XeCheck
by CI Staff
XeCheck is a powerful personal financial management software that is able to download bank transactions from over 6,000 U.S. and international banks, credit unions and credit cards. It will take some time to familiarize yourself with the wealth of features offered by this program, but getting started is very simple.
After opening the program, XeCheck will ask you to provide your name and email address, both of which are required. You are also able to password protect your file, which is highly recommended. The next step is to set up your main account, which for most investors is their banking or main investment account. A list of financial institutions is provided, and you are able to select your bank from the list. For certain major banks, such as Chase, and major brokerages, such as Charles Schwab, you can enter your login information for the bank or brokerage, and the program will automatically download your financial information.
Once your accounts are entered, the main page of the program allows you to manage all your bills, deposits and budgets. This section shows you the bills that have already been paid and the ones that are coming due. The program comes with a Bill Payment Wizard that helps you schedule payments and set up reminders. A Budget Wizard is also available to assist in putting together a savings plan. Answering a few simple questions will generate a preliminary budget that you can modify as appropriate. The graphs area provides an idea of how your money is being spent between various spending categories.
XeCheck also has Deluxe and Premier editions. The Deluxe edition allows users to export tax-related transactions. According to the XeCheck website, the exported files can be imported into most tax preparation software such as TurboTax and TaxCut. Furthermore, the Premier Edition also allows you to manage your investments and track real estate investments.
If you are uncomfortable providing XeCheck with your account information, you can simply enter your transactions by hand. Updating accounts manually is very straightforward, but it does require more time than allowing the program to download transactions automatically.
Overall, XeCheck is worth taking a look at, especially since it offers a 60-day free trial. It is one of the more powerful personal financial management software available and should be sufficient for most individual investors.
XeCheck 8.0
System Requirements: 512MB RAM (Windows XP) or 1GB RAM (Windows Vista), 100MB free-disk space, Windows XP or Vista operating system
Price: $19.95 for Standard, $24.95 for Deluxe, $31.95 for Premier, free 60-day trial