Another vote for Quicken..... been using it since the 90s, and was clinging to my old 2008 Mac Pro because I was still using Quicken 2007, the last good Mac version for paying bills within the app. I finally made the leap to a 2019 iMac and the new Quicken subscription model. It’s a completely different interface and experience, but with Support’s help I made the transition fairly quickly and I couldn’t be happier now.
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Best personal finance app
- Thread starter madamelulu
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I'm trying out the Quicken Deluxe subscription. The import from Banktivity was not without hiccups. Accounts categorized as "Retirement" in Banktivity would not export to the qif file. Once I recategorized them as investments they exported (and I recategorized them in Quicken). There is some housekeeping to be done to get the account balances correct, but it doesn't seem like there are any major issues. It may have been the best import/export process that I've experienced (Quicken for Windows > Moneydance > Banktivity > Quicken for Mac), but that's a low bar. So far Quicken now seems to at least be on par with Banktivity and the subscription price is lower.
Nailed it! (*with an asterisk... )
So to sum up thus far, I got thoroughly blindsided by Banktivity (screw them!) after being quite satisfied with trying their version 7. Floundered around after that trying to decide what to do next, relying on my old iBank 4 in the mean time.
Did some research online for names of some popular finance apps, reviews of such, and narrowed down a few that fit my needs that I thought worth trying. Started with Moneyspire; was okay, nothing to write home about, but very poor (spotty and incomplete) import of my QIF data file. Would take lots of time and work to remedy, or I'd need to start new and lose all my old data/info.
Next was Moneydance with almost the same result as Moneyspire. Very poor (spotty and incomplete) import of the QIF file, a hair nicer to look at than Moneyspire with basically the same (visually at least) design. Tolerable but again nothing to write home about. And again was basically looking at starting new again from scratch and losing years of data.
I wanted to try SEE Finance but they apparently have some issues going on, no support response for some time and no updates for over a year. But I said what the heck, and downloaded their 30 day trial mostly out of curiosity. Of all the apps I had looked into this one seemed the most visually appealing.
So I did the download, and lo and behold... all my files imported perfectly, and from the same QIF data file I had used for the previous two apps! The only other app that did that perfectly was Banktivity (and screw them!). I did have to go back and import my Thai bank accounts separately. For some reason they weren't included the first time, but they came out perfectly as well. I was super pleased, but at the same time thinking, "I finally found what I'm looking for but I'm quite possibly using an app which is a lame duck and a waste of my time (and possibly money)!"
The overall look of SEE was very Mac like I thought. Took some time to adjust to some things as all the apps I tried did, but inspired by having all my data intact, I had much more patience to deal with the ins & outs of learning it. As of this writing I've only spent a couple hours or so toying with it, but I'm really happy with this app. *Definitely apprehensive about whether this company's gone bust or not, and whether or not I'll be back floundering around for apps again at some time.
Of the four apps I've tried (including Banktivity which was good, but screw them!), this one is the best so far, and even if I got stuck with it the way it now stands, I'd take the chance and buy it. The trial is 30 days so I'm gonna take advantage of that and play around with it while I weigh the pros and cons. But for my needs, this is the best one I've found to date. We'll see if spending more time with it works out good or not, may quite possibly be buggy if not fully developed. But I got my fingers crossed, I like this one!
So to sum up thus far, I got thoroughly blindsided by Banktivity (screw them!) after being quite satisfied with trying their version 7. Floundered around after that trying to decide what to do next, relying on my old iBank 4 in the mean time.
Did some research online for names of some popular finance apps, reviews of such, and narrowed down a few that fit my needs that I thought worth trying. Started with Moneyspire; was okay, nothing to write home about, but very poor (spotty and incomplete) import of my QIF data file. Would take lots of time and work to remedy, or I'd need to start new and lose all my old data/info.
Next was Moneydance with almost the same result as Moneyspire. Very poor (spotty and incomplete) import of the QIF file, a hair nicer to look at than Moneyspire with basically the same (visually at least) design. Tolerable but again nothing to write home about. And again was basically looking at starting new again from scratch and losing years of data.
