Personal finance software is a powerful tool to help you maintain control of your budget. Whether it is day-to-day spending or investments, you can manage all aspects of your finances with the right software. Read on to find out more about the best cross-platform personal finance software, as well as some great free personal finance software.
There are times when we want to consolidate our financial info and track spending across various sources. So at that time it’s helpful to have software that will help us with the job. If you are in search of best cross-platform personal finance software , this article has something for you! I’ll also talk about some good quality (free) personal finance software as well.
Quicken
Having been around for several decades, Quicken is one of the most established personal finance software on the market. You can use the software to manage various aspects of your financial life from budget creation to debt tracking, savings goals, and even investment coaching. The software features Excel exporting, which allows you to manipulate and perform additional calculations on your data. One of the more advanced features includes bill paying, which allows you to set up payments for your bills right from the software. You can even use it to track the value of your assets to have an accurate calculation of your total net worth. The app is robust enough to manage both your personal and business expenses and even handles property management functions like rental payments from tenants. The software starts at $35.99 per year and is available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android.
Mint
Mint is one of the most popular budgeting and expense tracking tools. You can have the software pull in your bank and credit card information to analyze your spending and pinpoint areas where you can cut back to improve your finances. For more accountability, Mint allows you to set up alerts for things like due dates and low balances to keep you on track. These features help you avoid expensive fees on late payments and overdrafts from your bank account. If you’ve set up budget categories, Mint will give you real-time information about the amount you can spend on things like food and gas. Mint is free to download and use on iOS and Android devices, as well as desktop.
YNAB
Just in case you need to be told explicitly what to do, along comes YNAB – short for You Need A Budget. Because, hey, if you don’t want to spend every single penny you have and more, you absolutely do need one. And perhaps you have more money than you thought?
YNAB’s primary mission, as you might expect, is to help you curb overspending and avoid living from paycheck to paycheck. Stick to the program, temper your spending appropriately, and eventually YNAB will see you spending last month’s money rather than that which you’ve just earned.
It’s quick to install, supports the majority of transaction information downloadable from banks, and appropriately configures itself for personal or small business use by changing its monetary categories depending on your needs.
If you get off track, YNAB – which is reasonably forgiving and understanding for a bit of software – will tell you what you need to do to get back to where you need to be. You’ll have to make sacrifices, but if it’s guidance you need, this sets itself apart from the likes of Quicken.
Banktree
BankTree is more than happy to support worldwide currencies, and in fact does a solid job if you’re working simultaneously with more than one, offering balances in multiple currencies rather than rounding them off into a single total. It’s also good for keeping track of everything, allowing you to scan receipts with its mobile app and import them later on.
It’s not the prettiest software around, and it’s slightly more awkward to use than many of its more refined cousins, although BankTree does produce very neat reports which you can break down by time, or by payee. It may be worth experimenting with the free trial before you choose to invest in this one.
The desktop software comes with one year of updates and support, though you are restricted to one PC and there is a charge for any additional PC you want to run the software on. There’s also a browser-based version available.
Whichever version you opt for, there’s a 30 day free trial available, so you can try before you buy to get an idea if BankTree will work for you.
Mvelopes
The traditional envelope budgeting system helps you stick to a budget by using envelopes to manage your money. Once you’ve broken down your budget, you put that amount of cash into different envelopes. So, if you budget $100 for gas for the week, you place that amount in a “gas” envelope. Once you’ve spent that $100, that’s it. Mvelopes takes this same approach to budgeting, except that it’s done digitally on your phone and computer rather than with physical cash.
Choose the financial goals that are most important to you, then add your bank accounts and set your income. Mvelopes will help you create a budget and set up your “envelopes.” The software tracks your spending and shows you what you’ve spent from each envelope to keep you on budget throughout the month.
The basic version starts at $5.97 per month, or $69 a year, with the higher-priced options providing additional features and coaching options. You can try Mvelopes free for 30 days, too, before deciding which plan is right for you.
TurboTax
You may not necessarily need TurboTax to manage your finances throughout the entire year, but when it’s tax time, the software can come in handy. While it’s one of the pricier tax preparation tools, it’s also consumer-friendly, walking you through your tax preparation to help you accurately file your tax return. Entering your tax information is fairly simple—you can import your W-2 information from your employer or take a picture of it and the software will transfer the information into the form.
