MoneyWiz
A long term need and interest of mine has been the availability of a comprehensive personal accounting package for the Mac. I have covered my search previously in a couple of posts reviewing all the contenders such as Money, iBank and Moneywell etc with my findings that, for my needs, Squirrel has been the best solution.
I still use Squirrel as my primary accounting package but I have been concerned with the slow rate of development and the current issue re lack of iOS syncing. A few months back I bought the iPhone and iPad version of MoneyWiz, more for interest sake than anything else.
MoneyWiz was the new kid on the block for iOS accounting apps and I was impressed with the developer, SilverWiz, initial efforts. It obviously had a long way to go in regards to functionality but it had good enough bones to indicate that there was a great app in the making. Subsequent updates enhanced its features to where it was a viable solution for everyday personal accounting needs in iOS devices.
While the iOS apps were developing nicely they were still limited in regards to importing and categorising bulk data, requiring each imported transaction to be edited individually. Thankfully SilverWiz announced they were going to release a Mac version of the app that will introduce the missing functionality. The wait is over and the Mac version has been released via the App Store.
On first attempt at loading on Mountain Lion all sorts of issues arose with trying to run the app. Being hasty to try it out I did not notice the advice from SilverWiz that it was not yet ready to run on ML, an update is in the wings and should be available in a few weeks. I then installed it on a Macbook running OSX Lion and it worked as would be expected. On the first start up as I already had a MoneyWiz account all I had to do was enter my username and password when prompted and all of the data, including Accounts, Budgets, Reports and Transactions, that were on the iOS devices synced to the Mac.
SilverWiz have done a great job by keeping the interface design between the iOS and Mac versions very similar. I have seen some other accounting apps that have been let down with inconsistency between designs for different devices. Basically once you have learned to use the app on a particular device you will be right at home on any of the other versions.
I tested out the Mac version for bulk editing of imported data. You have to switch from the elegant List view to the Transaction view to undertake the task but the process works as expected. To categorise the transactions I first sort by the transaction description (this includes the name of the Payer/Payee for my data). I then highlight the common transactions, right click and select Edit. I then select the appropriate categories and apply them in bulk. While some other apps have automatic import rules I don’t find the lack of that function in MoneyWiz any real issue, I would actually rather have a hands on process.
MoneyWiz has the ability to split transactions amongst multiple categories. The interface design for this function is the best I have seen on any app, being the use of sliders that adjust the balance between the categories. You also have the option to manually enter the transaction amounts if need be.
I think the best feature of MoneyWiz is the syncing function. I have found in other apps that syncing is hit or miss, causing corruption and uncertainty. MoneyWiz is rock solid in it’s ability, due to a lot of thought and work from SilverWiz, explained in this blog entry. While the choice to go via their own syncing method may not be preferred by some I think ultimately the accurate and painless way that the syncing performs is what matters. To test out how well the syncing works between the iOS and the Mac versions I created some transactions and saved reports on my iPhone, with perfect results being achieved when syncing back and forth with the Mac version. To really test the syncing function I deleted about 150 transactions from the Mac version to see how well it could cope with multiple adjustments. When I next opened the iPhone version the screen started flashing wildly as it processed the changes. While it might be a bit concerning to the observer, within a few seconds the account was perfectly in sync.
MoneyWiz has included a great function of allowing the user to attach an image of a receipt to a transaction. This would for example make the retrieval of a receipt for a warranty claim much easier. What is missing is the ability to make a note or memo in regards to a transaction. Hopefully this feature will be added in a future update, for now I make do by editing the Description field.
The main area that still needs improving is the ability to export transaction level data from the category reports. At present only the account balance report allows for the actual transactions to be exported via PDF or CSV file. For other reports the export function is limited to the category values. Reporting in general would be enhanced if the ability to add Tags to transactions was enabled, allowing for more detailed reports to be created. The actual pie chart graphs that are used could also be improved, their design is a not up to the same high standard of the rest of the interface. The functionality and design of Squirrel’s reporting system is yet to be beaten by any other Mac app.
MoneyWiz has come a long way in the last year, SilverWiz have to be congratulated for breathing life into a segment of iOS and Mac software that has been lacking a real star app. While some improvements are needed, for less than $35 for the complete iPhone, iPad and Mac package MoneyWiz has become the market leader.
