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iBank 5 for Mac Adds Bill Pay, Streamlined Updating, and More

Downloaded, Upgraded and Wowed.

The changes are significant. Everything is smoother and the Command-U for update everything fetches account updates, syncs, everything. They simplified the UI and gave it the ability to schedule payments. Nicely done and no problems to report so far.
 
@redtomato - try moneydance - it understands the UK (and has a developer located in the UK) - though won't automatically download UK transactions - but thats the banks security rather then an inability to do it....
 
RedTomato said:
I'd love to use an app like this but I live in the UK which, strangely enough for a global finance centre, is a barren wasteland when it comes to third-party app access to banking accounts.

I'd even consider changing banks just to get something like this.
Click to expand...

Doesn't Lloyds money manager do something like this? I don't use it as I bank with the Co-op (hopeless at IT, great for parties, allegedly), but it looks like it from the ads!
 
sportsnapper said:
@redtomato - try moneydance - it understands the UK (and has a developer located in the UK) - though won't automatically download UK transactions - but thats the banks security rather then an inability to do it....
Click to expand...

JonathanU said:
Doesn't Lloyds money manager do something like this? I don't use it as I bank with the Co-op (hopeless at IT, great for parties, allegedly), but it looks like it from the ads!
Click to expand...

So basically the answer is still: nope. :rolleyes:

I found a list of banks Moneydance supports at http://infinitekind.com/fi - note the absence of UK banks.

@sportsnapper, after looking, I think you mean "there's someone in the UK who uses moneydance & has hacked together in his spare time a script to scrape the screen of smile.co.uk, which for now, works with his personal set-up" Completely unsupported for any other user or any other bank.

http://www.fubaby.com/2012/01/importing-smile-bank-statements-into-moneydance/

Hoping to be proven wrong.
 
BlueGummiBear said:
I run Quicken Home & Business in Parallels because I haven't found anything even remotely close to it for managing personal finances with business finances.
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Agree. Quicken H&B add basic business functions to the high-end Quicken feature set. It's a great solution for lots of self-employed consultants, service people, etc.

IMO, Intuit has a tendency to ship new products before they are fully baked, so you have to be careful about upgrading. I always check out forums and online product reviews beforehand, and wait until they have shipped a few service releases before installing any Quicken upgrade.

All the Intuit products I've worked with (from Quicken up through QuickBooks Enterprise) have been very well-behaved under Parallels, btw.
 
IBank5 reports features

johncrab said:
Downloaded, Upgraded and Wowed.

The changes are significant. Everything is smoother and the Command-U for update everything fetches account updates, syncs, everything. They simplified the UI and gave it the ability to schedule payments. Nicely done and no problems to report so far.
Click to expand...

Can you comment on the Reports? Have they improved the interface and filtering?
 
Is the iBank 5 app any good for UK users (with or without any of the syncing stuff)?

Keep meaning to try proper software to deal with my finances better, as I don't think spreadsheets cut it (or do they? I'm no expert spreadsheet user, so I really don't know, lol!)
 
Hmmm, looks like it might be time to give this software another try. I've used previous versions of this program, but always preferred the Quicken interface. But I eventually gave up on Quicken, too. It'd be great if iBank finally hits the sweet spot.
 
RedTomato said:
I'd love to use an app like this but I live in the UK which, strangely enough for a global finance centre, is a barren wasteland when it comes to third-party app access to banking accounts.

I'd even consider changing banks just to get something like this.
Click to expand...

I'm writing from iBank's developer, IGG Software, so forgive any evident bias here. But I do wish to point out that, particularly with iBank 5's Direct Access subscription service, many UK banks are supported for automatic updating of transactions. You can download a trial copy of iBank from our website, and start a free 30-day trial of Direct Access as well. It may be the solution you are looking for, without switching banks.

On the subject of Direct Access, I should point out that it is not a requirement for users of iBank who are satisfied with direct downloads via OFX (or simply downloading a current transaction file from online accounts). But some banks charge for direct connections, while Direct Access streamlines, automates and even improves account updating in some cases - showing pending transactions, for example, when standard updating does not, and accessing many more banks internationally. So for some users this optional service will be worth its cost.

Also, I want to add my .02 to any questions and comparisons to both Mint and YNAB. Mint is free - not usually a bad thing - but is a limited tool for active money management (as pointed out elsewhere above). By the same token, YNAB offers good budgeting tools and dispenses good advice, but as our iBank comparison charts (linked to above by others) show objectively, YNAB does not provide for bank downloads, mortgage tracking, bill pay, check printing, tax export or investment support - etc. - while iBank 5 does. Those features are pretty essential, and hardly constitute "bloat" (as someone said), for anyone seeking full-featured money management.

