Stash

the program looks nice and simple to use, and qif import works. however, operations are not sorted by date, and i didn't find a way to sort by any column, nor to search/lookup an operation...

I'm unable to import my main QIF file, after export from Grisbi 0.5.9...

I've made this a review to give the app 5-stars since I never did before. Anyway, great update. Just a comment on the new preference: "Enforce negative amounts of Transactions for appropriate categories" should really be "Enforce negative amounts of Transactions for appropriate **types**" shouldn't it since it applies to the "Type" dropdox and not to the "Categories" that a user creates. Just thought it might cause confusion for some.

OK, I've been using this for a bit. I'm trying to find a replacement for Buddi, which has worked well for me throughout the years, despite its quirks. Things I've noticed: 1. Not really a double-entry accounting system. I keep forgetting to enter negative numbers for expenses. Selecting Withdrawal or POS should automatically make it negative in my opinion. That, or make a "double-entry" type dialog for entering expenses. This could easily be similar to the Transfers dialog. 2. The little red dot in the window doesn't show if the file has been saved or not. Since there's no save notification sheet when quitting, you will lose a lot of information entered if you forgot to save. I did. 3. Accounts aren't grouped by type, something I like with Buddi. 4. There are no Expense subcategories. I'm no professional accountant, so I have no idea if how I use Buddi is correct, but it has worked well with those points I've mentioned above, particularly #1. I've been able to track everything I have down to the last cent, even what's in my wallet and little can of coins. Looking forward to what the developer has in store for this.

I couldn't get to the stars in the 'Reply' so here are stars; read above for why.

1. QIF Import imports *all* transactions into the current account. If you did a QIF Export from all accounts (the only export choice for Buddi), it won't be pretty. (There's CSV export and CSV to QIF. Or wait for OFX support since that's a much better format than QIF.) So the import works, but it's not clever about creating accounts. 2. You must ALWAYS use a currency symbol in the (lower) edit area when you enter the transaction amount. No $ symbol, no amount shown in the (upper) display area. On the other hand, this may indicate that you can use multiple currencies (although I'm sure if you did it in the same account, there wouldn't be a currency conversion before the math). 3. Withdrawal transactions need parentheses. So use ($5) for a $5 charge; it's accountancy-correct, although '-' is less typing (with no shift key needed). Even better would be to make it negative *for me* (isn't software supposed to do some of the work for me?) when I select Withdrawal as the transaction type! 4. The only way to delete an account (maybe because I'm testing everything wildly *ahem*) is to right-click on the account name. That's also the only way to see the additional information that you entered when you create the account. Selecting Delete from the Edit menu when the account is selected does nothing. I wonder what else is hidden under a control-click ... Overall, I'm surprised Stash is this good when it's this new! It even has split transactions! That said, there are some rough edges from being brand new. 1. As I mentioned, debit transactions aren't obvious (need parens). 2. I prefer document-based applications, like Stash. However, there's no way to know WHICH document I'm editing (that I see). 3. The 0.6 version adds account transfers. This is a killer feature because then I don't do the double entry -- the software is working for me, yay! However, if you delete one transaction of the pair, it doesn't delete the other. (Same for the reconcile checkmark.) That doesn't seem right. (Yes, I know formats like QIF don't mark which pairs of transactions are actually one transfer. Yes, it's hard, but software should do some hard work for me.) 4. I would like a "cleared" checkbox too. Some transactions have cleared the bank, but haven't been committed to a bank statement that can be reconciled. (The only feature in Quicken that I miss is the reconcile process. It brings forward the previous ending balance as the starting balance, I enter the ending balance and date, I click all transactions on my statement (or have the option to have all cleared transactions marked as reconciles, or to mark all) with transactions after the ending date not shown, and I see a running total of how close my reconciled balance is to the ending balance. I can, however, live with C/R checkmarks. Yes, I have caught bank errors by matching up the ending balances!) 5. I like import and export choices so that I'm not locked in to any software. Stash, at the moment, has the minimum (just QIF, but at least it's both directions, in and out) to keep me looking at it. A CSV export would be nice. Binary data file formats, while definitely fast, are opaque. That means I could lose everything entered since the last time I exported to some other readable format. I'd love a option to create a non-binary backup (CSV, OFX, or QIF in order of decreasing preference) every time I save. File corruption happens ... especially if you're me and always copying files around (rsync, Dropbox, USB key ... I try to make sure it passes BackupBouncer, but sometimes convenience, namely Dropbox, wins). I need backups more than someone who only uses one Mac, because my files get dragged everywhere by many means. I think Stash is worth checking out, and worth watching, for basic personal finance needs.