24 — North Shcre News — Sunday, October 15, 2000 sonal THERE are few com- panies in the software world that appear to have as strong a famil- jarity with the concerns of the mainstream “. investor as Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTO), makers of the popular Quicken range of per- sonal finance software products. Quicken, along with Microsoft Money, owns the lion's share of the personal finance software market and operates a popular compan- ion Web site — Quicken.com — to help support users of its software. So what's on the minds of fellow mainstream investors? According to Brad Card, a product manager for Quicken, many North American investors are wor- ried about debt and how to BUSINESS get rid of it. He says that considerable research under- taken during the devclop- ment of fast year’s Quicken 2000 product indicated a strong concern about this issuc. “Debt reduction is a key issue on everyone's minds,'” says Card. “Quite often it takes the form of people wanting to know frow to pay down their mortgage a bit faster or whether it's time to refinance their mortgage.” - The company’s research suggests that the average consumer spends !55 hours a year — or 350 days over a lifetime — managing their Software boosts service ‘MEMBERS of the ‘North: Shore Credit : Union (NSCU) are the | \. first financial services. customers in Canada to >: benefit from a new : pee of f banking tech For members, the newly- implemented Customer Relationship. Management (CRM): software revolution-’ izes the way they can commu- -nicate: with the credit union. The software creates a sing}: profile that accurately records what a member’s needs and . preferences are when it comes to client and financial service. NSCU staff. have instant information on the members they are dealing with and will be able to tailor financial prod- ucts that fit specific needs. “The CRM system allows us to offer customize? service We are currenily looking for women with severe, recalcitrant facial acne to participate: a Clinical trial comparing Accutane’ to Diane - 35" (an oral contraceptive). Reirnbursemient for qualified volungeers upon n study completion. “Healthy women, 18-40 years of z age . “Must be available to attend 17 visits over 16 months ‘Must not be pregnant or breast-feeding -> ap smear, pregnancy and laboratory tests required © Willing to use oral contraceptives | TEs . Tani like ‘you! ‘ve arrived - before you get. there. : clegantyspecnted, spacious leather IF INTERESTED, | PLEASE CONTACT: 873-4049 most t respected ‘authorities in: : interior, advanced. All Mode . 4-wheel tas chosen, it = “Best, Overall. . drive “and ; ‘taxes, licence, iain destination and delivery charges are extra. Dealerships are free to set individual prices. *tn telliCholce jest Overall Value Winner” 2000: “A Best Overall Value” 1998, 1959. 2000 Complete Smal Truck Cost Guide, ™ inielliChcoic personal finances, vet more than 70 per cent ‘have had no instruction or help in learn- ing to manage their finances. Meanwhile, that research also indicated that more than SO per cent of investors consider themselves to be beginners. As a result of those con- cerns, Intuit developed a debt reduction planner to help peuple analyze the personal imance information that they hold in Quicken, and identify where they can do a better job of paying off everything from credit card debt to bank loans and mortgages. And in developing the recently-released Quicken to each member, whether they _ choose ro deal with us at branches, with personal finan- cial managers, through tele- consultants or online through their personal computer,” said NSCU’s senior VP for. sales and. marketing ~ Elaine McHarg. ’- “Like other financial insti- tutions, we have had members in the past repeatedly ask for a - system that allows everyone at NSCU they have contact with to know. who they are and what they need. The system | WALE TILES :, as low as if FLOOR TILES |. cS as low as. inance management qui 2001, Card says the key user concern the company addressed is immediacy and timeliness of personal finance information. He says many users are achieving a greater level of control by using online banking services more actively. “Banks obviously want to encourage their users to become more Internet-savvy to use the services they have spent the time developing,” said Card. ‘Banks are secing us as a way of facilitating that transfer from the teller to the Web site.” ; He says that online bank- ing support for products like : - develops a complete financial picture of each member and matches that against more than 20 life-stage events like the purchase of a first home or entering retircment.” . NSCU’s proprietary CRM ‘system’ blends the disparate banking. systems. thar collect ~ membct information to create a sin aa profile that is accessed financial advisors. Until ae successful implementation of the systems, as in every other. financial institution, customer’ information was fragmented Quicken is also encouraging more people to use personal finance sufiware, since they no longer have ta spend as much time entering data con- cerniag their transactions. It - can automatically be integrat- ed from the online banking. - Web site. “Quicken is most aver ful after the data bas been entered ~ and data entry is a barrier for a lot of people,” .- he admits. “Many people... don’t have the time or the : a know-how (co enter data a from their bank statement) so they are trying to go with online banking { (to eliminate * that problem).” so that tellers,’. mortgage’ lenders and other credit union. - personnel rarely had a com-. “plete picture. ofa member's...’ ° needs or: opportunities : to: : improve service. - in addition, the CRM sys-. tem’ will continuously : mine the data using predictive mod-. cling to alert NSCU. staff of. new trends and new ways to service its 31,000. member-' Ships. Partners in. the CRM a Bart include Sierra Systems, ’ ata West cand : - Pivotal: wax ot Of tl 4