In any case, we encourage people to monitor their finances, however they go about it. iBank 5 is just one solution out there, and we're happy to have interested users give it a test drive. Trial downloads and more info are at our site. http://www.iggsoftware.com/index.php
 
iggypop said:
I'm writing from iBank's developer, IGG Software, so forgive any evident bias here. But I do wish to point out that, particularly with iBank 5's Direct Access subscription service, many UK banks are supported for automatic updating of transactions. You can download a trial copy of iBank from our website, and start a free 30-day trial of Direct Access as well. It may be the solution you are looking for, without switching banks.

On the subject of Direct Access, I should point out that it is not a requirement for users of iBank who are satisfied with direct downloads via OFX (or simply downloading a current transaction file from online accounts). But some banks charge for direct connections, while Direct Access streamlines, automates and even improves account updating in some cases - showing pending transactions, for example, when standard updating does not, and accessing many more banks internationally. So for some users this optional service will be worth its cost.

Also, I want to add my .02 to any questions and comparisons to both Mint and YNAB. Mint is free - not usually a bad thing - but is a limited tool for active money management (as pointed out elsewhere above). By the same token, YNAB offers good budgeting tools and dispenses good advice, but as our iBank comparison charts (linked to above by others) show objectively, YNAB does not provide for bank downloads, mortgage tracking, bill pay, check printing, tax export or investment support - etc. - while iBank 5 does. Those features are pretty essential, and hardly constitute "bloat" (as someone said), for anyone seeking full-featured money management.

In any case, we encourage people to monitor their finances, however they go about it. iBank 5 is just one solution out there, and we're happy to have interested users give it a test drive. Trial downloads and more info are at our site. http://www.iggsoftware.com/index.php
Click to expand...

Thanks for that reply. Looks very interesting. I'll download it and give it a try when I have more time in January.
 
Quicken/Windows vs. iBank 5

I've been using Quicken for many years and have developed a real love/hate relationship with Quicken and Intuit. When i switched to Mac several years ago I really wanted to find a Mac replacement for Q, as that is the only Windows program i still run.

I researched the various options and they all paled in comparison to the full feature set of Quicken expecially in the investment and reporting area. And, the big feature, integrated bill pay was missing from all of the Mac competitors.

But now iBank 5 has bill pay and allows for updating of all my investment accounts, stock prices, bank transactions, etc. That's great. But they charge $40 a year for updating my investment accounts.

I can live with that, but I'm sticking with Quicken simply because i still find iBank's reporting and analysis capabilities to be way too simplistic. For example, in Quicken i can see the Morningstar ratings of my mutual funds, the 1-year, 3-year and 5-year performance of all of my investments and how each of them compares to the performance of the industry as a whole. In iBank i can see only the overall gain or loss percentage. Nothing sophisticated.

If your needs are simple, iBank may be perfect, but if you like to have some powerful analytical tools and reports, stick with Quicken.
 
Subscription to update??? H-NO!

I anxiously awaited iBank5, but it's got absolutely no value to me if I have to pay to update my account balances. Sure, it would be nice to reconcile my checkbook, but I don't do anything through checking but automatic bill payments that I can review in personalcapital.com. It's what I moved to when mint.com had too many problems updating my accounts.

Mint is for budgeters; Personal Capital is for everyone else.

Well, that's my Christmas gift to my fellow Scrooges who, like me, believe that every DirectAccess subscription saved is a better retirement earned.
 
Direct Access: completely optional

jacobp said:
iBank 5 has bill pay and allows for updating of all my investment accounts, stock prices, bank transactions, etc. That's great. But they charge $40 a year for updating my investment accounts.
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There is no cost for updating investment accounts in iBank 5.

Texconsin said:
I anxiously awaited iBank5, but it's got absolutely no value to me if I have to pay to update my account balances.
Click to expand...

Let's clarify: iBank 5 can download account data via OFX/direct downloads - that costs nothing (unless your bank charges you, and some do). iBank 5 can also be updated via web downloads - always at no cost and available from nearly every financial institution (including investment accounts). You can also update accounts manually.

Direct Access is a separate, exclusive, more advanced service that fetches data from over 10,000 banks worldwide, without any extra effort on the part of subscribers. It is more convenient, more accurate (capturing even pending transactions), automatic, and totally optional. You can use iBank 5 without it; finance management is even better with it. More info is here: http://www.iggsoftware.com/ibankforipad/direct_access.php
 
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I switched from Quicken to MoneyDance to iBank back in v3. Version 3 was slow and painful, but most issues I had was solved in v4. V5 seems to be even better. I haven't tried the automated service yet, but will be giving it a go soon, though importing the transactions has always worked great.

