How to create a Transaction Report. How to run a Spending by Category Report. How to use the Reports & Graphs Center. Quicken enables you to see almost anything you want to with built-in reports.
![]() Still, these are relatively minor issues compared to successfully importing nearly 25 years worth of Quicken data.Now, here's a brief overview of each of the three apps… 3 - MoneydanceThis was the first app I looked at, and I pretty quickly ruled it out. Banktivity won't import reconciliations, so none of my accounts were reconciled. Moneydance ignored the "hidden" status of accounts, so a lot of old, closed accounts showed up. As such, I can't vouch for how well any of these three programs handle those tasks.All three apps imported my Quicken data file, though with varying degrees of success. Included online account access I want to update our bank, credit card, and investment accounts from the source, instead of having to manually enter transactions.Things I don't really care about are bill pay (I use our bank), reports, budgets, and charts and graphs for anything outside the investments section of the app. Quicken Premier Built In Reports Code Shows ItselfThis is true even if it's an account I just opened and then closed.Due to these issues, I quickly decided that Moneydance was not for me. Performance-wise, the app feels a bit slow it takes a couple of seconds to open an account in a new window after double-clicking its entry in the account list. And while that doesn't inherently make it bad, Java's generic "write once for many platforms" code shows itself in a few places: The Preferences window doesn't look anything like a native Mac app window, and the buttons in the app are definitely not macOS-style buttons. (It's easy to tell them apart in this four-line partial register, but in the full register with comments on the second line for many entries, everything blends together.)Moneydance is a Java app. Check routerfirewall for ports macUnfortunately, you can't do that with a double-click, as that brings up the account's info panel you need to right-click and choose Open in New Window from the contextual menu. Outside of that, Direct Access is a $45 per year subscription.Banktivity doesn't have any of the "non-native" issues I found in Moneydance the app looks and feels like a traditional Mac app, and opening an account window from the account list is speedy. While many of our accounts offered free OFX support, there were a number that only worked with Direct Access, which is free during the generous 30 day trial period. In the register view, each entry is two rows, but the alternating background is also two rows, making it easy to see each transaction at a glance.Banktivity has two methods of data download: OFX (free) and Direct Access (subscription required). It looks very busy, but once you get into an account, the view is much cleaner than Moneydance:This view can also be infested with icons, but those can (thankfully) be disabled in the app's preferences. Its account list view is also laden with icons—folder icons, new activity count badges, and status badges. 1 - Quicken 2018When Quicken 2018 was released as a subscription product, I tweeted my displeasure with the change, as I have a big issue with "software as a service." But as I dug into the app, I discovered that their subscription isn't really a subscription: If you stop subscribing, you can still use the app to enter and track financial data you just lose access to the online components and Quicken's support services. Banktivity didn't handle this correctly, so our balances were way off in those two accounts.In the end, I decided against using Banktivity due to its cost ($65 up front, plus $45 per year), the overabundance of icons in the layouts, its inability to import reconciliations from Quicken, and its difficulties handling some investment data. Because I wasn't downloading investment data in Quicken 2007, I had manually entered the splits using Quicken's split tool. None of these affect the font size, just the row spacing. It's also speedy, opening new account windows promptly when double-clicked.I like the minimalist one-line register views—they're clean and easy to read:(If you need to see the details, you can double-click to see an expanded view.)You can choose one of four levels of line spacing for the register—they include Comfortable, Cozy (pictured), Compact, and Tiny. As I hoped, Quicken handled the import of my old data perfectly, bringing across the reconciliations and handling investments properly. That's both good and bad it's good that they're out from under Intuit's lack of interest in the Mac app. But given how horrid Quicken was for many years of Intuit's onwership, I was prepared to be disappointed.But Quicken is no longer owned by Intuit—two years ago, they were sold to an investment group. (Oddly, that one account did work with Banktivity.) Why I chose QuickenCertainly there's some value to continuing with the app I had been using: The import went perfectly, and I felt immediately comfortable in the app. Both are included in your annual subscription cost, and between the two, I was able to get all but one of my accounts working for online access. Once you've added and removed columns to your liking, you can drag the remaining visible columns into any order you wish.Quicken includes two methods of online access: Direct Connect and Quicken Connect. I like that it's just as easy to hide columns you don't want to see. ![]() By comparison, the first two years of Banktivity would cost us $155, or $77.50 per year. For us, as we need to track loans and investments but don't need bill pay, Deluxe was the obvious choice.Right now—and probably for quite a while, I'd imagine—a two-year Deluxe subscription is $69.98, bringing the cost per year to $34.99, which is a bargain. The comparison page lays out all the differences.
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