Good money management software is hard to find. Quicken is one of the few companies that has built a reputation as one of the better — although somewhat expensive — software packages. Quicken Online, however, is now a free money management option.

I’m not entirely fond of online money management solutions: as a general rule, it’s hard for a company to protect the sort of sensitive information necessary for managing your finances. Most applications need at least limited access to your bank account in order to receive your statements and other financial information. You could re-enter all that information by hand, of course, but it’s a lot of work. Having all that information on one website makes that site a target for identity thieves and other criminals. Using a program installed on your computer is usually a little safer.

But I’m inclined to trust Quicken Online more than other web applications offering similar services. For one thing, while Quicken Online isn’t quite a year old, the Quicken line of products has been around for years. The company behind Quicken — Intuit — has the resources to build in the necessary protections for an online money management application. Looking at the Quicken Online site, I can tell that they’ve implemented a fair number of reasonable security measures. Quicken Online uses either 40-bit or 128-bit encryption, depending on which your browser supports, to protect transmissions. There’s also a number of other physical, electronic and procedural safeguards in place.

For the past ten months, Quicken Online has charged a subscription fee for the use of the site, although a free trial was available. Quicken has now dropped the fee, making its online version competitive against Mint and other web-based applications.

Quicken Online doesn’t have the Web 2.0 feel of some of the other money management sites, but that’s just fine. Quicken’s software is easy to use and it’s pretty clear that Intuit has put a lot of effort into making the system reliable and useful, rather than messing with aesthetics. The interface is simple and easy to use; you can add a bank account just by knowing your bank’s name, and your account login information — no trying to remember account numbers or anything else. The system handles loans and credit cards equally well. There are also a number of useful tools beyond balance reconciliation: budgeting, spending categorization and charts that can help you quickly see just what’s going on with your money. You can also set up access to your Quicken Online information through your cell phone: you can check your balance and perform other simple tasks through text messages.

Lastly, Quicken Online has a forum that allows you to discuss money matters with the greater Quicken Online community. You can ask financial questions and get advice on your money matters. In most cases, it isn’t clear the reliability of that advice — I’d consider it a good starting point if you’re researching your next financial move, but I’d do a little further research before acting.

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