I'm tired of too many troubles and concept gaps.
I have been trying to use Moneydance for one year, and some problems have never been solved. I tried using the support and I just gave up.
Now, some critical parts of the app just stopped working properly. I'll try listing the worst issues.
1. Using on two computers.
I need to use Moneydance on two computers, and it has never worked. If I open Moneydance with my wife, something goes wrong, and it starts creating files and "accounts" with strange names like "Recover xxxxx."
I opened a ticket and explained that we have a shared Onedrive folder; I tried hard to follow the instructions, but it didn't work. I gave up and the support probably think that I solved the problem.
My solution was never to use Moneydance simultaneously with my wife, but even when doing this, the problems persist.
Worst: the information that I have on my computer is different from my wife's computer, and we are accessing the same files (theoretically)
2. Payee
Moneydance doesn't have the Payee concept. You need to put this important information in the Description or in a subcategory. It is bizarre.
3. The coin conversion stopped working
It is absolutely critical for us. It was one of the main reasons to buy Moneydance.
We have business in Europe, the USA, and Brazil, and it is fundamental to have reports in one selected coin. Now we have to put values manually.
4. Foresight Forecast is not working properly
The graphs were never visually interesting, but they worked. Now, they are slower and stop in the middle.
I exported transactions from this report, and I received the wrong transaction categories. For loans, the category is "Split".
5. Poor reports
There is a big list of reports, but they look like something made in the 1980s, we can't customize them, and the list is confusing.
There are more annoying details, but I'll stop here.
We expected more from the product.
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1 Posted by TonyRI on 05 Aug, 2024 01:17 PM
Hi Emmanuel,
Just addressing your issue #1 "Using on two computers"
There is a method for synchronizing data among multiple computers (or mobile devices). A shared Onedrive folder is not an approved method. In fact:
"Before you set up syncing, *you must ensure the .moneydance data files you'd like to share are not already located in any shared folder like Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud etc *. If your data file is stored in (or being accessed/backed up by) any shared folder service, this can lead to problems like data corruption and data loss. If your file is shared, you must move the file onto your local system before proceed".
The approved method for sharing data among computers is outlined in the Knowledge Base article:
https://infinitekind.tenderapp.com/kb/syncing-and-sharing-data/sync...
If you would also like to use the mobile app to share your data, you would follow these instructions:
https://infinitekind.tenderapp.com/kb/syncing-and-sharing-data/sync...
Regards,
Tony (Fellow user, Not IK Support)
2 Posted by dtd on 05 Aug, 2024 05:35 PM
What version of MD are you using, and what operating system?
Your first MAJOR problem is trying to store your data on a shared cloud drive. Total opportunity for corruption due to how MD stores and updates data, just as TonyRI says - it is probably the source of almost all your problems (including Recover XXX)
The description basically IS the Payee - seems you need the exact word in the field?
3. That would be a separate discussion you should create a separate thread for, as it should work.
4. Reason for asking for version number - as work has been done on Foresight in the last year - it now works much better, with the one caveat of "why does the graph not show up for 20 seconds, then all shows up at once" which also makes it seem slower, but at least it now finishes.
5. Can't address this as it is your opinion.
3 Posted by dwg on 05 Aug, 2024 09:55 PM
Calling what Moneydance has as reports is something of a misnomer.
Really what they are are query templates, as reports generally have formatting type options in them.
4 Posted by Emanuel Tavares on 06 Aug, 2024 08:08 AM
The tone of the answer is interesting. The client is always wrong, even if the client is an IT professional with solid experience in application development. Recently I worked as product owner and Head of Digital Transformation. The product has problems and I’m giving you a favor.
Again: you said that my problem is the shared folder, but in the article (and MD) there is an option to use a shared folder. Can you explain it? More: how can I use MD in more than one computer without a shared folder? I don’t have a Dropbox, and I’ll not have one.
