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enDevelopment LLC All Deals Business & Finance Software Personal Finance Software

CommonCents 3.0

Effective Budgeting Using The Envelope Method

$34.95

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Platforms: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7

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CommonCents 3.0, Personal Finance Software Screenshot

Are you one of those folks that has a demonstrated history of failure when it comes to sticking to a budget? I know I am! No matter how "useful" personal finance software purports to be, all of those bells and whistles tend to overlook the very basic need to understand where you are, financially, at all times. But now there's CommonCents, here to clear the way to financial freedom!

CommonCents is a budgeting and personal finance app that lets you gain control over your finances through the magic of envelope budgeting! With envelope budgeting, each of your budget categories is represented by an envelope, with a designated portion of your pay going into each envelope each pay period. Then, as you rack up expenses, the money is taken out of the appropriate envelope, giving you a crystal-clear view of exactly how much money you have left! It's so simple and intuitive!

This simplicity does not mean that CommonCents compromises on power and flexibility. There's support for automated transactions, checkbook-style registers, financial reports, even the ability to import and export data! All of your accounts can be supported - checking, savings, cash, even credit cards. The latest and greatest version of CommonCents brings reminders and notifications, ensuring that you'll always be on the ball when it comes to due dates. Plus, with automatically encrypted data and password protection, you can rest easy knowing that your finances remain your business and no one else's.

Review Written by Derek Lee

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Tazzie I checked out the CommonCents site, and couldn't find any info as to whether or not I can import data from my bank account(s). Does someone have any info on this? Would be much appreciated!

Dec 29 2010 at 5:20pm Copy Link

_*_ I own the program and yes it imports in CSV, OFX, QFX, QIF, or XML formats.

I can tell you this is one of the few DRM programs on my system that I am happy to have there.

It does things very well, has many features, and the staff is very friendly and responsive.

I have used many budget programs over the years and this is absolutely one of the best.

They are consistently working on improving it and so I so not think it will be forgotten like so many other programs.

If I am not mistaken you can install it on 3 systems with no issue.

By the way, I paid full price and am very satisfied.

Dec 30 2010 at 12:14pm Copy Link

Tazzie @ MB ... thanks sooo much for the feedback! I've gotten other financial programs before, only to be disappointed, so it's good to hear that this is a good one. I especially wanted one where I could import my accounts' monthly files. I was not thrilled to see it is DRM ... still not thrilled but it helps a lot that you are that satisfied with it.

Thanks again for your feedback ... much appreciated!!!

Dec 30 2010 at 1:38pm Copy Link

_*_ tazzie L, the one thing to keep in mind is that Common Cents is an Envelope Budgeting system.

It allows you to disperse your income into various envelopes (you can create your own), so you can track your budget.

I like it because you can simply look at an envelope at any time and see what you have to spend before you spend it, not simply track what you spent after the fact like so many other programs.

If you look at the screens you will see the Envelope tree on the right hand side of the screen.

You can drag and drop from one envelope to another, and from one account to another.
Everything you need is located on one screen so it is easy to work with.

Common Cents was actually updated just a day or two ago to fix a few issues. I hope it does well here which will only move the program forward that much more.

Dec 31 2010 at 12:16am Copy Link

No Name The site for the software publisher used to be pretty obvious, but now it's not. Am I just missing it? I wanted to see better screenshots for the program, and figured that the site might have it. (Yes, I can google, but I was just wondering...)

Jan 1 2011 at 4:10pm Copy Link

Aaron Hampton Hi wraight 808: We've got over 20 video tutorials online at:
http://www.commoncentssof...tutorials/

Be sure to take a look at them since they'll give you a good idea of the look/feel and how it works.

enDevelopment LLC - Jan 1 2011 at 4:19pm Copy Link

Allan Barnett How does this compare to MoneyCounts? Can you do Fund accounting?

Jan 2 2011 at 1:04am Copy Link

Aaron Hampton Allan: Thanks for your interest. I'm familiar with MoneyCounts but never actually used it, so I can't make a direct comparison for you. As to the Fund accounting, CommonCents uses a zero-based methodology - every deposit to an account gets allocated to an envelope and every expediture gets taken from an envelope. So, technically speaking, we don't use a "chart of accounts", practically speaking, some people do use it this way.

enDevelopment LLC - Jan 2 2011 at 1:19am Copy Link

Allan Barnett I am very formula with envelope based financial software as a pass user of both Money Counts and Money Matters (with is now Money Map). My being debt free is based on this type of system. An evvelope system is an exelent way of handling money for those who can not get the concept of budgiting. It give you a better view what you can spend for each item. Just looking at a bank balance does not tell you how much you have after your standard expences (ie rent/food/gas/taxes).