I wanted to try SEE Finance but they apparently have some issues going on, no support response for some time and no updates for over a year. But I said what the heck, and downloaded their 30 day trial mostly out of curiosity. Of all the apps I had looked into this one seemed the most visually appealing.
So I did the download, and lo and behold... all my files imported perfectly, and from the same QIF data file I had used for the previous two apps! The only other app that did that perfectly was Banktivity (and screw them!). I did have to go back and import my Thai bank accounts separately. For some reason they weren't included the first time, but they came out perfectly as well. I was super pleased, but at the same time thinking, "I finally found what I'm looking for but I'm quite possibly using an app which is a lame duck and a waste of my time (and possibly money)!"
The overall look of SEE was very Mac like I thought. Took some time to adjust to some things as all the apps I tried did, but inspired by having all my data intact, I had much more patience to deal with the ins & outs of learning it. As of this writing I've only spent a couple hours or so toying with it, but I'm really happy with this app. *Definitely apprehensive about whether this company's gone bust or not, and whether or not I'll be back floundering around for apps again at some time.
Of the four apps I've tried (including Banktivity which was good, but screw them!), this one is the best so far, and even if I got stuck with it the way it now stands, I'd take the chance and buy it. The trial is 30 days so I'm gonna take advantage of that and play around with it while I weigh the pros and cons. But for my needs, this is the best one I've found to date. We'll see if spending more time with it works out good or not, may quite possibly be buggy if not fully developed. But I got my fingers crossed, I like this one!
I'm a current Bantivity customer. I like the software, but am wary of the subscription model. I'm intrigued by See Finance. I sent them a message via their web site, and got what I assume was an automated reply. It read,
"Hello,
Thank you for contacting SEE Finance Support. Unfortunately, due to circumstances outside of our control support is not available at this time. Until support is available once again, we ask that you refer to the documentation available on our Support page:
https://scimonocesoftware.com/products/see-finance/support.html
We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.
Thanks,
SEE Finance Support"
Make what you will of that...
"Hello,
Thank you for contacting SEE Finance Support. Unfortunately, due to circumstances outside of our control support is not available at this time. Until support is available once again, we ask that you refer to the documentation available on our Support page:
https://scimonocesoftware.com/products/see-finance/support.html
We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.
Thanks,
SEE Finance Support"
Make what you will of that...
Yeah that's the chang (elephant in Thai) in the room. If you've followed my posts I've finally found suitable software (SEE) now for my needs, but whether the company is belly-up or not remains to be seen.
Banktivity (screw them!) was good stuff, had been a user since iBank 4 (2012 I think it was) and still using that for a back-up until I end my current search. Someone earlier in the thread mentioned the SEE problem but I downloaded their free trial just to see what it looked like. Results of that can be seen in my previous post.
If you continue with Banktivity (screw them!) they are full subscription now with the new version 8. I tried and liked v.7 (if that's what you use, keep it as long as you can!) and was willing to purchase that version, when they derailed that decision for me. You can read all about it in my early posts. I don't have a particular problem that the company went full-script, that's up to them. I did have a problem with their sneaky, less-than-open ways of doing business (which I documented above). They could have told me beforehand, or alerted me while I was using the trial of v.7, that I should purchase that version before it gets pulled, they didn't. Sneaky...
With the SEE Finance stuff still up in the air, I'm not sure my search is completely over. But this software does and has exactly what I need, and it's a $50 one-time purchase (if I recall). I've got 30 days to mess around with it and decide what to do. Big plus that the import was perfect, unlike the 2 others I tried, and has multiple currency support which is a must for me.
Appreciate all the comments and suggestions here. Still have a soft spot in me for Quicken, my very first finance app way back when. And though I don't need a yearly fee type of app, I'm happy to hear they're back in favor and still have loyal followers.
Appreciate all the comments and suggestions here. Still have a soft spot in me for Quicken, my very first finance app way back when. And though I don't need a yearly fee type of app, I'm happy to hear they're back in favor and still have loyal followers.
Yup...I saw the earlier posts.
Good news is that I *did* get a reply today, a real reply. So maybe they are back up and running again after all.
