Intuit Plans to Sell Quicken to Focus on Tax, Small Business

[Dreaming of Freedom]

Moneydance sounds like a possible viable alternative to Quicken. Can it calculate your current asset allocation across numerous mutual funds and accounts? Does anyone know if there is a good comparison of Quicken and Moneydance anywhere online?

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[bUU]

No, it's way too early to tell if this is a good or bad thing for Quicken's future.

Good point. If anything, Quicken has been hampered by being tied to Intuit.

Does anyone know if there is a good comparison of Quicken and Moneydance anywhere online?

I checked into Moneydance many years ago and decided to stick with Quicken, but after posting my reasons why online I decided to keep my insights about it to myself going forward because the fans of Moneydance were especially vicious toward those who don't prefer it. While I suspect Moneydance has changed somewhat (as has Quicken) I'm not sure I care enough about posting my insights to bother doing an up to date review, much less find the prospect of switching attractive enough in the absence of a compelling reason to do so, to even review the latest version myself without the intention to share my insights about it.

 

[cathy63]

unlikely a good thing

what was the last recent example when it actually was good?

How about Quicken Loans? They certainly seem to be doing better since Intuit sold them.

Good point. If anything, Quicken has been hampered by being tied to Intuit.

It's interesting to think that long ago, Intuit's only product was Quicken. They got into the tax market by acquiring ChipSoft, the original makers of TurboTax.

 

[wanaberetiree]

How about Quicken Loans? They certainly seem to be doing better since Intuit sold them.

Not sure if Quicken Loans even close to complexity of Quick software-wise, so not valid to compare them I think ...

But maybe you are right !

 

[tulak]

Moneydance sounds like a possible viable alternative to Quicken. Can it calculate your current asset allocation across numerous mutual funds and accounts? Does anyone know if there is a good comparison of Quicken and Moneydance anywhere online?

Sent from my EVO using Early Retirement Forum mobile app

I use Moneydance and it works well for what I need. I started with MS Money, went to Quicken, and a couple of years ago, to Moneydance. I didn't migrate my old data file and started from scratch. I did spend some time adding the history for my investments, but everything else I ditched. If I need that data, then I can always load up Quicken (or MS Money, which I've also done in the past).

All of these programs have their quirks and it does take a little bit to get used to them. This was true - at least for me - when I went from MS Money to Quicken, and then Quicken to Moneydance. I found the best way is to try it out for a couple of weeks and see how well it works. Fortunately, you can download a free copy of Moneydance to give it a try.

I'll also add that Moneydance support has been great. I've run into a number of bugs, which I reported to Moneydance and they were fixed in future versions. I never had that level of support in the past.

 

[wanaberetiree]

I use Moneydance and it works well for what I need. ...

Thanks for sharing your experience...
Quick question as I am considering to try Moneydance.

If I started using it say on Windows, will the Mac version use the same data file without any conversions?

 

[tulak]

Thanks for sharing your experience...
Quick question as I am considering to try Moneydance.

If I started using it say on Windows, will the Mac version use the same data file without any conversions?

I've never tried this, but Moneydance data should be cross-platform. I would be surprised if this didn't work, but it would be easy to try out by downloading the free trial version.

This was also a major reason I chose Moneydance over other alternatives. They support Windows/Mac/Linux. I moved over to a Mac and was happy to choose software that is truly cross-platform, in case I ever went back to Windows or move to Linux.

 

[Cat-tirement]

I've been doing both manually for years. As long as the number of securities/accounts is reasonable it's really not that big a hassle. I have a few mutual funds, it takes maybe 5 minutes to update quotes/transaction information. I enter my CC/bank transactions manually on a weekly basis - takes maybe 15 minutes (I'm after all retired it's not like I'm rushed for time or anything).

It's actually a routine I quite enjoy and I like verifying my manual entry system with the statements I get from the various institutions.

I have been doing similarly for the whole 15+ years I have been using Quicken. It gives me finer control over categorizing expenses, and the online functions seem more buggy than the rest. Support for the Mac version has always been spotty at best, particularly for transaction download and check writing, so just doing it myself lets me keep on operating. And like you say, the number of things I have to enter aren't that onerous.

 

[Gotadimple]

Thanks for sharing your experience...
Quick question as I am considering to try Moneydance.

If I started using it say on Windows, will the Mac version use the same data file without any conversions?

You might want to check the community forum at the MoneyDance site to see if there is a question like yours or a FAQ. If you can't find anything, just register on the site and ask the question. You'll get an answer either from their Support Team or from users.

I like MoneyDance for its checkbook abilities. I find budgeting to be more convoluted than Quicken and reporting is more limited, but useful. You can always export data and create your own reports in Excel if you feel you need a different view.

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