SplashMoney or Ultrasoft Money?

[jdmccabe]

Which is better? Right now I am leaning towards SplashMoney.....just seems better.....but I need some thoughts from those that have used these. I do not necessarily need to sync with Microsoft Money as I haven't yet bought it. But if I go with Quicken then I guess Ultrasoft Money won't work.

Thanks,
Jay

[JohnKes]

I heard Ultrasoft Money was really good, and I think it directly syncs transactions into MS Money. But then SplashData writes good code too. Look in www.Palmgear.com or www.eurocool.com for ratings.

I use PocketQuicken with my Quicken. It directly syncs transactions into Quicken - works great! PQ is a bit expensive, though.

Sometimes I wonder if I should have started with MS Money - Quicken seems complicated to set up (I'm not that smart ;) ).

[ryber]

SplashMoney has the option to upload directly to quicken. The downside of Pocket Quicken is that you can not edit a transaction on the Palm if it was entered in Quicken.

If you don't use Quicken, then SplashMoney can just sync the transactions into a .CSV file, which you can work with through Excel (or just about any other spreadsheet program for that matter)

[J Palm]

I've been using this app for a couple of years now and have never had a problem. I used Quicken on my desktop and it (SplashMoney) syncs beautifully. I highly recommend it and find it less expensive than other options. But that's just my humble-most opinion!

:)

[JohnKes]

Hmm, SplashMoney does not sync back the ending balances from Quicken:
http://www.splashdata.com/splashmoney/userguide/index.html

PocketQuicken does that but that means you have to accept all transactions, entered from the handheld, after each HotSync otherwise Quicken's ending balance would not be correct the next time you HotSync. I encountered that problem when I first started using PQ. Sometimes it is easier to clean up transactions on Quicken, then have them sync'ed to PQ during the next HotSync.

[jdmccabe]

So what I am hearing is that once you Hot Sync, Splash Money will put the new and modified transactions into Quicken or MS Money and DELETE them from my handheld? I would prefer if one or two weeks worth of transactions stayed in the handheld. Is there a way to do this? I don't need all my transactions in the handheld but would prefer if the uncleared transactions stayed in it. Any way to do this?

Jay

[JohnKes]

I haven't run it myself, but from what I gathered from their manual:
1) SplashMoney keeps all transactions and calculates balances. No deletions.
2) SM sends data to Quicken when you HotSync.
3) You have to open Quicken to accept the transactions for Quicken to be correct.
4) Transactions entered in Quicken will NOT HotSync to SM. You have to delete all SM data and import a whole set from Quicken. So if you reconcile your bank statement on Quicken, and enter the interest and forgotten transactions, those transactions won't automatically go to SM.

PocketQuicken does the same for 1, 2, 3 but it transfers 1-3 months of transactions and the resulting balances from Quicken back to PQ (in a rudimentary way). I find that PQ is accurate by itself, and that the back transfer will cause errors if you forget to accept transactions in Quicken. So the back transfer feature may not be worth double the price of SM. If PQ data gets messed up, you can do 4 just like SM.

[WindyCity]

I tried both, Spash Money and Ultrasoft Money, and bought Ultrasoft Money. I am very happy with Ultrasoft Money. Before I go on, I'll make clear that I am just a regular guy who has no connection with Ultrasoft.
The program is very easy to set up and use. (Of course, you need to be using Microsoft Money on your desk/lap top system.) It has helped me track all of my money and I actually amazed my self finding out how much money I spent on the "little" things that I thought didn't matter, such as a cup of coffee and a paper before I catch the train and a couple of drinks from the vending machine.
Another feature I like is that not only does the program sync what I have input into my pda onto my computer, it also will transfer some of the info that I have put on my computer onto the pda, keeping the total figures balanced.
I highly recommend the program. Since using it, I have made some changes in my financial life and am saving a lot more money.

Hope this helps.

As with everything else, it's only as good as you use it.

[JohnKes]

"As with everything else, it's only as good as you use it." - Definitely!

It takes my WinXP 2 minutes to boot up and another half min. to open Quicken. In 1 minute, I can enter a whole day's worth of transactions into PocketQuicken. It is so convenient that I keep all of my bank accounts balanced to the penny every day. You can't beat that!