Al in Ohio
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I am a mac user and former Quicken user. I have given up on Quicken for mac. Any mac users like me out there who switched to moneydance? How do you like it? How does it compare?
Current Moneydance users
- Thread starter Al in Ohio
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Been using Moneydance on the Mac since 2008. Switched to iBank (which is now called Banktivity) for a while, but came back to Moneydance and have been using it exclusively since 2011.
Once you get past the (fairly moderate) learning curve, it's pretty intuitive and does everything I need. Doesn't have all the flashy bells and whistles of Quicken in terms of reporting, but plenty good enough.
I also like its seamless syncing with the iPhone version, and it has shown me none of the buggy weirdness that Quicken used to offer. Very solid and stable software.
Once you get past the (fairly moderate) learning curve, it's pretty intuitive and does everything I need. Doesn't have all the flashy bells and whistles of Quicken in terms of reporting, but plenty good enough.
I also like its seamless syncing with the iPhone version, and it has shown me none of the buggy weirdness that Quicken used to offer. Very solid and stable software.
OP
OP
Al in Ohio
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Thanks braumeister. Any worry that using sync to bank or sync to iphone might compromise your account info security? I often wonder more about that these days.
I'm comfortable with it.
Syncing is via Dropbox, which is about as secure as anything in the cloud these days. Your files are encrypted on Dropbox, of course. Also, the encryption password is not the same as your Dropbox password, which is another level of safety.
Syncing is via Dropbox, which is about as secure as anything in the cloud these days. Your files are encrypted on Dropbox, of course. Also, the encryption password is not the same as your Dropbox password, which is another level of safety.
I've been using Moneydance since 2013 with no major issues. My only concern lately is that I reported a couple of bugs and their responsiveness hasn't been great. This is a change from the past, where they were always responsive to issues.
And the issue I hit has been reported by many users with minimal response from Moneydance. Hopefully this is a temporary trend.
Other than that, Moneydance has worked great for me. I migrated from Quicken on Windows to Moneydance on the Mac and have no regrets. I even played around with some of the java plugins to better suit how I view my portfolio (by asset allocation). I appreciate that Moneydance is extensible and there's no forced upgrades (ala Quicken).
And the issue I hit has been reported by many users with minimal response from Moneydance. Hopefully this is a temporary trend.
Other than that, Moneydance has worked great for me. I migrated from Quicken on Windows to Moneydance on the Mac and have no regrets. I even played around with some of the java plugins to better suit how I view my portfolio (by asset allocation). I appreciate that Moneydance is extensible and there's no forced upgrades (ala Quicken).
Moved to Mac from PC platform in 2009. Quicken was not being supported well for MAC and the current version at that time (Quicken 2007) was garbage. I switched to MoneyDance after years and years of being in Quicken. Been happy with it. I track all our checking and credit card accounts with it including downloading all credit card transactions into the program. All works fine.
I do not track portfolio so can't comment on how MoneyDance will do for that.
Overall, I have felt that the reporting capabilities, especially the formatting of reports, is not as good as Quicken.....but adequate for my needs.
OP
OP
Al in Ohio
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Do any of you download Fido portfolio data and if so, does it work well?
I don't download anything; I enter transactions manually. I'm sure it would be fine, but I keep my login passwords private.
I see there is a Windows version too. Maybe it's time I looked to replace MS Money 97?
Does this software require you to purchase a new version every year or so, or can you upgrade for free or at least for less than a new purchase?
For the record, MS Money 97 is a perfect example of how software USED TO be. Microsoft would develop it with help from a room full of end users actually doing things with it. Everything you want to do is quick, easy and intuitive. Example: Every date field populates with the date you last entered. You can use the + and - keys to increment or decrement the date. Every dollar value field allows you to enter arithmetic, for example, total up several items on one line, or multiply by 10%, or whatever.
Starting about that version, they began to dumb it down. They removed many of the ad-hoc reporting capabilities. Later versions got less and less user friendly. It was clear they never got any user input on the changes, it was all just marketing.
But I digress...