What is hard to find is Fund Accounting without paying an arm and a leg. Fund accounting is usually used in not-for-profit organizations. Each fund is a sub-set, example an organization would have a operating fund and building fund. Each fund could be reported with its own income/expense reports as well the overall finances of the organization.

Jan 2 2011 at 2:07am Copy Link

_*_ Allan, I too use to use Money Matters. I started using it when it was still a DOS program, and used it when it ported over to Windows.

I never found it to be overly functional or user friendly.

If you are wondering about Common Cents you could download the demo and give it a go and see if it fits.

saying something, as YNAB seems to be a popular program. Common Cents one page view of all accounts and envelopes is far superior and it is overall easier to use with more features.

Jan 2 2011 at 3:38am Copy Link

big-red Quite interested to try this - used MS Money, but MS have abandoned it. Transferred to GnuCash. This is good as an accounting package, but a bit short on bells and whistles for managing home finances / budgeting.

Thought I would trial CommonCents before time runs out. I want to be sure that I can open my GnuCash exported csv file before I purchase.

I cannot access CommonCents without getting a registration code for the trial.

I sent my registration request 4 hours ago, no reply (checked spam).

Hopefully I'll get the reg before deal expires - or I'm stuck with GnuCash!

Jan 2 2011 at 12:10pm Copy Link

Aaron Hampton Hi N Redgrave: Once your registration is sent, you should be able to open CommonCents. There is no registration code that will be returned. If you close/reopen CommonCents, are you still being prompted to register?

enDevelopment LLC - Jan 2 2011 at 12:22pm Copy Link

big-red Aaron - Everytime I try to open CommonCents I get the register form, and goes not further. I run W7 so tried installing as administrator. Tried uninstalling several times and redownloading and installing the setup file (usual tricks).

No joy - just will not open

p.s. I get asked for a referral code on the registration form - I presume that this is optional! so leave it blank

Jan 2 2011 at 1:16pm Copy Link

Aaron Hampton N Redgrave: Sounds like a UAC issue and rights. I'll work with you offline via support

commoncentssoftware.com. We'll still honor the discount, even if it takes us longer than the promotion - but I doubt it will.

enDevelopment LLC - Jan 2 2011 at 1:45pm Copy Link

Prophetic Eagle I have the same issue as N Redgrave. What's the fix? I tried emailing support but they don't respond back.

Jan 12 2011 at 8:01am Copy Link

_*_ Prophetic Eagle, they may be busy, but I can personally confirm that Aaron has always gotten back to me whenever I have written or had a problem. I believe that he will respond and get you taken care of with the issue you are facing.

I have never encountered this issue so I cannot be of any help personally.

Jan 12 2011 at 9:57am Copy Link

big-red Hi Prophetic Eagle - sorry that you also have experienced the same installation issues as I did. I got a reply quickly from bugs@CommonCentsSoftware with a comprehensive list of possible fixes. I can't say that their response was poor in my case. However, none of their solutions worked for me, so after a few hours trying to get it working I gave up! Pity, as it looks like a good application.

Jan 12 2011 at 12:32pm Copy Link

_*_ I can only say that Aaron has helped me on several occasions and in fact he has called my home and walked me through solutions, and has also used Team Viewer to work directly with me on my computer to see what was happening in order to help.

Do not give up, give Aaron a bit of time and if nothing works give him a shout letting him know.

Jan 12 2011 at 3:11pm Copy Link

Aaron Hampton Hi All First, thanks to MB for commenting while we've been out. Regarding Prophetic Eagle, he reinstalled on another machine without any issues. He's still working on the original install but it appears to be machine specific. N Regrave, we've got a few more steps we can take to try to resolve it but usually these issues come down to machine specific settings that we can't override - even as administrators. But we'll do our best to help figure it out. Just send an email to support

commoncentsSoftware.com and we can handle it privately.

enDevelopment LLC - Jan 15 2011 at 11:46am Copy Link

Prophetic Eagle Thanks everyone who responded. I am woking with Aaron on the issue. It appears to be a block from the registration. If we figure it out, I will post the fix.

Jan 15 2011 at 1:12pm Copy Link