Microsoft Money 2003 for Pocket PC [Archive]

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Jason Dunn

08-02-2002, 08:08 PM

<a href="http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/pocketpc/downloads/money.asp">http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/pocketpc/downloads/money.asp</a> Thoughts reader brntcrsp found an application that Microsoft must have just released - Microsoft Money 2003 for the Pocket PC! "Money for the Pocket PC will help you track your expenses, monitor your investments, and take control of your finances from anywhere! When you use Money 2003 and Money for the Pocket PC together, you can: • Synchronize your accounts to make managing easier. Money for the Pocket PC synchronizes information with your desktop computer and Money 2003, and shows your balances conveniently on the Today screen. • Update your investment portfolio on the fly. See up-to-date quotes on Money for the Pocket PC by synchronizing with Money 2003 on your desktop or by downloading directly from the Internet. • Complete financial tasks quickly and easily. The Money Toolbar appears along the bottom of the screen to help you more quickly and easily navigate between tasks in Money for the Pocket PC." You need to have the Pocket PC 2002 OS - it won't work with Pocket PC 2000 devices. Take it for a spin and let me know what you think!

heyday

08-02-2002, 08:38 PM

I wonder if the sync is still screwed up in the this version. Search the newsgroups and there are hundreds if not thousands of messages about how the sync in Money 2002 NEVER worked right....

I talked to landware about 6 months ago and supposidly they are working on a Pocket PC version of Quicken...... Supposed to come out this Fall or Winter.

http://www.landware.com/pocketquicken/ppc/index.html

heyday

Sanjay Srikonda

08-02-2002, 08:59 PM

I swear, i finally gave up trying to sync my version of money with my ppc and just used it on my desktop.

finally, i realized it wasn't just me when i saw all those posts.

fun fun fun.

oh, and does this version sync with older versions of money or do you have to go out and buy money 2003 for this to work with your desktop edition?

Wes Salmon

08-02-2002, 09:08 PM

Call me the lucky one, but I've been syncing Money 2002 with my Pocket PC since the client came out last year and I've had great success with it.

I use it so much now, that it has become second nature to whip out my PPC after I pay for something and enter it onto my device, once I get home it syncs with my Money 2002 file and I'm all set.

I don't have Money 2003 yet so I'll just stick with what I have for now. :)

T-Will

08-02-2002, 09:14 PM

I've been syncing for a long time without any problems. I did have to change the Money ActiveSync option to sync all entried instead of just the past 4 weeks. When I had it set to only sync the past 4 weeks the balance ended up being way off on the Pocket PC. I'm too afraid to try out this version...hopefully it won't be anything like their Expense Tracker...

BTW, it looks like there's new ringtones for Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition users here too: http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/pocketpc/downloads/powertoys.asp

BrianCooksey

08-02-2002, 09:24 PM

On the site, I see changes in the desktop listed version, but is anything new with the PPC side? (e.g., does it add classes? ... or the option of two PPCs syncing?)

T-Will

08-02-2002, 09:33 PM

...or bill reminders and a bills screen...

bbarker

08-02-2002, 10:11 PM

I talked to landware about 6 months ago and supposidly they are working on a Pocket PC version of Quicken...... Supposed to come out this Fall or Winter.

http://www.landware.com/pocketquicken/ppc/index.html

heyday
Or the following fall or winter. Read this discussion over on Brighthand before you decide to wait for it:

http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=53819

Wes Salmon

08-02-2002, 10:26 PM

I've been syncing for a long time without any problems. I did have to change the Money ActiveSync option to sync all entried instead of just the past 4 weeks. When I had it set to only sync the past 4 weeks the balance ended up being way off on the Pocket PC.I had the same problem so I sync everything, which will become a problem sooner or later since the Money DB is getting bigger and bigger each day with me tracking 6 accounts. Maybe 2003 fixes this issue.

heyday

08-02-2002, 10:32 PM

My quicken database is like 8 years back..... I can't even imagine syncing the whole thing....

heyday

T-Will

08-02-2002, 11:10 PM

I've been syncing for a long time without any problems. I did have to change the Money ActiveSync option to sync all entried instead of just the past 4 weeks. When I had it set to only sync the past 4 weeks the balance ended up being way off on the Pocket PC.I had the same problem so I sync everything, which will become a problem sooner or later since the Money DB is getting bigger and bigger each day with me tracking 6 accounts. Maybe 2003 fixes this issue.

Yeah I hope that gets fixed...

So has anyone dared to try this yet?!?

brianchris

08-02-2002, 11:12 PM

Microsoft Money Sync....it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. I say that because, there have been extremely short periods of time in my two year history where Microsoft Money had synced with my PPC perfectly, and when it worked, it was *incredibly* convenient to have that data on my PPC. The "worst of times" part is, as many of us know all to well, the sync hardly ever worked, and frequently caused problems in the desktop money database, altering, deleting, or even corrupting records! The convenience of the data being synced with the PDA were far outweighed by the specter of records missing or whole .mny files corrupted. Even with the updates which fixed a bulk of the corruptions, for some mysterious reason, balances were still wrong rendering the sync fairly useless.

