After more than a decade of impressive development on its Money personal finance manager, Microsoft apparently decided to take a breather this year: Money Premium 2007 has changed little since last year, save some new budgeting and spending tools and minor enhancements. It remains a formidable competitor to market leader Quicken, in no small part because of its elegant design and ease of use—but Quicken, which had stronger innovation in its latest update, squeaks past Money Premium this year.

A thorough setup tool and Quicken file converter help automate start-up with Money Premium, although the process can still take some grunt work if you don't already have financial accounts set up online and a Windows Live ID (required for added security and, in some cases, to aggregate accounts—consolidate them so you need just one ID and password to access them all). Once you've completed setup, the customizable home page clearly lays out the program elements—banking and bill-paying; budgeting, taxes, and planning; and investing—and gives summary views of key financial data such as your accounts, spending, upcoming bills, reminders, and alerts.

Money links to thousands of financial institutions, simplifying your workflow if you're wired for online banking and bill-paying. Alerts and reminders of items such as bills due keep you on your toes, and seamlessly integrated content from MSN Money helps improve your financial acumen. This version of Money Premium adds a Savings & Spending Budget tool to the basic bookkeeping capabilities. The feature attempts to help you limit committed expenses (regular ones, like mortgage and utilities) to 60 percent of your income. It divides the rest of your income among long- and short-term savings, retirement savings, and occasional expenses. This approach to spending and saving isn't revolutionary, and it can be difficult to follow, but the guidance makes sense and the tool works well.

Little else of note has changed. Money Premium still offers terrific portfolio management and other investment tools, as well as the best long-term planner I've seen in personal finance software. The tax-planning feature and the ability to export Money data to tax software keeps you current with your government obligations, and a comprehensive suite of customizable reports provides an ongoing gauge of your financial progress and future. Microsoft bundles more than $300 worth of extra financial services and software, including one year of credit monitoring, capital-gains management, and a charitable-donation tracker.

If you're a current Money Premium user, I see no reason for you to upgrade unless you haven't done so for a few years. Consumers new to personal finance software won't go wrong by starting out with Money Premium, though, as it's one of the most mature desktop programs of any available. But Quicken 2007 still comes out slightly ahead this year.