• Top 10 Mac Apps

Budgeting is a discipline that’s not often met with excitement. Many assume that budgeting is something reserved for companies or, say, freelance workers. However, personal budget software is just as important as corporate one — it’s a fundamental understanding of where money is coming and going.

May 20, 2020  Its sheer flexibility makes it our top choice when it comes to accounting software for kitchen table businesses. See our review of Gnu Cash here. The best personal finance apps provide several different features (email reminders, bill due dates, track subscriptions, shared wallets, etc.) for managing your overall finances. All the apps on our list are available on both iOS and Android, so you can enjoy no matter which smartphone giant you're partial to. Mac Accounting Software; Learn why GetApp is free. Accounting Software for Mac. Sorts results by apps running active bidding campaigns, from the highest to lowest bid. It also keeps track of all balances and payment activity so you can stay on top of your business’ Read more about Bill4Time. The Mac App Store went live in early 2011 and offers apps in every department, from games to productivity tools. Some are simply macOS versions of popular.

You may consider it to be boring, tiring, time-consuming, or difficult, but managing your finances well can help you achieve goals and stave off the stress of a rainy day. Thankfully, there are tools and apps on Mac which can help you get on top of budgeting, no matter how experienced you are.

Why Should I Use Budget Tracking Software?

If you haven’t done a budget before, you should start now. You never know when you might need a particular sum of money to solve an issue, meet a goal, or take advantage of a sudden opportunity.

Budget programs help you reduce the stress and uncertainty that comes with not knowing where you stand financially. If you don’t have a home budget software, you might be tracking towards a situation where you run out of money, without even knowing it. If you do have a budget, then you’ll have a documented plan of action to improve your situation.

Importantly, you don’t need any qualifications to do a budget, nor do you need to be good with numbers. Take advantage of the best budget software for Mac to help you take control of your finances without the hassle. Budgeting tools come in many shapes and sizes, so selecting the right one for you depends on personal preference and previous experience with managing money.

Handy tips for budgeting tools

Top 10 Mac Apps

If you’re ready to start your budget, it’s best to consider a strategic approach to ensure maximum utility. Too often, budgets sit collecting dust after being created, and sometimes the act of creating a budget could feel like enough to satisfy financial concerns — it’s not. Here are some tips for making the most out of your budget.

First of all, definitely use an app to help you manage a budget. App developers invest a lot of time and money into figuring out how their software can make your life easier and better, so rather than trying to understand all the nuances for yourself, let a dedicated app do it for you. There’s even some free budget software around, so you have very few excuses not to try!

If you run a business (or freelance on a side), a little bit of work each week means end of year taxes are a breeze. It’s not about doing a marathon of work in a few days, but making a habit to consistently do a little bit here and there. Try aiming for 10 minutes every few days. The best tax preparation software will also have reminders and notifications to help you achieve this goal.

It might sound contradictory, but budgeting isn’t always about getting the numbers 100% accurate. When it comes to tax preparation software — sure. But budgeting is mostly about understanding where your money is being spent and then using that information to make more informed decisions going forward. Therefore, make sure you categorize your transactions so that it’s easier to spot those minutiae differences and trends. The best finance apps should do this for you automatically.

In summary, you want to ensure you take advantage of the online budgeting tools available to you, aim to update your records frequently, and focus on categorization over accuracy.

Features of good personal budget software

The best personal budget software for Mac is easier to pin down when you know exactly what you’re looking for. Not all apps are the same — they vary by function and pricing. Generally speaking, there are a few key features you want to see in your budget software for Mac:

• It should be simple and easy to add new records or transactions

• Importing bank and credit card statements should be possible

• Automatically synchronizing statements will take the edge off your manual inputting

• Useful dashboards or visuals will help you understand your situation at a glance

• You should be able to categorize your transactions into groups

Out of those five key points, the ability to import is often the most essential. Importing saves you the hassle of adding each transaction into the money management software line-by-line, which adds up to a lot of time. It’s hard enough already to schedule frequent updates to your budget, so if you can remove the largest friction point of manual entry, then you’re in a good place.

The best budget software for Mac comparison

When it comes to programs to help budget money, there are countless options. It’s easy to get lost diving deep into each budget software review, but here are some of the best available, ranging from beautifully basic to powerfully advanced.