Wow that is good news! I notice they're giving a discount on the SEE app for a "limited time" and really wanted to purchase it, but it's unsure if they're were still 'alive' or not. I may just go ahead and buy it now, and get all this stuff over and done with. Been messing with it for 2 days now and really like the software.
Thanks for that info! 😎
I went ahead and purchased SEE Finance. And not only did you get a real reply from them, they're showing an updated version now, so they must be back in operation, whew!
I purchased for $39.95, didn't upgrade to the new one yet, I'll wait. Apparently a lot of that is in prep for Big Sur which I don't have right now anyway.
So mission completed now, really happy so far with SEE, and with them back at it again, it should get better yet.
From what I saw in reviews on MacUpdate, the owner of the company (it’s a small one) had had health issues connected to COVID, and had been out of commission since March. He made his return just this week.
I got into Banktivity at v 3 or 4. Moved from Quicken running on Windows on my Mac using Parallels. I had started on Quicken back when I was a Windows user. (My first bookkeeping software was a custom RBase database that I built for myself in DOS before personal accounting software was a thing). I bought the Banktivity 8 subscription upgrade because I value the ability of the software to help me manage our finances. I have a complex set of reports now in Banktivity that make it easy to stay on top of everything. Easy upgrade too, no wrinkles. With B8 I now have Banktivity running on my iPhone and iPad, which I hadn’t before. I‘m OK with the simplicity of the subscription on the Mac App store. Happy customer. Hope they keep it going.
Yes I saw that in the posts just before yours. I checked it out today, but it doesn't meet my needs as well as other options do.
Er, why not update to a compatible (current?) version?
Ditto.
I run the Windows version under Parallels so have no complaints.
If you are in the U.S. just pay with a one time credit card, such as those issued by Privacy.com (in the U.S.). It is free for < 10 transactions a month. But they give you plenty of warning, assuming you open the app frequently.
Quicken also includes billpay, which used to be a ~$10.00 a month option. That alone pays for the annual cost.
I’ve been using Excel. MS pulled their old MS Money software into Excel and if you are an O365 subscriber, you get it as part of the plan. It requires you to log in with your email and password whenever you launch the workbook so there is some privacy protection. I’ve been using it since spring and I’m quite happy with its ability to sort/filter/aggravate data and present it in a way that I can then analyze.
In my mind, the only personal finance software worth dealing with is Quicken for Windows.
Unfortunately, after Quicken 2017, they moved to a subscription model.
Right now, I am manually entering transactions into Quicken 2017 which no longer downloads quotes or transactions.
I'm trying to see if I can survive doing this. One thing for certain, by manually entering transactions, I spend more time/attention on my finances which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Unfortunately, after Quicken 2017, they moved to a subscription model.
Right now, I am manually entering transactions into Quicken 2017 which no longer downloads quotes or transactions.
I'm trying to see if I can survive doing this. One thing for certain, by manually entering transactions, I spend more time/attention on my finances which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Pretty much same as me; Quicken, Quicken for Mac, then iBank. I really liked iBank, really liked Banktivity 7 while I used the free trial. Good software, but my needs didn't warrant paying a yearly fee to use v.8. My finances aren't complex enough to justify that expense. I enter everything manually and don't track my investments with it. I can get all my investment info from the website of the company I use for that.
One thing I did learn in my search for new software, while there's a few out there, not many had what I wanted/needed. Everyone has different needs though, glad you're happy with BT, it is good stuff as I said. I chose SEE Finance, and it's good, not perfect, and it did import my years of data files to perfection (as did Banktivity). That was a plus factor for me, as a couple others I had tried didn't do that.
I've been a faithful user since the iBank days. I didn't like the half-hearted Quicken for Mac implementations nor the bugs that came with them. One Quicken bug actually caused me to miss a bill payment and a drop in my FICO score. I haven't used Quicken for Mac for a while so I'm sure it's improved now and probably more reliable. Banktivity is not perfect but, being an application built for Mac OS from the bottom up, it's interface is more "Mac-like" and feels more complete feature-wise. Plus, I like the idea of buying from the smaller developers.
