Moneydance is probably the best Quicken alternative on the Mac. As far as I know, it is the only personal finance software on the Mac (besides Quicken) that supports both investment tracking and online bill pay through direct connect with your bank. Also, they don't ever sunset their software, so you can use it for as long as you have a computer that runs it. Nice.
YOu might be right -- I downloaded MoneyDance and was pleasantly surprised. iBank is pretty sexy -- I don't even know what Quicken bill paying is, but I'm happy with web payments personally. I'm busy -- don't have to time to screw around with crappy software, barely have time to test alternatives. What does Moneydance NOT do that Quicken does?
Sure there are others that might be buggier, but for a major software house, Intuit should be ashamed of Quicken for the Mac. No other billion-dollar software company sells software that is as shitty as Q for M. None. Not even Microsoft. That they continue to peddle this pile of binary crap is a capital crime for which their whole top brass should be shot.
No matter how well they rewrite the Mac version, if it cannot read and save native Q for Windows files, the product will still be a POS. If they're really starting from the ground up, surely they should be able to do that!
I tried the Mac version 2006, and it was not too hot. Windows version is much, much better. Sigh ... now I have to keep my Windows machine running til Feb. Maybe I'll try the current version.
Bring on the iPhone version of Quicken! Let it sync through MobileMe with the desktop!
You know, with the US version for the Mac due in 2010, our Canadian confreres missing out (at least initially: ?Quicken for Mac will be officially sold and supported in the U.S. only ? however, some Canadian financial institutions will continue to be supported.? - Quicken blog site) I?m not holding out any hope at all of getting a version that I can run in Australia.
If somebody from Intuit / Reckon will do the right thing by me and give me Windows code that will export my data from Quicken Personal Plus 2008 for Windows (that I?m running under CrossOver on my Mac) into QIF so that I can import my data elsewhere, that would be appreciated. QPP08 was obviously cripple-ware ? fancy not being able to export financial data!! What a criminal oversight. Who the hell wants to export an address book?
Our financial year started 1st July and I?m trying the alternatives. If my request (above) isn?t answered, I?ll just draw a line in the sand at 1st July and get on with life. If I do get export assistance, I?ll happily add that data to whatever new personal finance software I select ? but I?ll still have drawn that line in the sand.
Like all of the people posting here, I?ve spent good money on various versions of Quicken products, only to get no or few software patches, to be charged $5 per minute to request assistance (so why bother?) and to find that the Quicken product failed to deliver one of the most fundamental functions when needed ? data export.
Intuit ? when you look out the window that?s not a flock of birds you see in the distance. That?s our hard-earned money flying off to other, more focussed, customer-responsive software vendors.
As the police say: ?Move along, please. There?s nothing to see here?
There are two kinds of people who buy financial software: people who use the software to manage their money, and people who use the software so they don't have to manage their money. I belong to the second group. I don't care about reports and charts and graphs and pretty pictures, all I am interested in is registers and electronic banking. That is Quicken's weak spot.
Quicken has a problem with file formats. Not only are the Windows and Mac development teams not on speaking terms with each other, the file format is fragile and liable to corruption. When I switched from Windows to Mac, I found out it was easier to import my Windows Quicken file into Moneydance than into Quicken for Mac!
Quicken's support was very unhelpful. Moneydance's support is friendly and helpful.
The new version of Quicken is going to have more charts and graphs and pretty pictures and special effects, but I am not interested in that. Since Moneydance is more compatible with Quicken than Quicken is, and since Moneydance actually supports its customers, l have no interest whatsoever in anything Intuit produces.
You cannot send payments with iBank, and this is one of the major reasons people still use Quicken. I don't understand why if they have everything else implemented they can't deal with this.
Actually, the major reason people still use Quicken is inertia, or a lack of awareness that there are several other good solutions on the Mac - including iBank.
Online billpay is the last major feature of Quicken not implemented by iBank because it is complex - not least of all for security reasons. If it were trivial to transfer money out of online accounts to a nearly infinite array of payees, every high school hacker, Russian mobster and Nigerian scammer would vacuum out your balances daily.
Nevertheless, this is the number one feature request for iBank and it will be implemented in a future version. (Yes, I work for the developer.) As noted above, iBank has come a long way in the past year, even since the release of 3.0. Anyone interested in seeing for themselves how capable iBank 3.5 is can try it for free: www.iggsoftware.com/ibank
Pre-orders in October? Are they kidding? Who would pre-order software that has been delayed three times publicly and the only version released to the public was absolute crap?
When they discontinue the product due to low demand I hope they remember the got themselves in this mess.
Take a look at You Need a Budget. Mac version due soon.