You’ve probably heard of Quicken, given that the name has been around since the early 80s. Even then, it was known as one of the best tax software companies around. That says something about the strong product, which carries all of the basic functions you’ll need to manage your budget well.

Right away though, you might notice that the interface has become somewhat dated in comparison to the newer contenders out there. But one of Quicken’s praised features is the ability to download bank statements and have the records automatically categorized, which can drastically reduce the time it takes to input your information, so you can spend more time making sense of it. Sadly, the Mac version is somewhat limited when it comes to advanced features, unless you splash out for the Home and Business edition.

MoneyDance is very similar to Quicken in terms of its basic features, including the ability to create a budget with notifications for bills and invoices. It also allows you to make your own charts and graphs to monitor spending habits over time, which can be seen on the homepage for a quick glance of your activity. Out-of-the-box integrations with online banking services also make it easy to send payments.

Scan and connect to WiFi networksradiossmsAccess your Internet connectionAccess your home or work networksRead and delete Text MessagesRead SMS and MMS messages that have been blocked by the Spam Filter appUse your contactsSend SMS and MMS messagesMake use of SMS and RCSAccess your Windows Phone identification dataHave control over your Windows PhonestartScreenManagementDefine the policies that connect your device with WWAN and WLAN interfacesGather information about data plans on the device and read network usageAccess VPN features. This app canScan and connect to WiFi networksradiossmsAccess your Internet connectionAccess your home or work networksRead and delete Text MessagesRead SMS and MMS messages that have been blocked by the Spam Filter appUse your contactsSend SMS and MMS messagesMake use of SMS and RCSAccess your Windows Phone identification dataHave control over your Windows PhonestartScreenManagementDefine the policies that connect your device with WWAN and WLAN interfacesGather information about data plans on the device and read network usageAccess VPN featuresMore.

Unlike Quicken, Moneydance has some more advanced features including an investment monitor, which tracks your investments and their fluctuations — a useful addition, although best for the intermediate to advanced user. The app also has a developer API system in place to allow extended functions, mostly good for power users. Importantly, security is not an issue, as Moneydance utilizes end-to-end encryption for your data to give you that extra peace of mind.

You Need A Budget, also known as YNAB, is budget tracking software that runs on both Windows and Mac via web — saving automatically to the cloud, which is a bonus for multi-platform users. It also features native apps for iOS and Android, so you can literally tackle your budget from anywhere.

The app itself follows a simple design language, which is perfect for beginners, but if you find yourself needing help you can sign up for a personal instructor. YNAB doesn’t let you slack at all, and if you start to stray from your budget, the app will raise a red flag through it’s built-in Accountability Partner.

Although YNAB doesn’t support the ability to download and automatically categorize records from bank statements, it could be argued that entering them manually helps the user pay more attention to where their spending is going. Still, it’s a more time-consuming process that might be problematic for users processing hundreds or more records each month.

MoneyWiz stays true to its name — a comprehensive budget software and investment tracker that’s packed full with over 400 useful features. View your financial situation quickly by browsing accounts, groups, or searching for individual records. Speaking of records, you can enter them manually or have them automatically sync with leading banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, and financial services for an accurate real-time understanding of your accounts.

With all of this data in hand, MoneyWiz can prepare and export over 50 reports to help you gain deeper insights into your finances. Your data could be accessed from its cloud-based app or straight from the native software for Mac. All in all, MoneyWiz is extremely powerful: accessible for beginners and interesting for the most advanced users.

Receipts is yet another money management software for Mac, and is specifically well-known for its clever handling of invoicing. Using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology, Receipts automatically reads and translates important information about your bills, such as amount, date, currency, and more (even if the text is in another language).

Besides, Receipts can issue payments for invoices directly using third-party providers, such as iFinance and BankX. The OCR technology alone makes it a strong contender against other more simple online budgeting tools. Not least, Mac users will be glad to see how this application was designed to look and feel like a macOS product. Using a familiar user interface could make life a little easier after all.

Between the five options above, you have a strong starting point for your budgeting tools depending on your experience. Remember that importing is one of the key features to look for in budget programs. Still, in order to find the best fit you might need to try a couple of different options.

