My experience was similar to yours when I switched from Quicken to MD (however my situation was much simpler). Had to spend a little time fixing a few things and setting it up, once that was done, no issues.Just a follow-up on this: I decided to give Moneydance a serious try and migrate all my transactions over from Quicken. Exporting a QIF from Quicken and importing it to Moneydance was easy enough. However, due to the limitations of the QIF format there is no way for Moneydance to detect transfers between accounts with 100% accuracy, so there were quite a few duplicate transactions where it hadn't "guessed" right. Fortunately I could eliminate many of them in bulk using the Find&Replace extension. I also have a foreign-currency checking account which created some headaches because the exchange rates in transfers weren't always correct. All in all it cost me a few hours of my weekend to get all the balances correct.
It cost me another hour or so to set up automatic online import via Direct Connect, mostly because you have to do it for every account individually (12 accounts in my case), even if you have multiple accounts at a single bank. But once set up, it works well and seems actually faster than Quicken. Confirming transactions after importing is a bit different from Quicken (particularly for transfers between accounts), but works well once you get used to it. One limitation to be aware of is that Moneydance has no equivalent to Quicken's "Express Web Connect"; it only supports "Web Connect" and "Direct Connect". No issue for me though because I didn't use it anyway (mainly because I didn't like giving Intuit access to my online accounts).
I haven't really dug into the budgeting function (don't use it) and reporting options yet, but at first glance I didn't notice any glaring omissions. I use personal finance software mostly to track expenses and net worth, as well as to keep track of my investment accounts, calculate the cost basis for securities etc. It works well for these things.
I also tried transferring my data files from the Mac to a Windows computer and can confirm that the two versions are fully compatible. One license is good for several computers in a household, including Mac OS, Windows and Linux machines. There is also a mobile app that you can sync via Dropbox (with end-to-end encryption), but I haven't tried that.
If you are considering it, I'd recommend to use it in trial mode for a while and see if it works for you (the trial version is fully functional, but only allows up to 100 manually entered transactions). It does things a little different from Quicken and takes some getting used to.
Personally I purchased a license yesterday and will now run it in parallel with Quicken for a few weeks. If I encounter no serious issues, I will finally ditch Quicken and its stupid "sunset" policy and forced online activation for good.
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Quicken for Mac Alternative
- Thread starter lugesm
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I'm still running Microsoft Money 'Sunset' edition on Windows 10.
I like the app and it does what I need, but I know that at some point I'm going to have to migrate to a 'modern' alternative.
My needs are few, but I need a personal finance app that will ...
I like the app and it does what I need, but I know that at some point I'm going to have to migrate to a 'modern' alternative.
My needs are few, but I need a personal finance app that will ...
- Allow me to put all my bills, deposits and transfers in a bill calendar and give me reminders
- Track individual Savings, Checking, Credit Card and Mortgage accounts and import transactions and balance them
- Give me a Cash Flow analysis with a running balance based on future bills, transfers and deposits
I'm somewhat amused by the fact that there are other people like me still running a Windows VM for the sole purpose of using Quicken. Quicken for Mac is even worse than Quicken for Windows, and that's saying something. It's the only Windows software I have not found an alternative for.
I still use Quicken For Mac 2007. It does everything I need it to do including automatically downloading credit card and bank transactions and allows free bill pay through my bank.
It is amazing that Intuit has been unwilling to provide a follow-up to this program with these same functions.
It is amazing that Intuit has been unwilling to provide a follow-up to this program with these same functions.
Yes and no. Intuit has been going in a different direction, to the point of selling off Quicken. That likely reflects that the costs of developing such software aren't justified by the revenue - you can't update too often and the advanced features are probably not needed by the majority of users, thus it can't compete with more streamlined versions. Before online banking and bill-pay became so prevalent, Quicken had more value added in terms of being able to cut checks download transactions and so forth. Now so much of that is available online (not saying it's better online, though).
I currently only use Quicken for Windows to do checking and savings. I have it setup to download transactions from my banks and credit cards. Once every couple months I do an expenses report. Would the Mac version be okay for these basic functions? If I got the 2007 version would I be able to still download financial transactions? I thought they only allowed it for a couple years, then forced you to upgrade?
I had the exact same experience and started using MoneyWiz, http://moneywizapp.com. It is the best replacement I've found. What I really like is there are Mac, iPad and iPhone versions. You can make entries on any of them and they sync across all. It has an intuitive reports function as well as budgets, memorized transactions and a lot of other features found in Quicken at. Less than half the price.
