Soon after the Presidential Elections and the hotchpotch associated with the event, people are back to their own financial issues related to their soaring debt problems. While they are manually trying their best to retain their present financial state, not many are being able to do so with ease. It is only when they are not able to handle their personal money matters manually that they take resort to tools and software which digitally helps them stay on track.
Recognising the best personal finance software and the apt financial apps can be an intimidating and daunting task particularly due to the huge landscape of budgeting, savings and finance sectors. Apart from choosing the best software programs, you also have to compare various features which are offered by such tools and this will probably add to your challenge in identifying the best software to meet your needs.
Hunting for a personal finance application – What are the vital features to look for?
When you’re desperately hunting for the best personal finance software, there are some extremely crucial features that you need to take into account. It should include top-level security, extremely advanced abilities of calculation, user-friendly interface, prompt real-time execution of tasks, upgraded technological features and categorization of different sorts of transactions. Unless you get to know about the aforementioned features, it would be rather foolish to select a personal financial app or software.
A checklist of personal finance software for individuals
After conducting an all-inclusive level of due research, we have come down with a list of 2017’s best personal financial applications which can help you rejuvenate your finances without making them reach a state of haywire. Check out the list given below.
- Personal Capital (For US users only)
The top ranking personal finance software is creating a revolution in the money management and personal finance industry.
Founder: Bill Harris (former CEO of PayPal and Intuit) founded this software in 2009 and it is touted to be a free and highly advanced personal finance software for managing money, budgeting and for all other platforms and devices. This can work on all platforms, Mac, online, iPhone, desktop, Android, Windows and tablets too.
How it works: Personal Capital lets you efficiently handle and supervise your entire financial life. From savings, fiscal planning, investment and debt to cash management, budgeting and computing monthly expenses, it offers you with a wide variety of functions. You can link your multiple accounts and get a real-time view of the transactions.
- Mint
Mint is yet another popular yet free personal finance app which too is available only to US consumers.
Founder: Mint is a free web-based financial management service designed for the US and Canadian consumers by Aaron Patzer in 2009. It then acquired Intuit, the makers of Turbo Tax and Quicken.
How it works: Mint gives you the permission to check how your decisions of spending money would affect how much money you will have left at the end of the year. Mint uses easy English which is easy to understand and allows you a free credit check. It also guides you on how you could boost your credit. Mint can be used on any device like PC, Mac, and Apple etc. As long as there is internet, this app will work perfectly.
- Quicken
Quicken is yet another useful and effective personal finance software which is bound to meet all your personal financial needs.
Founder: Quicken is a personal finance tool which has been designed by Intuit on 3rd March, 2016. Although Intuit announced its plans to sell off Quicken to HIG Capital, yet the terms of sale weren’t disclosed.
How it works: Quicken, unlike the above mentioned personal finance tools, is not free. It has got 3 different versions, any of which is definitely going to meet your personal monetary needs. The different versions include a Started Edition priced at $39.99, a Deluxe Edition priced at $74.99 and a Premier Edition priced at $104.99. You should note that the Premier Version of Quicken is designed for those people who are involved in portfolio management and banking, budgeting, bill payment and aggregation of accounts. It lets you view all your financial transactions in one place and offers a complete financial solution.
- QuickBooks
QuickBooks is an undoubted market leader in the field of small business software and has been an award-winning product which drastically changed the way in which people managed their accounting and small business transactions.
Founder: This app was marketed and developed by Intuit. This is geared towards the small to medium sized businesses and it also offers cloud based versions which accepts payments, pays and manages bills and other payroll functions.
How it works: This app works up in few minutes, enters your employee and business details, runs payroll and imports all your orders from Shopify to QuickBooks Online. You just have to feed in hours for around 50 employees and then you will be set perfectly. Make sure you review the payroll with detailed reports inside this software, QuickBooks. Small and medium sized businesses can extract data from invoices, receipts, generate invoices and estimates. You can also enter any overtime and deductions, review and submit any payroll within the QuickBooks dashboard.
Considering the Longevity Selection Factor – How long the app will be around
One of the most important factors to check is longevity and this is indeed a crucial factor to determine. Before deciding to use a particular financial app, you’ve got to understand whether or not the app is equipped enough to survive in the tough competitive market. There are many such apps which come and go without being noticed by individuals and business owners. Hence, be careful about choosing the one which is here to stay for a few months at least.
Therefore, in case you’re struggling with your personal finance situation, you may seek help of any of the above mentioned software and apps. Such digital tools will always help you get back on track and regain a firm grip on your personal financial state.
