Q: best financial software for mac

I really liked Easy Books but the importing data was a little tedious.  My husband uses his credit card all day.  I couldn't get the csv to download.  I don't like that it won't update transaction very easy.  I haven't bought the add ons yet.  Do you know if that is different when buying an add-on?  I may have to try QB for Mac.  That is my last resort as I was trying to get away from intuit.  Not real happy with some of the things they do.  I work on QB Enterprise Solutions at work on a windows computer and don't care of some of their tactics.  But I may have to go there!

rfricano wrote:

 

I did purchase the 2016 Mac version yesterday.  Going to see if I can make it work.  Change is hard for me...**sigh**  I think I have used Quicken since the product came out.  What I don't like about Quicken now is they want you to update every two years or the downloads won't be compatible.  I only download CC charges and not banking but we use 2 cards all the time, personal and business and another 2 cards at various places...ie...Sam's Club..when the other 2 aren't accepted.  I also use it to update investments like Ameritrade and 401k info.   So I would like to start fresh with a program that will still let me do home and business on one program.  But I am old school and still not comfortable with the online software.

What versions of Quicken have you used?

Now that I am starting to get my first looks at Quicken 2016, I am curious what you dislike about it?

I forget if I asked you have you tried Quicken 2007 for Mac?  I consistently have used this program for years to keep track of the 95% of transactions that I charge to my CC's and then my banking information.

I personally prefer to go to my CC websites and download a QIF file and then import into Quicken as, I do not trust ANY program to have all of my financial passwords! But of course they do offer the automatic download feature...

At only $15 it is quite the bargain!  I do not know how much longer Intuit will continue to offer it for sale at this price, if at all!

I was using Quicken Home and Business before I switched to a Mac.  I thought I could make the Quicken 2016 work and just do invoices separate, but it was so time consuming.  I was really wanting to get away from Intuit. 

I use QB Enterprise Solutions at my office and sometimes they just hold your had over the fire!  The price has jumping is out of this world crazy!  So much so that I thought about changing accounting systems!  They did finally cut me a better deal.  I have used Quicken for so long on Windows and if you don't upgrade in 2 years they stop the support and you can't download banking/cc charges. 

My husband has just a small business and it didn't need a lot of bells and whistles but I do need invoicing which Quicken doesn't have that capability.  So far, other than price, I think QuickBooks 2016 for Mac is going to work.  I have just tried every thing to get away from intuit but looks like that isn't going to happen. . 

OK!  It looks like you are very close to making your final determination about your software needs, even though it means continuing with an Intuit product.

As I understand your needs, you are looking for software that satisfies two separate functions: your home finance needs and your husband's small business needs.  Historically it has been difficult to find one software package on the Mac that did a good job at both of these functions.  Fifteen years ago, I used both Quicken and Quickbooks for Mac to satisfy my needs in this area, but my "business" needs ended a few years later and I stopped using QB.

Just a clarifying question, so that perhaps I can add some additional information to your mix:

What is so time consuming about making Quicken 2016 work for your needs other than invoicing?

As to your comment about your lost ability to use Quicken on Windows for downloading banking/cc charges if you did not upgrade every two years:

I am not aware of this limitation on the Mac side.  That being said, I personally have made the decision, given the ever growing risk of identity theft/hacking, that I would NEVER trust any piece of software with the login/passwords for ALL of my financial accounts!  What a potential nightmare the day you wake upt to tens of thousands of dollars missing from your savings account; and good luck with the time it will take to get the money back, if ever!

There is a simple workaround in Quicken (and presumably all of its competing products):

I try to use my "charge card" (that is, a card that requires me to pay 100% of the balance due each month, and is not a "credit" card) for ALL of my financial transactions.  The consumer protection laws gives us much better protection from fraud on a charge/credit card, then otherwise.  If the merchant will not accept that brand of charge card, then I use my "consumer credit card" which I elect then to pay off 100% every month.  Finally, if required, and all else is not acceptable, I write a check, and in these ever increasingly rare instances, I manually enter this transaction into Quicken as my "checkbook register."

Every month, I go to the website for each of my three charge/credit cards (one charge card, one consumer credit card and one "gasoline" card), make the monthly payment to that card and download a QIF file of the previous month's transactions.  I then manually "import" the QIF file into the register of the appropriate account and all I have to do is designate which "category" is needed for that specific transaction.  I then reconcile the account against the prior month's statement.

While not as sleek as downloading all of this information, it does not add much more work/time to my monthly Quiicken needs and gives me much more peace of mind!

As QIF does not produce income for Intuit, they have been pressuring financial institutions, including my "charge card" provider, to stop providing QIF downloads from their website.  To future-proof myself however: I now download this card's transactions in CSV and I purchased a CSV2QIF converter from MoneyThumb, which works quite nicely.  And now I am starting my research on downloading in QFX format as an alternative.

With these thoughts in mind, and pending your answer to my question above, I do not see why Quicken 2016 cannot meet your household needs, other than invoicing.

gbruns wrote:

 

Have spent a little over two hours reading and researching this thread... this nearly 3-year old thread... learning the ins and outs of Q07 for Mac and running Quicken 2013 for PC with Crossover as I yearn for that 'perfect' financial software we are all seeking... and as I got to the end I felt like I had followed everyone as you would in a 'coming of age' novel... watching the characters grow and develop through their trials and tribulations.

