With Auto Loan Calculator you can easily plan your next car purchase, taking into account every single detail. You'll be able to calculate the amount you need to finance, as well as all the taxes, charges and fees that sum up to the final amount you have to pay.

Auto Loan Calculator includes three different worksheets: the Auto Loan Calculator, in which you can calculate the exact amount of money you'll need to request; the Payment Calculator, where you can create an amortization table based on the loan amount, annual interest rate and frequency of payment; and finally the Loan Comparison, which takes the data from the Payment Calculator and creates a graph with different interest rates, number of payments and other details.

Auto Loan Calculator is not a program in itself, but just an XSL file you can open and edit in Excel. While this has certain advantages (it doesn't require installation, nor does it modify anything on your system) it also has certain disadvantages, like needing some basic Excel knowledge and having to enter all the information by hand.

With Auto Loan Calculator you can easily plan your next car purchase.

Download Auto Loan Calculator 1.0 in Softonic

Money Manager Ex is a simple yet comprehensive home finances manager that could even be extended to small businesses. It works on a simple principle - you enter all of your financial information into the program and leverage the organizational and overview functions of Money Manager Ex to keep track of all your incomings and outgoings.

Money Manager Ex's interface is easy to negotiate, although at some points it appears that there is not enough room for all the information, leading to slight overlap. There is a handy navigation tool that allows you to jump from one section to another, and all of the categories are customizable, allowing you to personalize Money Manager Ex perfectly. Even its default settings are much more sensible than many of its competitors', earning it immediate brownie points.

The program keeps long-term records and allows you to generate reports on spending patterns and account activity over time. Money Manager Ex's records can then be exported or printed in HTML or CSV format, while you can also protect your information with a password to keep it safe from prying eyes. Money Manager Ex provides clear instructions on how to use its basic functions, as well as displaying tips and providing adequate online help.

While I was impressed with Money Manager Ex, I couldn't help thinking that if you are the type of person who will diligently fill in all of the program's fields at the end of each week, you are probably not the type of person who is desperately in need of financial help. That said, Money Manager Ex will be very useful to users who do put the work in, as it will allow a consistent and detailed overview and record of their finances.

Money Manager Ex won't work wonders for your bank account, but consistent use will definitely allow you to keep a better rein on your finances.

Download Money Manager Ex 0.9.7.0 in Softonic

This is a simple application designed to manage accounting over a broad range of areas without going into details or complicated economic concepts. The program is intuitive and incredibly easy to use and only requires Java to run. However, the over zealous use of Java means that sometimes it runs slow but it's no major headache. You can manage balances, generate reports, create and save complex filters and create charts and graphics for assets, liabilities, daily net worth tracking. You can even use it to store and track stock prices and quotes and it also includes a simple address book to store contacts, email and phone numbers.

A lovely little program that will do wonders for your finances.

Download Personal Finance Manager 1.0.19 in Softonic

Quicken Home and Business remains one of the most popular finance packages on the web but it isn't exactly cheap meaning users are increasingly looking elsewhere to manage their finances.

While Moneydance may not feel quite as intuitive as Quicken at first, it can do pretty much everything the latter can and was actually one of the first ever financial applications on the Mac so it's certainly not lacking in experience. When you start Moneydance, you're offered the chance to import data from Quicken Essentials for Mac or setup a new file or account in the currency of your choice. When you've done so, you navigate Moneydance using the menu bar down the left hand side. It's quite easy to get lost at first amongst all the options available so a good idea to use the Help file.

Most importantly, Moneydance supports online banking which is what will convince many users to convert to it from Quicken. You can retrieve credit card statements and bank statements from most major US banks that support OFX standards. Even better, you can use Moneydance to automatically pay your bills for you too.

Moneydance then helps you trace budgets, and reminds you of upcoming bills to keep you up-to-date. There's handy reporting and graphing tools that should give you a little bit more perspective over where your money is going. However, there is no way to upload receipts and other financial documents related to your transactions. Its always useful to have your documents in one place although it depends on whether you scan and file your financial documents regularly.

There are some drawbacks to Moneydance. The handling of split transactions still hasn't been improved from the 2010 version. In addition, the interface can feel a bit complicated and overwhelming at time and this isn't helped by the fact that Moneydance is based on Java. There's also no support for attaching documents and files such as receipts and invoices which would be useful.

Overall, Moneydance maybe isn't quite as good as Quicken but it does offer a very competitive alternative.

Download Moneydance 2011 in Softonic

Personal Finances has a clean, clear user interface and is very simple to use, something that makes it a great option for people who aren't used to personal finance programs. Personal Finances comes with a demo database already loaded, so you can see exactly how the program works from the very moment you open it.

