Working with accounts
Pocket Quicken has a security feature that allows you to set a four-digit PIN. If you enable this feature, you'll have to enter the correct PIN every time you start Pocket Quicken. The large keypad that appears when you start Pocket Quicken makes entering your PIN easy, as you can see in Figure A.

FIGURE A

Large buttons make it easy to enter your PIN.

Obviously, this feature protects your data from prying eyes if you lose your Palm handheld, or if you let someone else use it. Once you enter the correct sequence, you'll see the account summary. If you haven't enabled the security feature, you'll immediately be presented with the account summary, pictured in Figure B, when you start Pocket Quicken.

FIGURE B

From the account summary, you can choose to work with Accounts, Registers, or Budgets.

If you tap on the name of an account and then tap the Details button, you'll see a screen that includes the name of the account and what type of account it is. You can also choose to enter additional information like the account number and contact information.

You can also choose to see information related to the balances of the account (current versus ending balance), and find out when the last HotSync for this account was. Watch out! You can also change some information here, like the account name, which could cause problems with synchronization with Quicken. Your best bet is to leave the fields that are already filled in as they are.

Working with registers
The Register screen is laid out just like a checkbook register. Here you can see a summary of each transaction. This is where I really appreciate the fact that they added color support. Payment amounts are in red, deposits are in black, and each line of the summary alternates between a white background and a light blue one. While you're looking at the register for one account, you can quickly switch to another account by selecting from the pulldown menu in the upper-right-hand corner. If you tap on an item, you can see the detail.

For transactions that have already been synchronized with Quicken, you can only view the details or choose to delete the transaction. You can also choose whether you want to see the ending balance, the current balance, or the available credit for a credit card account.

Entering transactions
One of the best things about having Pocket Quicken is that you can record transactions at the time you make them. If you write a check, you can enter the information in Pocket Quicken while the clerk is processing the transaction. What this means is that you never again have to mess with recording a transaction in your paper checkbook register and then go through the laborious process of re-entering those transactions into Quicken later.

Most paper checkbooks have a column for recording cleared checks while you're balancing. Since I balance electronically, I have found a different use for this column. If I'm running around without my Palm m505 (this almost never happens), and I write a few checks, I still record them in my paper register. Then when I get home and enter them into Pocket Quicken, I check them off as cleared. This way I always know when I have transactions that need to be entered.