QuickBooks Pro 2014 [Download]

QuickBooks Pro 2014 [Download] From Intuit List Price: $249.95 Price: $179.00 Digital media products such as Amazon MP3s, Amazon Instant Videos, and Kindle content can only be purchased on Amazon.com. Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Ships from and sold by Amazon Digital Services Inc Average customer review:  (319 customer reviews)

Product Description

Intuit QuickBooks Pro 2014

Product Features

• Organize your business finances all in one place and save time on everyday tasks
• Easily create invoices and manage expenses
• Get reliable records for tax time
• Step-by-step set up, easy to learn and use

Step-by-step tutorials (view larger).

New to QuickBooks?

Easy to Set Up, Learn, and Use

• No accounting knowledge necessary
• Quickly import your data from a spreadsheet¹
• Step-by-step tutorials show you how to create invoices, record expenses, and more
• 60 day money-back guarantee²

Pro Homepage (view larger).

Organize Everything in One Place and Save Time on Everyday Tasks

• Manage vendors and expenses easily - enter, track, and pay bills
• Easily create and customize estimates, invoices, and statements
• Get complete and reliable records at tax time
• Download your online banking transactions directly into QuickBooks³

Company Snapshot (view larger).

Track How Your Business is Doing and Get Financial, Tax, and Sales Reports in One Click

• Get the information you need with easy-to-use reports
• View and manage income and receivables using the new Income Tracker
• Get a real-time snapshot of your business activities with Company Snapshot

New Income Tracker (view larger).

What's New for QuickBooks 2014?

• Powerful new email capabilities. You can now add multiple attachments, customize email templates to include customer or job info, and see email history by customer.
• See all your banking transactions. Improved bank feeds pull in all your banking transactions from multiple banks and accounts so you can view and categorize them for tax time.³
• See who's paid you (and who hasn't). The new Income Tracker shows all your income-producing transactions in one spot, including overdue invoices so you can remind customers to pay you.
• Little things to make business easier. Track bounced checks, see key reports in just one click, and other customer requested improvements.

System Requirements

Pro Requirements

• Windows XP (SP3 only inc 64-bit), Windows Vista (SP1 inc 64-bit), 7 (inc 64-bit), 8 (inc 64-bit)
• At least 2.0 GHz processor, 2.4 GHz recommended
• Minimum 1 GB of RAM for single user, 2 GB of RAM recommended for multiple users
• Minimum 2.5 GB available disk space (additional space required for data files)
• 60 MB for Microsoft .NET 4.0 Runtime (provided on the QuickBooks CD)
• Minimum 1024x768 screen resolution, 16-bit or higher color, default DPI settings
• Minimum 4x CD-ROM drive
• All online features/services require Internet access
• Product registration required

Integration with Other Software

• Microsoft Word and Excel integration requires Word and Excel 2003, 2007 or 2010 (inc 64-bit)
• Synchronization with Outlook contacts requires QuickBooks Contact Sync for Outlook 2003, 2007 and 2010 (32-bit only) (downloadable for free at: www.quickbooks.com/contact_sync )
• E-mail Estimates, Invoices and other forms with Windows Outlook, Outlook Express and Mozilla Thunderbird, as well as web mail services such as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Hotmail
• Compatible with QuickBooks Point of Sale version 10.0 and later

Multi-User

Windows Vista (SP1 with UAC on), 7 (with UAC on), 8 (with UAC on),Windows Server 2003 (SP2), 2008 & 2012, Windows Small Business Server 2008

Which QuickBooks Product is Right for You?	Online Simple Start	Pro 2014	Premier 2014
Easy to Get Started
Get started fast with guided setup	x	x	x
Import data from Excel, Quicken, Outlook Contacts, and more1	Excel Only	x	x
Save Time on Everyday Tasks
Stay on top of invoices, billing, and scheduled tasks with Calendar View		x	x
Track sales, sales taxes, and expenses	x	x	x
Be ready at tax time with easy, reliable reports	x	x	x
Organize all your data in one place with Customer, Vendor, and Employee Centers	Customer Center only	x	x
Allows more than one user at a time4	1 user	Up to 3, each sold separately	Up to 5, each sold separately
Create estimates and turn them into invoices in one click		x	x
Download your online banking transactions into QuickBooks3	x	x	x
Track inventory, set re-order points, create purchase orders		x	x
Get the Information You Need
Get financial, sales, and tax reports in one click	20+	100+	150+
Get a single view of your business with Company Snapshot		x	x
View and manage income & receivables using the new Income Tracker5		x	x
Tools Tailored to Your Industry
Uncover business insights with industry-specific reports			x
Create sales orders and track backorders			x
Track costs for assembled products and inventory			x
Set product/service prices by customer type			x

1. Transfer data from Peachtree 2009-2011; Microsoft SBA 2006; and Microsoft Office Accounting 2007–2009 using free tool available at http://quickbooks.intuit.com. Transfer data directly from Quicken 2012-2014, QuickBooks 4.0-2014 and Microsoft Excel 2003–2010, as well as web mail services such as Gmail, Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail.
2. If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, we’ll give you your money back. Simply return the product to Intuit with a dated receipt within 60 days for a full refund of the purchase price.
3. Download your data from participating banks until May, 2017. Online services vary by participating financial institutions or other parties and may be subject to application approval, additional terms, conditions and fees.
4. QuickBooks Pro/Premier: One user included; option to add up to two additional licenses for Pro and four for Premier—sold separately. All copies of QuickBooks must be the same version-year. Online Simple Start: One user only. Product upgrade required for multi-user access.
5. Money Bar feature in Online Simple Start.
QuickBooks Pro supports a maximum of 14,500 customers, jobs, employees, and other names combined, and a maximum of 14,500 items.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40 in Digital Software
• Brand: Intuit
• Model: 421409
• Released on: 2013-09-23
• Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows XP
• Format: Download
• Original language: English

Features

• Easy to set up, learn and use
• Organize everything in one place and save time on everyday tasks
• Track how your business is doing with one-click financial, tax and sales reports
• Get the information you need with easy-to-use reports
• Get complete and reliable records at tax time

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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
99 of 105 people found the following review helpful.
A company and a product in serious need of an overhaul!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By H. M. Levy
This product AND company are the worst I have ever encountered in 50 years of working with software. The product (I was forced to upgrade due to typical Intuit lack of backward compatibility with payroll) stinks. I am now on my second round of bugs. Initially the sync manager would not work. I found out that my backups (with their backup server), an add-on that I paid for were not working with the "new" version. Fortunately I had not had a crash but for months I was without any backups. "Customer service" seemed really, really unconcerned about this and wondered why I cared since I had not had a crash. Their only response was that I could "upgrade" to their new improved backup service.

After they supposedly fixed this a couple of months ago, their mailing service ceased to work and customers have not received mailed bills for a couple of months. The help viewer crashes the system. The interface to stamps.com does not work.

Their tech support is a total farce. While they do answer the phone (usual call center in India / Pakistan / Timbuktu) it is as if you are dealing with 15 different companies. One hand quite literally does not know what the other is doing. You are constantly referred to some other division. It seems as if there is no one who knows the product as a whole and the best that they can do is talk you through some lame script that they are given. While it is apparent that there are good people there, the management has structured things so a customer with a finite lifetime has a .0001% chance of getting through to one of those people.

Last but not least, operation of the product (when it does work and does not crash) subjects one to an endless bombardment of up-sell ads. If the product were free, these ads would be acceptable. In the case of a product that was purchased they most certainly are not.

