Customer Rating: 
Summary: This program alone is the reason I still use a PDA
Comment: I got Pocket Money back in 2001 shortly after getting my first Palm pilot. This program alone justifies my need to have a Palm PDA. I have used it for keeping track of my money transactions for since then. I can have several accounts stored in the program, and run transfers between them. The very first transaction is dated July 24, 2001 and it still appears on record.
It's even helpful for budgeting. When I deposit money, I get on this program and start deducting off future bills and upcoming expenses. The convenient part is I can mark these accounts as "not cleared" which means I can see two different totals, one being the actual total and then the "Cleared Totals" only.
Repeated transactions can be done automatically as well. Just set up a transaction and then tell it how often that transaction will occur.
You can password protect entry into the Pocket Money program. Also, notes can be added to transactions (so you can store receipt numbers or other info). You can set limit alerts on particular account. If you pass that limit, the program displays a message.
You can also set categories for particular transactions. For instance, if I buy something for my business, I just mark it under the category `business (or anything you want). Then, when Tax time rolls around, I can view just the transactions under the business category. Makes it easier to remember what needs to be deducted.
I've had this program follow me through my Palm M100, a Handspring Prism, yet another Handspring Prism (first one met an unfortunate demise), and finally my . Its especially convenient that Hot-sync backs up the database. I've had a few harsh crashed and I've been able to get my database back every time (minus un-synced actions).
When I was considering getting a smart phone, the ability to load a good working money management program was a priority, so it made getting the Treo a good deal.
While I do really like this program, there are some quirks I've noticed over the years.
1. I have one automatic transaction that I can't seem to stop. I no longer need the program to stop repeating this particular transaction but for some reason it won't stop. In the end, every 15th of a month I have to delete that action manually.
2. Despite what the box and instructions said I never seemed to manage importing/exporting into Quicken or Microsoft Money. I'm using Version 2 so maybe the Version 3 they are selling works better. I was a little upset about this at first, but I think I like it better as a Stand-Alone. I use Microsoft Money for verifying my accounts and Pocket Money for in the field record keeping. Besides, every time you sync your device IT WILL BACKUP the Pocket Money database, which is good enough for me.
3. Some higher functions, like "rolling up transactions" crash the device. This has happened every time I try to do those functions and on every device I have had. I don't know what the deal is, but I haven't needed those functions so I guess its not important.
I'm giving a review based on Version 2.0 of Pocket Money and they're selling Version 3.1.2 now. I'm sure there might be some changes and improvements, but based on the screenshots from Handmark's website, it looks very similar to my version. Just a few added bells and whistles. I'm considering moving to the newer version, and probably starting fresh (four years of records can a database really large.)
Even with those quirks, I still give this program 5stars. I can't believe how simple and easy it has been for me to keep up with my transactions with this on my PDA. It has helped me keep a closer eye on my bank accounts and also helped me be more aware of my spending habits. This program really is worth trying out.