 

Then on November 23rd I see the one protagonist that I most identify with - MichaelLAX - mention the New Quicken 2016 (which initiated my research!) and it looks like he "will probably take them up on the offer in December and see if it [Quicken 2016 for Mac] is really the hoped for upgrade to Quicken 2007" - and I think HOLY S_! YES! That's what I'm thinking too, man! This story is getting GREAT!

But wait, it's early in December... only the 4th! and he just posted that a couple weeks ago! Hmmm. So, WHEN in December is he going to do this?

Then like an old season-ending episode of 'Lost' ...  I stare at my screen, watery-eyed and tired, and realize I'm going to have to wait - or in this case, follow the thread to see what he comes up with.

 

I feel like I'm part of the story now... so, thanks for all you've all done so far. And whenever you're ready, please continue.

 

Greg

OK: so you inspired me to purchase Quicken 2016 and I have it up and running now and it easily opened (and converted) my Quicken 2007 data file.

I will now do some research into which features it adds, which features it lacks, ease of operation, etc.  I suspect that the answer will lay somewhere in between less features than the Windows version, as usual, but maybe some more features than Quicken 2007 for Mac!

It clearly has a different "look and feel" than Quicken 2007, probably introduced into Quicken 2015 for Mac and perhaps Quicken Essentials:

                                                                      [click on image to enlarge]

Let me know your specific focus and questions, too!

I may have to move this discussion to a new thread focused more clearly on Quicken 2016 than this one, if for no other reason than to get away from the "Intuit haters!"

And now that the flimflam is over.

It is time to remind users that Intuit have a long history of poor support for Macs, during the 6 years that they failed to update Quicken 2007 for current Macs most other vendors, even of significantly more complex software did update them (Microsoft updated Office in 2008 for example) while Intuit relied for a while on a 3rd party emulator provided to them by Apple, and when that went away they chose to abandon users of new Macs entirely.

From my initial observations, I have to say that I am underwhelmed by Quicken 2016 for Mac as an "upgrade" to Quicken 2007 for Mac.  This is especially true for a new user since it costs $75 and, as of the writing of this post, Intuit still sells Quicken 2007 for Mac for $15!

I would recommend Quicken 2016 for Mac if any of the following claimed "new features" were important for a Mac user (I have not actually tried any of these "new" features).  According to Quicken's FAQ's, these features are:

•  Bill Paying directly from Quicken

•  Ability to transfer money between accounts at your bank

•  Use of the Quicken app to sync information between the mobile app and the desktop version

•  Support for more financial institutions than Quicken 2007 for Mac

NOTE: You must run Quicken 2016 for Mac in either Yosemite or El Capitan at this time.

It also claims that the following features from Quicken 2007 for Mac are missing from Quicken 2016 for Mac:

•  Loan amortization schedules

•  Home Inventory and Emergency Records data

•  Explicit Lot Assignments

•  Securities Watch List

While I will continue to experiment with Quicken 2016 for Mac, I suspect that I will primarily continue to run Quicken 2007 for now, as the reasons listed in Intuit's security release about Quicken 2007 for Mac are not relevant to my use.

I am happy to address any specific questions or concern you might have with Quicken 2016 for Mac.

We used Quicken for years for our business, but had a problem with losing data. It turned out that we had reached the database maximum. We archived the old database and started a new one without problems, but it took a long time to find out the problem.

We have started using YNAB (You Need a Budget) with great satisfaction.

I can also conclude the fact that Intuit has no loyalty to Mac users and am in complete agreement with your comments.  Others with more complimentary remarks regardless of how long-winded lack the objectivity to render unbiased assessments of Quicken 2016.  Intuit's past performance speaks for itself - they will abandon Mac users with Quicken 2016 like an old sneaker as soon as any further investment is required just as they did with Quicken 2007.  Those who fail to remember the past are condemned to relive it.

I think you can use some CRM software, it will help you with your purposes, I personally use CRM solutions from http://customertimes.com/services/salesforce-com-implementation/ company. CRM helps me keep financial records and other operations that I need, on the mac. Also, it help with growing my business.

dmauch wrote:

 

I can also conclude the fact that Intuit has no loyalty to Mac users and am in complete agreement with your comments.  Others with more complimentary remarks regardless of how long-winded lack the objectivity to render unbiased assessments of Quicken 2016.  Intuit's past performance speaks for itself - they will abandon Mac users with Quicken 2016 like an old sneaker as soon as any further investment is required just as they did with Quicken 2007.  Those who fail to remember the past are condemned to relive it.

We are in agreement it seems.

Csound1 wrote:

 

We are in agreement it seems.

Remind us again which program you use for home finance: Excel!?!

So we ARE in agreement that un-complimentary remarks regardless of how long-winded lack the objectivity to render unbiased assessments of Intuit!

I use Excel, after long years of using Quicken. Using Quicken is why I now use Excel.

The OP seems to agree.

The OP seems to agree?  Not really, since the OP acknowledged this post as his ANSWER:

baltwo wrote:

 

You need Q '07 for Lion. Costs $15 USD. FWIW, Q '97 meets my needs and I'd never use anything cloud-based, but that's just me.

Nice try though!

Stick with Excel! If it ever disappoints you, you can use an abacus or perhaps a notepad and a pencil!

I have no urge to use outdated software thanks.