Money/ Finace programs

[bradgigalo]

What are some good programs to use for keeping track of spending?

[iant54]

I swear by Insoft's Cash Organizer with their Money Sync software to synchronise with Microsft Money on the PC.

[Tierran]

If you just need to use your PDA as a check register then I recommend using MS Money for Pocket PC and then get the desktop version of MS Money 2004. Its a powerful program and will let you do more advanced money tracking and your PDA can keep you up with your bank balance ;)

[baker]

I've got Quicken on the desktop and PocketQuicken from Landware on my PPC. It has proven very reliable and I'm thankful I have it.

[Canuck]

If you do a search you'll find we had this discussion earlier in the month. It went back and forth between Mastersoft Money, SPB Finances and Cash Organizer, but in the end us Cash Organizer fans shouted the loudest. It really is a fantastic program. I switched to it from Mastersoft and now find that it has completely replaced even my desktop financial software.

That said, Mastersoft Money is FREE for subscribers so......

[ignar]

Another vote for Cash Organizer. Great program!

[ntractv]

If you do a search you'll find we had this discussion earlier in the month. It went back and forth between Mastersoft Money, SPB Finances and Cash Organizer, but in the end us Cash Organizer fans shouted the loudest. It really is a fantastic program. I switched to it from Mastersoft and now find that it has completely replaced even my desktop financial software.

That said, Mastersoft Money is FREE for subscribers so......

Might have to look into Cash Organiser. I downloaded Mastersoft Money a few days ago and although a nice program, it is sooooooooooo slow. Another selling point is that CO syncs with MS Money. Since you have used both, what are the speed comparisons between the two?

[tanalasta]

Okay, here's my opinion on money programs:
1. Microsoft Money - Free and can sync with the desktop version. It works well if all you need is a very basic list of expenses.
2. Mastersoft Money: Almost as good as cash organiser and definitely worth a try. Besides, subscribers get this program free! My only gripe with this program apart from speed is the .net requirement. It means it can be slow and takes a huge footprint on older PPC's without .net
3. Pocket Quicken: Expensive. Only works if you have desktop Quicken. Which is also expensive.
4. Cash Organiser: A local favourite. For very good reasons :) Nice features and well designed program.

To be honest, I'm a lazy person who only wanted the basics so I live with Microsoft Money. Which tells me that I have 49c in my bank account; $179 owing on my credit card and that I'm in the red. :oops:

[Zack Mahdavi]

No one here has mentioned SPB Finance. I tried out all the other programs, but I personally thought the interfaces looked too busy. I ended up buying SPB Finance, and I love it to death.

It doesn't have all the advanced features of Mastersoft Money or Cash Organizer, but I don't have a need for those features anyway.

[Robb Bates]

I just downloaded Cash Organizer at the suggestion of this thread. That is one awesome program.

It does everything all the others do, plus one important thing. And this is one of those things that is just a "DUH, Why didn't I think of that!" kind of thing.

Just about every finance program I've seen on the Pocket PC lets you keep track of your transactions and what you've spent. And they can tell you what your balance is right now. But I have to ask you, really, "Who cares how much money you have right now?" What I want to know is how much money I'm going to have. Now this may seem silly at first, but think about it... You've just paid that bill. Great, but what about the upcoming bills. And if you're going out shopping, what you really want to know is "How much can I spend". You never ask yourself "How much money did I have in my account last Thursday". The only way any program is going to be able to tell you that is if it knows what your bills and deposits are going to be. And it should be able to add and subtract all your future bills and deposits and forecast your account balance. And when it's done all that, all you have to do is look at the point where your account hits its lowest amount. You can spend up to that much and still be safe. If you spend more than that, you know that you'll go in the hole at some point in the future.

Now Cash Organizer can do that. What other finance program can do that? Anyone? Anyone?

Robb Bates

[Jacob]

Now Cash Organizer can do that. What other finance program can do that? Anyone? Anyone?


SPB Finance can if I understand you correctly.

It will insert scheduled transactions at a given date before they will take effect and you can view your accounts in a running balance so you can see the balance of your account as it is on any given day.

[Robb Bates]

Hmmm, I tried that program and didn't see that feature. I'll look again.

Now there's a subtle difference in what I want to do. I know there are some programs that will automatically enter a repeating transaction, but that is one step shy of what I want to do. The program should be able to take all the scheduled transactions into account, even looking at more than one entry per repeating transaction and then forecast your balance infinitely into the future

Cash Organizer can do that, but you have to set it up just right.

Can SPB Finance do that?

Robb

[Jacob]

No, SPB Finance won't be able to do that kind of forecasting.

How does Cash Organizer handle memorized transactions though? I tried using it and I couldn't find where you could actually see them/edit/delete them.

[Robb Bates]

No, SPB Finance won't be able to do that kind of forecasting.

Actually, it will. I just downloaded it and tried. But overall I think Cash Organizer is a little nicer looking and has a few more bells and whistles. But, you pay for those bells and whistles.

How does Cash Organizer handle memorized transactions though? I tried using it and I couldn't find where you could actually see them/edit/delete them.

It seems to just do an AutoComplete kind of thing. You start typing in the payee and it tries to complete the transaction based on previous ones.

Robb

[Robb Bates]

Hmmm, Cash Organizer might not be ALL THAT. If I change the date on a future entry under the scheduler, the new date does not get reflected in the register section. This is for a future scheduled transaction, not one already entered.

Bug? Feature? Any ideas?

Robb

Edit: Hmm, I think I figured it out. User error. It has to do with the repeat frequency.

Robb

[Robb Bates]

OK, me again.

It's NOT user error. IT'S A BUG! A pretty big one. So with a bug like this, how is it that everyone can rave about this program? I vote it SUCKS.

How can I use a program that is critical to my financial stability when I can't even trust it to give me the right numbers?

I can repeat this bug if anyone wants me to.

Robb

[Jacob]

No, SPB Finance won't be able to do that kind of forecasting.

Actually, it will. I just downloaded it and tried. But overall I think Cash Organizer is a little nicer looking and has a few more bells and whistles. But, you pay for those bells and whistles.

Funny, I guess I didn't know the power of the program. I actually prefer the UI of SPB finance, it's nice and simple.

Cash Organizer has more bells and whistles, but that somewhat clutters things.

I'd definitely report that bug to Inesoft. Sounds like they should definitely know about it.