Does this software require you to purchase a new version every year or so, or can you upgrade for free or at least for less than a new purchase?
For the record, MS Money 97 is a perfect example of how software USED TO be. Microsoft would develop it with help from a room full of end users actually doing things with it. Everything you want to do is quick, easy and intuitive. Example: Every date field populates with the date you last entered. You can use the + and - keys to increment or decrement the date. Every dollar value field allows you to enter arithmetic, for example, total up several items on one line, or multiply by 10%, or whatever.
Starting about that version, they began to dumb it down. They removed many of the ad-hoc reporting capabilities. Later versions got less and less user friendly. It was clear they never got any user input on the changes, it was all just marketing.
But I digress...
Actually, if you check Gnucash (linux), that's exactly how it works. It is a double entry (debit/credit) accounting system however so a little different from a single entry check register type system. But really not very hard to learn once one gets used to a true double entry accounting system approach. The clever design of Gnucash makes most of the double entries automatically so really not as complex as it would seem.
euro
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I'm interested i this too as I'm still using Quicken 2007 but I rumblings the plug is about to be pulled on it this year. Quicken 2016 just isn't worth it. I almost switched to Moneydance a few years ago, but back then there were some limitations on the maximum number of assets/accounts you could create and I ended up not making the move. Hopefully this is fixed now.
Not sure it's a "true" double-entry system, but every transaction in MS Money has two "sides". Basically the same concept, maybe dumbed down for the masses. Not being an accountant, but having worked with one for a couple of years, I found it perfect for my needs.
Thanks for reminding me about GnuCash, I've looked at that in the past, since they also have a Windows version.
It's good to get some real user feedback on these products. About once or twice a year I go on a research project to figure out what I should migrate to, away from MS Money.
Whichever product I choose, the migration is going to be a huge effort, and I don't want to have to keep doing it every couple of years. I literally have a record of every financial transaction I've made, down to buying a dozen ears of corn at a farm stand, back to 1992. No, I don't need them all, but it's easier to just keep all of them than to try to figure out what to purge.
Each time I've looked at migrating, my conclusion has been that what I'm doing now works perfectly, so I may as well keep doing it another year. But I know I'm running out of time on a 20-year-old software product.
Another one I've looked at is Money Manager EX. Anyone know if it's any good?
Thanks for reminding me about GnuCash, I've looked at that in the past, since they also have a Windows version.
It's good to get some real user feedback on these products. About once or twice a year I go on a research project to figure out what I should migrate to, away from MS Money.
Whichever product I choose, the migration is going to be a huge effort, and I don't want to have to keep doing it every couple of years. I literally have a record of every financial transaction I've made, down to buying a dozen ears of corn at a farm stand, back to 1992. No, I don't need them all, but it's easier to just keep all of them than to try to figure out what to purge.
Each time I've looked at migrating, my conclusion has been that what I'm doing now works perfectly, so I may as well keep doing it another year. But I know I'm running out of time on a 20-year-old software product.
Another one I've looked at is Money Manager EX. Anyone know if it's any good?
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Sorry to double-post, but I've got another question.
Does anyone use software to "reconcile" their accounts against a monthly statement?
The reviews of these products all promote the ability to "sync" with your bank.
I'd rather enter transactions myself, BEFORE they hit the bank. This allows me to assign them to the categories I want, and enter information the bank doesn't know. I then reconcile my entries with the monthly statement to be sure I haven't missed any.
Is this a thing of the past?
Does anyone use software to "reconcile" their accounts against a monthly statement?
The reviews of these products all promote the ability to "sync" with your bank.
I'd rather enter transactions myself, BEFORE they hit the bank. This allows me to assign them to the categories I want, and enter information the bank doesn't know. I then reconcile my entries with the monthly statement to be sure I haven't missed any.
Is this a thing of the past?
This thread is opening a can of worms for me. Still on Quicken 2007 for mac. Evaluating all these alternatives can be messy to say the least. Been there, done that back when Lion first dropped.
Not sure I want to go thru that again. But, it may be time. Moneydance.com here I come.
