Filed under: Software, Deals, MobileMe
iBank provides yet another reason to dump Quicken for Mac
If there's one software company and product line that can raise the ire of even the most mellow Mac user, it's Intuit and the Quicken line of accounting software. While the company rightfully owns the market for home and business accounting software in the Windows world, their Mac products are beset with bugs, delays, and incompatibility issues.IGG Software has announced a "Why wait another day?" rebate program to persuade frustrated Quicken Mac 2007 owners to switch to iBank 3.5 (US$59.99). If you're a Canadian or U.S. owner who purchased iBank after July 10th, 2009, and have proof of ownership (installation disc or receipt) for either the Mac or Windows versions of Quicken or Microsoft Money, sending in a mail-in rebate form will get you a $20 incentive to switch to iBank.
iBank 3.5 requires Leopard, and has a number of features that take advantage of Apple technologies. For example, you can take a picture of a receipt using your iSight camera and include that with a transaction record. MobileMe users get the advantage of automatic backups of their financial data, as well as a way to enter transactions "on the road" with the companion iBank Mobile iPhone app (US$4.99, purchased separately).
All in all, the rebate is a great way to start saving money and begin working with an accounting application that was designed from the ground up to work on Macs.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Eric said 11:27AM on 7-27-2009
Imports Quicken? Hmmm......The iPhone app is what I want. It really sucks that Quicken doesn't have an App for the iPhone.
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Darrin said 11:52AM on 7-27-2009
They do have an app. Not real good!
scormier said 11:57AM on 7-27-2009
Quicken Online is pretty good. It's free, and has an iPhone app with a great UI.
Darrin said 11:52AM on 7-27-2009
I am one of the cannot wait to leave Quicken but I must say about iBank that there are shortcomings. Everything out there who is single, iBank can work flawless for. But if you are like millions of families who actually talk about finances then there is an issue. I have bought the program and talked to tech about it. Here is the deal... The program on the iPhone can be used as a stand alone item well. The Mac version the same way or it can sync with the single phone. Where you get into the issue is when if you and your wife both want to keep finances in sync. The Mac is the owner of the information. So if you are wanting realtime transaction updates this is not it. If I enter a purchase on my iPhone and want my wife to get the transaction before she runs out and makes a purchase I have to run home and hit the update devices on the Mac. And the same in reverse it true. Right now, Quicken, as bad as it is, is the only program that does real time transactions for more than one device. With Quicken, the cloud is the owner of the information so that when you enter a transaction then the next time my wife opens her iPhone's Quicken program she can see the actual account balance and see the transaction. I have emailed anyone on the first 11 pages of the financial section of the app store with this request and I find I am not the only one wanting it to be real time. Check out Grocery Gadget list maker to see this example.
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Andrew said 12:28PM on 7-27-2009
it sounds like you are syncing over wifi.
If you sync to MobileMe you do not need to run back to the computer... You can upload/download from either device and stay in sync on the go.
stainboy said 4:45PM on 7-27-2009
while this doesn't pertain to me right now, it will in the future. I'll try to jump in the forums and back you up on this request when I get the chance.
Rick Stratton said 11:07PM on 7-27-2009
Andrew previously stated, "if you sync to MobileMe you do not need to run back to the computer... You can upload/download from either device and stay in sync on the go."
This is incorrect. Trust me... through much testing to resolve a sync/duplication issue (I can send you my iBank forums post with details), I have verified this.
When you sync via MobileMe, you still have to do what Darrin indicated - basically sync twice... technically, 3 times if you have 2 mobile devices.
The mobile devices are considered spokes and the mac iBank app is the hub.
Spoke devices and Hub devices basically use your MobileMe iDisk as a shared file drop repository. (If you have your own WebDAV setup, you can use that also ... it works the same way)
When mobile device #1 'syncs' to MobileMe, it simply uploads its transactions to its own folder on your MobileMe iDisk. The transactions are stored in .hub files
Until the mac iBank app 'syncs' to pick up and process any new .hub files, it is not aware of any new mobile transactions... neither is mobile device #2.
Once the mac iBank app processes the .hub file(s) that mobile device #1 created, you then have to 'sync' again, to create/push .spoke files which get pushed to a unique directory per each mobile device. The .spoke files are meant for each mobile device to pick up and process the next time they sync.