So we all agree that Quicken stinks and has for years, so there's really little reason to think the new version will change that. Based on what I've seen and read, even here, there seems to be some alternatives that have possibilities. Here's the brief list:
1. iBank
2. Moneywell
3. Moneydance
4. Prospects
5. Other
So which do you consider the best alternative and why? I'm leaning towards iBank simply because it now has an iPhone option, a feature greatly missed from my Palm days w/ Pocket Quicken. But I'm really interested in hearing "real world" feedback before I make the transition from Quicken.
File format compatibility or at least Data compatibility between versions as well as between OSes would be high on my list. Converting data is such a pain in the butt.
We only use the various flavors of Quicken and Quickbooks because clients often use these products. But for robust accounting for small business, it's hard to beat AccountEdge from MYOB.
They've figured out innovative ways to share data on networks and support their products in the manner Mac users are accustomed. We also appreciate the 'pay once and get free updates' licensing, which we pay annually.
There is a learning curve, but it's worth it. Many of our clients have happily moved over and never looked back.
We only use the various flavors of Quicken and Quickbooks because clients often use these products. But for robust accounting for small business, it's hard to beat AccountEdge from MYOB.
I've been using Quicken for our partnership accounting for many years. My needs are pretty limited and I have no real background in accounting or finance. Which if any alternative would give me the smoothest transition?
File format compatibility or at least Data compatibility between versions as well as between OSes would be high on my list.
At the risk of naked self-promotion: the developers of iBank have made Quicken/QIF data import a top priority since the release of iBank 3. We recognize that the seamless transfer of transactions, accounts and categories is pretty crucial for customers, and have ironed out a lot of wrinkles from the process. If you haven't tried this with the latest version of iBank - even if you need to retain years of Quicken data from either Mac or PC- you may want to see how easy switching can be. And as I mentioned above: it's free to try.
In any case, what boggles my mind: why has Bill Campbell been allowed to remain on the board all these years. One would think his presence would be an embarrassment to Apple.
I'm using Quicken 2004 ... because it works... mostly. (At least it does what I wanted it to do ... pretty simple stuff.) Now all of a sudden last winter, Intuit drops support for it ... meaning none of the online stuff works anymore... It can't download stock prices and such for tracking investments... what was the purpose of that?!?! ... I wasn't asking them to send me updates to the software, just let me keep using it!
I would have even bought a new version of Quicken except... there ISN'T one! (for Mac.)
Now I plan to do the free trials of iBank, Moneywell, etc... figure out which one I like best. I can only imagine there are a lot of Quicken Mac users like me ... we're not dumping Quicken... Quicken dumped us. And because of that, they'll never see us again, no matter how "good" their new vaporware turns out to be.
What's more important? Feature parity with Windows versions of the application, at the expense of pretty Mac eye candy? Or unique Mac interface at the expense of compatibility with Windows versions?
Comments
Moneydance is probably the best Quicken alternative on the Mac. As far as I know, it is the only personal finance software on the Mac (besides Quicken) that supports both investment tracking and online bill pay through direct connect with your bank. Also, they don't ever sunset their software, so you can use it for as long as you have a computer that runs it. Nice.
YOu might be right -- I downloaded MoneyDance and was pleasantly surprised. iBank is pretty sexy -- I don't even know what Quicken bill paying is, but I'm happy with web payments personally. I'm busy -- don't have to time to screw around with crappy software, barely have time to test alternatives. What does Moneydance NOT do that Quicken does?
What does Moneydance NOT do that Quicken does?
Bog down a Core2Duo with Rosetta running the most inefficient PowerPC Carbon Code ever written.
No matter how well they rewrite the Mac version, if it cannot read and save native Q for Windows files, the product will still be a POS. If they're really starting from the ground up, surely they should be able to do that!
Bring on the iPhone version of Quicken! Let it sync through MobileMe with the desktop!
Bring on the iPhone version of Quicken! Let it sync through MobileMe with the desktop!
OMFG, please no. Anyhow, I would prefer they make a good desktop application before trying to fuck up the iPhone.
You know, with the US version for the Mac due in 2010, our Canadian confreres missing out (at least initially: ?Quicken for Mac will be officially sold and supported in the U.S. only ? however, some Canadian financial institutions will continue to be supported.? - Quicken blog site) I?m not holding out any hope at all of getting a version that I can run in Australia.
If somebody from Intuit / Reckon will do the right thing by me and give me Windows code that will export my data from Quicken Personal Plus 2008 for Windows (that I?m running under CrossOver on my Mac) into QIF so that I can import my data elsewhere, that would be appreciated. QPP08 was obviously cripple-ware ? fancy not being able to export financial data!! What a criminal oversight. Who the hell wants to export an address book?
Our financial year started 1st July and I?m trying the alternatives. If my request (above) isn?t answered, I?ll just draw a line in the sand at 1st July and get on with life. If I do get export assistance, I?ll happily add that data to whatever new personal finance software I select ? but I?ll still have drawn that line in the sand.
