Best Personal Bookkeeping Software?

[TygrBright]

I used to love Quicken, in part because several organizations I consulted for or volunteered for or served on the Boards of, used QuickBooks software and I got very familiar with that, lo those many years back. So it wasn't much of a stretch to learn Quicken for household and simple self-employment business bookkeeping.

What I loved about Quicken included:

Very flexible in allowing you to design and customize your own categories, attach subcategories to them, designate them as significant for tax reporting purposes, etc..

Almost universally compatible with every bank we did business with, enabling easy downloads of account information in compatible formats for the software on my desktop PC, and even allowing me to set up and recognize transactions and automatically categorize them during the download process.

The reporting function had all the capacity I needed, could store and automatically update reports I used regularly, and create new reports on the fly without too many baffling 'features' to navigate.

And, finally, it used to be pretty simple. It started out as (essentially) a computerized check register-with-ledger-and-books tool, and for a good many years it pretty much stayed that way.

Then they started "upgrading" it. Now you can trade stocks, pay bills automatically, get a new mortgage, manage investments, create budgets, and probably walk the dog, I don't know.

Doubtless there are people who use every bit of all those functions, use them on mobile apps, rely on them and don't mind having all the information about their financial management fully integrated on the cloud with everything else about them.

Me, I mind. While I like being able to DL info from my bank accounts and drop it into the financial management program that lives in my desktop computer, I really DON'T want it fully integrated in the cloud with everything I do. I DON'T use mobile apps (don't even have a "smart" phone)! I DON'T want to use it to pay my bills, track stocks, etc.

I simply want to balance my checking account, track my household books, and produce reports for tax preparation now and then.

And, once I learn how to use the program, I'd like to be able to simply keep using it, without having "upgrades" shoved at me every year, and without having to pay an annual extortion payoff -excuse me, "subscription"- to the software vendor, to maintain its interactive functions with my bank.

So, alas, my days of being a Quicken customer seem to be drawing to a close.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a simple personal finance management program that doesn't hold you up for money every year to push "upgrades" you don't need or want on you, and doesn't require constant Internet connections and logins simply to use the program on your desktop?

Anyone?

Please??

hopefully,
Bright

[RKP5637]

1. Take a look at Mint.com It works exceptionally well.

https://www.mint.com/

[TygrBright]

3. Is it a desktop program, or a mobile app thingie?

Hard to tell, anymore.

I'd like something that comes on a disk, that I can load on my desktop, and never have to worry about them holding my data hostage unless I pay for an upgrade.

On the website, all the pictures seem to be mobile phone-based.

Have you used it on a desktop?

curiously,
Bright

[RKP5637]

5. It's web based, in the cloud. It's why Intuit dumped/sold off Quicken and moved to web based. You

can access it desk or mobile. There is no fee, just some useful ads occasionally. It's an Intuit product. Yes, I use it on a desktop.

[TygrBright]

6. ah, okay... I need something I can use without being connected to the Internet. n/t

[RKP5637]

9. Oh, this would not be it.

[canetoad]

2. See if you can get hold of an old version

Of Quicken or Quickbooks. I still use it, but a version from 2001 and I don't allow it to connect to anything. I agree that it's a customisable and efficient program that does the job well.

[TygrBright]

4. I have a disk of Quicken 2005...

...but Windows 7 doesn't seem to be able to load it properly.

Would 2001 be compatible with Win7?

I'd happily revert to that. I don't mind DLing files from my bank in .QIF format and importing them to the software.

frustratedly,
Bright

[canetoad]

8. I've successfully loaded

Quickbooks v. 7.4 (2001) onto Win 7. You will have problems if you have vestiges of any newer versions kicking around your computer. You'll need to do a total uninstall of newer QB or Quicken with Revo Uninstaller, advanced mode. I've had others do this and in the end they could load old versions of QB on Win 7 without problems.

[TygrBright]

11. hmmm... that might be the issue.

I may try doing that. I have Revo and the disk. Might need to figure out how to archive the db to a previous version, though.

Thanks for the tip!

appreciatively,
Bright

[Sailor65x1]

13. I have installers back to 08 I think.

If it will help, you are welcome to it, or a slightly later one. They will load in Win7.

Unfortunately, for all its faults there is still no product that matches Quicken quite yet.

[TygrBright]

15. True. And initially I had hopes, when Intuit cut them loose.

I never cared for Intuit.

I was sort of hoping that the new owners would go back to an older model of trustworthy, flexible, stand-alone software with good support and segment the market down to offer various versions to people with differing needs.

Unfortunately they seem to have opted for the "pay the subscription and you get everything!" model instead.

sadly,
Bright

[SeattleVet]

7. We started using the (free and open-source) GnuCash.

It has a somewhat steep learning curve, but there is excellent documentation and help available, and if you just want some very basic elements it is actually quite easy and simple to set up and generate reports.

Since we are both now retired we have been putting all of our finances into this, and it has been a great help in seeing where our money is actually going, and getting our budgets all arranged.

You can use it from the desktop, or you can set it up to get stock and bank account information online, if you wish. It can import and export to all of the popular formats, so your existing data can be transferred.

Extremely flexible in the way you can customize it for your own situation. Like I said, initially has a bit of a learning curve, but the documentation steps you through pretty well. When I first started using it I used some of their pre-configured charts of accounts, then modified them for the way we were actually using them.

Available for Linux, Windows (XP, Vista, 7, 8, and 10) and Mac OS-X on Intel of PowerPC platforms.

http://gnucash.org

[TygrBright]

12. Thank you! That looks worth a check-out.

I will DL and experiment.

Many thanks.

I'm sure Quicken won't miss us.

wryly,
Bright

[canetoad]

10. Another thought TygrBright

Have a dig around at SourceForge for some freeware/open source program that fits the bill.

https://sourceforge.net/directory/business-enterprise/financial/accounting/os:windows/

[TygrBright]

14. And there right at the top is GnuCash, with 4.5 stars...

Thanks.

I may check it out.

I no longer want direct connectivity between my bank any my software, but I DO want reliable import/export with easily downloadable formats for the information.

Yes, it's more work. But what little trust I ever had in software-as-a-service is almost entirely eroded these days.

wearily,
Bright