If you’ve used TurboTax in previous years, the software will remember much about your personal information and ask whether there have been any major changes. The most basic version lets you file your federal and state return for free if all you use is form 1040 with no attached schedules.
On the higher end, TurboTax Live connects you with a CPA or Enrolled Agent to give you personalized advice and answer questions about your tax return. Paid versions of TurboTax include a feature to help you uncover deductions you may not have known were available to you. While you can use TurboTax on the web, you can also download the software to your device for added security.
FutureAdvisor
If you’re a DIY investor looking for low-cost access to a financial advisor, FutureAdvisor is a great option. The investment software provides personalized recommendations to help you diversify your portfolio, which you can follow or not follow as you see fit. You’re eligible to sign up for the software if you have at least $5,000 in investable assets. FutureAdvisor manages the assets you transfer into the account for a flat annual fee of 0.5% of the managed assets, billed quarterly at 0.125%. When you transfer your assets into the account, FutureAdvisor works to consolidate them into accounts with its partners, Fidelity or TD Ameritrade.
Personal Capital
Personal Capital allows you to manage all your financial accounts in a single platform. You can include your bank accounts, mortgage, and other credit accounts, plus your investment accounts, to have your complete financial picture right in front of you. If you have multiple accounts—as most of us do these days—using Personal Capital can save you from having to switch between multiple screens to understand where you stand.
If you have a portfolio of more than $100,000, you can get personalized financial advice based on your goals. While you’re charged a fee for this service, financial advisors are obligated to provide you with advice that works in your best interest.1
Use the software to tell whether you’re on track with your retirement and other investment goals. Even if you’re not quite ready to take advantage of the financial advisor, you can use Personal Capital to track your finances and investments in one place. The core software is free, but there may be fees for additional features.
Banktivity
Banktivity enable users to analyze, synchronize, and integrate bank accounts. Banktivity eases the process of combining checks, savings, credit cards, investment and other accounts. Banktitvity enables users to categorize transactions regardless of whether they input the transactions manually or use the built-in bank connectivity options. This enables users to identify various spending habitats across accounts, even though the user and a partner have separate credit cards. Budgets in Banktivity enables users to enumerate spending targets in any category (e.g. Groceries) and their bills are automatically used to build up a budget. Developing a budget in this manner ensures users spend…
Overview
Features
• Connectivity
• Direct access
• Direct download
• Web download
• Cloud sync
• Privacy and security
• Easy setup
• Account forecast
Price
• Direct Access- $39.99 / year
What is best?
• Connectivity
• Direct access
• Direct download
Bottom Line
Banktivity is versatile financial software which helps users to evaluate, synchronize, and combine all their bank accounts.
Moneyspire
Moneyspire is user-friendly and dominant personal finance software that coalesce your entire financial life in one place. Some of its features include mobile app, online banking, balance forecast, reconcile statement, reports and charts, import and export data, multiple currency support, customer invoicing, check printing, and investment account support. With Moneyspire, you can manage your bank accounts, credit cards, loans, investments, etc; balance your checkbook and take charge of your transaction details; estimate your future balances and net worth, and know your status; and set bill notifications and ascertain all your upcoming payments so you never forget to foot a bill…
Overview
Features
• Track Your Accounts
• Detail of Spending
• Reports and Charts
• Bill & Deposit Reminder
• Keep a Budget
• Mobile App
Price
• Basic Edition- US$39.99
• Plus Edition- US$74.99
• Pro Edition- US$119.99
What is best?
• Reconcile Statements
• Balance Forecast
• Online Banking
What are the benefits?
• Import & Export Data
• Cloud Support
• Safe & Secure
Bottom Line
Moneyspire is advanced personal finance software which enables users to easily organize and manage all their finance-related activities through a well-defined interface.
Conclusion:
Personal finance apps can be a great way to track your spending and stay on top of your savings. By using the best personal finance software, you’ll be able to make sure your financial tasks can go smoothly. You know those days when you have enough money to buy a meal, but don’t have the time to cook one? We’ve all been there. Personal finance can be complex, and finding time to manage your money properly can be difficult. Using the wrong software for managing your personal finance can make things worse. But with the right software, it can be simple, easy, and save you time and money.