iCompta is intended to help you manage your finances. In this regard, this tool allows planning your budget so that you know exactly how you spend every cent. Unfortunately, I really do not think the application is so easy to use as its developer claims, which is why it is a good idea to open the sample document coming with it and practice a little bit while you read the accompanying help file.
iCompta’s graphic user interface does not look bad at first sight. In fact, it may even look perfect for an experienced accounting professional. However, when it comes to the individual user, the application probably demands too much guessing. Luckily, there is an effort to make the learning curve less steep by presenting the user with a welcome menu that contains the most frequent actions.
iCompta is extremely rich in features; so much so that I am sure that there are some features that most people will never use. Maybe designing two different interface modes, for instance, Basic and Advanced, would make the app more intuitive for the common user. Yet, I admit there has been an attempt at doing something similar as professional features appear hidden by default and should be enabled from Preferences.
The interface has three main panes. In this respect, the left pane may be quite useful as it helps you navigate through the different parts of the active document, including accounts, budgets, reports, clients and currencies. By picking one of these parts, you can view the corresponding contents on the central pane. In addition, the third pane is there to let you edit the selection from the central pane. Finally, the title bar is where you should go to save, export and print the document as well as import data. Unluckily, there are no tooltips so you will need to guess what each icon means.
iCompta supports creating multiple accounts; thus, you can have different types, such as checking, credit card, savings, cash, assets, loan and investments. Moreover, it lets you work with multiple currencies, and you can enter exchange rates manually or otherwise activate automatic rate update.
It is good that iCompta can help you keep track of not only your budget but also of shared expenses, such as those of the whole family. What is more, you can visually check them on reports and charts of various types.
One of the main advantages of this tool is that it can synchronize data between multiple devices, like your Mac, iPhone and iPad. Besides, various methods are supported, such as the cloud or your local network.
The way you can manage transactions is also quite convenient. First, it is possible to edit batches of transactions as a single operation. Similarly, downloading transactions directly from your bank is also allowed. Luckily, the tool supports various of the formats most commonly used to import and export transactions, which means that it is unlikely you have any difficulty in this respect.
All in all, iCompta comes with an extensive collection of features intended for not only personal but also professional accounting, which places it among the top applications of its type. In my opinion, its main weakness is related to its probably being too difficult for the common user. The product has a reasonable price and is free to try. Moreover, there are editions for iOS devices as well.
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