My feeling is that Intuit was once a good company and had a good product -- I have been using it for 10 years. It has steadily gotten worse and worse due to greed and mismanagement. I have stuck with it just because of inertia but I'm afraid it is time to move on....
104 of 111 people found the following review helpful.
Do not buy Quickbooks Pro - THIS IS A FOLLOW UP COMMENT
By Ashok M Thakkar
I am an engineer, but not an accountant. My CPA recommended that I use Quickbooks Pro. I am fairly comfortable around computers and software. However, I found this software less than satisfactory. Here are the reasons: 1) It is true that the software is mostly intuitive, but not always. 2) I had purchased the PLUS option with unlimited support. However, the support hours are very limited. Every time I call, there is a 30-60 minute wait. They don't even allow us to schedule a call back. This means we have to hold the call for a very long time. 3) there is no easy way to communicate by e-mail. 4) Some of the tech support people, although friendly, had very poor communication skills. 5) simple corrections in "My Account" profile had to be called in. There is no way to make these corrections yourself. The tech support people did not have the authority to make any changes. So they submit the requested changes to admin. Most promises are never kept. It just does not happen. My company name and primary contact are still wrong after 6 requests. There are two names on the contact list, whom I have never known. No one can remove these names. 6) Quickbooks Pro does not allow you to create Purchase Orders or debit memos, just invoices and credit memos.This is cheating in my opinion.

This portion is added on November 22.

In response to my comments above, Corie from Intuit Customer Care wrote (Nov 18) to assure me that he is very concerned about my frustration and will help. After that, I have sent three different e-mails to Corie suggesting the time for calling. This person is NOT serious. He just goes through the motion. His words don't mean anything. There is NO FOLLOW UP - just empty words. Don't buy this product, don't trust Intuit Customer Care ... Ashok Thakkar
119 of 128 people found the following review helpful.
Great Product - Really Bad Customer Service
By Jay Jordan
Our company has been using QB for many years. We recently installed the 2014 version. Initially we had some installation problems. One of our staff members had to spend on the phone waiting for someone to pickup the call for 2 hours and 30 minutes. As I am writing this review I am waiting now 47 minutes and counting. Someone picked up the phone after 27 minutes and told me I need another department. He transferred my call and I am still waiting. Who will pay for loss of work for so many hours. What good is a great product if you can't get service. Every year we spend good money to purchase the latest version. I personally wouldn't do that except that they don't give you support if you don't pay for the upgrades. But then - what support?

It didn't use to be that way, but we are beginning to think about an alternative. It is now, BTW 54 minutes on the phone without being able to speak to anyone.
See all 319 customer reviews...

Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 (1PC/1User) [Download]

Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 (1PC/1User) [Download] From Microsoft List Price: $139.99 Price: $139.00 Digital media products such as Amazon MP3s, Amazon Instant Videos, and Kindle content can only be purchased on Amazon.com. Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Ships from and sold by Amazon Digital Services Inc Average customer review:  (486 customer reviews)

Product Description

Office Home & Student 2013 is designed to help you create and organize faster with new, time saving features and a clean, modern look.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23 in Digital Software
• Brand: Microsoft
• Model: AAA-02875
• Released on: 2013-01-28
• Platforms: Windows 7, Windows 8
• Format: Download
• Original language: English

Features

• Product download occurs on Office.com. Details about the download process are listed below.
• The latest versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.
• One time purchase for the life of your PC; limited to one "licensed computer" at a time and transfer eligibility restrictions apply.
• NOTE: Does not include Publisher, Access, or Outlook.
• NOTE: Windows XP and Vista NOT supported. This product requires Windows 7 or newer operating systems.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Office Home & Student 2013

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote on one PC.
Office Home & Student 2013 is designed to help you create and organize faster with time saving features and a clean, modern look. Plus, you can save your documents in the cloud on SkyDrive and access them when you are not at home.

What’s new in this release of Office?

The 2013 versions of familiar Office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint include new features that help you create, communicate and work efficiently from virtually anywhere. In addition to updating the traditional Office suites, Microsoft has developed brand new subscription versions of Office, specifically designed around the way customers use Office. Each new subscription offer will include the 2013 versions of the Office applications, for example Word, Excel and PowerPoint, plus cloud services such as Skype world minutes and online storage with SkyDrive.
Subscribers will also receive future rights to version upgrades as well as per-use rights across multiple PCs or Macs and select mobile devices.¹ Note: The Office applications you can use across PCs, Macs and other devices vary by platform.

¹Visit www.office.com/information for a current list of devices. Internet connection required. Internet and mobile telephone usage charges may apply.

What is the difference between the Office 2013 suites and Office 365 plans?

Microsoft Office is still the name Microsoft uses for its familiar productivity software. Office suites have traditionally included applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. All Office 2013 suites include the latest versions of the applications, for use on a single PC.

Microsoft uses the name “Office 365” for products that include cloud services, such as additional SkyDrive online storage, Skype minutes for home use, Lync web conferencing or Exchange Online hosted email for businesses. Cloud services are features that are enabled over the Internet. Most Office 365 plans also include the full-featured Office 2013 applications, which users can install across multiple computers and devices. All Office 365 products, such as Office 365 Home Premium, are paid for on a subscription basis, annually. Active subscribers will receive future rights to version upgrades as a benefit of their subscription. Entitlements vary by product.

What it includes:

• Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.
• Office on one PC for household use.
• One time purchase for the life of your PC; non-transferrable.
• 7 GB of online storage in SkyDrive.
• Free Office Web Apps for accessing, editing, and sharing documents.
• An improved user interface optimized for touch, pen, and keyboard.

How do I download Office?

Please note: This item requires a download directly from Microsoft. Below are instructions on what to expect when you purchase an Office download from Amazon.com:

1. Once you have completed your software download purchase at Amazon.com, you must click the "Continue to Office.com" button to get your software. The "Continue to Office.com" button can be found in your confirmation email, Your Games and Software Library, and on the Thank You page once you've completed your purchase.
2. You will be directed to a custom Microsoft Office site to register or sign-in with a Microsoft account.
3. Select your preferred country and language.
4. From your "My Account" page with Microsoft, select the item that you want to install.
5. Click the "Install" button to begin your download.

What's new with Office?

Complete Tasks

• Experience Office on Windows 8 devices, with an improved user interface optimized for touch, pen, and keyboard.
• An improved look and feel reduces distractions for a better reading experience.
• The new Start screen gives you a selection of recent documents and templates.

Simple Sharing

• Use OneNote to capture and share notes, pictures, web pages, voice memos, and more.
• Allow others to scroll through your Word docs in a browser, even if they don’t have Word.
• Focus on your audience with PowerPoint tools that let you zoom in or skip to any slide without seeing the slides in between.

Microsoft Office Applications

• Incorporate content from PDFs into Word documents.
• Add pictures, videos, or online media to a Word doc with a simple drag and drop.
• Recommended Charts helps you visualize data in Excel.