Please show me how I can take reports by payee, and there is much more that you need to do.
Our version is:
My wife sent a message asking for support, and the answer transferred the problem to the client with a complex process to solve and a message on top that we couldn’t trust:~
We are talking about money management!
I tested again. The graph that I liked before now is not working. I don’t know what you did.
It is not an opinion, it is a fact and more people agree with me. You need to check the new UX / UI trends.
Best regards.
5 Posted by TonyRI on 06 Aug, 2024 12:14 PM
Hi Emmanuel,
You are not considered a client to me, but a fellow user that I was just trying to help. You may not have noticed that I signed my response with "Tony (Fellow user, Not IK Support)".
I totally understand frustration when programs/apps/devices don't work as expected (I was just wrestling with my Bluetooth water sprinkler yesterday! Arrghhh).
Yes, a shared folder is necessary, however it is used for the .moneydancesync folder that is created when the user sets up synchronization. I've always used dropbox and I don't have any issues with it, but I totally understand others not wanting to use it. I'm certainly no expert, either in IT, or Moneydance. I was just trying to alert you to the fact that if you store the Moneydance Dataset (.moneydance) in a shared folder directly, it will not work correctly.
Here's the limited information that I am aware of. When you create/change transactions, etc, in MD, there are txn iles (.mdtxn) that are created and stored, They are burried in the MD dataset folder. When synchronizing with other devices, they will read/write from/to the shared.moneydancesync folder and update each other with the changes. I have no idea how this stuff works and I only know that you can't store the MD Dataset there directly as it will, inevitably cause problems.
I apologize for not noticing the statement "I tried hard to follow the instructions." When I read your comment that "it starts creating files and "accounts" with strange names like "Recover xxxxx."" I made the assumption that your .moneydance dataset was stored directly in the shared One Drive folder.
Further @dtd and @dwg are also fellow users who were trying to help, you have not received any message from IK Support, so you aren't giving any of us a "favor."
This forum is available for users helping users. It's so much better when people are understanding and cooperative.
Hope that you are able to resolve your issues with the software.
Take care
6 Posted by Emanuel Tavares on 06 Aug, 2024 01:49 PM
Tony,
By mistake I assumed that you are from IK Support. I'm sorry.
Unfortunately, IK Support has an arrogant attitude and doesn’t listen to the client’s complaints, so I’m looking for another solution.
In fact, I’m a Microsoft Money orphan. That software was amazing, with a great set of features and a really good interface.
The most incredible fact is that they certainly don’t have anybody qualified to create a really good user experience, and in 2024, it will make no sense.
Take care too.
Regards.
7 Posted by TonyRI on 06 Aug, 2024 02:30 PM
No worries Emanuel. Sometimes people don't realize that they're posting to a public forum as well as to IK Support. I and others usually include some sort of disclaimer in our responses because of that reason.
I'm sorry that you feel that way about IK Support, I've only seen them as extremely helpful. They should take note of that.
It sucks when they discontinue a product that you are used to and like. There are a number of former Microsoft Money users on this forum that have transitioned to Moneydance as a result.
I came over from Quicken, I hated their subscription and sunset practices. Moneydance has worked for me, but I only have limited simple accounts. I basically balance a checkbook and keep track of savings and ccs. If Moneydance doesn't meet your current needs, then it definitely makes sense to try to find a more compatible product.
I worked for retail as a kid (many, many years ago, lol) and customer satisfaction was always a priority. "If the customer isn't happy, they'll go somewhere else!". I certainly don't blame you for looking elsewhere, I would do the same thing.
Good luck with your search.
Kind Regards,
Tony :)
Support Staff 8 Posted by Sean Reilly on 06 Aug, 2024 04:25 PM
Hi Emanuel,
I'm sorry for all of the trouble with Moneydance. I think the best way to address all of the issues at once is probably with a screen sharing session in which I can step through and resolve them in succession.
