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Quicken vs. Moneydance: The Financial Software Face-off

While there may be a sea of choices when it comes to finance and accounting software, two products have been rated as the best out there.  Quicken Starter Edition has gotten raves about its very user-friendly interface. The numerous additional features in Moneydance have also given the product quite a lot of good buzz. In fact, product review sites have singled out these two as the best finance and accounting software available today. The question is: which one works best for you?

When it comes to user-friendliness, Quicken Starter Edition tops the bill. It has all the basic tools and support for general-purpose accounting. It boasts of a simple graphical user interface (GUI) and an easy installation process. Because Quicken is connected to 4000 banks across the US, you can do your banking transactions without taking a step outside. These transactions include bill payments, money transfers and even maintaining a digital checking account. To further aid you in your budget planning, Quicken provides a full range of cash flow, tax and net worth reports. This allows you to gauge your financial situation and plan your future endeavors accordingly. A major edge for Quicken is its tax preparation features. Since the program files are compatible with TurboTax, a popular tax calculation program, you can export them to TurboTax for a quick tax report. It is also capable of identifying tax deductibles, leading to more accurate and organized reports. Additional features like Quicken Online Back-up provides you with means to store your important documents on their online server. This way, your files don’t get lost in case your computer breaks down. Another added feature is Quicken Bill Pay, a bill payment service that lets you settle all your accounts in one click. One missing feature with Quicken Starter Edition is the lack of software support for managing personal investments. This is exactly the problem that Moneydance addresses. Built by Reilly Technologies, Moneydance keeps track of your investments and provides reports that can be directly added to your investment portfolio. While Quicken charges you with each online bill payment, Moneydance lets you do your online banking and bill payment, free of charge. Although it is quite lacking in application support, Moneydance offers many additional features such as debt payoff calculators and stock price updaters. It also allows password protection for your most important files.

What’s the verdict, then? For basic general-purpose accounting, the simplicity of Quicken Starter Edition would serve you well. If you’re the type with a diversity of business ventures, Moneydance gives you more freedom and tools to go about your business in an easier and more organized manner. At the end of the day, it depends on how demanding your needs are. But, most certainly, either of these can give you a whole world of help with the tedious tasks in personal finance and accounting.