System Requirements

• 1 GHz or faster x86 or 64-bit processor with SSE2 instruction set
• 1 GB RAM (32 Bit) /2 GB RAM (64 Bit) recommended for graphics features and certain advanced functionality⁵
• 3.0 GB of available disk space
• 1366 x 768 resolution
• Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 2008 R2 with .NET 3.5 or greater.
  Windows XP, Vista or older NOT supported.
• Graphics hardware acceleration requires DirectX10 graphics card

Additional Requirements

• Internet Explorer 8, 9, 10; Firefox 10.x or later; Safari 5 (Mac) and Chrome 17.x
• Internet functionality requires an Internet connection. Fees may apply.
• Microsoft and Skype accounts
• A touch-enabled device is required to use any multi-touch functionality. However, all features and functionality are always available by using a keyboard, mouse, or other standard or accessible input device. New touch features are optimized for use with Windows 8.
• Speech recognition functionality requires a close-talk microphone and audio output device.
• Product functionality and graphics may vary based on your system configuration. Some features may require additional or advanced hardware or server connectivity.

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Which version is right for you?

Office Home & Student 2013 is for households who want Office on one PC. But if you're still not sure which version is right for you, check out our comparison chart.

	Home & Student 2013	Home & Business 2013	Professional 2013	Office 365 Home Premium
Licenses	1 PC	1 PC	1 PC	5 PCs or Macs plus select mobile devices1
Licenses Duration	One-time purchase for life of PC4	One-time purchase for life of PC4	One-time purchase for life of PC4	Annual subscription with access to version upgrades
SkyDrive +20 GB storage: Save documents online to your SkyDrive for access and sharing virtually anywhere3	7 GB	7 GB	7 GB	27 GB
Core Office applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint	X	X	X	X
Digital notebook: OneNote2	X	X	X	X
Email, calendars, and tasks: Outlook		X	X	X
Publishing & databases: Publisher2, Access2			X	X

1. Windows 7, Windows 8 OS, Windows Phone 7.5, Mac OS X version 10.5.8 required. Visit www.office.com/mobile for applicable devices. Windows RT devices come preinstalled with Office Home & Student 2013 RT Preview. Internet connection required. Internet and mobile telephone usage charges may apply.
2. Access and Publisher available on PC only. OneNote not available on Mac OS.
3. Internet and/or carrier network connection required; charges may apply.
4. You may transfer the software to another computer that belongs to you, but not more than one time every 90 days (except due to hardware failure, in which case you may transfer sooner). If you transfer the software to another computer, that other computer becomes the "licensed computer."
5. 2 GHz processor or faster and 1 GB RAM or more recommended for OneNote Audio Search. Close-talking microphone required. Audio Search not available in all languages.

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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
1490 of 1577 people found the following review helpful.
Say goodbye to an economical MS Office (now TRIPLE the price)
By D. Graves
I have never been a Microsoft hater, as many are. But the love is certainly gone. Welcome to the beginning of the end of an economical Office purchase (with one exception, which I'll get to later).

Ready to get your new 2013 Home & Student with 3 licenses? Forget about it: they're gone forever. Pay Microsoft your $140 and they will give you a THIRD of what they used to give you for that price: 1 license, not 3.

It gets worse: Are you familiar with Microsoft's big push for "Office 365"? Get familiar with it because this is the last time you will even be able to "buy" Office: you RENT Office 365, you don't own it. It's a subscription service. And it is the future of Office. Don't like the fact that you now have to pay $280 for your desktop and notebook copies of Office (or $420 for 3 licenses)? Say hello to $100 PER YEAR for Office 365. And that will be at LEAST $400 if you use it for more than 3 years.

The one positive aspect of 365 is that it covers up to 5 PC's, so a family will probably save money on the deal. However, if you are single or a couple with 2 or 3 computers, you will pay at least $300 over the average 3-year lifespan of an Office edition. Go one day over 3 years (requiring a 4th-year subscription) and it's $400. For something you paid $125 or so for until now (Office 2010 H&S with 3 licenses was $125).

Yes, I'm giving Microsoft 1 star: Forget about the merits of Office 2013, it's the greed and manipulative practices of Microsoft that need to be exposed here. One day in the not-too-distant future Microsoft will make sure "owned" editions of Office (perpetual licenses) will not work with new editions of Windows (e.g., Windows 10) so that you MUST subscribe to 365. Worse, you will have to ALWAYS subscribe if you want to read and edit your Word or Excel docs, use OneNote, etc.: the apps are DISABLED the minute your subscription lapses. This IS their plan. So, I encourage others to give Office 2013 a 1-star review to voice your displeasure over this 200% price increase and Microsoft's nefarious plans on making Office an extortion racket (they will be able to demand higher and higher 365 fees because you can't say no - unless you're willing to lose years worth of documents).

P.S. One other reason to hate this change in Office: the one license you get is now machine-specific, tied to that machine ID upon install. If that computer dies or if you decide to get a new PC, you now must buy another copy of Office: no migrating/transfering allowed anymore. Another $140. Nice.

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ADDENDUM 5 May 2013

Many who loathe the idea of renting Office have asked, 'Do I abandon Office and find a free suite [OpenOffice, etc.] now, or wait until I'm forced into Office 365?'. Well, just so you know, MS recently announced that it will continue to support Windows 7 to at least 2020, probably longer. That means that if you have Office 2010 or 2013 and run either W7 or W8, your owned (perpetual license) Office product will run fine until probably 2025 or later, as long as you keep W7 or 8 as your OS (and, who knows, perhaps Windows 9 will be compatible as well). If you have Office 2007 or earlier, I would get my hands on a 2010 with 3 licenses, pronto. There's nothing earth-shatteringly special about 2013 and many hate it compared to 2010, even aside from the pricing/licensing nonsense.
349 of 365 people found the following review helpful.
Good, but not a significant step forward from Office 2010
By F
TL;DR: Office 2013 is a good product in its own right, but it's pretty much the same as Office 2010 with SkyDrive integration, touch mode, some new annoyances, and higher pricing. I would not recommend upgrading from Office 2010. If you do not have Office 2010, see if you can live with the competition (OpenOffice, Google Drive) before buying this.
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About a month ago, I installed Windows 8 and the final version of Office 2013 on a Dell XPS 13. A bit about me: I'm a graduate student and a long-time user of Microsoft Office. I've used Word, Excel, Powerpoint and OneNote almost every day for the past 5 years, but OneNote the most by far. I've used every version of Office since 1997.

As other reviewers have pointed out, the biggest changes to Office 2013 from Office 2010 are SkyDrive integration, touch gestures, and a flatter UI to match Windows 8. Since I don't use SkyDrive often, don't have a touchscreen, and am indifferent to the flatter look, I'll leave those aspects to other reviews. If you're like me and aren't particularly excited by SkyDrive (which still isn't as versatile as Google Docs for real-time collaboration), then Office 2013 is practically the same as Office 2010 in terms of how everything works - most of the time. This is not a bad thing, at least in my opinion, since I really liked Office 2010 and its improved Ribbon UI.

What I wanted to talk about here are the changes that Microsoft has made to Office 2013 from Office 2010 that I've noticed, changes that might impact daily workflow for users upgrading from previous Office versions.

OneNote 2013:
---------------
I spend at least 4 hours a day in this program, so I'll start with this. As far as I can tell, there are no significant changes in terms of features. Buttons on the ribbon are shuffled around a bit, but the feature set is still the same, as is the file container (*.one) and notebook type ("OneNote 2010-2013").