We can try to resolve them via messages, but with so much happening I think it will be much faster to do it in real-time.
If this would be ok, could you choose a date/time that works best for you from the following link? If none of those times work, let me know your time zone and what general days and times will work and I'll arrange something.
https://calendly.com/tikhelp/30min
Thanks,
Sean
--
Sean Reilly
Developer, The Infinite Kind
https://infinitekind.com
9 Posted by Emanuel Tavares on 06 Aug, 2024 06:44 PM
Tony,
I tried Quicken, but I couldn't find a way to have a future cash flow properly. It was something that MS Money was simply perfect.
Each future transaction registered (reminders on MD) was shown on the account, and I could easily check the future balances. More than that, I could check account comparisons fast for any period.
Thanks again for the attention.
Regards.
10 Posted by TonyRI on 06 Aug, 2024 08:14 PM
You're welcome.
Emanuel, I'm not sure if you realize it but you've received a response from the Moneydance Developer, Sean Reilly, who has offered his personal assistance to you.
Talk about Customer Satisfaction being a priority. I don't think that you could do any better than that!
There would be no better customer support person than Sean, he's offered to help you resolve your difficulties via a screen sharing session:
https://infinitekind.tenderapp.com/discussions/problems/103289-im-t...
Good luck!
T
11 Posted by derekkent23 on 06 Aug, 2024 09:43 PM
I am not support staff just a user.
Hi Emanuel
Reading your posts and your problems I contacted Sean the Moneydance developer and provided a link to your discussion.
He jumped in immediately offering a screen sharing session.
When I moved from Microsoft Moneydance to Moneydance back in 2016 I had some issues and Sean at that time offered me screen sharing session which was great and sorted out my issues.
Having direct access the man who developed and maintains a product is rare, so go for it.
12 Posted by dtd on 07 Aug, 2024 02:01 AM
As another user, I find the tone of your response to also be "interesting". I'm also an I/T professional, who has used the product for 4 years, and I made a sincere effort to provide assistance, primarily in the "saving the database to the cloud" (i.e. onedrive) issue, which indeed you are doing improperly, even if you are also an I/T professional.
And no, you are not my client either, so I am not doing a "the client is always wrong bit"... I was trying to provide guidance on proper usage of the program.
And yes, you now have Sean's attention. You can't get more direct IK/MD attention than that.
13 Posted by Emanuel Tavares on 08 Aug, 2024 10:53 AM
dtd,
My tone is result of my frustration.
14 Posted by Emanuel Tavares on 08 Aug, 2024 11:49 AM
Sean, good morning.
Sorry for the late response, and thanks for your offer.
I don't know if you remember, but you answered my questions regarding sync issues about one year ago.
https://infinitekind.tenderapp.com/discussions/problems/92953-sync-...
I know I have a complex situation: personal and company accounts in two countries, credit cards, loans, and everything talking with each other.
Recently I started creating a model in Power BI to try analyzing transactions, but I received some strange data, such as a "SPLIT" category in transactions. Checking the account, the correct category was there.
I truly believe that the issues that I have are conceptual problems with the application.
Just to give you one more example, the loans work fine, but I never had the credit cards with their limits controlled. I spent hours testing and trying, but I was unsuccessful.
The major problem is the interface. It is hard and looks like a set of simple Java screens without UX concerns, which could make it difficult to use some advanced features.
I also need a tool that allows me to make forecasts based on recurrent transactions.
The reminders are confusing for me because I have a huge list of this, and the only way to is the Foresight Forecast graph that stopped working.
Regarding currency conversion, I found a way to have a JSON with all main coins updated hourly in minutes. Why didn't you do the same?
The site is in Brazil, but there are others.
https://moeda.info/pages/api
https://cdn.moeda.info/api/latest.json
Then, thanks again for the offer, but I'll decline.
You need a Product Owner who considers this and has a clear vision about what needs to be done to improve the product.
Regards.