This switch to a subscription model, however, has turned me off. I understand that it was done "to keep the lights on". I do tend to buy upgrades (especially when companies reciprocate users' loyalty by giving a price break) but I don't like being forced to subscribe. So, I found this thread which says a lot of good things about See Finance 2 and I'm doing the trial right now.
So far, I like See Finance 2 but I do have a question or two: How good is it at matching downloaded transactions from banks with those that I entered? For example, when I enter a grocery purchase, is it always able to match it with transactions downloaded with Direct Connect? Also, when I'm about to post a scheduled transaction, am I able to change the account source? For example, if I have a scheduled transaction that I normally pay from account A and entered it as such in the application but this month let's say I decide to pay from account B, will I be able to edit the source from account A to account B before posting it? Or do I have to skip it and manually enter the transaction just as I have to with Banktivity (Banktivity doesn't allow me to change the source account for scheduled transactions)?
Update (01/20/2021):
I am disappointed with See Finance 2. Working with scheduled transactions takes some getting used to although I finally began to appreciate the intermediate posting to pending transactions where I can change the source accounts and other changes before committing them. The visual design of the registers is also lacking but I can live with that. The deal-killer is how weak it is at matching downloaded transactions with posted scheduled and manually entered transactions. I have to go through the downloaded transactions one by one to weed out duplicates because the program fails to match quite a few scheduled and downloaded transactions.
I will now retry Quicken and see if it has improved enough. It looks like I have to live with a subscription model (yes, I've tried Moneydance). I do not mind sponsoring small companies like Banktivity but its subscription price is about twice that of what I can get Quicken for and I do have to worry about my own expenses after all.
This switch to a subscription model, however, has turned me off. I understand that it was done "to keep the lights on". I do tend to buy upgrades (especially when companies reciprocate users' loyalty by giving a price break) but I don't like being forced to subscribe. So, I found this thread which says a lot of good things about See Finance 2 and I'm doing the trial right now.
So far, I like See Finance 2 but I do have a question or two: How good is it at matching downloaded transactions from banks with those that I entered? For example, when I enter a grocery purchase, is it always able to match it with transactions downloaded with Direct Connect? Also, when I'm about to post a scheduled transaction, am I able to change the account source? For example, if I have a scheduled transaction that I normally pay from account A and entered it as such in the application but this month let's say I decide to pay from account B, will I be able to edit the source from account A to account B before posting it? Or do I have to skip it and manually enter the transaction just as I have to with Banktivity (Banktivity doesn't allow me to change the source account for scheduled transactions)?
Update (01/20/2021):
I am disappointed with See Finance 2. Working with scheduled transactions takes some getting used to although I finally began to appreciate the intermediate posting to pending transactions where I can change the source accounts and other changes before committing them. The visual design of the registers is also lacking but I can live with that. The deal-killer is how weak it is at matching downloaded transactions with posted scheduled and manually entered transactions. I have to go through the downloaded transactions one by one to weed out duplicates because the program fails to match quite a few scheduled and downloaded transactions.
I will now retry Quicken and see if it has improved enough. It looks like I have to live with a subscription model (yes, I've tried Moneydance). I do not mind sponsoring small companies like Banktivity but its subscription price is about twice that of what I can get Quicken for and I do have to worry about my own expenses after all.
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I want to thank all of you for the discussion. Sheesh, I used Quicken back when it was Mac-compatible, then quit it when it wasn't, then went to iBank, and this year, as I was lining up all my end-of-year charity checks for printing, was forced to start my Banktivity trial. I was OK with the $4/month subscription or whatever it was.
I don't really do much with such software, just record my deductible expenses and print checks.
So here I am trying to print my estimated tax checks and Banktivity tells me I can't print checks unless I go to the $99/year subscription. I guess I'm going to hand-write a couple of checks and download SEE.
I don't really do much with such software, just record my deductible expenses and print checks.
So here I am trying to print my estimated tax checks and Banktivity tells me I can't print checks unless I go to the $99/year subscription. I guess I'm going to hand-write a couple of checks and download SEE.
Sigh... Installed SEE, quickly got a response from support: they don't print checks. Back to the search...