When it comes to setting up your own Personal Finances database, you'll need to specify Accounts, Categories and Family. All of these are clearly indicated on the top bar, and you add new instances (for example, Mom's credit card, Dad's mortgage payment) by clicking the Add button. You then fill in payments, transfers and income on a regular basis so that you can keep track of your spending.

Personal Finances is not a complicated program, and it doesn't have many advanced functions. If you are looking for an attractive and clear graphical representation of your main outgoings and incomings, however, it's perfect, as it is simple to use and even easier to monitor your finances.

Personal Finances is a very simple program that's ideal for users who want to keep their money matters as uncomplicated as possible.

Download Personal Finances Free 4.3 in Softonic

Enjoy the convenience of on-line banking
Download and import information from on-line banks in QIF and OFX formats.
If you run a small business, export to HTML, Text, or CSV formats to generate statements or perform complex statistical analysis.
Don't miss the next deadline for bills
AceMoney takes control over your bills and shows you when they should be paid.

Double check
Enjoy the security of password protection of every file, scheduled backups and many other features without having any experience in accounting.

Plan debts and mortgage payments
AceMoney provides a loan calculator to plan debt payments and a professional mortgage calculator to estimate future morgage payments if you are planning to purchase real estate.

Do e-business with AceMoney
Are you selling goods on eBay? Are you in a shareware business? Do it with AceMoney! AceMoney automates input of orders coming from PayPal, RegNow, RegSoft, SWReg and Plimus.

Download AceMoney Lite 4.31 in Softonic

HomeBank is the perfect tool to manage your personal finances. You can configure multiple accounts and keep track of your income and all your expenses, month after month. Each transaction includes details about date, quantity, payee, and more. Plus they can all be classified into different categories for more comfortable data handling.

HomeBank is pretty easy to use even if this is the first time you've used an accounting software, because it doesn't use any technical terms that only economy gurus can understand. In a way it feels like managing your bank account online. I also like the degree of freedom HomeBank grants its users, in the sense that you can add as many accounts as you want, create as many categories as you need and keep track of all your bills and expenses.

On the downside, being such an open program means that the first time you run HomeBank you have to adapt it to your needs, and that can take a long time. Also, I missed one small feature: the ability to schedule monthly payments.

Use HomeBank to manage and track your expenses and you might be able to save a little money by the end of the month.

Download HomeBank 4.3 in Softonic

AceMoney is one of a number of apps designed to make it easier to track your income and spending than using a spreadsheet (or writing it all on the back of a beermat). The software is very simple to pick up and start using, thanks to its clear icons and navigation bar. Unlike many of its peers, AceMoney includes a facility for viewing all of your money at once through its accounts overview feature, where you can check accounts, investments and pending bills from one place.

The banking features in AceMoney are simple-to-understand and besides allowing you to view your accounts, an online facility gives you direct access, allowing you to make transfers, deposits and consult live details through AceMoney. This sounds great in theory, but in reality there are only a few banks registered with the system and no credit unions. Besides its banking facilities, there’s a useful portfolio manager in AceMoney for keeping a check on your investments and nine different reporting tools to help you better chart your financial progress.

Although these features are well executed, there are areas where AceMoney is somewhat lacking. For instance, AceMoney's financial planning section is very sparse and basically amounts to a calculator for working out loan repayments and savings plans, rather than tools for helping you plan all your finances ahead. There are also no tax options, so these calculations have to be done in another app and copied into AceMoney, which could lead to errors.

AceMoney is a good value program that offers a simple way to track your financial transactions in order to keep your head above water. However, if you’re running a business or need to plan your finances in great detail then the software is somewhat lacking and it’ll be worth splashing out for a more powerful application.

Download AceMoney 4.19 in Softonic

That's why iMoney is an interesting application (despite to geeky sounding Apple name) which can help even those who are bad with money to control what's going in and out of their accounts and what they're spending and where. Everything is done for you so all you have to do is enter data such as your income, expenses and then the program automatically shows you where most of your money is going. In this way, you can easily identify areas where you need to tighten your belt or perhaps be careful with what you're spending.

The program generally monitors most kind of spending from bills to direct debits although you can create special fields for unusual costs and expenses. Ultimately, the pie charts and graphs are very useful in helping you manage your money. You can even track and analyse the performance of your investments and how they relate to your household spending.

For anyone who finds they've always got more going out than coming in but can't work out why, iMoney is an ideal tool for the non accountants out there.

Download iMoney Lite 1.31 in Softonic

Features

Taxes are the kind of thing you shouldn't leave for later, as much as you might want to. TaxACT is a popular finance and budget tool that helps you get your tax returns ready in no time. The program features all the tools you need to prepare your federal and state tax return in-browser. Then you can choose to either e-file or print it the return out and manually send it in.

Taxes are not an easy topic, but TaxACT makes it easier on everyone with detailed tutorials, an in-depth Q&A section, and handy videos that cover all the important topics and offer you step-by-step directions in order to fill out the forms correctly.

