Alternative to Quicken

  • Thread starter Thread starter Richard Steinfeld
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R

Richard Steinfeld

Hi.
Anyone know a good alternative to the personal financial
management program, "Quicken?"

I've been using Quicken for a few years. However, I hate the
way this company treats its customers (arrogant as all hell;
absolutely unreachable, advertises at you whether you like
it or not). I won't tolerate my software interrupting me
with an advertisement, especially if I've paid the bastards
for the product.

Thanks.

Richard
 
There's really only Quicken & Money and both have their problems. There may
be some others left around, but I don't think there is anything that has as
much functionality as either of these programs. I've been using Quicken
since 1996 and my data file is about 10MB. When Quicken came out with their
new design with Quicken 2003 with ads all over the place, I wrote a letter
to the President and returned it. I then tried Money 2003, which claimed to
be able to convert Quicken data files. WRONG! To make a long story short,
after speaking with the Money "support" group I discovered that the Quicken
data convert rarely worked on anything but the most basic of Quicken files.
Also, Money does not log conversion errors when it tries to do a Quicken
convert, indicating that Microsoft doesn't care much about getting
dissatisfied Quicken users onboard. I got my money back form Microsoft.

I am existing with the Quicken 2002 version and will stay with it as long as
it works. Hopefully, someone will see that this is an area they can make
some money in and jump into the fray. If they do, the MUST be able to
accept and convert ANY size Quicken data file. I agree with you and I don't
want to buy anything again from Intuit but I am stuck with a big and
complicated data file and I don't want to lose all the data I have in it.
The old rock and the hard place. But at least I haven't paid them for
upgrades to the 2003 or 2004 versions which is $100-140 they would have
gotten from me (I have the Home & Business edition)!

-----
Bill


Hi.
Anyone know a good alternative to the personal financial
management program, "Quicken?"

I've been using Quicken for a few years. However, I hate the
way this company treats its customers (arrogant as all hell;
absolutely unreachable, advertises at you whether you like
it or not). I won't tolerate my software interrupting me
with an advertisement, especially if I've paid the bastards
for the product.

Thanks.

Richard
 
Richard said:
Hi.
Anyone know a good alternative to the personal financial
management program, "Quicken?"

I've been using Quicken for a few years. However, I hate the
way this company treats its customers (arrogant as all hell;
absolutely unreachable, advertises at you whether you like
it or not). I won't tolerate my software interrupting me
with an advertisement, especially if I've paid the bastards
for the product.
Click to expand...

Richard,
You might want to look at some of the stuff here:

http://freewarehome.com/Home_and_Hobby/Personal_Finance_t.html

I got that link from this page:

http://www.all4you.dk/FreewareWorld/links.php?cat=008

Of course, if you're looking for an exact replacement for Quicken,
that's unlikely to happen. But if Quicken is overkill for you (as it
is for most people) you should be able to find a freeware program that
meets your needs. In fact, here's a program you might be able to use:

http://www.mechcad.net/products/acemoney/index_lite.html
 
I am existing with the Quicken 2002 version and will stay with it as long as
it works.
Click to expand...

I'm still using Quicken v6.0 for DOS from 1992. I only use the check
register feature, but it works fine.

I believe that you'll get many years of use from your version.
 
OK.
Now it's time to go OT, that "T" being "freeware."
The question has now become: Is there any affordable
alternative to Quicken and Money?
I understand now that there is a problem with being able to
export existing Quicken data successfully into MS Money.

But here's a different scenario.

1. Realize that quicken data may not import into anything
else.
2. Leave one's old data in Quicken and retain Quicken to
handle the old files.
3. Acquire a new program from a nicer company, whether free
(on-topic) or bought (off-topic).

I want to bring up another "mini-me."
Let's say that a couple of Windows versions down the road,
and our old Quickens will no longer behave under the new
OSs: what then?

Perhaps it may be time to adopt the philosophy of our
current Junta and take preemptive action. I/we are after a
sensible solution here.

Richard
 
Richard said:
OK.
Now it's time to go OT, that "T" being "freeware."
The question has now become: Is there any affordable
alternative to Quicken and Money?
I understand now that there is a problem with being able to
export existing Quicken data successfully into MS Money.

But here's a different scenario.

1. Realize that quicken data may not import into anything
else.
2. Leave one's old data in Quicken and retain Quicken to
handle the old files.
3. Acquire a new program from a nicer company, whether free
(on-topic) or bought (off-topic).

I want to bring up another "mini-me."
Let's say that a couple of Windows versions down the road,
and our old Quickens will no longer behave under the new
OSs: what then?

Perhaps it may be time to adopt the philosophy of our
current Junta and take preemptive action. I/we are after a
sensible solution here.

Richard



hell;
Click to expand...

There at least 2 free programs that I have imported Quicken data into
that run under Linux. The main one is GNUCash (free) and the other is
Moneydancer (free download and they ask you to pay if it works for you).
The downside is no support for online banking although Moneydancer has
some wizard that I haven't figured out yet.

Rick
 
....>
I am existing with the Quicken 2002 version and will stay with it as long as
it works.
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat. I was forced to switch to Quicken from MYM when
my bank, the Royal Bank of Canada stopped supporting PCBanking on the
latter program (which they owned), and forced all their online
customers into Internet Banking with Quicken. They provided a fairly
poor data conversion program (which lost all my categories), and
offered a small discount on the purchase of Quicken Basic 2000.

In the late summer of 2002, I got an e-mail from Quicken saying my
online functions would cease to work in six weeks unless I paid them
$100 a year or $15 a month towards the as yet unreleased 2003 version
of Quicken Canadian. They couldn't even give me the system
requirements or features of the product!

