Have you ever considered using open source personal finance software? There are lots of free solutions out there. But if you want to use financial software, there is a world of commercial solutions out there as well. How do you pick the right one for your needs? This post has some suggestions on how to look for the best open source personal finance software or reviews of free financial software windows platform.
It’s not easy having the ability to control your finances. With so many commercial personal-finance applications out there, consumers can be left wondering which financial software best fits their needs. Fortunately, you have options! There are open-source personal finance software, free personal finance software and other systems that don’t cost a penny.
GnuCash
GnuCash is a free accounting software offering some basic yet essential accounting features. It’s ideal for small businesses, startups, and individuals who like to track their finances effectively. Unfortunately, GnuCash continues to be a single-user tool, which means you won’t be able to add any more users to your account.
Given this constraint, this product is an ideal addition to a sole proprietor’s financial kitty, but not capable of supporting a growing business. Despite being open-source software, its features are pretty extensive for a free offering.
Here’s what you can look out for with GnuCash:
- Double-entry
- Accounting functionality
- A checkbook-style register to track both income and expenses
- Multi-currency conversion standards
- Automatic banking transactions download and reconciliation
- Bill payment reminders
While small businesses and individual users can use the aforementioned features, medium-sized and large companies can make use of these exclusive features:
- Accounts payable (A/P)
- Accounts receivable (A/R)
- Customer and vendor management
- Budgeting and reporting
Firefly
Firefly is an open source self-hosted personal finance manager, It has advanced accounting and reporting features, as double-entry accounting, advanced charts and visualization, banks management, assets accounts, and transaction monitoring and followup. There are more features, all are presented in simple user-interface, which makes it easy to use, learn. It has import/ export options allowing the user to import records from multiple sources and export to many formats.
Firefly was built using PHP and MySQL but it offers SQLite as MySQL alternative, it has extensive documentation of how to install, use and manage records. It’s developer friendly as it has powerful API with rich documentation.
- Platforms: Linux, Windows and Mac OSX.
Skrooge
Key Highlights:
- Personal finances manager
- Tailored for Plasma Desktop but compatible with others too
- Cross-platform (Windows, Linux, and macOS)
Skrooge is one of the most useful personal finances manager by KDE. It is originally tailored for the Plasma Desktop but other desktop environments are compatible.
HomeBank
HomeBank, being a personal finance software, houses some user-friendly reports to help people figure out where they’re spending their money. It also helps individuals set up rules for importing transactions. Probably the best part is that it supports almost all modern formats for importing reports into the platform.
Some widely used reporting formats include, but are not limited to, OFX/QFX, QIF, and CSV. This is not all, for this open-source tool is equipped to handle multiple currencies too. HomeBank is available on most Linux distributions by default, so you can rest assured the installation is not going to be too complex.
When you log in, you need to create an account, especially if you are accessing the portal for the first time. Once you create an account, you can either import compatible files or start entering transactions.
Unlike some of the other options available in the market, you don’t have to master double-entry bookkeeping to manage your expenses with HomeBank.
Some additional features include:
- Pre-applied categories to segregate and analyze your daily transactions
- Excellent budgeting features allow you to plan for your future
- Exhaustive reporting features, like bar charts, pies, budget spending, trend reports, and a balance report, amongst others.
KMyMoney
KMyMoney is feature-rich open source, free personal accounting manager, Though, it was released and created for Linux (KDE), it works well in different Linux desktop environments and has installation packages for Windows and Mac OSX.
KMyMoney supports double entry accounting, transaction scheduling, logging, reporting, multiple accounts and ledgers, budgets management. It comes with simple easy to use interface designed to provide a rich experience for non-technical users.
- Platforms: Linux, Windows and Mac OSX.
Apache OFBiz
Key Highlights:
- ERP & CRM
- Developer-friendly
- Powerful Java Web Framework
- Cross-platform (Linux and macOS)
We’ve already mentioned this in our list of best open source CRM software. Apache OFBiz is an impressive open source solution that incorporates an ERP system and a CRM suite for various types of requirements.
It’s completely free – however, you will have to host it yourself (or just hire someone to do it). In addition to all the basic features needed for accounting software, it lets a developer extend/enhance features easily while being a Java-based web framework.
Money Manager Ex (MMEX)
A finance software may not sound like one of the most exciting software you can install on your computer, but it’s undoubtedly one of the best. Money Manager Ex (MMEX) aims to try and be simple enough for a layman, yet, it continues to be powerful enough to keep demanding users happy.
If you’ve been using a spreadsheet to manage your money until now, then rest assured, Money Manager Ex’s import feature will get you up and running in no time at all.
Some plus points of this software are its approachable interface, easy-to-access SQLite database with AES encryption, and unending support for various currencies, which is ideal for overseas transactions.
Unlike some of the other software, Money Manager Ex is an entirely offline application. You can’t pull in bank statements automatically or make online payments.
Once you have all the basic setup directions out of the way, you might be able to get around to using the tool for managing your finances. The program provides you with a raft of tools to analyze your spending and make future predictions, all with simple maintenance.
Grisbi
Grisbi is a free, open source personal accounting and finance manager, It supports multiple currencies, has a user-friendly interface, supports budget management, with advanced reporting.
Platforms: Linux, Windows and Mac OSX.
Akaunting
Key Highlights:
- Online accounting software
- Completely free and open source
- Client portal
- Invoicing
- Expense tracking
- Reporting
- Cashflow
Akaunting is an interesting online accounting software that’s available for free. Yes, surprisingly, there’s no hidden subscription charges or additional upgrade options. It is totally free. If you are looking for a FreshBooks alternative, you should give it a try.
Ranging from invoicing to managing deposits and transfers. A whole lot of features. You can either utilize their hosting (again, it is free!) or host it yourself. It’s fit for both personal and enterprise needs. Try it out!
iDempiere
Key Highlights:
- Community-focused
- Simple and useful
- Cross-platform (Linux and Windows)
Originally based on ADEmpiere ERP. It is a community focused accounting software maintained by an active group of people. iDempiere aims to utilize technologies like Apache Maven to provide a business suite ERP/CRM/SCM.
There’s a ready-to-use Virtual machine available to download. In addition, you can utilize it on Windows or Linux.
Conclusion:
Open source personal finance software can be quite an appealing option for many of us. The concept of free, open source software you can use on your computer is very cool. But there are not so many articles out there devoted to these open source personal finance tools.