Thankfully, both MoneyWiz and Receipts have a free 7-day trial that you can take advantage of by heading over to Setapp, an app subscription service for Mac that gives you access to over 150 macOS apps, including all the necessary budget tools. Getting MoneyWiz and Receipts at once? You won’t be disappointed.

Modern business owners cannot do without some sort of accounting program that not only crunches the numbers, but improves efficiency and productivity as well. Here are ten of the best accounting software for Mac that have been proven to be reliable in dealing with inventory, payroll, invoices, purchase orders and other business essentials. Any of these software options are guaranteed to provide assistance in overcoming the daily challenges of any enterprise with the comprehensive solutions that they provide.

10. Less Accounting

Less Accounting is a very simple tool specifically designed for personal finance and small businesses. Its main features include basic accounting functions including double-entry accounting, customer relationship management, business intelligence, as well as online access and mobile applications. This program has added additional features through the years and it is compatible with various platforms including Mac and Windows. Technical support is also available for Less Accounting users.

9. Money Works Gold

Another program meant for the use of small and medium-sized businesses is MoneyWorks Gold. This is a flexible and reliable program that is meant to support multiple currencies and is designed for both business management and accounting. Its features include cashbook and ledger support, purchase orders and sales orders, and inventory and reporting functions, among others. MoneyWorks Gold allows for multi-user networking, too. There are three other related Money Works products: Express, Cashbook, and Datacentre. This program is compatible with Mac or Windows.

8. ClearBooks

If easy navigation, simple language, and consistent technical support are required by a company, then ClearBooks is the ideal choice. The program is created by a software specialist that wanted to provide laymen the capability to manage their own business, including the accounting. Its payroll feature is a favorite amongst its users.

7. Mac-Invoicer

This tool has a very specific function and it is very good at what it does – making receipts and invoices. The current, recently updated receipt printout has been designed with a more corporate theme. This entry sheet may be saved as a PDF file.

6. Express Accounts

Express Accounts Accounting Software is designed for professional level use. Aside from Mac, it is also compatible with Windows Vista, 7 and 8. This is a tool that is designed to facilitate accounting and bookkeeping functions and is useful for any type of business, whether product based or service-oriented. It does not shy away from multi-tasking, and it is capable of coughing out 20 financial reports at any one time.

5. Kashoo

Kashoo works well with both Mac and Windows and a trial version is available for those who want to test its adaptability. One of its main features is its accessibility. It can be accessed anywhere given its ease of use with the most popular Internet browsers, namely Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer. One of the most attractive features of this Kashoo is that it is less expensive than other cloud software that offer the same accounting features. A Kashoo iPad app is also available and according to reports, it is the most downloadable accounting iPad app to date.

4. KashFlow

Another cloud accounting and very secure and accessible software is called KashFlow. This program is a very popular software in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has been intended by its founder to assist in the management of the finances of any company. There are many accounts programs out there but few give as much satisfaction with the 60-day free trial that’s enough for any user to decide whether or not to purchase it eventually.

3. Quickbooks Online

Made by Intuit, QuickBooks Online is designed for the fledgling entrepreneur with all the confounding aspects of accounting and management. Though the free version does not have the more complicated (but still necessary) functions, it has the basic requirements to enable a business to operate smoothly and efficiently. Intuit made QuickBooks Online iPhone ready. It is also compatible with BlackBerry units.

2. Account Edge

Acclivity’s offering is set to oust the competition. AccountEdge is offered with a free app for the iPad and iPhone. Despite the relatively higher price tag, users find it worth the expense because it is ready for integration with other programs. AccountEdge has a Basic Version and a Pro Version. Both are compatible for use with both Mac and Windows. Those who require a guaranteed tool for management of sales and purchases, billing, payroll, inventory, and even banking ought to invest on the AccountEdgePro which even large-scale enterprises will find adequate.

1. FreshBooks

FreshBooks is designed to serve small, medium, and large businesses equally well, but it has been primarily designed for the mobile small business owner who prefers to manage and supervise everything from his or her iPhone or iPad. This cloud accounting software is quite cheap at $19.95 and it is reportedly currently being used by as many as five million entrepreneurs the world over.