Money Control
Small-scale but well-done budget control
Free (up to 20 entries per month) Developer Mobiware, mobiware.de Requirements OS X 10.7 or later, 64-bit processor
Following the sage wisdom of Snoop Dogg – “Keep your mind on your money and your money on your mind” – is easier said than done without the right financial management tools at your disposal. MoneyControl is a Mac application that makes it easy to establish a budget and stick to it. Although not as fullfeatured as more expensive rivals, the software is well designed, easy to use, and covers the basics, including recurring transactions, multiple accounts, and detailed reports.
It also happens to be free, although only for the first 20 entries made each month. After that, you’ll have to cough up a one-time In-App Purchase of $12.99 to go unlimited, or $15.99 for a bundle that unlocks extensions to add receipts and export PDF reports; the free version allows you to sample both features.
These limitations aside, MoneyControl is otherwise fully functional, so if your accounting needs are modest – students and others who make only a handful of transactions each week – it’s worth a look, but small business owners will want to look elsewhere. There’s also a free Universal iOS app which makes it easier to scan receipts on the go, since the Mac version requires a dedicated scanner (or file import) and can’t be used with a FaceTime camera.
MoneyControl also supports syncing via Dropbox, but it’s not an automatic process – you have to manually initiate sync each and every time. (Sadly, iCloud is not an option.) Version 2.4 alleviates this cumbersome process by adding automatic syncing with the developer’s servers from a new web app, although this method only works every five minutes and currently doesn’t work with receipts. This decision also raises privacy concerns, since many users will feel their financial data would be safer with Dropbox.
Like much other personal finance software on the Mac App Store, one thing MoneyControl
doesn’t do is treat entries like a traditional paper check. While you can set up predefined lists of people or groups when adding new entries, there’s no dedicated field to enter a payee or merchant name; there is, however, a generic note field which can be used for this purpose.
the bottom line. It’s not the most fully featured software around, but MoneyControl will hit the sweet spot for those with simple needs.