However, there are 5 new issues that annoy me every single day.
(1) Full screen and pinning the ribbon. In 2013, going into full screen mode means that everything is hidden, except for a very short horizontal bar across the top of the screen. To access anything on the ribbon, I have to click on this bar to show the ribbon first. If I want to pin the ribbon so that tabs are visible at all times in full screen mode, I have to click on this bar, click a menu button near the minimize button (also hidden in full screen), and then click Show Tabs. However, OneNote does not remember this setting. Thus, every time I exit full screen mode or restart OneNote and then reenter full screen mode, I have to re-pin the ribbon again. On an ultrabook, I want more space for taking notes, but I also use the ribbon extensively and would prefer to have it available. This problem did not exist in OneNote 2010, which remembers the user's full-screen ribbon settings.
(2) Inserting multi-page printouts. The new default behavior in OneNote 2013 is to place each page of the printout on a separate "page" of the notebook. I prefer to put one entire lecture on each "notebook page", regardless of how many pages or slides the professor gives us. I've also never come across anyone who prefers to have only one printout page on each notebook page. So for instance, if I were inserting a 30-slide Powerpoint, OneNote 2013 would create 30 new notebook pages. There is an option to turn this off in the options, but OneNote then shows a dialog box asking me to choose between the two options every time I want to insert a printout. Since I insert several files a day, this gets annoying very quickly. Once again, OneNote 2010 did not have this problem.
(3) Inserting more than 1 multi-page printout on the same notebook page. If I try this, then the second printout is somehow inserted under the first printout, i.e. the first printout overlaps and covers up the second printout. It only happens when the printouts are both at least several pages long or if I've annotated the page already; the program disregards my cursor location. To work around this, I have to put the second printout on a new notebook page and then copy/paste the printout pages back to the first notebook page. This problem also did not exist in OneNote 2010.
(4) Zoom level changes when inserting printout: it always defaults back to 100%. I take notes at 115% on my ultrabook, so every time I insert a printout, I have to readjust the zoom level.
(5) Drawing tools. I have no idea how Microsoft managed to mess this up when going from 2010 to 2013, but half the time I try to draw an arrow, it ends up being a line with a V in the middle, or the arrowhead is completely detached from the line. In fact, I can't even draw a plain line properly sometimes. I haven't tried the other shapes much, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were problems there too. I've given up and resorted to drawing arrows freehand with the pen tool instead.

These issues may seem minor to some, but they affect me every day, so I wanted to give a heads-up to anyone else who uses OneNote the same way I do. I wish that Microsoft had spent more time implementing useful features (e.g. still can't rotate or crop a printout; search results are still clunky) or at least providing options to change these new behaviors in settings.

Word 2013:
--------------
Now, when you open up Word (and Excel/Powerpoint), you're presented with a selection of templates instead of just a blank document, which is one extra click away (this can be turned off in Options). Other than that, the feature set for Word has remained largely the same. I have noticed significant lag when saving large Word documents, even to SSD - I was working on a 20MB file and Word would freeze up for 10-15 seconds every time I saved, despite my computer being pretty new. I tried tweaking the settings, disabling hardware acceleration, etc, but nothing helped. This was not an issue in Word 2010 either.

One of the most touted new features of Word 2013 is the ability to open PDF files for editing, but I have attempted to open and edit several documents, and Word does a horrible job of preserving formatting. I have third-party conversion software that almost always gets the formatting correct, no matter how complex, so this was a disappointment. I even tried to open a PDF file that was created from a simple Word document, and Word failed to properly center the title. I would not recommend relying on this feature.

Excel/Powerpoint 2013:
----------------------
I haven't had much of a chance to work extensively with these programs, but other than the template selection page when first opening the programs, they seem pretty much the same as Office 2010. Saving large files in Powerpoint 2013 usually seems okay, unlike in Word 2013. Powerpoint now defaults to 16:9 aspect ratio for slides, which is nice. There are some nice additions and tweaks to the Design tab in Powerpoint, but nothing spectacular. Excel has some handy pattern-recognition auto-fill functions now which seem to work well.

One more thing about Word/Excel/Powerpoint: Microsoft decided to add transitions to everything, which I find distracting. For example, when you type in Word, the letters fade into the page instead of simply appearing, and the cursor glides to the right. In Excel, when recalculating cells, the new values fade in, like a ripple effect. In Powerpoint, when applying a new background, it fades into all the slides as it is applied. There is no way to turn this off except through a registry tweak.

Conclusion
------------
It may seem like I'm being overly critical of Office 2013, but I immensely enjoyed using Office 2010, and much of that experience has carried over here. Office 2013 will undoubtedly stand as the new standard of office suites this year. Microsoft Office remains a powerful and invaluable set of software for people in academia or business, which is why I'm still giving it 3.5 (~4) stars. But at best, Office 2013 is simply Office 2010 with SkyDrive integration and touch gestures. If you're like me, Office 2013 introduces little to no new functionality and a handful of new bugs and quirks that interfere with daily workflow. My advice? If you're considering upgrading from pre-2010, then I would recommend Office 2010, especially in light of the annual subscription-based model Microsoft is pursuing for Office 2013. If you're already on Office 2010 and are happy, I would not recommend upgrading to Office 2013.

UPDATE - SkyDrive collaboration
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Recently, I tried using SkyDrive, Office Web Apps (free version), and Office 2013 together to collaborate on some files with other people, and the experience is a far cry from Google Docs. I will preface this by saying that I am not using the subscription/corporate versions of Office Web Apps, which (I believe) have better collaboration features. This is for users who want to buy the retail copy of Office 2013 and/or are considering using Skydrive and the free Office Web Apps to work on files with other people.
(1) Changes are not synced in real time - for instance, if someone makes an edit, all other users who have the file open must manually save and refresh the document to see changes.
(2) Conflicts. After the manual save/refresh, Skydrive roughly merges everything together - so, for instance, if both users write a sentence, both sentences will appear after the first user syncs their changes, the second user syncs the first user's changes plus their own changes, and the first user syncs yet again. If two users try to edit the same word, Skydrive gives an error message, complaining of a conflict and asking the user to manually resolve each problem. If this sounds like a mess, it's because it is.
(3) There is no indication of what other users are editing, where their cursors are, what they're looking at, etc., unlike Google Docs.
(4) In Excel, if a desktop user on Excel 2013 is editing the spreadsheet, then no other users can edit it.
(5) In Powerpoint, text appears in a different size and font when being edited, then reverts back after the user exits the text box...why?
(6) The web apps have been stripped of nearly all features, even basic things like header/footer in Word. This is to be expected, since it's free, but it also means that Google Docs provides a superior experience, at least for word processing.
I shudder to think how badly this system would work when trying to get a significant amount of work done. Google Docs may be inadequate for many power-user tasks, but it is absolutely outstanding when it comes to real-time collaboration - I've written 100+ page papers with other people using Google Docs, and while further formatting is always required in Word after everything is written, we've never had a problem with seeing exactly what has been written at any given time. Microsoft's free solution does not hold up well at all for multi-user scenarios; it really only works as a backup solution for single user use.
216 of 229 people found the following review helpful.
Customer Service sucks!
By babs
I bought this and downloaded it on my computer. A week later that computer basically died so I had to get a new one. They won't reset my code and are insisting I spend another $140 TO BUY IT AGAIN. I had to wait 2 hours on the phone and online to be told no. I am beyond frustrated at them.
See all 486 customer reviews...

