go to the source

Get details on Quicken Home & Business, including features and benefits, reviews, system requirements and frequently asked questions.

I recommend: The Quicken Home & Business Web site has all the information you need to see how it works and what other options are available. See what other small business owners are saying about Quicken. Take a tour of how Quicken works.

Get on-demand support for a fee

If you can't bear spending valuable time on hold and/or want help anytime, buy around-the-clock support for a nominal fee.

I recommend: Help Desk Now offers paid support, available 24 hours a day with one minute access to a live person who can talk you through whatever you need.

Tutor Yourself

Purchase video tutorials for you and your staff. Some people work better with visual aids when learning.

I recommend: VideoProfessor is a great source for tutorials.

Buy Quicken books

It's worth having a copy of 'Quicken for Dummies' for quick reference to tips, tricks and shortcuts.

I recommend: Search for all of the Quicken guides at Dummies or Amazon.

Talk to others

Online support forums discuss common issues, the value of upgrades and tips for working with Quicken.

I recommend: Quicken forums provide emotional and technical support for Quicken users.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Stay focused and solve one problem at a time. Don't try to learn everything in a day and don't compound problems.
• •  Choose your words carefully. Think like the program and use the key words it uses to find what you need.
• •  Break down your problem into individual components.
• •  Consider the obvious. Make sure everything is plugged in, you've opened the most recent file and your work is automatically saved frequently.