Not until mobile device #2 syncs and picks up and processes its .spoke files does it know anything about the transactions that mobile device #1 posted and the mac iBank app has processed....
Confusing? Yes... Add in more than one or two mobile app devices and it could get really convoluted.
In order to get (near)real-time transactions the iBank developers will have to get away from the above-described methodology and move towards something different... maybe a combination of iPhone Push + Snow Leopard Grand Central Dispatch setup.... this is where I drop off, as I am not a developer :D
Until then, I have learned to live with the 'sync' limitations. I love the mac iBank app, the MobileMe web iBank app was a first step, and the iBank app is the next evolutionary step. I have my iBank app running on my mac mini media server, and have set up a methodology where I can send myself an e-mail that will trigger an Automator workflow to 'force' a sync...
Jon said 11:56AM on 7-27-2009
Agreed...I made the switch a few months ago and have never been happier. I also have iBank for iPhone and it does everything you could possibly want it to while seamlessly integrating with the desktop application. I would urge anyone who is still using quicken on Mac to switch to iBank. You'll be glad you did!
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Jill Sandwich said 12:30PM on 7-27-2009
It's a shame it can't link to UK bank accounts. I'd be all over this if it could :(
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Mike said 12:14PM on 7-27-2009
I'm using a Google Docs spreadsheet (from the templates library) to do my monthly budget and Pennies ($2.99) on my iPod Touch to track my spending. So far it works pretty well.
I'm curious if anyone uses Bento for budgeting? Seems like it would work well with the iPhone app.
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rrowland1 said 12:41PM on 7-27-2009
This is the 2nd time I have tried to use iBank in place of Quicken. It does not work and there aren't a half dozen banks that are supported by the OFX file format that iBank purports support for.
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Dale said 12:46PM on 7-27-2009
I have a question regarding the SECURITY of the application and what keeps the program from transmitting my personal data to someone else?
I have wanted to use a banking program and used Quicken a few years ago, but became so frustrated with it, I decided to return to the manual process! I would like to try iBank, but what protects the information in the program from being sent to the developers?
May be a stupid question to some, but these days, you never know!
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zoffdino said 12:46PM on 7-27-2009
I can't remember how many times I have been looking for an adequate yet easy to use finance app for my Mac. I stumbled upon iBank a few times, each time hoping that the program will improve. But nope.
It has too many panels and options. And reports were not really helpful. I still love the now-defunct Microsoft Money. Quicken Financial Life for Mac came real close to my expectations, but it got delay again!
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SSteve said 12:50PM on 7-27-2009
I would like nothing better than to stop using Quicken, but the fact is that as bad as it is, it still does what I need: enter payments, download transactions, and track multiple investment accounts. It looks like iBank is pretty close. One thing I didn't see on their website though, is if I can enter payments (through Wells Fargo California) directly in the software. If not, that's the showstopper for me.
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Babyfett said 12:55PM on 7-27-2009
I've been using MoneyDance for a year and a half now and LOVE it. I tried iBank and it didn't do half of what I needed and my needs are pretty basic. Everything imported from Quicken flawlessly and they allow for QFX, QIF and all the other formats. I loved Quicken for the PC and MoneyDance is the closest I've come to finding a solid alternative. Plus the interface is customizable which I life. You guys should check that one out before purchasing iBank.
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Timothy Burling said 2:10PM on 7-27-2009
Ditto on MoneyDance. I love it.
tosz said 2:19PM on 7-27-2009
One more vote for MoneyDance - a perfect blend of simplicity and functionality. Good customer service, too.
motoxo said 3:40PM on 7-27-2009
i'm a moneydance convert as well. it's actually better (ie more accurate using real accounting standards) than quicken and ms money but because it doesn't have the big pockets of corporate pr machines or the graphics intensive help movies and reports it is often overlooked.
g1n said 5:42PM on 7-27-2009
+1 for MoneyDance
iBank - too buggy for me and I cant even trust the calculation
MoneyWell - UI very polished but cant handle investment accounts
Quicken - well, its Quicken. It still works but now I need to use multiple currency to track my finance
Jumsoft Money - Good but too basic
Wilder said 4:50PM on 7-29-2009
I never heard of MoneyDance. Looks interesting - although they definitely need a UI overhaul...yuck!