Author Topic: Alternatives to Quicken Essentials  (Read 1356 times)

jgoody

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 46
  • Age: 43
  • Location: Pacific NW
Alternatives to Quicken Essentials
« on: November 18, 2019, 11:20:28 PM »
I've been using Quicken Essentials for many years to track my spending, but am looking for an alternative. 

My needs are pretty basic - I like to check in about twice per year to see where my money is going and analyze what I see.  That's all I use it for.  With Quicken Essentials, I wasn't getting good bank syncing, so I gave up on that feature.  Instead, I downloaded and then imported .qfx files from my credit card a couple times per year and I actually did my banking/brokerage account entries manually (slight pain, but Charles Schwab only lets you download the data as a .csv file and I could never get Quicken to import that).  At this point, I actually DON'T want a program that will automatically sync up with all of my various accounts - call me paranoid, but I don't like the idea of all of my account numbers/data in one spot.  I also would prefer freeware or cheap, and definitely nothing with a subscription service like Quicken currently has. 

Why am I ditching Quicken Essentials if it fits my needs?  Well, my old Macbook Pro finally got so slow I couldn't tolerate it anymore, so I got a new one.  Unfortunately, I can't use Quicken Essentials with the newer operating system. 

So... is there a basic program that will work with newer Mac that will fit my needs?  It should not have a subscription service and it should allow me to enter the data via csv, qfx, and other common file types.  Big bonus points if it recognizes patterns/helps me categorize the various transactions.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

reeshau

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2510
  • Location: Houston, TX
  • Former locations: Detroit, Indianapolis, Dublin
Re: Alternatives to Quicken Essentials
« Reply #1 on: November 19, 2019, 02:20:57 AM »
Have you looked at gnucash?  It's free, and available for Mac.  There is no tiering of functionality, so I am curious just how basic you can make it.

https://www.gnucash.org/

I am a longtime Quicken (premium) user.  But I've been following gnucash for a while as a potential exit, first because Quicken got so buggy in the later years of Intuit ownership, and now with the subscription model that you point out.

SoftwareGoddess

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 140
  • Location: Canada
Re: Alternatives to Quicken Essentials
« Reply #2 on: November 19, 2019, 07:39:03 AM »
Chiming in as a gnucash user, yes, gnucash does support importing transactions in CSV, QIF, QFX, and OFX formats.

The importer uses a Bayesian algorithm to recommend an account/category for each transaction. That means you "train" it as you use it. When you are importing, you need to check every transaction and make sure that it is assigned to the correct account/category, and change it if it is not. The accuracy should improve as you use it.

jgoody

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 46
  • Age: 43
  • Location: Pacific NW
Re: Alternatives to Quicken Essentials
« Reply #3 on: November 23, 2019, 09:15:29 AM »
Awesome.  Two strong votes for gnucash.  I'll check it out this weekend.  Thanks for the tips.