By Joel T. Patz

Businesses, like racing cars, run best when everything is working at an optimal level. There's usually a telltale sound when a valve is shot, but the warning signals of a troubled business can be more difficult to hear.

That's why it's important to give your business regular checkups. One tool, Odyssey Computing's Financial Tune-Up, makes this reasonably painless.

A basic wizard helps you fill in the requested information, then sets up the analytical spreadsheet in which you'll do your work. For example, when you select the Cash Flow Forecasting module, you provide the company name and the year the forecast starts, and indicate whether you want grid lines and row and column headers. Your information combines with hidden formulas in the interrelated cells to produce a preformatted analytical document. Some modules have built-in graphs to illustrate your data; you can also use the graph wizard to create your own on the fly.

You have to be careful when using this program; there's no Edit Undo button and it's possible to irretrievably delete not only a cell-specific formula but also a whole worksheet section.

The printed documentation is clear and direct and is mostly reflected in the online help. However, when looking up Ratio Analysis and Ratio Analysis Terms online, I found only blank screens.

Although Financial Tune-Up doesn't provide the sophisticated features of a high-end application such as Cashé (reviewed in our February issue), it is a well-priced alternative for keeping your business on track.

--Info File--
Financial Tune-Up
Price: $49.95
Pros: Basic; easy to use
Cons: No Edit Undo
Platforms: Windows 95, NT 3.51 or later
Disk Space: 8MB
RAM: 8MB
Odyssey Computing
800-965-7224, 619-675-3660
WinMag Box Score: 3.0