Handpicked Software

iBank is a sleek, nimble personal financial manager that makes it painless to keep up with your finances. At $20, it’s a fraction of the cost of Quicken, and it has more than enough features to satisfy most users.

Like Quicken, iBank includes ease-of-use features like scheduled transactions, categories, memorized transactions, sub-transactions, transfers, auto-fill, and import and export. You can import data from other applications in QIF or QFX format. iBank doesn’t come with any default categories, but they’re easy to add and you can memorize categories from imported files. iBank also lets you import downloaded bank statements (as long as they’re in QIF or QFX format), and you can export a QIF file (so you can import your data into Quicken if you outgrow iBank).

You can track multiple accounts, which may be checking, savings, credit cards, investments, or any other kind of account. iBank can download quotes for stocks in your investment accounts, and groups transactions in the same security to make it easier to track your portfolio.

iBank synchronizes with iWork, making them a great combination for gaining complete control of your small business (a Business Package bundles iBank and iWork together for only $39.99). You can track projects and invoices in iWork, then sync iWork with iBank to update your bank account when you get paid.

Graphical reports let you see where your money came from, and where it all goes. A mini-graph in the main window displays an automatically updated pie chart of your expenses. You can adjust the number of categories and the date range to display. You can also display pie charts of income and/or expenses by category, or line graphs showing categories over time.

Bottom Line: There are a handful of bargain personal finance programs available, but none of them are as easy to use or as fully-featured as iBank. If you’re looking for a Quicken substitute, but don’t want to give up usability features like scheduled and memorized transactions, you can’t go wrong with iBank at about a quarter of the price. If you run a small business, the combination of iBank and iWork are a capable, cost-effective solution.
From: IGG Software
Price: $20; $39.99 for Business Package (with iWork)