Nothing really wrong with MoneyDance, except that the cross platform Java UI was really dated and the mobile sync was lacking at the time.
 
So as the only admitted oddball, how well does it import Microsoft Money transactions? I have YEARS of data in Microsoft Money, and have found most of the import/export process to be a gigantic PITA - to the point that it's really NOT worth it to export.

I'd love to have something that syncs between the laptop & my ipad (or phone) that works like Money did/does.
 
I switched from Quicken to Moneydance a few years ago. I had tried iBank but it didn't import my Quicken data correctly and it didn't support bill pay, both worrisome issues. Moneydance did both. I have been highly impressed with Moneydance. I may give iBank another try now that it supposedly supports bill pay, if the data import has been fixed.
 
iggypop said:
Direct Access is a separate, exclusive, more advanced service that fetches data from over 10,000 banks worldwide, without any extra effort on the part of subscribers. It is more convenient, more accurate (capturing even pending transactions), automatic, and totally optional. You can use iBank 5 without it; finance management is even better with it. More info is here: http://www.iggsoftware.com/ibankforipad/direct_access.php
Click to expand...

What is the advantage of Direct Access over Quicken's one-step update? All of my banks and credit cards are supported via one-step update for free, but iBank says there's no automated access for these accounts other than Direct Access.
 
I recently bought a house and had this grand plan to pay my mortgage with my credit card for the travel points. My mortgage just got sold to Chase. Of course, Chase wont let me do that. I found one bill pay service but they want 30 bucks every payment. That's BS. Can I pay bills with ibank 5 using a credit/debit card? if not does anyone know a good service to do this?
 
iBank 5 - bug riddled, not ready for prime time

I just got a refund after 10 infuriating days battling iBank5 after years of happiness with iBank 4. So many bugs and problems I don't know where to begin. Failing to match transactions, double postings, silently failing downloads, incorrect investment calculations, and a migration from 4 that failed completely. I started over with a clean install but problems persisted. Support not very helpful. Maybe they'll get it together, but as of this writing (and release 5.0.2) I strongly recommend avoiding.
 
cmaas said:
I just got a refund after 10 infuriating days battling iBank5 after years of happiness with iBank 4. So many bugs and problems I don't know where to begin. Failing to match transactions, double postings, silently failing downloads, incorrect investment calculations, and a migration from 4 that failed completely. I started over with a clean install but problems persisted. Support not very helpful. Maybe they'll get it together, but as of this writing (and release 5.0.2) I strongly recommend avoiding.
Click to expand...
When I was on the iBank 5 beta, the list of financial institutions wouldn't populate for me when adding new accounts. They acknowledged it as an issue that others were having too and tried to come up with a solution, which ultimately came to me having to manually download an institution list file and put it in the Library location. I was surprised when I removed the beta and all associated files and installed the final release only to find out this issue made it into the retail version. You stating other bug and conversion issues is convincing me to stay away and give my older paid version of Moneydance another try even though I was looking to move away from it.
 
iBank 4 user, cannot recommend iBank 5

I am one of the many Quicken users who had to find a new program after the loss of Quicken support and the pile of manure that is Quicken Essentials. I tried a number of programs and landed on iBank4 and have been using that for the last 2.5 years.

iBank 4 was okay. I made a lot of feature requests and bug requests. I was really hoping they would add some. They made an iPhone app and a iPad app. But no new features.

iBank 5 came out. I thought "great, here are all those new features I wanted". None of my hoped for features were included, none of the bugs fixed, bugs were added, the old things that annoyed me remained, and things were made harder that didn't need to be. And they want me to pay for that? :mad:

I have to agree with those above who said that the features in the upgrade don't really help me and are certainly not worth the price of the upgrade. It is time to get back on the path of finding a new financial tool, or running Quicken for windows as some others who posted here do.
 
I have recently upgraded to iBank 5 and taken out a direct access subscription after seeing hsbc uk in the list of supported uk banks.

There the problems started. I emailed support and got a quick reply saying there was a problem with hsbc uk but it was working on a fix and would give me a voucher for the direct access subscription .

I replied asking how long the fix was likely to take as realistically i only upgraded from 4 to take advantage of this.

I have sent this email twice and have had no reply.

IGG - happy to take your money, not so quick to support you when their software doesn't work as advertised.

Pissed off UK bank customer
 
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