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?
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?
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.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...
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?
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.
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.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?
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?
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.
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 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.
I might try writing a quick and dirty plugin that calculates