Checkbook Software - What to use?

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Just switching over to the Mac environment and am looking for a simple checkbook program for doing basic home accounting. Ever since the days of MS-DOS I’ve been using an old program called Moneycounts by Parsons Technology which I really like. They got bought out by Intuit decades ago and the last version was Windows 16-bit and XP was the last Windows OS that would run it. Today I have my old XP machine hosted in VirtualBox and that continues to work for me but since I am making the switch to Mac I thought I would ask what your favorite checkbook software is.

I’ve tried multiple “modern” checkbook programs for Windows and the Online stuff but frankly, hate them. I don’t want to be mousing all over the place to pound in a bunch of bank statements. I am looking for something where keyboard entry is the primary means of input.
 

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Hi:

Been using "Checkbook" for years. It's inexpensive (Mac App Store) and works well. They also have a Pro version which can keep track of expenses, etc.

CheckBook on the Mac App Store

You brought back memories when you mentioned "Parsons Technology". For years I used their Bible software on my various PCs that I owned. They eventually sold out.
 
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We use iFinance here, mainly because it has a companion iOS app available that it can be synced to. So, if you use your debit card while out and about, you can input your transactions on your iPhone, then sync to the desktop app at your leisure.
iFinance - Manage your finances
 
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...am looking for a simple checkbook program for doing basic home accounting....

I just updated my Macintosh Accounting Software Web site, and there is a very long list of "Personal Finance" programs, which is what you are looking for. The most popular programs are indicated, as are several excellent programs that are completely FREE:

Macintosh Accounting Software
 
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Thanks all...I think I've found a couple of possibilities.

I, for one, would be interested in which ones you are considering, and which one you ultimately decide to go with, and why, if you are willing to share.

It's good to get feedback on this sort of thing to pass on to others.
 
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I decided to go with Moneyspire. Both packages are very good. I really liked the customizability of SEE but in the end decided to go with Moneyspire which has better reporting functionality.
 
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I decided to go with Moneyspire. Both packages are very good. I really liked the customizability of SEE but in the end decided to go with Moneyspire which has better reporting functionality.


Thank you for your feedback!

May I recommend that you look at one more product?

iCompta ($27)
iCompta | Your accounts with ease
There is a mobile companion version of iCompta for the iPhone/iPad, which syncs with the desktop version. ($4)
iCompta 6 on the App Store

I think that you will REALLY be impressed by iCompta's reporting features!
 
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I decided to go with Moneyspire. Both packages are very good. I really liked the customizability of SEE but in the end decided to go with Moneyspire which has better reporting functionality.

Looks like I'm late with suggestion but I use "Moneydance" and am very happy with the app. It is very good at tracking mutual fund and investment transactions. A lot of great features for tracking all asset accounts and income/expense transactions.
 
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I use Quicken for PC running under the Parallels VM. I like Quicken a lot, even though it is not free, and for several small non-profit organizations whose finances I manage it is all I need (I have used QuickBooks for much larger organizations). I used Quicken on a PC for years before I gave up PCs and went all-Mac. Intuit has released Mac versions over the years. I tried switching to Quicken for Mac twice, and each time there were one or two deal-breakers. One was as simple as not printing the address of the payee on the printed check, defeating the purpose of window envelopes. Maybe it's better now, but running in Parallels is a very minor inconvenience to me.
 
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Hi Randy--in another thread I was lamenting about Account Edge giving up on Macs after all these years. I decided to try MoneyWorks.


I, for one, would be interested in which ones you are considering, and which one you ultimately decide to go with, and why, if you are willing to share.

It's good to get feedback on this sort of thing to pass on to others.
 
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How do you like it?


I don't know yet. But it will allow me to have three "company" accounts. I volunteer with a dog club and am the treasurer. I like that part of it definitely. It seems similar to AE as to layout and that will help. Not sure if the non-USA origin of the product will confuse me?
 
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I've been using Personal Capital for the last few years, and I really like it. It allows you to connect all of your financial accounts, automatically generates reports on where your money is going / coming from. There are iOS apps available as well.

Sean
 
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Update on my Moneyworks software try. It was just too confusing for me setting up the accounts. I couldn't figure out how to link accounts. It is just so simple with Account Edge. I gave up the fight and updated the memory and OS on my 2007 iMac and will just use it there. Sometimes it's just too frustrating to learn new stuff after being with one thing over 20 years.
 
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If simple bookkeeping will suffice, such as the paper register that comes with a book of checks, it's easy to make a spreadsheet with Numbers.app or Excel. If you want one for Excel (xlsx format), PM me & I'll be happy to send you the template. It's just a boring check book register that does the math. (I think Excel templates will open in Apple's Numbers.app.)

Excel for Mac 2011 version has several personal & business finance templates built in.
Enjoy This Day!
Paul

PS: Thank You Randy B. Singer for posting the link to the accounting applications. Your list has many great choices to explore!
 
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For what it's worth I use and quite like iBank. Not perfect but allows me to keep an eye on forthcoming expenditure and keep a check on all my account balances.
 
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For what it's worth I use and quite like iBank. Not perfect but allows me to keep an eye on forthcoming expenditure and keep a check on all my account balances.

I used iBank for a couple of years on personal accounts. It worked pretty well but at times could be frustrating. I don't need all those graphs and pie charts. Finally someone said why don't you just use Account Edge (I use it on my business). I think iBank is called Banktivity now. They had a good forum years ago for help
 
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I used iBank for a couple of years on personal accounts. It worked pretty well but at times could be frustrating. I don't need all those graphs and pie charts. Finally someone said why don't you just use Account Edge (I use it on my business). I think iBank is called Banktivity now. They had a good forum years ago for help

I used to use iBank myself but got disgusted when they not only failed to address ongoing issues with inter-device syncing sometimes leading to errors "somewhere" in the ledgers, but eventually launched their long overdue dedicated iPad app with a subscription-only model. My wife and I abandoned them for iFinance and never looked back.
 

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