Stash... A free/open source, fast, simple personal finance app for Mac OS X, with the following features:
- the ability to easily add/edit/view transactions
- split transactions
- localized date and currency formatting
- import/export of OFX files
- import/export of QIF files
- multiple accounts
- scheduled transactions
- pie chart and area graphs
What's New
Version 0.83:
- A dot is now shown in the red title bar circle when the document has unsaved changes
- After importing QIF transactions, the document is now marked as unsaved
- Closing Stash's window now quits Stash
- Added Preferences to enforce negative amounts for certain Transaction categories / Split Transactions if the parent Transaction has a negative amount
Requirements
Intel/PPC, Mac OS X 10.5 or later
Intel/PPC, Mac OS X 10.5 or later
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Stash... A free/open source, fast, simple personal finance app for Mac OS X, with the following features:
- the ability to easily add/edit/view transactions
- split transactions
- localized date and currency formatting
- import/export of OFX files
- import/export of QIF files
- multiple accounts
- scheduled transactions
- pie chart and area graphs
+3
rolytyler reviewed on 28 Dec 2010
+56
Follerec reviewed on 06 Nov 2010
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.
+56
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.
1. I'll see about doing the former when you select Withdrawal or POS.
2. You should be getting a Save Notification Sheet if the document's been modified - how are you closing Stash? I'll see about getting the red dot modify status in the window title.
3 & 4 I'll maybe look into doing at some point.
+56
1. Enter some transactions.
2. Press the upper red blob (or Cmd-W, or File-->Close) to close the window.
At this point, I was hoping to get notified about saving my document. Since I didn't, the window is now gone, and I don't see a way to get it back. I do get a prompt about saving the document, but I don't really like saving documents "blindly", without the window displaying.
Anyway, I guess it isn't really a bug since the prompt is there. To me, it just shows up at the wrong moment.
+2
Nethope reviewed on 05 Jan 2010
+2
+2
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.
+2
1. Yeah, this is an issue, however given how stupid the QIF format is, I'd rather spend my time adding OFX support (and probably CSV - although that doesn't support splits).
2. You can enter numbers without a currency, and no Stash doesn't support mulitple currencies yet.
3. If you have a US locale, to make withdrawals you have to put the number in brackets as you point out - I didn't realise this - for European locals you can use -40.00 and it works perfectly - I'll try and fix this for 0.65.
4. You can use backspace (I use a MBP so I don't have delete key) to do this - I'll see about binding both.
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2. It probably won't support multiple documents open in the same session ever - I don't really see the point for a Personal Finance app - but I can easily put the name of the document in the window title.
3. This is possible to do, although tricky to always get it right (given that it'll be deleting data) and I'm not sure worth the effort until Stash is more feature complete - how often do you delete transfers you've made?
4. Yeah, maybe a flag item as well.
5. Fair point, I'm going to try and get OFX support into 0.7, but the default storage will always be binary as speed is primary concern.
+2
- reconcile that I can use
- proper double entry for transfers
- import/export
- would like multiple accounts in one document
- would like bill scheduling
Although Stash just has a check for reconcile, I can re-order the transactions so that it lines up with my statement so it's easy to spot errors. Double entry for transfers, check. Import/export, check. Multiple accounts in one file and document-based, check. Bill scheduling is on the feature list (is this just when I put a future date on a transaction?), so it's probably a check.
The unwritten bonus points are for Aqua interface (check), and responsive developer (did you see how quickly I got a thoughtful reply? BIG CHECK). I'm liking this ...
-1
+3
+3
sankar Naidu rated on 11 Dec 2010