Like all of the people posting here, I?ve spent good money on various versions of Quicken products, only to get no or few software patches, to be charged $5 per minute to request assistance (so why bother?) and to find that the Quicken product failed to deliver one of the most fundamental functions when needed ? data export.
Intuit ? when you look out the window that?s not a flock of birds you see in the distance. That?s our hard-earned money flying off to other, more focussed, customer-responsive software vendors.
As the police say: ?Move along, please. There?s nothing to see here?
Gary Speechley
Sydney, Australia
Greetings from Australia.
Gary Spexxxxx
Sydney, Australia
i would delete my last name from your post. You never know.
i would delete my last name from your post. You never know.
What, us?
Quicken has a problem with file formats. Not only are the Windows and Mac development teams not on speaking terms with each other, the file format is fragile and liable to corruption. When I switched from Windows to Mac, I found out it was easier to import my Windows Quicken file into Moneydance than into Quicken for Mac!
Quicken's support was very unhelpful. Moneydance's support is friendly and helpful.
The new version of Quicken is going to have more charts and graphs and pretty pictures and special effects, but I am not interested in that. Since Moneydance is more compatible with Quicken than Quicken is, and since Moneydance actually supports its customers, l have no interest whatsoever in anything Intuit produces.
You cannot send payments with iBank, and this is one of the major reasons people still use Quicken. I don't understand why if they have everything else implemented they can't deal with this.
Actually, the major reason people still use Quicken is inertia, or a lack of awareness that there are several other good solutions on the Mac - including iBank.
Online billpay is the last major feature of Quicken not implemented by iBank because it is complex - not least of all for security reasons. If it were trivial to transfer money out of online accounts to a nearly infinite array of payees, every high school hacker, Russian mobster and Nigerian scammer would vacuum out your balances daily.
Nevertheless, this is the number one feature request for iBank and it will be implemented in a future version. (Yes, I work for the developer.) As noted above, iBank has come a long way in the past year, even since the release of 3.0. Anyone interested in seeing for themselves how capable iBank 3.5 is can try it for free: www.iggsoftware.com/ibank
Pre-orders in October? Are they kidding? Who would pre-order software that has been delayed three times publicly and the only version released to the public was absolute crap?
When they discontinue the product due to low demand I hope they remember the got themselves in this mess.
Take a look at You Need a Budget. Mac version due soon.
People who like it, like it a lot
http://www.youneedabudget.com/
1. iBank
2. Moneywell
3. Moneydance
4. Prospects
5. Other
So which do you consider the best alternative and why? I'm leaning towards iBank simply because it now has an iPhone option, a feature greatly missed from my Palm days w/ Pocket Quicken. But I'm really interested in hearing "real world" feedback before I make the transition from Quicken.
We only use the various flavors of Quicken and Quickbooks because clients often use these products. But for robust accounting for small business, it's hard to beat AccountEdge from MYOB.
They've figured out innovative ways to share data on networks and support their products in the manner Mac users are accustomed. We also appreciate the 'pay once and get free updates' licensing, which we pay annually.
There is a learning curve, but it's worth it. Many of our clients have happily moved over and never looked back.
We only use the various flavors of Quicken and Quickbooks because clients often use these products. But for robust accounting for small business, it's hard to beat AccountEdge from MYOB.
I've been using Quicken for our partnership accounting for many years. My needs are pretty limited and I have no real background in accounting or finance. Which if any alternative would give me the smoothest transition?
File format compatibility or at least Data compatibility between versions as well as between OSes would be high on my list.
At the risk of naked self-promotion: the developers of iBank have made Quicken/QIF data import a top priority since the release of iBank 3. We recognize that the seamless transfer of transactions, accounts and categories is pretty crucial for customers, and have ironed out a lot of wrinkles from the process. If you haven't tried this with the latest version of iBank - even if you need to retain years of Quicken data from either Mac or PC- you may want to see how easy switching can be. And as I mentioned above: it's free to try.
In any case, what boggles my mind: why has Bill Campbell been allowed to remain on the board all these years. One would think his presence would be an embarrassment to Apple.
couldn't agree more...!!
I'm using Quicken 2004 ... because it works... mostly. (At least it does what I wanted it to do ... pretty simple stuff.) Now all of a sudden last winter, Intuit drops support for it ... meaning none of the online stuff works anymore... It can't download stock prices and such for tracking investments... what was the purpose of that?!?! ... I wasn't asking them to send me updates to the software, just let me keep using it!
I would have even bought a new version of Quicken except... there ISN'T one! (for Mac.)
Now I plan to do the free trials of iBank, Moneywell, etc... figure out which one I like best. I can only imagine there are a lot of Quicken Mac users like me ... we're not dumping Quicken... Quicken dumped us. And because of that, they'll never see us again, no matter how "good" their new vaporware turns out to be.