GNUCash is one that most people suggest when it comes to Linux.  Personally I think it's far too complicated for most people's use.  I use an Excel spreadsheet I put together which works perfectly in OpenOffice - it lets me do recurring outgoings and reconcile the account really easily.

I didn't like gnucash, and kmymoney worked but had too many errors for my liking. I have gone with Moneydance (www.moneydance.com) which installed with no problems whatsoever and works perfectly. Only thing is that it is not free - but it doesn't cost much.

If you are using the eee in simple mode (which I really like having moved the Favorites tab to the front, and moved the Customize icon to the Settings tab) you'll have to edit your simpleui.rc file if you want an icon for it - good instructions found elsewhere on the site and in the wiki.

On my Windows PC I often run programs using the Run command and typing in the program name. Have mimicked on this in simple mode on the eee by installing gmrun - Ctrl + Esc to open it (specified in Keys file of ./icewm), then type program name (eg. Moneydance) and press Enter. Or you can do it using a terminal window but I like the "cleanness" of gmrun for quick running of programs.

I am using Gnucash on the eeepc. I use the ubuntu repository and installed version 2.0.x. It works flawlessly with my eee pc.
I tried kmymoney but I do not like it. Gnucash is not that complicated. I have not studied accounting and was using spreadsheet before. However, I get it run and used it in a week's time. It can online update my stock prices and currency rates.
Kmymoney does things similar to Gnucash. But I have to use F9 to restore my eeepc after I installed it. It just hang. I do not know and not bother to know. Gnucash let me run it in a smooth way. The manual and online help is also very good for starter.
There are bad comments but it depends whether you are used to it. For me, it is perfectly okay. I vote for it on the eeepc.

md81544 wrote:

I can see why an accountant would like GNUCash!  But double-entry bookkeeping seems overkill for us mere mortals...

Acutally, GnuCash does everything for you. I am no accountant but I can understand the reason. Without double/x-ple entry system, sometimes it is difficult to keep track of the fund movement. When you are to look at your money a bit more serious, you will be killed if you give up the double/x-ple entry.
But if you do not want to get involved in double entry, Excel or equivalent like openoffice's spreadsheet is good enough. You need only update the current balance for each account.

Just FYI for anyone else interested, but I installed Buddi as well with no problems at all.  It's a pretty basic program, but if all you're looking for is basic home finance management it fits the bill nicely.

Bazza wrote:

brickjr,

Buddi looks good - please describe '..installed Buddi...with no problems at all".

Yes, I just downloaded the Debian/Ubuntu version to a USB memory stick (I wasn't on my EEE at the time), and plugged it in to the EEE when I got home.  I right-clicked on the file in "File Manager" and chose "Install Debian File" (or something like that) from the menu that popped up. 

I didn't have any issues with missing dependencies at all.  It just said "file installed successfully".  All I've done with it so far is set up a new account and enter 1 transaction, but I haven't had any problems yet...

That's a good question, but I don't know the answer.  I'm pretty sure Buddi won't do it, but I'm not sure about the other options.  I'm guessing GNUCash would be your best bet, since it's the most popular and seems to have the largest support base, but that's just a guess.

C.J. wrote:

I use Microsoft Money 2004 on my Windows pc. The big advantage to it for me is my bank lets me download transactions in either Quicken or Money format. Do the Linux based programs recognize transaction downloads in either of those formats? 
That'll be the deal maker or deal breaker for me.

There is a plugin for Buddi that imports QIF file format and one that imports CVS file format.
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfile … _id=221034

Thanks for the Buddi hint! It was really easy to install, after installtion i started it in console using "buddi" command.

Since this is the first time i want to track my incomes / expneses buddi seems to be the perfect starter tool!

Can I mention my own personal finance software Jabp here?  Sorry for the shameless plug, but it is freeware and may be of interest to some EEE users.  Jabp has been written from quite a different perspective from all the other packages mentioned.  For a start, it is written in Java 1.1.  That sounds strange, when other programs require you to install the latest and greatest Java version.  Why Java 1.1?  To be as portable as possible.  Unsurprisingly Jabp runs on Windows, Mac OS, all versions of Linux.  But it also runs on Windows Mobile phones, Nokia Communicators (except E90),  various Sony Ericsson UIQ phones, older Psion handheld computers even the Sharp Zaurus.  The program size is about 250K, so it fits on even the lowest capacity USB drive and can be run completely from the USB drive (assuming the target computer has any Java runtime).  The data file formats are identical and interchangeable across all platforms.

Jabp runs directly on some, but not all mobile phones.  But its smaller brother JabpLite runs on almost every recent Java-enabled phone.  JabpLite is also freeware.  So you can run Jabp on your EEE and JabpLite on your mobile phone.  If your mobile phone appears as a USB drive when connected to your EEE, then you can sync the data between the two programs using another freeware program JabpSync.

Although Jabp is just 250K and JabpLite is just 170K in size, they do have some useful functionality.  Both programs offer multiple accounts, categories, standing orders (aka scheduled transactions), regular transactions, split transactions, inter-account transfers, investments, net worth calculation, future balance prediction, multiple currencies with FX revaluation, import QIF, export QIF, export CSV and more.  Downsides?  Both programs have to work on the widest range of devices and screensizes, from mobile phone screens to desktops.  So don't expect a highly-customised and glossy UI, rather a simple and functional one.

For anyone who wants to give the programs a try, head over to www.freepoc.org.  If you like them, then continue to use them for free.  If you don't, that's fine, I won't be offended.  That's what's great about having a choice :-)

Sorry for the commercial ;-)

Best regards,
Malcolm
www.freepoc.org

I am not sure, in a certain measure, that any personal accounting should be preferred to another when starting from scratch.

The problem arises (and is one of the reasons keeping from totally converting from windows to linux) with the archives of proprietary softwares, let's call them Microsoft Money or Quicken.

Of course, you export the proprietary format to QIF, and then import QIF: and you always fail, either because the conversion is not complete (date formats, categories), either because you could not do it as a batch treatment for your whole archived accounts, making it practically impossible to manually correct each imported operation from a large file.

I agree with you.  I am a bit paranoid about being in a situation where I have all my data stuck in a single program and can't easily get it out.  It's quite surprising how many otherwise competent financial programs are good at importing data but relatively bad at exporting.  In fact it was the hassle of periodically doing what you describe that got me started writing my own personal finance software.  I decided that flexibility and future-proofing would be a priority.  I wanted the software to run on the widest possible range of devices: almost any computer and almost any mid-to-high end mobile phone.  No problems when changing computers, operating systems or mobile phones.  And of course no cost.

Best regards,
Malcolm
www.freepoc.org