In the past, proper financial management was complicated and expensive. It meant manually recording your income and expenses, doing the calculations yourself, and having consultations with professionals.
Barriers to entry were especially high for making investments. In the digital era, it’s never been easier to stay in control of your finances. You can simply download an app or piece of computer software that will do the work for you.
Tracking your budget can now be automated, you can learn basic principles directly from your phone, and you can consult with advisors virtually for a lower price tag. Yet new pieces of financial software are constantly being released; it can be overwhelming to choose just one.
Personal finance software uk is a program for financial analysis and management. It can help you with arranging your money so it is kept safe and handled in the right way. Personal finance software can also aid you in making sure that you do not overspend and that you keep your debt low and your wealth high. The best thing about personal finance software is that it helps you keep track of your finances. That’s not to say it does all the work for you, but it can at least show you where your money is going each month so you can adjust accordingly.
No 2 people are alike so no 2 finance software packages should be alike either. We put an option in front of you that best suits your needs, not the other way around. You will work with a person not a package.
Personal Capital
Personal Capital’s free personal finance software is one of the most powerful budgeting, investing, and personal finance software tools that is revolutionizing how consumers manage their money today. This top financial software is designed for all devices and platforms (online, desktop, laptop, iPhone, Mac, Samsung, Android, Windows, iPad, tablets, BlackBerry, Nokia, etc.).
The free Personal Capital software allows you to easily manage your entire financial situation – so you can reach your future goals faster and get a full view of all accounts covered by your personal finance management.
From budgeting and wealth creation to planning for your retirement future, it makes managing your money a snap – directly from one secure financial software platform.
Use Personal Capital’s software to develop your long-term financial goals – calculate your net worth, create a budget, manage investment accounts, and prepare for your retirement. This personal finance software puts you in the driver’s seat and in control of your financial future.
Personal Capital makes personal finance management easy through six comprehensive areas of this personal accounting software. These include:
- Net Worth: Get an accurate picture of your net worth so you can make better-informed decisions.
- Budgeting: Easily organize your spending and savings and set a monthly spending target.
- Cash Flow: Keep on top of your incoming and expenditures in real-time.
- Retirement Planner: Set and monitor your retirement goals and see if your savings are on track.
- Fee Analyzer: See an in-depth look at your holdings and how hidden fees may be impacting savings.
- Education Planner: Estimate and plan how much you need to save for future educational costs.
Quicken
Quicken is the best solution for individuals because of its robust features. This software is scalable and can support a household’s financial needs as they grow more complex over time.
With Quicken, a household can manage and pay bills, track retirement and investment accounts, and design customized budgets. There is also a rental property management feature that allows individuals who own rental properties to track rental income and expenses. Pros
- Strong reputation
- Bill pay feature
- Retirement planning
- Robust budgeting and investment-tracking tools
Cons
- No third-party app extensions like Quickbooks
There are three to four levels of software plans available, depending on whether you have a Mac or Windows operating system:
- Starter for Mac and Windows ($35.99 per year)
- Deluxe for Mac and Windows ($51.99 per year)
- Premier for Mac and Windows ($77.99 per year)
- Home & Business for Mac ($103.99 per year)
A 30-day free trial is available. The software is downloaded onto a computer and data is stored locally, however, most key features can also be accessed using a web browser or the Quicken mobile app.
The Starter plan allows users to track and categorize transactions and manage bills. The more advanced plans add features such as investment, loan, retirement tracking; bill pay; and even basic business invoicing and tracking. The business features can be accessed through the Home & Business plan and can run Schedule C and Schedule E tax reports and manage lease terms, rental rates, and security deposits.
YNAB
YNAB is short for ‘you need a budget,’ and it’s a program designed to help its users set one up. You’ll be walked through the process of allocating your money between different areas of your life and helped to stay on track.
This is great for people who are struggling with debt or managing their finances, but if you feel you’ve already got to grips with the basics of budgeting this may be unnecessary.
The software costs $84 a year, but you can take part in a 34 day free trial first and there’s a 100% moneyback guarantee. YNAB claims their software pays for itself, as users save an average of $6,000 in their first year.
As well as the software itself, you’ll get to take part in fifteen workshops to help you manage your money better.
YNAB Features
Here are the main features that YNAB offers:
- Free Online Workshops are available to YNAB customers that teach you how to manage your money better.
- Budget Together is a feature that makes it easy to share your finances and spending habits with your partner.
- Goal Tracking is a tool within the YNAB app that helps you set budgeting goals and stick to them.
- Reports in the form of charts and graphs can help you gain a holistic view of your finances.
- Customer Support is available through a very advanced and user-friendly self-help platform. You can also contact YNAB via email at help@youneedabudget.com.
Wave
Wave entered the world of money management software in 2010. It stands out by offering a free budgeting software that includes accounting, invoicing, and receipts.
