The Bottom Line
Moneydance is desktop personal finance software for Windows, Linux and Mac computer systems. Most Moneydance features are easy to use and the software provides basic but comprehensive financial reports. Support for multiple currencies and VAT/GST is good, but features for U.S. tax data export for use with tax software is insufficient. Moneydance costs $39.99 USD and offers a decent set of personal finance tools without going overboard on features.
Score: 3.88 on a 1-5 scale
Percent: 78%
Pros
- Encryption for data security.
- Good software support. User manual is well done, responsive developer in online forum and blog.
- Moneydance offers a free trial.
- Multiple currency support.
- Translations in Spanish, German, French, Korean, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, and Norwegian.
Cons
- Reports do not drill down in data to reveal the transactions that make up part of a graph or report.
- Smaller financial institutions not supported for automated transaction downloads.
- Needs to implement feature to export TXF data for U.S. tax returns.
- Transaction splits could be done more conveniently.
- Budgeting features need some updating.
Description
- Moneydance runs on nearly any operating system (Java required), financial data can be transferred to almost any computer.
- Investment support for stocks, bonds, CDs and mutual funds, with broad portfolio reporting and individual stock performance.
- Customizable home page includes a calendar to show upcoming bills throughout the month.
- Customizable check printing is available in Moneydance.
- A very basic iPhone app synchs with desktop software over your network.
Guide Review - Moneydance 2010 Personal Finance Software
Entering transactions manually is easy to do: click on new transaction, fill in transaction details at the bottom of the screen and then press Enter on your keyboard. If the cha-ching sound after each transaction is entered annoys you, uncheck 'Beep when transactions change' in the software preferences. Split transactions are easy enough to do in Moneydance, but require more clicks and fiddling around than creating splits in Quicken, Microsoft Money Plus Sunset (Windows) and SplashMoney (Windows and Mac). Moneydance supports scheduled transactions and memorized transactions to make data entry faster.
Downloading Transactions and Online Bill Pay
I tried setting up automated transaction downloads for my checking account at a regional bank, but Moneydance did not have support for this bank. I suspect this is the case for most smaller, regional banks. I opted to export transactions from the online banking site for that account, then imported the transactions into Moneydance without a hitch. Next, I tested automatic downloads from a major credit card, which was easy to set up and use.
I used the Moneydance trial software for this review, and the online bill payment option was grayed out in the menu, so I couldn't try it. Going by the user manual, Moneydance takes you through the steps of setting up online bill payments and then submits the payment request to your financial institution. Online bill pay and automated transaction downloads are available from many banks that support OFX.
Budget Tools
While the budgeting tools in Moneydance work without error, this part of the software could use some fine tuning. For example, the budget overview screen does not automatically redraw after changes are made in the Budget Manager. Instead you make changes in Budget Manager, then click out of the Budget tool, then go back into the Budget tool to see results of changes. The Budget Monitor, which is displayed at the top center of Moneydance, is a bar graph which shows you at a glance how your budget is measuring up with income and expense. The Budget Monitor bar graph can be set to show your budget progress by month, year to date or last 365 days, but the graph makes no reference to the time frame being represented so you have to go into the settings to check on this. Moneydance refers to budget categories as accounts, which is just something to keep in mind if you are used to setting up categories when you first use software to set up a budget.
