[Waterwell]

I recently purchased an IMac and would appreciate advice on personal budget and finance spreadsheet software.
By way of background, I have poor eyesight and use a screen resolution of 1344 x 840.
I currently use Quicken for Mac 2007 for my budget and finance. The problem is that fonts are far too small for me to see clearly and cannot be changed.
My budget and finance requirements are reasonably straightforward
1. Create income and expenditure categories and sub-categories
2. Create 3 accounts (cheque, savings, credit) in which I can manually record debit and credit transactions by description, category and sub-category
3. Create annual budgets with specified amounts each month (not average amounts) for categories and sub-categories
4. Compare actual income and expenditure for categories and sub-categories (for all accounts) against budget each month and for year to date
I have tried many software programs but none can do 3 and/or 4 above. Are there any Mac-based software programs that can meet all my requirements?
An alternative approach is to use the Checking Register and Budget Templates in IWork (Numbers). I have posted a separate question on this.
With thanks in anticipation.

[pinikiso]

Hi,thanks for posting. Same thing here. Hope many would post their suggestions. Hoping to her from this thread soon. Thanks in advance!

Regards,
pinikiso

[MacDavo]

The best software I've seen, which should meet all 4 requirements is iFinance. Another possibility is MoneyWell, but personally I found iFinance far superior.

I'd be very interested to see if either of these meet your requirements.

[haggis]

Have noticed that Quicken Essentials 2010 is available for USD49.95 or similar.

Have read a few reviews from US MacWorld but nothing local, the US reviews don't make it look all that great as a personal accounting package.

Has anyone had any experiences with the recent Quicken release?

[Anthony Caruana]

I recently switched to Saasu (www.saasu.com). It is online, cloud-based accounting and it works beautifully. It does all the usual accounting stuff (invoices, quotes, purchase orders, payroll, etc) with full compliance with Australian tax rules and can be used on a Mac, iPad or any computer. There's nothing to install on your Mac as it all works on the browser.

If you do 20 transactions or less, it's free. There are monthly, quarterly and annual subscription prices. I did an annual for about $220 (from memory).

You can set up a free account to try it. They provide a sample company file with lots of accounts and money so you can have a good play before making a decision.

[haggis]

Some months ago I downloaded Quicken Essentials personal accounting package for around $50, it'd be probably less at the moment.

Have found it to be all that I require for personal accounting in retirement, in fact it is now quite clear that we're spending more than we receiving.

So what else is new?

[Deckhand]

haggis, on 11 April 2011 - 04:07 PM, said:

Some months ago I downloaded Quicken Essentials personal accounting package for around $50, it'd be probably less at the moment.

Have found it to be all that I require for personal accounting in retirement, in fact it is now quite clear that we're spending more than we receiving.

So what else is new?

Haggis,

I'm also after a package for personal accounting in retirement.
When I try to download/purchase Quicken Essentials, I'm advised that it's not available outside the US.
Up until recently, I've been using Qucken 2007? which I purchased in HKG.
I lost Q2007 when I upgraded to Lion, having been assured that all would be OK .. just use iBank, which is the wheel reinvented by a committee !
Appreciate any help/advice.

Regards/Dh

[zootman]

Hi,

I recently started using iBank from IGG. It is available on the Mac app store, but I found it cheaper to buy directly from the developer web site.

I migrated all my data to it without any issue. I think a trial is avail from the developer web site so you can give it a go and do some trial migrations.

I have found it pretty easy to use, manual data entry is a little more tedious than quicken but not too much.

I like it and have used it for this years finances. I just download bank statements in QIF format and import. No dramas.

And their is an iPhone app that it can sync two way with which is kind of nice.

Cheers,

[Deckhand]

Thanks Zootman,

I have started using iBank. The transfer of data went smoothly and I also like the download feature but generally prefer Quicken for layout and ease of data entry.
I downloaded and printed out the iBank manual, but without a detailed index, resolving problems is very time consuming.
What I need is a "missing manual" but there doesn't appear to be one.

I'll plod on with iBank but I'm still on the lookout for a copy of Quicken Essentials.

Regards/DH

[zootman]

Deckhand, on 11 January 2012 - 11:28 AM, said:

Thanks Zootman,

I have started using iBank. The transfer of data went smoothly and I also like the download feature but generally prefer Quicken for layout and ease of data entry.
I downloaded and printed out the iBank manual, but without a detailed index, resolving problems is very time consuming.
What I need is a "missing manual" but there doesn't appear to be one.

I'll plod on with iBank but I'm still on the lookout for a copy of Quicken Essentials.

Regards/DH

No Worries - I've not missed quicken one bit. I have made use of the IGG User Forums and done a bit of experimenting to learn how to come to grips with it. I'm quite happy with it - the reporting has improved from earlier releases and updates come out reasonably regular. Not had too many problems with it (that I've not caused anyway !) - half the problem is coming to grips with its behaviour. I've not tried budgeting yet - thats next !

Cheers

[haggis]

Deckhand.

Apologies for the delay in responding to your question about Quicken Essentials in OZ. The topic 'died' for quite a while and I've been doing other things.

There are ways to access/purchase from the USA. If you have a valid US address you can use your oz based credit card and a mac.com email address. If you can avail yourself of a US base then you should have no problems.

I have found QE all that I require and am a bit like you in that I prefer a format/process I know/understand rather than having to contend with new tricks.

Let me know how you go and perhaps we can overcome the problem?

Haggis.