Not only is the Wave money management software easy to use, but it is also intuitive, designed for anyone to understand, not just accountants. For small business owners, this simplicity is a huge benefit.
Below, please find a detailed list of the features that led to the selection of Wave on our list of the best personal finance software.
Strong Growth
Although not as well-known as QuickBooks, Wave Personal Finance Software is a fast-growing financial business app, and one of our top six best personal accounting software tools of the year.
From starting with just 8 employees, it has grown to over 250 in less than a decade and now that the company’s a part of H&R Block, there’s no doubt that the company’s suite of business financial tools will see even more accelerated growth.
Wave is advertised as being “designed for entrepreneurs” and is perfect for business owners who are looking for a hybrid personal finance app and business management app.
Free Personal Finance Software
Wave money management software is available free of charge, making it one of the most affordable business management tools.
While there are charges for payment processing and payroll, Wave allows users to pay as they go, rather than sign up for a contract or make a lengthy commitment.
The credit card processing fee of this top finance app is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction and there is a 1% fee for ACH payments.
Payroll is either $20 or $35 monthly +$4 per active employee or independent contractor. Users in states that are considered “self-service” pay the $20 base rate.
Versatile Accounting Tools
Wave’s personal accounting software works very well with Wave’s business invoicing,
Wave is truly an all-in-one finance software with a suite of five personal financial apps to allow business owners to manage:
- Accounting
- Invoicing
- Payments
- Payroll
- Receipts
With seamless integration, Wave allows business owners to integrate their business accounting tools with personal budgeting tools.
Industry-Standard Security
Wave protects its servers both physically and electronically and uses 256-bit SSL encryption.
In addition, this business accounting and budgeting software is a PCI-DSS Level-1 provider for handling credit card information.
Mint
The primary function of Mint is to view all your bank accounts and cards in one place and track finances. You can even add in loans and investments. A great thing about Mint is that it includes a phone app as well as the website so that you can track your finances on-the-go.
You’ll be able to track your spending by categories using graphs and charts and receive personalized recommendations.
Everyone should use Mint. With its intuitive and mobile-first user experience, Mint is a completely free and great way to track your finance and manage your money. You can easily link your bank and financial accounts, creating a dashboard to see your entire financial life on your desktop or phone and then drill down into each are for optimization opportunities.
PROS
- Free
- New Features Added Often
- Exceptional user experience
- Easy support
- Backed by Intuit
CONS
- Re-adding accounts can be annoying
- Limited retirement tracking
Let’s take a look at the various tools and features Mint offers.
Bill Tracker
Mint’s Bill Tracker ensures you’ll (hopefully) never make a late bill payment again.
To use this feature, simply open the bill tracker in the app and enter which bills are due and when.
For example, you can set the bill tracker to remind you the gas bill is due on the first of the month, your water bill is due on the 10th, and your credit cards are due on the 25th.
Once these rules are set, Mint automatically alerts you when the due date is approaching. And once you’ve paid your bills, you can mark them as paid within the app.
Daily Budget Planner
Mint’s Daily Budget Planner automatically analyzes your daily spending habits and suggests a customized budget plan based. You can then modify these recommendations to reflect your personal goals.
This budgeting feature also helps you understand how you’re spending your hard-earned cash by breaking your spending down into categories.
For example, the app will show you how much you’re spending on restaurants, utilities, and transportation each month. Then, if you have a particular financial goal you’re trying to reach — for example, saving $3,000 for a vacation — the budget planner can help you make category-specific adjustments to your spending in order to save for your goal.
Practically speaking, the budget planner would help you realize that if you spent $150 less on restaurants and $100 less on groceries each month, you’d be able to achieve your $3,000 vacation goal in 12 months.
Credit Score Monitoring
The Intuit Mint app also helps you keep track of your credit score with its Credit Score Monitoring service. There’s no cost to see your credit score.
You’ll need to confirm your identity, and you’ll always have access to your score right within the app. You can also sign up to receive automated credit alerts.
Alerts
If you really want to stay on top of your spending, account balances, and credit score, you’ll appreciate Mint’s Alerts feature.
You could set the mobile app to alert you when you’ve been hit by an ATM fee or a late payment fee. You can also set alerts to warn you if your account balances are low or if one of your accounts shows unusual spending.
What’s more, you can set alerts to notify you if you’ve spent too much on a particular monthly spending category.
Portfolio and Investment Tracking
Mint’s Portfolio and Investment Tracking tool helps you keep track of your 401(k) and other investment accounts. You could also sync an IRA. It also keeps you informed of any fees you’re being charged and helps you see how your investments are being allocated.
This tool helps you track your investments but it isn’t a brokerage account. If you want this kind of service built into your budgeting app, consider Personal Capital instead.
Conclusion:
As the world grows more and more digitalized, your bank account balance can often feel like it has a life of its own. The easiest way to keep tabs on what you’re spending is by downloading a free budget planner version or an app on your phone.