kmith said:I'm looking for an app that is:
o free and open-source
o runs on Microsoft Windows XP and Linux
o does dual-entry accountingjGnash is your best bet for the aboveo supports automated downloads of
- my credit card transactions,
- checking accont activity
- mutual fund activityNote that it can import from QIF from your bank, but probably won't do this automatically.

Download a QIF from your bank's website. Then, in jGnash: File->Import->QIF. Choose the QIF file. Choose the account it will act on. Optionally, edit the transactions you've imported.

jGnash can make CSV, HTML, and PDF reports and you can print them. I'll have to check on how later (I use GnuCash myself (plug: GnuCash's reporting is quite sophisticated & it can auto-download statements from a majority of the banks that MS Money can. Doesn't work on Windows, though).

GnuCash has been around for a long time. While it is still actively developed, it is a complex app that is fairly difficult to port. One problem in particular is that it uses the gtk+-1 library for the GUI. Most cross-platform apps use gtk+-2 & the two aren't compatible. GnuCash is being converted to use the newer library & when it is, one of the major barriers to getting it working on windows will be lowered.

I think I have just run into a hard stop: my primary mutual fund company, Fidelity, doesn't support downloads of QIF files.
In fact, Fidelity supports only the latest three versions of Quicken. This forces users on the upgrade treadmill!

Citibank downloads and Bank of America downloads worked fine.

What's going on? Is Fidelity on the take, getting kickbacks from Quicken?

noksagt said:Intuit (makers of Quicken) wants to deprecate QIF, in favor of OFX. Some financial institutions are removing QIF so they will have less to support. Unfortunately, the only options are to use a program that can import OFX or to convert the OFX to QIF with yet another program.
It's worse than that. As I understand it (feel free to correct me), the only way to get transaction dataout of Fidelity (or Vanguard) is via automated web connectivity. There is no mechanism to directly download a file, QIF QFX or OFX.

noksagt,
Thank you for the script. The Gnucash people should be congratulated for keeping on top of things. You should also be congratulated for researching and answering my questions. Thank you.

I have, however, reached the end of my exploration of open source personal finance applications.
There are none, unfortunately, that meet my requirements.
o Gncash doesn't run on Microoft Windows.
o jGnash won't link to Fideliy Investments.

It is with regret, therefore, that I will later today open the box of Quicken 2006 that I bought at Costco a week ago and will redeem the rebates.

Quicken comes out with new versions every year and Fidelity supports the most recent three versions.
This means that I will be looking around again in 2009. If a viable open source alternative exists that year, I'll switch. If not I'll upgrade to a current commercial personal software app that year.

Please forgive me for asking another question. This one is off-topic.

What open source project management app do you recommend?

Requirements are:
o Runs on Microsoft Windows and Linux.
o Does PM stuff: PERT, Gantt, CPM, etc.

A want (not a must) is:
o Export reports to Open Office. Project documents would be written in OO, but Gantt charts might be included as illustrations.
o Export scheduled tasks to calendars such as Mozilla Sunbird or Yahoo Calendar.

Thanks.

Does anyone know of good free software for figuring the cost basis on stocks? It would have to be set up to handle almost any transaction you can imagine.

Here's the problem--DMom has some stocks that she's owned for up to 50 years. Mostly held in certificate form, so no broker has a history of what she personally did. Over that long period of time, things have happened, like spinoffs (sometimes to more than one company), reverse splits, selling some, giving some as a gift, and reinvesting some (but not all) dividends. I need to be able to plug in the info she has, and bring the cost basis up to date.

I had one to figure for her this year, tried to do it in Quicken, and quickly got frustrated. It was easier to do it in my own spreadsheet where I could really see what I was doing. I just downloaded a trial version of Tradetrakker, but that doesn't look perfect either. It costs $35 and doesn't even seem to cover spinoffs.

Any suggestions?

kmith said:I think I have just run into a hard stop: my primary mutual fund company, Fidelity, doesn't support downloads of QIF files.
In fact, Fidelity supports only the latest three versions of Quicken. This forces users on the upgrade treadmill!

Citibank downloads and Bank of America downloads worked fine.

What's going on? Is Fidelity on the take, getting kickbacks from Quicken?

Not kickbacks, no. In the Finance industry, there is so much scrutiny and regulation that any such practice would be immediately discovered and both companies fined heavily. That being said, Fidelity handles Intuit's 401K plan, and I'm sure that the companies do anything they can legally and ethically do for each other to make the relationship smoother.

Personally, I'm not a fan of Quicken or Money - I'm tempted to try one or more of these Open Source apps, but I didn't like having to micromanage account balances and such when I tried Money a few years ago. Right now I recordkeep everything in Excel. Do any of the Open Source apps listed have a rough budgeting only type interface that precludes the need for exact account balances (for example, when I buy a loaf of bread at Kroger, I don't want to have to enter that transaction or connect to my FI or even download a Quicken or Money file to keep exact balance in my software)...