It’s important to track our expenses. This will help in better management of how and where to spend based on the income or obligations we have. In many cases, an Excel sheet could do a lot of work. However, a personal accounting/finance software is more advanced for sophisticated reports and less errors of course.
A good software here is the one with most of the following:
- Easy to enter transactions: Predicting entry, available on multiple platforms (Synchronizing), …
- Affordable in terms of new purchase or upgrade. I hate applications that force me to upgrade every now and then.
- Fast responding…
- Good display and clear navigation.
- Provide classifications and reporting on multiple levels: Categories, Payees, Tags, Projects, …
- Good search capabilities and filtering.
- Good import and export plugins – to bring transactions from banks or from/to other applications.
- Ability to handle multiple currencies and exchange rates.
- Sharing options for view purposes or concurrent update of transactions.
Some good software:
Moneydance
Available on most platforms except for Windows Phone. Its Android app isn’t that good. However, it’s my preferred and the one that I mainly use. I like that there is no need to upgrade. If needed, the company offers free upgrades often. The app uses Java and thus it’s very fast. It is one of the top apps in this field. Display could be better though – mainly on Windows10 with High DPI screens. With its latest updates, the app has better options for sharing data on different systems.
Quicken
Some might prefer Quicken over Moneydance. It’s for sure one of the top apps too. However, it has very bad display on High DPI screens. So, it was almost unusable for me. Furthermore, it’s more into US community with less flexibility in some fields comparing to Moneydance. It might synchronize better but I understand sharing data isn’t supported directly. The app is available on most platforms.
Cash Organizer
This is my second preferred app. I used it a lot when Chromebook was my only laptop. It’s mainly a cloud app but it’s available on many platforms – Windows phone isn’t included. It’s simple comparing to Moneydance and Quicken but for sure it does most of the important things perfectly. This app was designed while sharing accounts is in mind. This didn’t work for me though.
Unfortunately, online downloading from banks isn’t supported by my banks here. Therefore, I haven’t tested this feature well on Moneydance, Quicken, and Cash Organizer. I’m also not that much into stocks investments!
Money Tracker Pro
If you’re into Windows Phone, this is the application for you. It’s available only on Windows 8/10. I think the design needs more polishing. If you don’t like the style of Windows 8/10, you won’t like it. It’s more simple comparing to the above three applications. And, thus some advanced features are not there. I guess it won’t be the first choice for many.
I believe you won’t go wrong with using any of the above apps for managing your money depending on the sophistication of your needs. There are many other famous applications (e.g., Mint, YNAB, …). I only compared the ones that I worked with. YNAB, for example, won’t work for me as it doesn’t support multiple currencies in one budget…
Appendix:
Applications that I liked but I haven’t got a chance to fully test
Toshl Finance
It’s beautiful, simple, fast, and affordable. It’s convenient for simple use. Yet it’s mainly a cloud app, it’s available on multiple platforms. Importing QIF files was painful. I only fear its exporting feature; what if I changed my mind and wanted to leave the app for another?! Tags can work as sub categories – not my preferred way. Reports isn’t as advance as in other apps.
Wallet (BudgetBakers)
It’s beautiful, simple, fast, and affordable. It’s convenient for simple use. Most functions are managed from mobile version. Web version is very limited. Categories are predefined. However, sub-categories can be changed or edited. My concern is the multi-currency transactions. I haven’t found such transactions as flexible as in other apps nor very accurate. Import & Export data is limited too.
Do you track your expenses or stick to budgets? What is the app you use?
Great post! I have tried quite a few of those apps, but found making a monthly budget on a spreadsheet was easiest for my wife and I. Then for regular expenses, we used the envelope system- an envelope for food, an envelope for gas, an envelope for restaurants, etc. Then my wife and I would fill the envelopes with cash based on our budget. This way, we are always looking ahead at expenses as opposed to looking in the past by entering expenses in an app. It also held us accountable for the amounts we allowed ourselves to spend in each category.
Thanks for writing!
That is an interesting way and I’m pretty sure it’s an effective one too. Thank you, Chris for sharing it with us. Spreadsheet (Excel) still my preferred one too for doing a lot of financial calculation and related issues.