Accounting Software : Ratings of Sources

Our AssessmentThis chart compares five financial programs. Desktop accounting software Quicken Deluxe 2010, Moneydance 2010 and You Need A Budget 3 get the highest rating: 8.5 out of 10. Full reviews of many financial programs, including these, appear elsewhere on this site. Despite the site's name, FinanceSoftwareStore.com doesn't sell software. Instead, they have agreements with many of the manufacturers and also keep track of special offers or discounts.

Our AssessmentThere are more than 160 user reviews for the boxed version of Quicken Deluxe 2010 and over 30 for the download, and a few for each of the other 2010 versions. Many of them are surprisingly negative, primarily from Quicken users who find upgrading to the 2010 version frustrating. Other users complain that the 2010 version is no better than the 2007 one, and a few prefer their 2007 versions. However, some say the software loads easily and that it's easy to use. The average rating is low: 2.5 out of 5 stars. In contrast, there are over 140 user reviews of You Need A Budget Pro, and the average star rating is 4.5 out of 5. Users love the YNAB method for managing money. (The most current version of YNAB Pro is YNAB 3: it's not listed on Amazon.com as of this writing.)

Our AssessmentThis report (available without a subscription) was written before Microsoft announced that it would discontinue Money Plus. It describes three accounting software applications -- Quicken Deluxe 2009, Microsoft Money Plus Deluxe and AceMoney -- as well as four personal finance websites. Brief descriptions of the three software packages compare features and usability, while a detailed chart compares desktop and online applications.

Our AssessmentThis article recommends You Need A Budget Pro (now You Need A Budget 3) for those who "need extra motivation to achieve financial discipline." YNAB encourages users to stick to certain budgeting principles and helps them establish and stay within a budget.

Our AssessmentAbout.com's guide to financial software lists 10 personal accounting software products for Mac users, with links to full reviews of many of them. This article was written in 2008 so it might not include the newest products, but it provides useful information for Mac users. Some software options, including Moneydance, SplashMoney and Fortora Fresh Finance, come in both Mac and Windows versions. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)

Our AssessmentShelley Elmblad, the About.com guide to financial software, says "you will not find new money management tools in Quicken 2010," but you will get "enhanced ease-of-use." Her review is based on Quicken Deluxe 2010. She says the best new features are a help sidebar, pop-up registers and a conversion tool that lets users of Microsoft Money import data to Quicken. In the end, Elmblad recommends Quicken 2010 for dedicated users, but notes that there's no reason for users of Quicken 2009 to upgrade. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)

Our AssessmentPersonal finance blogger "Paul" complains that there is not much documentation to help new users set up Quicken 2010, and that learning to use all its features presents a steep learning curve. However, he generally likes the accounting software, concluding, "This is the place for tracking all of your basic finances along with your investments. It does a good job of this. It's also got enough budgeting horsepower built in that this could be your one stop software application." More than 150 reader comments follow the review; most are questions about different features of Quicken 2010, answered by Paul or other readers.

Our AssessmentThis brief review focuses on the improvements and new features offered by Moneydance 2010, including capital gains reporting, as well as new options for filtering reports and graphs. The application can also download transactions and merge them automatically. Other improvements include enhanced automatic categorization of downloaded transactions, and language support for English, German, French, Spanish and Norwegian.

Our AssessmentCNET editors give GnuCash a score of 4 out of 5, saying, "Although users with a solid grasp of financial management basics will get the most from this freeware program, GnuCash proved to be a capable tool for personal and small business accounting." According to the GnuCash website, they note, the latest stable version is 2.2.9; the 2.3 series is for testing only.

Our AssessmentShelley Elmblad likes the fact that You Need A Budget Pro not only allows users to set up and manage a budget, but also teaches them how to pay off debts and save money. It comes with five bonus spreadsheets for paying off debts, estimating income taxes, analyzing mortgages, planning for retirement and managing car maintenance. This accounting software costs $50, but updates are free. This thorough review can help consumers decide whether YNAB Pro might offer what they're looking for. The latest version is YNAB 3; the "pro" designation has been dropped. (Note: ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com, but the two don't share an editorial affiliation.)

Our AssessmentDaniel Fernandez reviews the latest version of SplashMoney's iPhone app, 4.7.2, rating it on appearance, usability, features and value. The app gets a 4 out of 5 on usability and features, 3 on appearance, and 3.5 on value. Fernandez finds one annoying bug: the app sometimes closes while you're entering data. His overall rating is a moderate 3.625 out of 5.