Ledger software to replace Quicken?

Question

I've used Quicken for 28 years and it's gone to hell since Intuit sold it. There's endless problems synching with banks to download transactions, the banks and Quicken point the finger at each other. I want a replacement but don't need the power or expense of Quickbooks.  Quicken would be fine if it worked as it's supposed to! All I use is the ledger, downloads, and report generation, I don;t manage investments or payrolls.

I've tried searching what's out there, but most web based things can't import previous transactions, and I don't want to start fresh and still have to open Quicken to see old transactions, like "when did I buy that fridge for apt 2A"? I also don't want to be locked into one bank, I want to be able to download transactions from whatever checking and credit card accounts I want.  Is anyone using a program that fits this bill?

Johann Jells · Answer

Does everyone really spend hundreds of dollars a year for overpowered ledger software? There seems to be nothing out there but QB for small businesses. I've been seeing all these crappy online only services like Personal Capital that want to manage your investments and create budgets, but can't even import your previous transactions. I need neither!!! Just a good ledger that can sync with the banks! I don't trust these cloud services with preserving such important info, I want a file on my PC.

Johann Jells · Answer

The damn expiring version thing in Quicken is annoying, why can't they at least be honest and say "you're renting this, not buying it", since they wont support it more than 2 years. Sad to hear QB does the same. I know I could bite the bullet and get QB, but my needs to run a mom & pop buy and hold are so minimal, it's like buying a Maserati to get to the corner store, Quicken had far more tools than I needed!  All I really need to do is track expenditures in a glorified check ledger.

Andy Mirza · Answer

@Johann Jells I know you said you don't need Quickbooks but I will suggest getting the desktop version. You're already half way there with Quicken. QB is way better, more robust, most accounts use it, and you can get away with using the same version for several years. The main drawback with Quicken when I used it back in the day, was that it wouldn't let you account for assets and liabilities. Once you get past the learning curve, QB will make things easier for you.