I have had great luck with See Financial. I looked at most of the alternatives and finally settled on See. The program imported all my Quicken files (2007) with no issues and they have great support from the developers. Over the past two years I have literally asked dozen of questions and I normally get a response within a few hours if not almost immediatly. Superb customer support.
That link brings you to a page for the PPC version of Quicken for Mac 2007 and is surprisingly out of date to still be posted! I doubt that a "purchase" from that page works and even if it does, that version will not run past Snow Leopard OS X 10.6.
To obtain the "modern" Intel version of Quicken 2007 for Mac for $15, follow these instructions from a post I recently assembled:
Quicken 2007 for Mac has been continuously upgraded for OS X compatibility, including Yosemite, and now El Capital.
You can obtain Quicken 2007 for Mac for $15 using the Intuit online chat function.
Use the chat feature for Quicken for Mac: Quicken 2007 for Lion: Shopping and Buying: Buying Quicken on this page:
http://www.quicken.com/contact-us
Be sure to use the Online Upgrade feature once you install it; as of this writing it is version 16.2.3
If you are using Quicken 2004 or earlier, you first need to convert the data file to Quicken 2005/6/7 data format while still running on a PPC Mac, or in Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac:
Download Quicken 2006 (PPC) from Intuit:
https://quicken.intuit.com/support/help/patching/quicken-2006-manual-updates--ma c-/GEN82200.html
Open your data file in Quicken 2006 (PPC) and it will automatically convert it to a Quicken 2005/6/7 data file.
AVOID Quicken 2015 for Mac as it is a misleading upgrade of Quicken Essentials for Mac (and not Quicken 2007), which is generally loathed by all real Quicken for Mac 2007 and previous users!
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FWIW, I'm happy that Intuit is selling off Quicken, but have a different take on why Quicken isn't profitable. IMHO it is because they keep force upgrading with new 'features' like budgeting, reporting, etc. that were actually good to start with while ignoring the big gaping hole in their account type support. Real people have a common set of accounts and - I believe - want an automated way to download and cross-reference transactions. Those account types include: banking (credit cards, checking, savings, loans, etc.), secured loans (homes, cars, etc.), investments (stocks, options, 401k's, IRA's, etc), insurance (particularly those with cash values such as VUL's), services (electric, gas, water, etc.) and many others. The lack of fully automated support for commonly used account types - particularly real estate - is shocking. THAT is why people are not willing to upgrade as often. No new features = no new cash flow!
Try this updated Intuit Chat link instead (or call Support @ 888-311-7276 Mon-Fri, 5am-5pm Pacific):
Use the chat feature for Quicken for Mac: Quicken 2007 for Lion: Shopping and Buying: Buying Quicken on this page:
http://www.quicken.com/contact-us
Be sure to use the Online Upgrade feature once you install it; as of this writing it is version 16.2.3
UPDATE: I just used the Chat feature and they confirm they still sell Quicken 2007 for Mac (Lion) for $15.
For $15, they are about to provide me a download link to my Intuit account, as a "good customer" so that I may have multiple copies. This will be good insurance for my future needs...
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I'm surprised no one mentioned GNUCash which is free, has Mac Windows & Linux versions and imports qif files.
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I checked GnuCash when I was looking for alternatives. It certainly is one of the most powerful and most customizable solutions, and it has come a long way when it comes to user-friendliness. I strongly considered switching to it, however, it is unfortunately unable to import transactions from investment accounts via Direct Connect. While you may be able to download transactions in the form of QFX files from the bank's web site, this can be a hassle if you have several investment accounts at different banks (brokerage, IRAs, 401ks etc.). I much prefer to download with a single press of a button like I can in Quicken or Moneydance.
I wonder if this is an opportunity for someone (perhaps for Apple) to step in
I have been struggling with an older version of QFW running in a VM - the only reason I need the VM. It's become quite the mess over time because of changes in our financial situation and such, but also because Quicken just isn't designed to be fully functional for those outside the US (funny, since it's a Canadian company, from what I recall). I can recall several instances where the banks changed download protocols and it took almost a year for Intuit to update Quicken to adapt.
With all the connection that Apple already has with the banks, I wonder if it would be relatively easy for them to buy up a smaller company, rework the software, and include it in the software that comes with the computer/iDevice. It could increase the reach of Apple Pay if done right, and also position the Apple ecosystem as less of an "artist/music/etc" device and more of a serious home system.
