Choosing Personal Financial Software

Posted February 20, 2009 by Bernz

At the beginning of every new year, resolutions are made (and promptly broken) all over the country to get a grip on personal finances and budgeting. Without knowing what’s coming in and going out every month, it’s almost impossible to plan savings and investments in the future.

financsoftwareThere are many personal financial software programs on the market to help. It’s important to know what you need out of the program to be able to choose the one that’s right for you. Programs range from very simplistic spreadsheets to elaborate databases that track income and expenses, as well as net worth, savings goals and overdue bills. Some programs even print checks to pay those bills.

The one thing that everyone requires from a personal financial software package is a way to track the money coming in and the money going out. You should be able to enter the outflows of cash from your bank accounts on separate lines with spaces for notes. It is also useful to enter upcoming bills so that you can see what the impact will be on your bank balance.

If you have investment accounts or foreign-denominated bank accounts, you will need a software program that’s a little more sophisticated. Programs like Quicken can download your trading activity automatically and update your year-to-date income. This will come in handy at tax time.

If you run a small or home-based business, some personal financial software programs can track your business income and expenses and keep them separate from your personal funds. You can also run reports showing your house and auto expenses so that you can track your home office and business-use-of-vehicle expenses for the tax return.

Many of the most popular personal financial programs, like Microsoft Money and Quicken, provide a trial version so you can test drive them to see if they’re right for you. Try two or more programs before you settle on one as each will have its own way of entering and displaying information. If, down the road, you decide that you have chosen the wrong program, you can easily switch to another and, in most cases, be able to import the transactions you have already recorded.

Personal financial software programs can help keep you organized and financially on the ball. Picking the right one for you will make the process smoother.


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