TurboTax Home and Business Fed + Efile + State 2013 with Refund Bonus Offer [Download]

TurboTax Home and Business Fed + Efile + State 2013 with Refund Bonus Offer [Download] From Intuit List Price: $99.99 Price: $79.99 Digital media products such as Amazon MP3s, Amazon Instant Videos, and Kindle content can only be purchased on Amazon.com. Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Ships from and sold by Amazon Digital Services Inc Average customer review:  (25 customer reviews)

Product Description

TurboTax Home & Business Federal + Fed E-file + State 2013

Product Features

• Get your personal and small business (sole proprietor) taxes done right
• Extra guidance for self-employment and small business deductions
• Up to date with latest tax and healthcare related laws
• Double-checks your return for deductions and credits and helps you avoid triggering an audit
• Includes five Free Federal E-Files and one download of a TurboTax State product (State E-File extra)
• Use some (or all) of your federal refund to purchase an Amazon.com Gift Card** from TurboTax and TurboTax will tack on an extra 10% - so $500 would become $550

Use your return to purchase an Amazon.com Gift Card and get up to a 10% bonus
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Choose the amount you would like to use to purchase an Amazon.com Gift Card, and watch your bonus grow
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Product Information

State preparation and printing is included in this version. State E-File is available at an additional charge.

Get Your Taxes Done Right with TurboTax

TurboTax coaches you every step of the way, double checks your return and answers any questions you may have, so you can be confident you’re getting your maximum refund.

• Customized to your situation. TurboTax treats you as an individual and provides an experience tailored to you by searching for the latest deductions and credits based on your job, family, and life.
• Up-to-date with the latest tax and healthcare laws, so you know you’re covered and won’t miss a thing.
• TurboTax has experts to help and support you, so you know you won’t get stuck if you have a question.
• TurboTax helps keep your return safe by flagging areas that might trigger an audit. If anything does come up, TurboTax tells you how to fix it. Plus, audit support tools give you access to step-by-step guidance on what to do if the IRS contacts you.

Everything You Need to Easily Do Your Personal and Business Taxes

• Extra guidance for new businesses – shows startup tax deductionsnew businesses can take.
• Customizes questions and provides guidance based on your business profile (sole-proprietor, consultant, 1099 contractor, and single-owner LLC).
• Helps find all small business tax deductions and shows you which expenses you can deduct for your vehicle, supplies, utilities, home office expenses, and more.
• Walks you through industry-specific tax write-offs to help you spot commonly-overlooked deductions.
• Finds your biggest vehicle deduction by showing whether you'll get a bigger deduction using actual expenses or the standard mileage rate.
• Extra help for splitting vehicle expenses between business and personal use.
• Shows you all business income types on a single page so you know you've covered all sources of business income reported on Schedule K-1, Schedule Q, and Schedule C.
• Helps you prepare unlimited W-2 and 1099 forms for employees and contractors. Does all calculations and prints on plain paper with no special forms needed. Mac users must have Internet access to create W-2 and 1099 forms.
• Simplifies asset depreciation and helps you determine which depreciation method will get you your biggest deduction. TurboTax Home & Business + Federal E-file + State includes all the great features of TurboTax Premier plus a download of one TurboTax State Product. State E-filing extra.

No Tax Knowledge Needed

• Guides you step by step, asks you simple questions about your life and business and puts this information in the right place for you.
• Accurately transfers last year’s tax info so no retyping is necessary. You can also import from other tax stores and software including TaxACT and H&R Block at Home (Windows via .tax and .pdf; MAC via .pdf).
• Up-to-date on all tax-related laws and automatically updates to reflect changes, including the new healthcare laws.

Get Back All the Money You Deserve

• The Deduction Maximizer searches over 400 deductions and creditsand finds those that apply to you based on your unique situation or business.
• Extra guidance for homeowners for things like: mortgage interest, property taxes, refinancing fees, points, and improvements to your home's energy efficiency.
• Its Deductible (included) helps you accurately value items donated to charity. Plus, it tracks other donations such as cash, mileage, and stocks, to help you get every tax deduction you're entitled to.
• Five free Federal E-Files are included. Returning users can transfer their tax information from their previous year’s return.

Your taxes, Done Right

• Automatically double checks your return for errors so you can be confident your taxes are done right.
• TurboTax shows your tax refund in real time. The Dual Refund Monitor constantly displays and updates both your federal and state refunds (or taxes due) as you complete your federal return.
• Receive email confirmation once your return has been accepted by the IRS.
• TurboTax is so confident your return will be accurate, they guarantee it¹.

There to Back You Up

• TurboTax experts are standing by to help if you need it, so you can be confident your taxes are done right.
• Free product help from TurboTax Agents available via phone or live chat².
• TurboTax CPAs and EAs are ready to answer your toughest tax questions by phone (fees may apply).²
• Free online audit support tools provide you extra assistance.
• The Audit Risk Meter checks your tax return for common audit triggers and provides tips to help you reduce your chance of an audit.

TurboTax Home & Business was designed to help you take full advantage of your personal and business deductions so you get your biggest tax refund possible.
Choose TurboTax Home & Business if any of the following apply to you:

• You are a sole proprietor, consultant, 1099 contractor, or single-owner LLC
• You receive income from a side job or self-employment
• You prepare W-2 and 1099-MISC forms for employees or contractors
• You file your personal and business taxes together

If you prepare an S Corp, partnership, C Corp, Fiduciary, or multiple-owner LLC return, choose TurboTax Business.

System Requirements

• Processor: For PC: 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or faster processor. For Mac: Multi core Intel Processor with 64-bit Support.
• Operating Systems: Windows XP Service Pack 3+/ Windows Vista/ Windows 7/Windows 8. Administrative rights required. Mac OS X v10.6.8 or later (64-bit required)/Mac OS X v10.7.5 or later.
• Monitor: 1024x768 or higher recommended.
• RAM: 1 GB or more recommended.
• Internet Connection: 56 Kbps modem (Broadband connection highly recommended).
• Hard Disk Space: For PC: 515 MB for TurboTax (plus up to 1.5 GB for Microsoft .NET 4 client if not already installed). For Mac: 360 MB.
• Printer: For PC: Any Windows compatible inkjet or laser printer. For Mac: Any Macintosh-compatible inkjet or laser printer.
• Third Party Software: Win: Microsoft .NET 4 (included with TurboTax Installer); Adobe Reader 8 or higher. Administrative rights required.
• CD-ROM Drive (for CD version of software): 2X CD-ROM drive.

TurboTax with Refund Bonus Get up to 10% back on top of your federal refund
Which TurboTax is right for you?	Basic	Deluxe	Premier	Home & Business
Special Offers: Refund Bonus Offer
Use some (or all) of your federal refund to purchase an Amazon.com Gift Card and Turbotax will tack on more (see details)	Extra 5%	Extra 10%	Extra 10%	Extra 10%
Step-by-Step Guidance
EasyStep Interview walks you through your return, finds you every credit you deserve, and double checks for errors as you go	✓	✓	✓	✓
Easily imports prior year tax data from TurboTax and other software brands	✓	✓	✓	✓
Save time by importing financial data including W-2s, investment, and mortgage information, plus import from Quicken and QuickBooks3	✓	✓	✓	✓
Free Get product support when/how you need it (via phone or live chat)2	✓	✓	✓	✓
Includes 5 Federal E-Files — receive IRS confirmation; get your fastest refund possible4	✓	✓	✓	✓
Includes Up-to-date with all tax-related laws, including the new healthcare law	✓	✓	✓	✓
Maximize Your Deductions
Deduction Maximizer searches over 350 deductions and credits as you go to help make sure you get your maximum refund		✓	✓	✓
Includes 1 State product via download (Print for free or E-File for $19.99 per return5)6		✓	✓	✓
Audit Risk Meter — helps you reduce your chance of an audit		✓	✓	✓
Its Deductible helps you accurately value charitable donated items		✓	✓	✓
Expert advice provides insight into this year's outcome and recommendations to help you get an even bigger refund next year		✓	✓	✓
Investments and Rental Property
Extra guidance for investment sales such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and employee stock plans			✓	✓
Cost Basis Lookup quickly tracks and calculates historical cost basis			✓	✓
Shows you how much opening an IRA now could save you on this year's taxes			✓	✓
Additional help for rental property income, expenses, and refinancing			✓	✓
Schedule C Businesses
Expanded Schedule C guidance to maximize home office, vehicle, and other business deductions				✓
Simplified income and expense entry so you don't miss a thing				✓
Create W-2 and 1099 forms for your employees and contractors				✓
Walks you through what start-up costs new businesses can deduct				✓