Not sure I want to go thru that again. But, it may be time. Moneydance.com here I come.
euro
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NanoSour, I hear you! To make matters even murkier, it looks like the recently released Quicken 2017, as opposed to the previous junk, actually does seem to have made significant progress toward building back all the features lost past Quicken 2007. At least according to the reviews I read, prompted by this thread. Evidently, ownership has changed and there is a renewed commitment to the Mac platform. So, maybe it makes sense to stick with it for those of us who have been slugging it out by hanging on to Q2007 for 10 years...
I've been happy with Q2007 as I only use it for USAA checking account which my entire budget is run out of. I like how I get to choose which windows I want open and don't like how later versions how taken that away and gone to a generic mint looking webpage look. I keep my checking account register and budget open at all times.
The bank download with USAA has been pretty stable with Q2007 with a couple of minor issue here and there that usually only lasts a few days before being resolved. I understand that I'll eventually lose this ability and that will force some kind of alternative as I'm not too keen on manual entry. I need auto-reconcile!
I did try to upgrade last year to Q2016? and that lasted all of 20 minutes before I decided to stick with Q2007. I think I got hooked by a 50% off price ad. That was a complete waste of money. Also, SeeFinance is buried somewhere deep on my HD from the years when Q stopped working on the Mac. Maybe I should find that and See (pun intended) if that could be applicable today.
The bank download with USAA has been pretty stable with Q2007 with a couple of minor issue here and there that usually only lasts a few days before being resolved. I understand that I'll eventually lose this ability and that will force some kind of alternative as I'm not too keen on manual entry. I need auto-reconcile!
I did try to upgrade last year to Q2016? and that lasted all of 20 minutes before I decided to stick with Q2007. I think I got hooked by a 50% off price ad. That was a complete waste of money. Also, SeeFinance is buried somewhere deep on my HD from the years when Q stopped working on the Mac. Maybe I should find that and See (pun intended) if that could be applicable today.
Yes, this is a nice feature of Moneydance, and the way I use it. I enter transactions manually. When I get a statement, I hit the Reconcile command and it opens a very user-friendly window where I can check off each item and edit it if I like.
That's exactly how I do it. My kids use the electronic statement download feature. I've watched them do it. They glance at it for a few seconds, say something like "it looks about right" and move on. When I explained my reconcile method (same as yours) of entering everything manually and reconciling item by item against the bank (or credit card) statement they told me they would never ever do that. I guess manual entry/reconciling is going the way of the dodo.
Nice feature is that you can download Moneydance and try it out to your heart's content. The only limitation is just 100 manually-entered transactions (no limit on downloaded transactions). When you pay for it, the limitation is removed.
I guess I have a hybrid system. For credit cards, I download transactions and make sure they look right. If they don't or there's a questionable charge, I don't reconcile it until I've figured it out.
For our primary banking account (the one where all the bills are paid from) I manually enter everything and then reconcile against downloaded transactions. By manually entering each item I can track cash flow for that account to make sure there's always enough cash to pay the bills.
One of my gripes about Moneydance is that their account cash flow forecaster reporting isn't that great. I used this feature a lot in Quicken to make sure that the account balance would never go negative. I should look at this again in Moneydance. Maybe there have been improvements since I last looked. Plus, it'd let me ditch the spreadsheet that I use to track cash flow.
I used to worry about that, but switched the view on the summary page to show Balance instead of Current Balance. That seemed to take care of it.
That doesn't work for me. I need something that also takes into consideration reminders and transactions to get a full picture of cash flow in the account.
I tried the Balance Predictor plugin and I haven't been able to make sense of the graph (yet). There's also another plugin available, Money Foresight, but it costs $10. It's also a 3rd party plugin, which I try to avoid for security reasons.
If I get the time, I might try writing a quick and dirty plugin that calculates the balance based on transactions/reminders for n months in the future. I only want a number, so I can avoid creating graphs, etc. That should make it easier.
Another nice feature of Moneydance. It now incorporates the ability to write your own plugins in Python.
