Financial Services Software for Linux?

Shakrai asks: "I find myself in the process of building a new computer system and at a crossroads for what OS to put on it. I have used Linux for years as a server for my home network and as a workstation dual booting with Windows. I have find myself unable to get away from Windows entirely because of the large amount of older games that I retain and still like to play. Nevertheless I am less then eager to pony up $80-$200 for a Windows license for my new box and I figure that I can learn to live without most of the Windows games that I enjoy. There still seems to be one stumbling block before I could totally abandon Windows though: Financial Services Software. For the last six years I have been quite the avid user of Quicken. Every single investment and transaction that I have ever made resides in Quicken. Is there a package for Linux out there that even remotely provides the same functionality?" "I don't really use Quicken's online services (why pay for something my credit union gives me for free) but I pretty much use every other function of the product (tax estimation, investment tracking, reports, etc). Is this going to keep me stuck in Windows land? Short of writing my own replacement for Quicken (not very likely) what are my options?"

Comments

Don't use qhacc

[x00101010x]

I've been using qhacc for a while, and it's a cute hack, but not really useful. I'm just using it until I find something better. There's a few java ones that look promising, but I'm not a fan of java software. Getting lucky with google for "accounting linux" turned this up: http://www.aaxnet.com/design/linuxacct.html There's also the popular GnuCash (http://www.gnucash.org/).

LWN Article, Wait a Week to Read

[MBCook]

Linux Weekly News (an excellent place, you should support them) just did part one of The Grumpy Editor's Guide to Personal Finance Managers. I don't think it is available to non-subscribers yet, but it should be on Thursday then you can take a look at it. It gives an overview of all the current offerings and setting them up and such. I'll put up the last paragraph here because it has a simple sum-up and tells you what's coming in part two:

Your editor's final comment is this: for many years, there was only one free personal finance application of any note: GnuCash. It is now interesting to see there are three viable programs out there. The situation has changed significantly - for the better - over the past year. Come back for the second part (to be published, probably, near the beginning of October) to complete the tour of what these programs can do, and a final recommendation from the editor.

You're question is quite timely, actually.

Free and Open Source Financial Applications FAQ

[Noksagt]

I maintain a FAQ on Fatwallet of the free/open source finance applications. Particularly useful are the links there.

I'm a GnuCash zealot. I love that I can setup a cron script to download data on market close. I keep a couple dozen accounts in it with no worries. I would never go back to Quicken or Money.

If you don't dig the F/OSS thing, there are commercial apps for Linux or you can get both Quicken & Money to work OK in Crossover Office. Anotheer alternative is to do all of this online with a service like yodlee.

Let me suggest:

[cavemanf16]

I have tried numerous programs on Linux to manage my finances, and like you used to use Quicken on Windows.

When I tried to switch over to Linux as my primary desktop, I found that there are options out there, but they're just not as polished *looking* as Quicken is for the average finance/budget tracking user like myself. So, let me offer up what I've tried, and you can figure something out for yourself:

• jGnash - A weird name for a finance program, but I used it for a short time and it did an alright job... and that was approximately a year ago. The project looks to be in active development still, so you may want to at least give it a try. It did QIF imports alright as well, and although it's written in Java it seemed to be coded pretty well.
• GnuCash - Well known in the Linux world with a long history. I tried it out but never really got the hang of it due to the somewhat clunky and difficult to understand UI. The engine behind this program seems to work great, but much like Gnome, it takes some getting used to the UI.
• Moneydance - Also has a long history, is coded in Java, and tries to compete with Quicken, but I didn't like the reports in this program. Also seemed a bit sluggish on Windows because it was coded in Java, but that was a pre-2005 release version, so the new one might be better. Unfortunately, from the look of their webpage the reports haven't changed at all, which was my biggest beef with this program.
• Or try Wine because it appears that Quicken and QuickBooks run under it OK. Haven't tried this out personally, and this would mean keeping around your dual-boot setup most likely, but it might solve your dilemma.

As for the gaming aspect - it's the only reason that I have to stick around with Windows. I love to play CS:S, Civ3, Morrowind, and easily install/uninstall new video games, and Windows is simply easier and less hassle to do that in than any distro of Linux is right now. When I finish college (which also is a pain 'cause they use VisualC++ and other Windows crap that I still need Windows for) I'll probably more seriously consider buying Cedega (from TransGaming) to allow me to continue playing the games I love.

P.S. Using Linux as my primary workstation taught me that Linux based desktop software is HIGHLY "tweakable", and as such is also highly prone to disaster. (I'm the type that never reads the manual: disaster then ensues.) If you're going to do your finances on a Linux desktop setup, buy a DVD burner and MAKE SYSTEM BACKUPS nightly!!