Note: State preparation and printing is included in this version. State E-File is available at an additional charge. Internet access required for updates and e-filing. Not for use by paid preparers.
1. TurboTax is so confident your return will be done right, they guarantee it. If you pay an IRS or state penalty or interest because of a TurboTax calculation error, TurboTax will pay you the penalty and interest.
2. Tech and product support (phone and chat) hours vary by time of year. Live tax advice is available for a fee. Service, experience levels, hours of operation, and availability vary and are subject to restriction and change without notice. See turbotax.com for full terms and conditions.
3. Imports from participating financial institutions as well as Quicken and QuickBooks versions 2012 and higher. Does not import from QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks for Mac products.
4. Fastest refund with E-File and direct deposit; refund timeframes will vary.
5. Prices subject to change without notice. E-File fees do not apply to New York state returns.
6. TurboTax Deluxe only includes State product with purchase of TurboTax Deluxe Fed, E-File, and State 2013.

*Amazon.com Gift Card offer is for federal refunds only. Limits apply ($2000 per e-card, maximum $10,000 per customer). Offer available only for TurboTax Online or CD/download versions sold and shipped, or downloaded directly from Intuit or Amazon. See here for full details.

**Amazon.com is not a sponsor of this promotion. Amazon.com Gift Cards ("GCs") sold by Intuit, an authorized and independent reseller of Amazon.com Gift Cards. Except as required by law, GCs cannot be transferred for value or redeemed for cash. GCs may be used only for purchases of eligible goods at Amazon.com or certain of its affiliated websites. For complete terms and conditions, see www.amazon.com/gc-legal. GCs are issued by ACI Gift Cards, Inc., a Washington corporation. All Amazon ®, ™ & © are IP of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. No expiration date or service fees.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9 in Digital Software
• Brand: Intuit
• Model: 422398
• Released on: 2013-11-15
• Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows XP
• Format: Download
• Original language: English

Features

• Get your personal and small business taxes done right with expert help when you need (fees may apply)
• Extra guidance for self employment and small business deductions
• Double checks your return for deductions and credits and helps you avoid triggering an audit
• Includes one TurboTax State product download
• Use some (or all) of your federal refund to purchase an Amazon.com Gift Card** from TurboTax and TurboTax will tack on an extra 10%—so $500 would become $550

---

Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
23 of 27 people found the following review helpful.
Beware of CD version
By K. Kolb
I bought the Home & Business version from Costco and returned it. The CD version won't work on most PC's; check the Intuit website for error code 1603 if you want verification. They know there's a problem, but the fix isn't coming. I may be forced into the downloadable version, but it's not my first choice. I'm not saying it won't work on your PC, but if you get error code 1603 or 65535 during the installation process, stop the download and don't waste any more of your time. I've spent at least 10 hours trying to get this program to work and I'm finally giving up. I've formatted my hard-drive, loaded in three different versions of the OS and it still won't work; the problem is in the installation software on the disk. I don't give negative reviews lightly, but this software deserves it and Intuit deserves to take a financial blow on this one. I also tried the Deluxe version and it failed too, so the problem is more far-reaching than just one version of the software. I've been using TurboTax since it's conception and MacInTax (it's predecessor) before that, so I'm not a newbie at this.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful.
Windows 7 - downloading State did not work
By M. Cavanaugh
I'm not sure if it's my computer or Turbo tax, but after downloading Home and Business, I tried to get the state downloaded and kept getting an error. Decided to install on my old Windows XP computer and worked fine.

Also won't pre-order this again as the price dropped 20% and it's only January
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Easy to use for personal and small business
By kristynindenver
I like Turbo Tax for its ease of use and affordability. I don't love it because it did have an error last year and I was notified by my state that there was a balance needing to be paid that didn't show up when I filed. That is has not happened to me in previous years, so I will give it another try and be more careful in my final review.
I do like that I just got an extra $10 off for being a Prime member during the promo this week on Amazon.

PS: The discount shows up during checkout even though it doesn't appear in the cart.
See all 25 customer reviews...

Office Mac Home and Student 2011 - 1PC/1User [Download]

Office Mac Home and Student 2011 - 1PC/1User [Download] From Microsoft List Price: $139.99 Price: $113.66 Digital media products such as Amazon MP3s, Amazon Instant Videos, and Kindle content can only be purchased on Amazon.com. Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Ships from and sold by Amazon Digital Services Inc Average customer review:  (727 customer reviews)

Product Description

Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Student 2011 helps your family make the most of every opportunity, every day, from managing home projects and planning important gatherings to helping your kids polish their homework.

System Requirements

• A Mac computer that has an Intel processor
• Mac OS X version 10.5.8 (or a later version)
• 1 gigabyte (GB) or more of memory (RAM)
• 2.5 GB of available hard disk space
• HFS+ hard disk format (also known as Mac OS Extended or HFS Plus)
• 1280 x 800 or higher resolution monitor
• DVD drive or connection to a local area network (if you are installing over a network)
• Safari 5 or a later web browser is recommended

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16 in Digital Software
• Brand: Microsoft
• Model: GZA-00203
• Released on: 2011-10-01
• Platform: Mac OS X
• Format: Download
• Original language: English

Features

• Create visually rich newsletters, brochures, and more
• Organize, analyze, and share your data and lists
• Increase efficiency and save time by automating repetitive tasks
• Simultaneously edit a file with multiple authors in different locations
• Post, access, edit, and share your files from virtually anywhere

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

With over 1 billion PCs and Macs running Office, Microsoft Office is the most-trusted and most-used productivity suite ever. And Office for Mac 2011 is here to help you do more with your Mac your way. Use familiar applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to help you take your ideas further. And since Office for Mac is compatible with Office for Windows, you can work on documents with virtually anyone on a Mac or PC. Store your files in a password protected online SkyDrive folder to access, edit, or share your work from virtually anywhere with the free Office Web Apps.

1-Pack Version

Licensed for home and student use on 1 (one) Mac; not for use in any commercial, non-profit, or revenue generating business activities, or by any government organization.

What's New and Improved

Powerful writing tools help you create outstanding documents, then store, edit, and share your work easily on the web.

Clarify your financial picture with easy-to-analyze spreadsheets you can post online to view, edit, share, or coauthor with your team from virtually anywhere.

Create powerful, professional presentations that engage and inspire your audience, and present online as effectively as in person.

• Ribbon
  Access favorite commands quickly, and personalize your workspace.


• Office Web Apps*
  Post, edit, and share files from virtually anywhere.


• Coauthoring
  Simultaneously edit a file with authors in multiple locations.


• Template Gallery
  Visually select the perfect template for your next project.


• Photo Editing
  Remove backgrounds or add color filters right within PowerPoint.


• Full Screen View
  Use full screen to maximize space for reading and writing.