It was for those reasons that I have chosen not to sync for the vast portion of those two years, the exception being when a new version / sync update was released, I've tried it, its failed, I quickly give up fearing for my desktop database's integrity.

However, I *will* be upgrading to Money 2003, as in that version they've reinstated the batch epay/transfer feature that was, for some mysterious reason, removed in version 2002, my current version. Therefore, I probably will try the new 2003 sync client again, but not before I make a backup of my .mny file :roll:

My main problems with the sync, even when it worked properly, is this: I download statements, and statements that I've reconciled are issued an "E" symbol. That "E" marking is incredibly valuable to me as that way I know what has cleared my bank, and what hasn't. When you start synchronizing however, "E" symbols are no longer shown. Instead, a different symbol (an "R" I believe) is put there to indicate a record has been synced with the PPC, which is of little value to me. The real problem is, I seem to be THE ONLY ONE ON THE PLANET WHO USES MONEY IN THIS MANNER, and therefore I am the only one on the planet who thinks that "R" symbol instead on an "E" symbol is a *bad* thing :cry: Anyone else agree with me / see my point? Anyway, for this reason alone, even *if* sync works properly (BIG if), I might not be able to continue to use sync, in spite of how convenient it is.

To date, I don't believe I've ranted on this board, and isn't every user allowed one? If so, this is mine. All other opinions are eagerly welcomed!!!

-Brian

Wes Salmon

08-02-2002, 11:18 PM

My main problems with the sync, even when it worked properly, is this: I download statements, and statements that I've reconciled are issued an "E" symbol. That "E" marking is incredibly valuable to me as that way I know what has cleared my bank, and what hasn't. When you start synchronizing however, "E" symbols are no longer shown. Instead, a different symbol (an "R" I believe) is put there to indicate a record has been synced with the PPC, which is of little value to me. The real problem is, I seem to be THE ONLY ONE ON THE PLANET WHO USES MONEY IN THIS MANNER, and therefore I am the only one on the planet who thinks that "R" symbol instead on an "E" symbol is a *bad* thingI also download my statements and have them imported into Money 2002, and all of my cleared transactions show up as "E" on the desktop Money client. However, the items on my Pocket PC have no status marked and after I sync, my "E" transactions are untouched.

I also reconcile credit cards via downloaded statements and the "E" works perfectly on the desktop while not showing up at all in the individual transactions on the Pocket PC.

I wonder if we have a configuration difference that explains the different result.

brianchris

08-02-2002, 11:18 PM

By the way, for those users who are indicating their Money files are very large (8 years large?), why aren't any of you using the File>Archive option? I don't want to talk down to anyone, but shortly after the 1st of January (i.e. new year), you could (should?) archive your file by year (i.e. 2000, 2001, 2002, etc.). You can even go do that now, an archive can be done at any time, as it asks you starting dates and end dates for the archive, and balances are left intact. The result is a .mny file for each year, which, needless to say, is very helpful for tax purposes.

Hope this helps.....just a simple idea, nothing more. :wink:

-Brian

brianchris

08-02-2002, 11:24 PM

I also download my statements and have them imported into Money 2002, and all of my cleared transactions show up as "E" on the desktop Money client. However, the items on my Pocket PC have no status marked and after I sync, my "E" transactions are untouched.

I also reconcile credit cards via downloaded statements and the "E" works perfectly on the desktop while not showing up at all in the individual transactions on the Pocket PC.

I wonder if we have a configuration difference that explains the different result.

Maybe there is a configuration difference, or maybe I'm just forgetting myself. :oops: I *know* at one time it was a problem for me.....maybe it got resolved in one of the subsequent sync updates / money versions. Regardless, I will research into both possibilities. Thanks for the reply!!

-Brian

possmann

08-03-2002, 04:32 PM

chrisnian

08-03-2002, 09:10 PM

Well nobody apparently wanted to give it a try, so I thought I would be the guinea pig...

Downloaded and tried to install the new version - it then told me that I do not have Microsoft Money installed on my desktop so I can use the 2003 version on my PPC and will have to re-install the software when I install Money on my desktop in order to synchronize the two.

Well, I DO have Money installed on my desktop (2001 version not 2003) - so I guess the answer is that it will not work with previous versions (at least not 2 year old versions). It did try and install on my PPC, even though I clicked NO when it asked me if I wanted to install it. I then was unable to sync my Money files with my PPC until I reinstalled the 2001 patch from the Microsoft site. :oops:

I too have not had any problems with the sync process with my 2001 version, even after I upgraded my iPAQ to PPC2002. I can sync for the last 4 weeks or the entire file without problem. :D

Maybe I'll upgrade to Money 2003 on my desktop and try the 2003 PPC version again sometime, but for now I'm OK with 2001. :roll:

Ian

fjp

08-03-2002, 10:51 PM

bbarker

08-04-2002, 12:03 AM

i installed Microsoft Money 2003 for Pocket PC and found it quite bad. i prefer CashOrganizer!!!

i tried to uninstall it, but i didn't work.

any tips on how to uninstall this program?

thanks and regards,
fjp.
Can you be more specific? What didn't you like about Money 2003 for the PPC? It is not intended to be a complete money manager. It's a mobile companion to the desktop version of Money and should be evaluated as such. That's what I've used it for and for that it's satisfactory. Cash Organizer probably isn't as good for that purpose because it lacks seamless synchronization with a desktop product.

