A Quicken alternative - Looking for...

Question

Level 1

75 points

A Quicken alternative - Looking for...

Hi, I'm looking for a Quicken alternative. I'm wanting something that operates and interfaces similar to Microsoft Money, so hopefully someone out there has used a MS Money.

I looked at the Made4Mac area and there's a lot of alternatives, but all of it was overwhelming.

Also would like it to track multiple tpe of accounts, do the online thing, and run the usual reports for budgeting.

Looking for some ideas, thanks.

jc

Posted on Sep 24, 2005 7:36 AM

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Answer 1

Tallan

Level 4

3,095 points

Sep 24, 2005 9:04 AM in response to John Calhoun

John I'm in the same pickle: I just don't like Quicken, no matter how many times I try it. The alternatives I've discovered aren't great: run MS Money on your Mac under Virtual PC - it works, with full functionality, but is cumbersome and slow. What I ended up doing is keeping a Windows machine around simply to run Money on (plus play some games). Luckily Money isn't a resource hog and even an older PC can do quite well by it; maybe find a used laptop on eBay or at a swap meet? I bet if you shop around you can find a used hardware solution for not much more than Virtual PC + XP costs...

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Answer 2

RobM

Level 1

65 points

Sep 24, 2005 10:38 AM in response to Tallan

What don't like about Quicken? I had been a long time MS Money user and just yesterday switched over to Quicken. It took about 20 mins of getting t used to it but I already like it MUCH better than Money. My account files transferred flawleslt from Money to Quicken.

The two prgorams are fundementaly the same but I've found Quicken can generate sum very interesting stats. about spending habits, inflows, outflow, etc. You should give Quicken another chance!

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Answer 3

Tallan

Level 4

3,095 points

Sep 24, 2005 3:17 PM in response to RobM

My account files transferred flawleslt from Money to Quicken

So you're saying that Quicken for Mac will import MS Money (obviously for Windows) data files flawlessly? When last I looked (Quicken 2004) this was NOT the case, and it certainly would make the switch a lot easier.

What I didn't like was the "palletization" a la PhotoShop: I never knew where anything was, the little pop-up windows everywhere confused me, and I basically couldn't make sense of anything. I've got to confess that I was a corporate controller & then CFO for many years so I'm used to very linear double entry GAAP accounting systems. While Money has basically no audit controls (you can change even reconciled entries at any time for example) it's a pretty standard single-entry system at heart with a linear ledger that I understand.

What version of Quicken are you using? If I could easily import my Money data into the Mac Quicken I'd give it another shot, perhaps.

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Answer 4

John Calhoun Author

Level 1

75 points

Sep 24, 2005 6:20 PM in response to John Calhoun

Rob and Tallan,

Thanks for the replies. I used to use Quicken years ago with my Mac LC. When I got a PC, I used MS Money '98 then upgraded to '03. I tried to go back to Quicken with the 2003 version, but could not make the logical conversion on how accounts were linked via transactions. So that's how I got thee MS Money '03 version.

After getting my iMac, I was excited to see Quicken on there due to one less future expense. I started off disappointed after trying to import my Money data into Quicken. Yeah, I imported it by individual account using some back-woods workaround and it made a mess of years of data. So I decided to start fresh, like starting fresh with my new iMac. I created all my accounts and thought I had my loans linked to scheduled transactions...not the case. Also, I still have not figured out how to automatically pull account info from the internet.

Honestly, I see no similarities between the two and Quicken has the short stick. It is the most ilo -logical laid program that follows no accounting principals.

I will try to "make due" with it since it's free, but would like to find something comparable to the functionality and logical layout as MS Money.

jc

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Answer 5

Sep 24, 2005 7:49 PM in response to John Calhoun

Although I have no experience with it, I have heard lots of good things about Moneydance.

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Answer 6

Sep 24, 2005 10:42 PM in response to Tallan

The problem with Tallan's advice is that Microsoft Money is tied to Internet Explorer. If you buy a cheap pc or just use and older machine, then you will have a problem. Next time you upgrade Microsoft Money it will insist that you also upgrade Internet Explorer. If your older or cheap pc can't handle the new demands for IE you are out of luck.

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Answer 7

RobM

Level 1

65 points

Sep 24, 2005 10:49 PM in response to Eric Kracinski

I was using MS Money 2005 and converted all my accounts to Quciken for Mac 2004 using the "Loose QIf" export format.

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Answer 8

chipz

Level 2

470 points

Sep 26, 2005 4:30 AM in response to John Calhoun

Moneydance is a definite replacement for Quicken. It will import your Quicken QIF files with no problem and it also saves into the QIF format. I've used it and I like it.

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Answer 9

StanB

Level 1

95 points

Nov 8, 2005 10:30 AM in response to chipz

Do you know whether Moneydance can import Quicken QIF files from the Windows version of Quicken? I have had very limited success importing Quicken for Windows files into Quicken for Mac, plus Quicken for Mac is buggy.

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Answer 10

Nov 9, 2005 2:24 PM in response to StanB

I've been having problems moving my Quicken file from Quicken 2003 for PC to Quicken 2006 for Mac. E-mailed Quicken tech support and they gave me the same instructions I found on their website, so that was no help. Finally able to import one account at a time (despite Quicken's instructions that they can all be imported at once), now I can't get online downloads to work. Plus Quicken has suddenly quit several times during this process. Think I'm now fed up with Quicken and will try Moneydance. It's a shame, I've used Quicken for 10 years and have been generally happy with it until now...

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Answer 11

Nov 9, 2005 9:14 PM in response to Tallan

Hi, Tallan - Just how slow IS Microsoft Money on Virtual PC with a new iMac? This is the solution I'm planning when I pick up my 2.1ghz next week. I think it's silly to keep a laptop PC on the desk for one single application, especially if its an app like MS Money that I will use frequesntly (seems like the tail wagging the dog to me, I bought an iMac so I could centralize and simplify my work.)

I've used "goToMyPc" before, which has a bit of a delay - would you compare the slowness of virtual PC to gotomyPC? Faster? Slower?

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