• Presentation Broadcast
  Broadcast a presentation instantly online, even to people without PowerPoint.


• Improved Publishing Layout View
  Create visually rich newsletters, brochures, and documents easily.


• Sparklines
  Create small charts in a single cell to discover patterns in your data.


• Visual Basic Support
  Automate repetitive tasks by programming your favorite commands.


• Dynamic Reordering
  Rearrange layers of text, photos, and graphics quickly.

* Requires a Windows Live ID, internet connection and supported browser.

Work the way you want, where you want.

Microsoft Office for Mac adds rich new features to the familiar Office applications you already know, helping you to manage your home and schoolwork the way you want. Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Student 2011 is licensed for home and student use on 1 (one) Mac and is not intended for commercial use. It includes:

Word for Mac 2011

Powerful writing tools help you create outstanding documents, then store, edit, and share your work easily on the web.

• Create visually rich newsletters, brochures, and documents in Publishing Layout view.
• Instantly see styles applied in your document with Visual Styles.
• Work in Full Screen view to maximize space for reading and writing documents.
• Rearrange layers of text, photos, and graphics quickly with Dynamic Reordering.
• View, edit, store, and share documents online with the Word Web App on Windows Live SkyDrive.*
• Share and coauthor Word documents with virtually anyone, whether they're using Office on a Mac or PC.

Excel for Mac 2011

Clarify your financial picture with easy-to-analyze spreadsheets you can post online to view, edit, share, or coauthor with your team from virtually anywhere.

• Clarify your data using Conditional Formatting with icons, data bars, and color scales.
• Spot trends with new Sparklines, small charts that fit in a single cell.
• Spend more time analyzing data and less time sifting through it with PivotTables.
• Organize, filter, and format related data with Excel tables.
• Increase efficiency and save time by automating repetitive tasks using Visual Basic.
• View, edit, store, and share spreadsheets online with the Excel Web App on Windows Live SkyDrive.*
• Share and coauthor Excel spreadsheets with virtually anyone, whether they're using Office on a Mac or PC.

PowerPoint for Mac 2011

Create powerful, professional presentations that engage and inspire your audience, and present online as effectively as in person.

• Remove backgrounds or add color filters to your photos right within PowerPoint.
• Move beyond the conference room and broadcast your presentations online.
• Rearrange layers of text, photos, and graphics quickly with Dynamic Reordering.
• Rehearse, check your timing, and take notes in Presenter View.
• View, edit, store, and share Office documents online with the PowerPoint Web App on Windows Live SkyDrive.*
• Share and coauthor PowerPoint presentations with virtually anyone, whether they're using Office on a Mac or PC.

* Requires a Windows Live ID, internet connection and supported browser.

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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
582 of 599 people found the following review helpful.
Should you order the disk or download?
By J. Torres
There has been enough written about using Microsoft's office apps versus Apple's on the iMac. I'll not rehash that here. I need every feature I can get my hands on so I checked Amazon today for the best price on Office 2011 for the Mac. Given that I only have one Mac in the house I was happy to see I could save a few bucks on the 1 license/1 mac version.

Then I saw the download version available and wondered if I should do that or wait the two days for the disks. The item description said it could take from 1 hour and 30 minutes to 5 hours to download. One of the reviewers said the download didn't work. I thought I'd take the risk anyway given I have all the latest hardware and software, fast cable internet connection, a little bit of tech knowledge, trust Amazon to take care of its customers, and am increasingly enjoying the new world of online availability of everything without having to store disks.

So here's my take: It took me 8 minutes to download the software and 4 minutes to install it. Then I had to get back on Amazon for the software key, as you need to quit Safari to finish the install. Upon starting the software it checked for updates and I needed to install service pack 1 which took another couple of minutes. All in all the process was completely error free and under 20 minutes. It doesn't get any better than this! Highly recommend!

The only reason I might reconsider the digital download is if I was unsure about my internet or hardware/software setup. But if that was the case, then I wouldn't be looking at Office 2011 anyway, as it might not work well on my setup anyway. The thing people need to remember is that upgrading necessitates upgrading -- the best way to keep your old hardware is to keep your old software, but when you want the latest and greatest, be prepared for the costs for all the latest to go with it.
95 of 99 people found the following review helpful.
So glad I went back to MS Office
By Deidre A Vivian
Downloaded in 38 minutes for me. MacBook Pro. Installed, including downloading/installing Office updates, up and running 20 minutes later. This 2011 Office will take some learning. Got fed up with IWorks. So many things you can't do in IWorks. Can't open IWorks document in Word. Not totally surprised. But I can transfer Word/Excel/PP docs from my old Mac.
120 of 131 people found the following review helpful.
Annoying
By C. J. Healey
This software reminds me of why I recently gave up the PC and moved to the Mac.

All I wanted for work was Word and Excel. I am a pretty advanced user and did not want to start experimenting with Mac productivity suites. So I just decided to buy this, the cheapest version of Office I could find and download onto my 2012 MacBook Air.

Now I may have missed the avoid bloatware button when I installed this software but I was very annoyed to see completely unnecessary garbage installed on my computer without my permission. Microsoft Instant Messenger, a dozen tiny programs I am never going to use. Microsoft even had the audacity to install an Outlook icon on my task tray. Since this package does not come with Outlook I was intrigued (as well as annoyed that so many icons had just been installed) so I clicked it. Nothing but a message telling me I had to buy Outlook if I wanted to use it. Seriously? One of the biggest software companies in the world using adware like a cheap shareware program?

It's especially annoying to have unnecessary junk like that on a machine with only 256Gb of hard drive space. So consider that when installing, maybe there is an option to be more selective and I skipped over it by mistake.

So annoying hard drive wasting bloatware aside, it's Office, just like I'm used to. The interface has changed some, but it seems perfectly usable for my needs. I've not used it enough to establish if there is any major flaws in it so far, I guess time will tell.
See all 727 customer reviews...

H&R Block Tax Software Deluxe + State 2013 Win [Download]

H&R Block Tax Software Deluxe + State 2013 Win [Download] From H&R Block List Price: $44.99 Price: $34.99 Digital media products such as Amazon MP3s, Amazon Instant Videos, and Kindle content can only be purchased on Amazon.com. Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Ships from and sold by Amazon Digital Services Inc Average customer review:  (36 customer reviews)

Product Description

Guidance for all your personal tax situations. Federal forms and State forms. Step-by-step interviews guide you through a customized experience relevant to your tax situation. Everything you need to prepare your federal and state taxes in one complete program.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7 in Digital Software
• Brand: H&R Block
• Model: 1316800-13
• Released on: 2013-11-16
• Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows XP
• Format: Download
• Original language: English

Features

• Personalized tax advice
• Maximize mortgage interest and charitable deductions
• Sale of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds

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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
111 of 119 people found the following review helpful.
Pleased overall
By Ali Julia
I've used H&R Block's tax software (formerly called TaxCut) every year since 1995. Several times when I saw a promotional deal I purchased both TaxCut and TurboTax to compare. I found that TurboTax did not do anything better than TaxCut while costing consistently more.

✔ INSTALLATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
♦ If you encounter issues with display, such as not seeing selection boxes, check your screen resolution. Both Windows and Mac minimum requirement for the screen resolution is 1024 x 768 pixels or higher. At a lower resolution H&R Block software will have problem with display such as not properly displaying selection boxes. Screen resolution can be changed on your control panel by change PC's display settings.