On the other hand, if you do want a complete money manager on the Pocket PC, I've heard that Cash Organizer is one of the products to consider. I haven't used it but I've heard positive comments such as yours.

By the way, Money comes installed in the ROM for the Pocket PC 2002 operating system. You should be able to uninstall the Money 2003 upgrade, but you'd still have the original Money on your PPC because it's permanently in ROM. It's also not taking up any of your system's RAM.

Bart

EricMCarson

08-04-2002, 04:26 AM

It appears to be by design that this new version does not work with Money 2002. Are there any specific features new to Money 2003 that would cause me to upgrade, other than the fact that the sync "may" actually work?

fjp

08-04-2002, 08:15 AM

Can you be more specific? What didn't you like about Money 2003 for the PPC? ...

By the way, Money comes installed in the ROM for the Pocket PC 2002 operating system. You should be able to uninstall the Money 2003 upgrade, but you'd still have the original Money on your PPC because it's permanently in ROM. It's also not taking up any of your system's RAM.

Bart

hi bart,
i prefer to a fully blown version on my PPC. the synching is not important for me since i am not using a desktop version. cash-organizer offers everything incl. complicated transfers, splits, recurring payments and all kind of report functions. as far as i know it also offers synching with the desktop.

i have a german OS which doesnt come with the money pre-installed. maybe that is the problem with the uninstalling.

anybody any clue or trick how i can uninstall Money 2003 for Pocket PC???

cheers,
fjp

bbarker

08-04-2002, 09:32 AM

i prefer to a fully blown version on my PPC. the synching is not important for me since i am not using a desktop version. cash-organizer offers everything incl. complicated transfers, splits, recurring payments and all kind of report functions. as far as i know it also offers synching with the desktop.
Yes, from your earlier comment it sounded like you wanted a complete money manager. It sounds like you have a good one for your purposes.

Also, as I understand it, such a program does sync with the desktop, but not the way Money does (and not the way Pocket Quicken does on a Palm). With those programs your PPC data actually feeds right into the desktop program and then back again without you doing anything. With programs such as Cash Organizer, I think you have to go to a desktop program such as Money or Quicken and import the data that has been synchronized from the PPC. If I'm incorrect someone can speak up to clarify.

Pony99CA

08-05-2002, 03:46 PM

By the way, Money comes installed in the ROM for the Pocket PC 2002 operating system. You should be able to uninstall the Money 2003 upgrade, but you'd still have the original Money on your PPC because it's permanently in ROM. It's also not taking up any of your system's RAM.

Are you sure about this? Money was included in Pocket PC 2000, but I thought they removed it in Pocket PC 2002. There was certainly no icon in the Programs folder for Money in PPC 2002.

Steve

bbarker

08-07-2002, 01:22 AM

No, I'm not sure about it.

Pony99CA

08-07-2002, 01:39 AM

I have never had any issues with sync'ing money and the PPC - I use MS Money 2002 deluxe as my desktop and even after upgrading my iPaq 3650, still had no problems. I have a pretty straightforward use for my PPC - just track the recent payments made - I enter (almost) every payment I make after I check out of a store and the sync issues have never presented themselves to me. And yes - I have it set to use only the last 4 weeks.

I have had some synchronization "errors". I put errors in quotation marks because the transactions seem to synchronize, but the balances are off.

However, I may have a solution without having to synchronize all records. I have found that toggling the synchronization timeframe seems to fix the balances. Here's what I mean....

I had four weeks of records, and was getting incorrect balances. Since I wanted at least one month of records, I decided to set the timeframe to 5 weeks, but that is unfortunately not an option, having only 4 or 12 weeks (why is that?), so I chose 12 weeks.

After I synchronized, the balances were correct! However, after the next day, the balances were off again. As synchronizing more records seemed to help the last time, I increased the timeframe to 26 weeks. Again, the balances were correct.

Unfortunately, the next day, the balances were incorrect again. Not wanting to synchronize 52 weeks, I tried 12 again. Imagine my surprise when the balances were correct again.

So if you have trouble with balances, you may need to change the synchronization timeframe every day.

Steve

T-Will

08-07-2002, 01:49 AM

That is crap! Why can't the Money team fix such a simple yet crucial issue as this?!?!?!? :roll:

Pony99CA

08-07-2002, 02:04 AM

That is crap! Why can't the Money team fix such a simple yet crucial issue as this?!?!?!? :roll:

Assuming you're talking about synchronization errors, I agree it sucks, but thought I'd try to find a work-around.

It seems like a fix would be very easy, too. Take the existing balance as of the current date from the desktop Money, save that on the Pocket PC, and calculate the balances backwards for each transaction in the Pocket PC version.

Steve