Or perhaps I'm just fantasizing because there really isn't anything good out there that runs native on the Mac that is good for Canadian users...
I have been struggling with an older version of QFW running in a VM - the only reason I need the VM. It's become quite the mess over time because of changes in our financial situation and such, but also because Quicken just isn't designed to be fully functional for those outside the US (funny, since it's a Canadian company, from what I recall). I can recall several instances where the banks changed download protocols and it took almost a year for Intuit to update Quicken to adapt.
With all the connection that Apple already has with the banks, I wonder if it would be relatively easy for them to buy up a smaller company, rework the software, and include it in the software that comes with the computer/iDevice. It could increase the reach of Apple Pay if done right, and also position the Apple ecosystem as less of an "artist/music/etc" device and more of a serious home system.
Or perhaps I'm just fantasizing because there really isn't anything good out there that runs native on the Mac that is good for Canadian users...
I've been happy with iBank. Switched to it painlessly a couple of years ago after many years with the Windows version.
As a qualified accountant for over 10 years, I personally wouldn't recommend anything other than QuickBooks Online (QBO) from inuit,
You get all the features that you loved from Quicken but with the freedom of a cloud based system
We now act for more than 400 QBO users and a handful of them made the switch from Quicken itself, any questions or you would like to see a demo them drop me a message.
Cheers
Aaron
You get all the features that you loved from Quicken but with the freedom of a cloud based system
We now act for more than 400 QBO users and a handful of them made the switch from Quicken itself, any questions or you would like to see a demo them drop me a message.
Cheers
Aaron
Guys, I am looking into starting using one of these apps/software. I've never used any of them before although I did diligently keep an excel spreadsheets for a couple of years in the past and for the last 3-4 years I've been using Toshl app on the iPhone to keep a full, albeit simplified, track of my expenses as well. I would like to keep things offline as all of my account providers offer either .qif or .cvs export.
I've got quite a few of accounts to keep track of:
- 6 bank accounts in 3 different countries / 3 different currencies (they are in pairs 1 checking/1 saving in each country)
- 3 credit cards in 2 different countries / 2 currencies
- 3 paypal accounts (one for each of the 3 countries where I hold bank accounts)
- 3 investments/brokers accounts in 3 different countries - not that important as yet to keep track of this. will become more important in the future for sure
What software do you recommend for such a complicated scenario?
I imagine the hardest thing to link together would be all the transfers I've done internally between my accounts - either inside the country or cross-border - and I believe I would want PayPal transactions matched up to my card/bank account transactions as well. Do any of these apps recognise such transfers intelligently?
I've downloaded MoneyWiz and MoneyDance demo version and neither seems to do that that good or I might be missing something. How
I've got quite a few of accounts to keep track of:
- 6 bank accounts in 3 different countries / 3 different currencies (they are in pairs 1 checking/1 saving in each country)
- 3 credit cards in 2 different countries / 2 currencies
- 3 paypal accounts (one for each of the 3 countries where I hold bank accounts)
- 3 investments/brokers accounts in 3 different countries - not that important as yet to keep track of this. will become more important in the future for sure
What software do you recommend for such a complicated scenario?
I imagine the hardest thing to link together would be all the transfers I've done internally between my accounts - either inside the country or cross-border - and I believe I would want PayPal transactions matched up to my card/bank account transactions as well. Do any of these apps recognise such transfers intelligently?
I've downloaded MoneyWiz and MoneyDance demo version and neither seems to do that that good or I might be missing something. How
Intuit just released Quicken 2016 for Mac and it may well be the real upgrade to Quicken 2007 for Mac that we have been waiting for! They offered me a 40% discount and I will probably buy it for a trial soon after Thanksgiving.
Maybe now Intuit can put its terribly misleading release of the updated Quicken Essentials as Quicken 2015 for Mac behind them by giving 2015 customers a discounted release as well!
http://www.quicken.com/mac
Maybe now Intuit can put its terribly misleading release of the updated Quicken Essentials as Quicken 2015 for Mac behind them by giving 2015 customers a discounted release as well!
http://www.quicken.com/mac
I would love to try Quicken. I just can't face paying for it unless it fits my needs. If it does I would become a valued customer but they offer no trial at all.
Check out this comparision chart:I would love to try Quicken. I just can't face paying for it unless it fits my needs. If it does I would become a valued customer but they offer no trial at all.
http://www.quicken.com/mac/compare
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The link does not work for me. All I get in Safari 9.0.1 is "about:blank" for the URL.