♦ If you are using a digital download you will need a key-code to install the software after you dowload it. The key-code can be located two ways.
Option 1: After my download finished the install started automatically offering me a choice of two links "View Keys" and "Install". When I selected view key-code after a fairly long pause it displayed my key-code in a browser window.
Option 2: You can locate it in your Amazon account:
1) Log into Amazon
2) Select Your Account at the top right of the page
3) Select Games and Software downloads which is towards the bottom of the long page you see when you log in
4) Then under H&R software entry you will see the key-code that you need to enter to unlock the software

♦ Does H&R allow to install the software on two PCs?
I found the answer on H&R Block web site FAQ under the topic "Installing Software on Another Computer"
I quote the FAQ answer below:
"There are just a few steps necessary to re-install the H&R Block At Home program from the CD you received in the mail. Follow the steps below to re-install the program or install it on a second computer.
Insert the H&R Block At Home CD into your computer.
Click the Need to Re-install? link on the menu bar at the bottom of the screen.
The Frequently Asked Questions page will open to the first FAQ titled, "Can I install the software on a second computer?"
Enter your activation code and last 4 digits of the credit card you used to purchase the program initially and click Activate.
You can find your activation code in your purchase confirmation e-mail.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation."

✔ WHAT IS INCLUDED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I purchased a digital download version of H&R Block Deluxe plus State. This version entitles you to 5 free federal e-files. You can print and mail as many returns as you want, there is no limit on printing.

One state software is included in the package but the package does NOT include free e-file for the state return (see one exception below). If you want to e-file your state return you will need to pay a fee of $19.95 to e-file each state return. Alternatively, you can print all the forms and mail them using US post office. If you need to file taxes for an additional state, each additional state is $39.95 plus $19.95 e-file fee. Ouch!

Note: NY state residents can e-file state returns for free.

✔ GENERAL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just finished my preliminary tax return and below are my observations. Note: the forms are not final until January 9, 2014.

♦ H&R Block starts the interview process with an annoying up-sell pitch, recommending an upgrade from Deluxe to Premium even when it is not necessary. In my opinion, they should wait until the person enters this year's data and suggest the upgrade only if there is something about the return that can benefit from the Premium version. That would have been useful.

What is the difference between Premium and Deluxe? The Premium version offers advanced tools for self-employed and rental property owners: cost basis of home sales, dividends, gifts, and inheritance assets. It has advanced schedule C guidance to maximize deductions for self-employment income. And finally it has guidance for rental property income and expenses. The rest of the Premium package is the same as Deluxe.

Note that the Deluxe package has support for self-employed income as well as stock sale cost basis calculations. Last year I had to do both and I found the guidance in Deluxe package was sufficient to complete the forms.

♦ Pet Peeve: Help is not context sensitive. For example, when you click on "learn more" about a particular topic the general help window opens but it does not show help topics for the specific topic that you were working on. Instead you need to search and know which key words to use locate the relevant topics.

♦ H&R Block provides you some guidance for completing Form 1116 (foreign tax credit, for example foreign tax paid by mutual funds). However, you need to keep switching between whole-form view to enter data and then back to interview to read the instructions. Even though the form where you can enter data is visible at the same time as instructions you cannot enter data into it until you switch into whole-form view. This is cumbersome, but at least there is some guidance for this form.

♦ DeductionPro (which helps you put value on your charitable donations) is integrated into H&R Block software running on your local PC. You no longer need to enter this information on H&R web site. I prefer having this information locally on my PC for better security. The change from web site to local PC was introduced last year and I was happy to see that this change is here to stay.

♦ I don't use the default location for the tax returns due to how I set up my backup software. The H&R Block software does not initially remember this new location on the second start of the application, it told me I have no returns. I needed to pick the return manually from the File menu, as it did remember recently used files. The third time I started the software, it finally knew the location of the tax return file.

♦ I use large font option on my monitor display and in the past years had display issues on some forms (text boxes were display overlapping each other on some forms). This year all forms displayed properly.

♦ I usually purchase tax software as early as possible to help me with end year tax planning. However, if timing is not important to you be aware that the price on this package changes often and you can catch some great discounts. I use a nice tool that shows history of Amazon prices. If you enter "Amazon price history alert" in Google it will come up at the top, my favorite has the word camel in the name. You can set up the tool to send you an alert when you desired price drop is reached. During the last tax year season the price fluctuated between $20 and the list price of $44.99, and was on the gold deal special a couple of times.

♦ For folks trying to download State Forms. The state forms are not available as of 11/17/2013. You have an option of entering email where you will be notified as soon as the form for your state becomes available. Alternatively, you can go to H&R website, click on "Download Software" on the top banner, and select "State Editions". Currently it says "Available in January 2014".

When the state forms will become available they can be downloaded by selecting the State Tab and then clicking on the button labelled "Buy" (a little scary since we already paid for it) but then "buy" will turn into "update" and the forms will be downloaded to your computer.

♦ At the end of the interview process there is a check step (which you can run at any time, but the interview ends with this check). This step flags problems (e.g. missing information) and potential audit alerts (e.g. unusual deductions) with red flags, and reminders (e.g. things you marked tentative) with yellow flags.

♦ Update: To post an answer to a good question asked via a comment: Does H&R has the ability to import TurboTax data from previous years?
Yes. TurboTax® files have a .tax extension. Use the Browse button within H&R Block application to navigate to the folder you need and it will import the data from TT return.

I have been a H&R Block/TaxCut user for many years. I keep coming back because it works well for the tax forms I need to do and it is less expensive than TurboTax. If you have a question I have not covered leave a comment and I will do my best to answer it.

Ali Julia review
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful.
I just downloaded and it does include 5 free federal e-files.
By JVC Engineering
Just like the hard copy disc purchase but costs less. Your activation code also activates the 5 free federal e-files.
38 of 41 people found the following review helpful.
Long-time customer, not happy about this program's install process - READ if you have H&R Block 2012 already installed!
By Jeremy K.
So, I'm a long time H&R Block Tax software customer. I've always been happy with the product, and the price - way less than TurboTax or a human. That said, I just battled a frustrating install process and finally figured out the problem. After installing 2013, the first order of business was to download a software update (Federal). The update downloaded, and then failed during update. The software went into this cycle of prompting for an update, failing to install it (would get to about 80% and then roll back), then prompting for an update again. After cycling through this a few times and failing, I uninstalled 2013, re-installed, and proceeded to battle the same issue.

After an hour of frustration I thought to myself, I wonder if having H&R Block 2012 on my machine is causing a problem? So, I uninstalled 2012, uninstalled 2013, then re-installed 2013 and voila, problem solved. So, if any of you out there have 2012 installed (or potentially any other version), and you are having install/update problems - I would remove previous versions first!

Software conflicts happen, I get it. The reason for the two-star review is because the conflict isn't addressed AT ALL by the 2013 software. The 2013 software should have checked for previous versions during install and prompted for removal. At minimum, a warning or disclaimer should have been provided with the product detailing this as part of the install instructions. At BARE MINIMUM, they would have posted something about this on their online support page. Considering they left me to battle this for an hour before eventually solving the problem on my own, I'm not real thrilled with them to start this year's tax season. This is disappointing because I generally start my taxes with a feeling of happiness, euphoria really - and they took this feeling of joy away from me...

Other comments are also correct about the unnecessary up-sell attempt to premium - before they even know if you NEED it. If you need to file a state return be sure to pay the extra $$$ now and buy this version with state included (vs. Deluxe without state) - they charge more to bolt it on within the software.
See all 36 customer reviews...