Manage Invest 2008.4

The first thing to say about this software is that its installation takes ages. It took me about 15 minutes to install the program on my computer which is an Athlon 64 3000+, with 1GB of RAM. So be prepared with some patience before you start installing it. The application integrates several pieces of functionality like target asset allocations, asset management, cash payments, cash receipts, asset revaluations, and accounts ledger.

Manage Invest is designed for people with a good grasp on accounting, but I guess it could also be used by a person who just wants to track expenses. Several tips are provided in the help file, so I recommend you read it before you start using this software.

The application uses so-called entities to represent each person or company which is to be tracked. It supports defining multiple entities and using them individually. A lot of dialogs exist, so you are likely to get lost unless you understand what you are doing. My opinion is, again, that the simplest way of learning how to use Manage Invest is to study its features from the documentation.

Pluses: The program is able to draw graphs of just about everything you enter. For example, you could use it to plot a graph of the market value of your assets over a specified timespan. Nice looking pie charts can also be displayed.

Drawbacks / flaws:

In conclusion: Manage Invest is a good choice for someone who needs to manage an investment portfolio, but I'm pretty sure an absolute beginner in accounting would have a hard time understanding its feature set.

version reviewed: 2007.5