3 Steps to Download Transactions
Not everyone is comfortable with using the automatic transaction downloads that most online personal finance apps offer, but, entering all transactions manually
is time consuming. A good option that falls between auto-updates and entering data yourself is to import transactions from your bank and other financial institutions to the online software. This is a two part process: first you download selected transactions to your hard drive, and then import to the software.
3 Easy Steps to Download Transactions is a short tutorial with sample images that you can use as a guide to export transactions online from financial accounts before you import the transactions into your software.
Adaptu Review: Strong Community and Investment Support
When I first learned about Adaptu, I blogged about its investment support features. I still think the Investor Center is a great addition to this free online personal finance software, and the Community, which is separate from financial tools, offers great advice from expert personal finance coaches, complete with videos and discussions. Of course, the money management tools are on par with what other online personal finance apps offer.
I like to view my my bills on a calendar rather than a dated list, and Adaptu's bills calendar works well.
Check out my Adaptu review to learn more, and visit the Adaptu website.
Image: Adaptu bills calendar.
Apps and Software Take the Sweat Out of Tracking Receipts
Has keeping track of receipts become a real hassle? Look no further, there are solutions for getting all that paper organized, whether you need to do so for expense reporting, backing up potential insurance claims, to keep better tax deduction records, or for any other reason.
I've rounded up the best choices for online and mobile solutions, and Windows and Mac software that will keep receipts organized.
Other receipt organizing options are to use home inventory software, use the attachments feature in Quicken personal finance software, or link images in Microsoft Money.
5 Sure-Fire Ways to Mess Up Personal Finance Software
It's really pretty easy to set up personal finance software. Just start with setting up accounts that mirror your real financial accounts, then let the software guide you through the rest. So why do people so often try to take short cuts when the set up is already anything but time consuming? Maybe plowing through stuff like setting up software is just human nature, or maybe people are just lazy. Or both.
Here's a look at some short cuts that are guaranteed to cause problems with personal finance software, sooner or later.
Financial Apps Put Bills on a Calendar
All personal finance software will show you a list of bills that are coming due. While looking over that list is a really easy way to determine when you need to sit down with the checkbook or onlinebill pay, being able to see your bills on a monthly calendar can add a better perspective to when you're going to need the funds to pay bills. Learn more about financial calendars in personal finance software, and what software titles offer this calendar.
Image: moneyStrands financial calendar
The Features You Need in Personal Finance Software
How to Choose Personal Finance Software: What Financial Features Do You Need? is a great resource for people who are trying to decide on which personal finance software will work best for them, and for those who have been using the software, but are looking to change to another title. The article goes through the most critical features and benefits in financial software so you can select those that are most important to you and then look for those features in the software product descriptions.
Once you understand the features in personal finance software, you may decide that you don't want general money management. If that's the case, check out debt reduction software, budgeting software, do-it-yourself financial planning and other software that fits into a specific financial need.
How to Track Income in Personal Financial Software
Here's another tutorial for newbies, or for people who want to know how personal finance software works and what the benefits are. Tracking Income in Personal Finance Software explains payments and other income that should be included in your software so budget and net worth reports are accurate, along with account balances. You will also learn how to deal with entering income for salaries, hourly wages and other types in your personal finance software.
More Tutorials
16th Annual Webby Awards: Personal Finance Apps
The annual Webby Awards / People's Voice Awards honors the year's best websites and mobile apps in several categories, including nominees for personal finance and banking apps, both online and mobile. One of my favorite apps that I use often, Chase Quick Deposit, is a nominee again this year in a couple of categories along with Manilla, Mint.com and other apps and sites worthy of recognition.
This is the 16th Annual Webby Awards, with voting for the public is open until April 26, 2012. Winners will be announced on May 1. Read up on the financial app nominess and visit the Webby Awards to cast your votes.
Image: Lisa Kudrow hosted last year's Webby Awards, credit: The Webby Awards
Quicken 2012 Budget: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Readers
have been complaining to me for months about the budget tool in Quicken 2012, which I thought was working fine until I recently changed some budget amounts and an entire category was wiped out from the reports. After I started researching why customers were unhappy with personal finance software in general, I stumbled on to a whole lot of frustration with Quicken 2012's budget tool.
It is never enjoyable for me personally to write about something that is potentially damaging to software sales, but as a consumer advocate, I couldn't ignore what I found.
My article, Quicken 2012's Budget Tool: Looks Aren't Everything explains the problems with the new tool, and what has and has not been done to fix it. I attempted to reach my contact at Quicken for comment on the problem and to determine when (and if) it would be completed corrected, but I've not received a reply. I'll post an update to this blog post, my Facebook page and Twitter, and in my weekly newsletter if I get more information.
Find Your Tax Day Freebies
Stacy Fisher at About.com Freebies put together a great list of stuff you can get free on April 17, 2012, just because it's the last day to file income taxes in the U.S. There are lots of free food offers,including my favorite comfort food, ice cream. There's also a free massage offered, and free photocopies and shredding, all of which are especially needed on tax day.
Check out Stacy's list of tax day freebies, and if you're still working on your taxes, be sure to see my list of free tax software that can make getting those taxes done much easier.