Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
what is the best financial software ?
- Thread starter UKBeast
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
This, in my opinion, is the weakest software area on the Mac. There are lots of "pretty" packages, but few that are what I would consider fully-featured when compared to Windows personal finance software options.
I've tried iBank, Jumsoft Money, Moneywell, Moneydance and I'm sure a few others. I haven't been satisfied wtih any of them. Quicken for Mac is one of the very worst.
I have given up on doing my personal finances on the Mac and have stuck with Quicken on my Windows system.
If I didn't have a Windows computer as well, I'd run Quicken for Windows via Parallels or Boot Camp.
I've tried iBank, Jumsoft Money, Moneywell, Moneydance and I'm sure a few others. I haven't been satisfied wtih any of them. Quicken for Mac is one of the very worst.
I have given up on doing my personal finances on the Mac and have stuck with Quicken on my Windows system.
If I didn't have a Windows computer as well, I'd run Quicken for Windows via Parallels or Boot Camp.
Pretty much the one major problem I've had with recently coming back to a Mac after a long period of Windows machines. After checking out the options, the best choice for me was simply running Quicken for Windows under Parallels.
You can try Cha Ching. It's very mac-like.
However, for me, I just spent some time making a perfect spreadsheet in Numbers, and I use that to track all of my accounts, expenses, etc.
However, for me, I just spent some time making a perfect spreadsheet in Numbers, and I use that to track all of my accounts, expenses, etc.
AccountingSoftware
You could try a business account package like Moneyworks (http://www.cognito.co.nz/). This is a nice package and is localised for various tax systems, but may be more effort than you want.
I sometimes think that Excel or Numbers and a bit of discipline would do most people a much better job than home finance packages as they know how to use them and can be modified easily to different circumstances.
As already said this does seem to be the weakest area of mac software availability. I do all my business accounts in a 4D database written myself for this reason, although I was on the verge of getting Moneyworks before I worked out what the accountant and VAT man needed.
HTH
You could try a business account package like Moneyworks (http://www.cognito.co.nz/). This is a nice package and is localised for various tax systems, but may be more effort than you want.
I sometimes think that Excel or Numbers and a bit of discipline would do most people a much better job than home finance packages as they know how to use them and can be modified easily to different circumstances.
As already said this does seem to be the weakest area of mac software availability. I do all my business accounts in a 4D database written myself for this reason, although I was on the verge of getting Moneyworks before I worked out what the accountant and VAT man needed.
HTH
I've wrestled with this for a long time. I used Quicken for many years, both on a PC and the Mac. The ongoing indifference on the part of Intuit towards Mac users has been maddening and I "fired" Quicken last year to switch to iBank after evaluating a number of options.
I found switching was fairly straightforward. I was able to import my accounts from Quicken using QIF files with only a couple of problem transactions out of several thousand. I manage about 12 checking/saving/CD accounts for my personal and business needs, along with several credit card accounts and my personal SEP-IRA portfolio.
The area that is weakest on iBank is the management of securities transactions; I find data entry to be very clunky. Importing of transactions works a bit differently than Quicken but easy to learn once you get the hang of it. Once I got everything setup, downloading quotations to update my portfolio value was very easy as well.
I think iBank and Moneydance are both good alternatives to Quicken on the Mac. If you have to have every one of the Quicken bells and whistles, then you probably need to run QFW under Parallels or VMware. However, I think that iBank or Moneydance will satisfy the needs of 90% of typical users. BTW, both of these products have iPhone app versions available (I think the iBank app is a couple bucks, while the Moneydance app is free).
I found switching was fairly straightforward. I was able to import my accounts from Quicken using QIF files with only a couple of problem transactions out of several thousand. I manage about 12 checking/saving/CD accounts for my personal and business needs, along with several credit card accounts and my personal SEP-IRA portfolio.
The area that is weakest on iBank is the management of securities transactions; I find data entry to be very clunky. Importing of transactions works a bit differently than Quicken but easy to learn once you get the hang of it. Once I got everything setup, downloading quotations to update my portfolio value was very easy as well.
I think iBank and Moneydance are both good alternatives to Quicken on the Mac. If you have to have every one of the Quicken bells and whistles, then you probably need to run QFW under Parallels or VMware. However, I think that iBank or Moneydance will satisfy the needs of 90% of typical users. BTW, both of these products have iPhone app versions available (I think the iBank app is a couple bucks, while the Moneydance app is free).
Money Dance is one of the best Mac financial software apps, but that's not saying much. The version of Quicken before the current disaster is a good alternative as it retains the features Intuit stripped out of the new version. Also, Quickbooks is a good option and it won't be any more expensive than the Quicken PC/Parallels combo. Other than those I second the suggestions to run Quicken Windows under Parallels.
It's the only thing I still run a Windows partition for: I have so many years of financial data stored in Microsoft Money, and it's a major PITA to export it all. Instead, I now run Microsoft Money Sunset Edition (free) when I need to track my finances. I just boot up my windows partition in the VM (I run Parallels), and go from there.
It's a YMMV kinda thing - since I never used any of the online services, it's not an issue for me to not have that with the free Money program. It does what I need it to do, how I need it to do it, but may not be suitable for everyone.
It's a YMMV kinda thing - since I never used any of the online services, it's not an issue for me to not have that with the free Money program. It does what I need it to do, how I need it to do it, but may not be suitable for everyone.
Took me a while to find one I liked too. I ended up going with QuickBooks. I used Quicken for years when I had a PC, but Quicken Essentials for Mac is terrible and QB is the closest thing I could find.
Kind of pricey, but I'd do it again if I had to do it all over again.
Kind of pricey, but I'd do it again if I had to do it all over again.