Recognized forms

TaxACT lets you prepare different sorts of tax returns (including 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ) and includes a series of special tools to help you obtain the highest refund possible. TaxACT also recognizes work done on an independent contractor basis in a 1099-MISC and will help you deduct the taxes you owe right from your federal and state refunds if you haven't yet paid in.

Students and recent graduates can also breathe easy. If you received a 1098-T documenting how much tuition you paid in last year or a 1098-E reflecting how much interest you paid your lender on your student loans, TaxACT will prompt you to input it into its calculations to ensure you get the maximum amount of deductions possible in that regard.

Business owners, as well as those who received income from some other form of self-employment, alimony, and a variety of other sources are all covered by TaxACT's comprehensive filing walkthrough.

State filing

It's also possible to file your state returns through TaxACT for a reasonable fee. The process is the same, and you have the option to pay this filing fee through a deduction of your refund or else by credit card.

When you've completed both federal and state filing forms, TaxACT also lets you go through any alerts it's found to ensure you're double checking your information before submitting. If the program notices a discrepancy, it will inform you and give you the opportunity to review it.

If you'd prefer to do your taxes online instead, TaxACT has an online version as well.

If you're looking for easy, reliable tax software to prepare basic tax returns, TaxACT is definitely an excellent choice.

Download TaxACT 2012 Free Edition in Softonic

GnuCash is a complete accounting application for personal and small business finances. It's got all the tools and options you would expect from this kind of program, but at the same time it's easy enough to use for those of us who don't have a particularly good relationship with numbers.

With GnuCash you'll be able to track your bank accounts, credit cards, income and expenses. A step-by-step wizard helps you set up the program the first time you run it, and also lets you add fixed categories to organize information, according to the way you usually spend money.

GnuCash can work with virtually any currency in the world and also lets you import data from other financial software in QIF or OFX formats. The only drawback to this handy app, if any, is the massive 285 MB it's going to take in your hard drive.

With GnuCash you can easily manage finances both at home or in a small business.

Download GnuCash 2.4.7 in Softonic

Budget is a tool to help people keep their money under control, and not just for life's big events. It aims to help people avoid the unenviable position of not being able to meet their bills. To do this, it uses the envelope model, budgeting based on the old-fashioned strategy of dividing the month's earnings into little paper envelopes marked with the expenses they are intended to pay. Then when the due date comes along, all you have to do is open the corresponding envelope, and hey presto, your bill is paid.

Budget transfers this method to the computer, setting you up with electronic 'envelopes'. You configure the program, specifying your sources of income and expenditure, and adhere to the budget that the program specifies. If you stick to the plan, you should have no problem meeting your bills at the end of the month.

The only problem with Budget is the same complaint you can level at all similar programs - it doesn't actually make it any easier to spend sensibly. It gives you a plan but you still need the willpower to stick to it. What Budget does do is make it easier by automating the figures and providing a set framework for the whole process. It also has some nice functions, like back-ups, reports and a start-up wizard that means you need almost no financial experience to use it.

Although not very slick, Budget is a program that makes budgeting simple. You'll still need willpower though!

Download Budget 6.5.4 in Softonic

It's ideal for small businesses or freelancers and best of all, it's totally free. It can even handle stock updates directly from the web so you can use it as a budget tracker and investment tool too. There's an online tutorial to get you going which is very useful to start with. This is a program with no bells and whistles attached - it's very straightforward following Windows Explorer style. It's been designed to make accounting as easy as possible which means it can even download transaction from your bank directly although I would neither trust it doing this or could work out exactly how this could be done. The program is useful for it's categorisation of spending too so you can see exactly where your money is going every week. This includes credit spending, loans, debts, debit accounts, shares, savings accounts etc. If you're a fan of MS Money, the program can also export accounting sheets and files to OFX format so it can be used inside MS Money too.

Nothing fancy but for those that have been thinking it's time to get a grip on their spending, they could do a lot worse than Finance Explorer.

Download Finance Explorer 4.1.1 in Softonic

Grisbi stays simple and offers you a choice of bank, liabilities, cash, and assets accounts to start off from. Thanks to a large range of pre-established categories you won’t waste time entering all your expenses.

If you don’t find a particular description in the list you can also add it very easily. What we liked about Grisbi is that you can clone an entry and more importantly you can use it as a template for others, making the whole process a real no brainer.

You should also consider creating scheduled transactions, so that they sit in the inbuilt calendar and can warn you when the day to pay has come.

If you want a quick overview of your financial health just snap up a report from the seven different templates available.

You should consider saving your entries regularly and avoid using Grisbi when many other applications are open. Grisbi is certainly not a heavyweight finance manager like Microsoft Money, so don’t expect astonishing graphics, projected statistics, graphs or pie charts.

Download Grisbi 0.5.9 in Softonic