I stalled, and managed to hang on until November, when the new version
hit the stores, only to find my system didn't meet the sytem
requirements. Of course, by that time, 2002 wasn't available anymore.
I was lucky to find a copy of 2002 Basic on the shelf of a small
computer shop in the interior of BC, and bought some more time.

However, my understanding is that Intuit will disable the online
(download into QW) functions of its program two years after
publication, in April. So it would seem that we're doomed to buy a new
version this spring unless our banks provide us qif files to download.
Mine is working with Quicken to screw its customers, providing only
OFX files, which apparently can't be imported without Intuit's
intervention.
Hopefully, someone will see that this is an area they can make
some money in and jump into the fray. If they do, the MUST be able to
accept and convert ANY size Quicken data file. I agree with you and I don't
want to buy anything again from Intuit but I am stuck with a big and
complicated data file and I don't want to lose all the data I have in it.
The old rock and the hard place. But at least I haven't paid them for
upgrades to the 2003 or 2004 versions which is $100-140 they would have
gotten from me (I have the Home & Business edition)!
Click to expand...

I've been told that the Linux program MoneyDance can handle Quicken
data files, and import downloaded bank transactions. But I haven't
looked into it myself yet. I'm planning to in the near future though.





Achim



axethetax
 
[email protected] said:
...>

I'm in the same boat. I was forced to switch to Quicken from MYM when
my bank, the Royal Bank of Canada stopped supporting PCBanking on the
latter program (which they owned), and forced all their online
customers into Internet Banking with Quicken.
Click to expand...
Why you stick with them amazes me. Pull out and bank with Bank of
Montreal - online banking is free.
POKO
--
P. Keenan - Webmaster
Web Page Design
Manitoulin Island, Canada
http://manitoulinislandwebdesign.it-mate.co.uk/
(e-mail address removed)
 
....
Why you stick with them amazes me. Pull out and bank with Bank of
Montreal - online banking is free.
Click to expand...

I do considerable banking with BOM, and their telephone support is
ABYSSMAL. I'm not eager to find out what their online support is like.

Does BMO provide .qif format transaction downloads for Quicken users?
If so, maybe I'll give it a try. I'm not keen to jump out of the
frying pan into the fire though.




Achim



axethetax
 
["Bill Jones"; Thu, 29 Jan 2004 10:04:55 GMT]
I am existing with the Quicken 2002 version and will stay with it as
long as it works.
Click to expand...

Personally, for my simple checkbook-balancing needs, AceMoney Lite works
wonders. There's a one-account limit, but I think you can successfully run
multiple sessions of the application. (Having only one account to check, I
wouldn't know.) Just a recommendation.
 
Alternatives to Quicken

After months and months of looking, I have found that there aren't any good programs out there that can completely replace Quicken. Quicken is definitely was one of the best pieces of software ever designed for accounting. It is a pity that Intuit doesn't know how to maintain it.

Two very good partial replacements for Quicken:

Moneydance: Almost like Quicken for banking and general accounts management. Very smart and courteous development team. Continuous upgrades. Highly recommended.

Personal Stock Monitor (from DTLink Software): Excellent for monitoring investments. Not yet good for managing portfolios, but that should improve with time.

I am still using Quicken 2000 for bank accounts. (It allows QIF imports.) When it stops working, I intend to move to Moneydance.

Uday Reddy
 
Trying MyMoney as replacement to Quicken

So far it looks good. Will post after completing evaluation. If anyone else that wants to evaluate I would be very interested in their assessment. Thank you.
 
Try TradeMax

Richard Steinfeld said:
Hi.
Anyone know a good alternative to the personal financial
management program, "Quicken?"

I've been using Quicken for a few years. However, I hate the
way this company treats its customers (arrogant as all hell;
absolutely unreachable, advertises at you whether you like
it or not). I won't tolerate my software interrupting me
with an advertisement, especially if I've paid the bastards
for the product.

Thanks.

Richard
Click to expand...

http://www.itrademax.com

TradeMax® 2010, designed for active trader for its great capacity to support unlimited number of trades, also breezes normal traders with its function to auto-generate Schedule D. It can import data from Quicken, TurboTax, etc within seconds.
 
Looking for alternative to about 5 year old Quicken windows version.

I have used Quicken for 20 years or so and I have seen it go from a great bookkeeping program into a octopus, going in so many different directions that the basic bookkeeping, that I loved, has turned into less features I need or want. *

The last Quicken that I liked was a version about 5 *years ago. *Every new version since then takes me further away from why I bought Quicken and the problem is AFTER THE VERSION I LIKED WAS so called "UPGRADED", I CAN'T GO BACK AND USE THE PREVIOUS *VERSION that I liked. *What a BUMMER!

We use Quicken to write checks and sometimes don't have the transactions categorized or classified the way I want them so they have to be changed later. *

I need to be able to search for Payee, i.e., "X Oil Co." and change the category for "X Oil Co.", from Gas to Fuel and then change the class from Building 1 to Building 2. *I like to be able to make these changes one at a time and have the option to change all of them at one time. *Some years ago I could do all of this with Quicken but not now.

I will appreciate any suggestions and guidance in helping me find a good alternative to the Quicken of about 5 years ago.

Also, if anyone knows the Quicken version that allows search & replace where I can search for Payee and instead of replacing Payee, change a category or class, I would appreciate knowing the version so I can *precisely ID the last Quicken version that I liked and wish I hadn't upgraded from.
 
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