People have been asking for some news about iBank for Mac. Let’s first start with what we’ve accomplished, albeit quietly, and then we can talk a little about what is still to come. iBank 4, which we released one year ago, was our most successful product launch, and the press and feedback on it have been overwhelmingly positive. Since that time we have released 11 updates, fixed over 119 bugs and implemented about 32 user-requested features. Yet since we launched iBank 4 the world has changed in three ways that we had to respond to but did not see coming.

First, the Mac App Store. It was clear as soon as Apple announced the Mac App Store that people would want to get our software from it. The store has some real benefit to customers and we wanted to be a part of it. However, there were some non-trivial code changes that needed to be made to support the store.

Second, Lion. Everyone knew Lion was coming but until WWDC (in June of this year) we did not really know how big a change Lion really was. Our customers expected that our software would work on Lion. The truth of the matter was that iBank as it existed in June would not run in some edge cases once Lion shipped in July. So we had to do some non-trivial changes under the hood to make iBank Lion-compatible. One of the challenges we faced was that iBank 4 shipped supporting 10.5 and that we did not want to drop those customers’ systems in order to support Lion (Lion’s development tools do not allow building 10.5 PowerPC apps). This work continues with iBank 4.3, which will have its first Lion-only feature: full-screen mode. Next we’ll work to implement sandboxing, a major security change which only affects things behind the scenes.

The third is the death of MobileMe and the birth of iCloud. As many of you know, we use MobileMe as a syncing platform for iBank for Mac and iBank Mobile. We need to replace this with some other solution. It might be iCloud, but we are still evaluating the best way to sync our products. Certainly iCloud plays a role but we are not ready to commit to what that is.

Our latest update to iBank is 4.3, which will be released in the next few days or so. In addition to integration with iBank Investor, iBank 4.3 a number of bugs that our users have been requesting we address. We will continue to fix bugs and add refinements and we will certainly need to make further significant changes to decide how to gracefully terminate MobileMe syncing with iBank Mobile.

So that is a lot of what we have been doing with iBank. Now let’s talk about how iBank improves in the future.

The two new products that we have been talking about on the blog, iBank Investor and iBank for iPad, both can help shed light on this. Much of the work being done in those products will result in new features in iBank for Mac. This is because we build all of our products on a set of shared code. Right now if I count the files in iBank for iPad, 80% of them are shared or planned to be shared with iBank for Mac. In fact, the best thing about working on the iBank for iPad project is that we actually get to implement a number of features and enhancements that will later make it into the next iBank for Mac release. You can think of iBank 4 as running on our “CoreFinance” 1.0 engine and iBank for iPad will run on CoreFinance 2 and a future version of iBank will run on it as well.

We have a binary of iBank for iPad that loads on iOS 5 and you can see accounts. Some of the UI is starting to take a more final look. But there are still many significant components that need to be implemented. I wish I had some screenshots of iBank for iPad, but we aren’t ready to share that part of our progress, yet.

Thanks,
James

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38 comments on “We have been invisibly busy

  • What about a bill pay feature? It certainly seems from your user request area that this is a big deal for so many people beyond me. It is the thing that has me keeping a PC alive solely to run Quicken 2009. I live off of that bill pay feature. The users in those requests have made the arguments for it. I like that you guys give us a place to make requests, it just makes me want to know where that feature is in the roadmap.
    Thanks,
    Mark

  • Very cool! Hmmm…which company is moving forward, staying ahead of the curve and not playing catch-up? Gosh, it must be IGG. As a user, thanks. No, THANKS! Apple innovates at a frantic pace and it is sometimes difficult to keep up. The demise of MobileMe won’t be for nearly a year and Apple has said that iDisk can continue to be used even after users switch to iCloud, but iCloud is still pure conjecture, even for developers. We need to see it in action. I migrated my sync to a non-public folder of my own web server and it’s working very well with my iPhone and iPad. I also moved backups to my Airport Extreme. I plugged in a 32GB thumb drive into the USB port on the back of the router, enabled Back to my Mac and now I have my own private cloud storage based on non-rotating memory. This is a perfect place to store iBank backups. Just a few ideas to toss out there. I’m looking forward to the continued development of iBank which is the coolest financial software I have ever used!

  • I’d buy in a nanosecond IF, as Mark has said, there were a bill payment feature. I’m a long-time Quicken for Mac user, utterly fed up with Intuit’s refusal to support Lion.

    I hope you’ll add this feature — and sooner rather than later.

  • I know you want sophisticated comments but as a new user I am very confused that wrong dates appear and leave me no chance to change them surely idiots could have a preference to enter dates manually…it prevents me from using this software at all

  • I’m still hoping for improvements in how we connect images to transactions! I love everything about iBank (and think that an iCloud option where I don’t actually even have to manually sync anything would be even better)!! But, I really do want to be able to take a snapshot of a receipt while I’m out, and have it just connect to that transaction so that if I’m audited by the IRS, I have my receipts all neatly connected to the records. Can you tell us how hard this would be to do?

    Thanks!

  • After 15 years of using Quicken, even on a virtual Windows machine running on my iMac, I finally ditched it and made the switch to iBank, and I am very pleased. Can’t wait for the iPad version to make its debut. I am making use of Dropbox for storage of both my data files and my backup files. I have iBank4 installed on both my iMac and my MacBook Air. The beauty of using Dropbox is that my data files are always up-to-date, regardless of which computing platform I happen to be using. When the data is updated from my iMac, the next time I open iBank on my Air, it is also up-to-date! And the other way around as well. I fully expect to incorporate the iPad version into Dropbox as well, when it is released. It works perfectly!

    Thanks for a great product!

  • Please consider a ‘classic’ account view, with each entry text-only on one line. I rely on iBank 3, and think it superb. However, I am reluctant to upgrade because I don’t like the account display being, to my mind, an unwieldy two-line business. Please, can you offer a view option closer to the space-efficient previous version, with pictures as an option?

    Thanks

  • I am a fairly new user if iBank and the main feature I miss, as I switch from Quicken 2007, is the Bill Pay features. Of course, being so new, I have not yet set up bill pay at my bank. That is totally new to me. But I’ll have to do it if I finally ditch Quicken. Also there are many other features I need to learn about. Tutorials will be useful for me. Over all, I am excited by iBank’s possibilities.

  • Ready for bill pay reminders on the iPad; would be handy on iPhone, as well. This is a big deal for those of us who travel and prefer managing these things on our iPads so we don’t have to lug around a laptop everywhere we go.

  • If iCloud will not work or be too difficult, what about the ability to sync via dropbox? That seems like it would be a pretty easy alternative. Also, it would be REALLY REALLY nice to be able to view budgets and budget progress on the mobile app to help track that stuff when out and about. Thanks!!

  • I’ll add my voice to the chorus asking for bill pay; I purchased a copy of iBank, but went back to using quicken (2011 under a VM running XP) because I can’t get by without bill pay. It is more than convenience, it goes to the heart of why I use personal finance software: to make decisions based on a true picture of our finances. I f the software doesn’t reflect reality at all times (because transactions I had to enter on the bank web site haven’t downloaded yet), I don’t know what I have, and don’t know what I can safely do. The software needs to be where I do ALL my financial activity, or it fails. Having said that, I think you have a great product, and I look forward to using it as soon as it supports bill pay.

  • First, let me say as a developer with over 25 years of development experience, my hats off to you guys. You have really produced a quality application with more initial features then most applications with years behind it. While I too am awaiting the iPad version support OS5, I’d much rather for me, as well as you wait until you’ve worked out the kinks. Releasing the application before its ready will do more damage to you then tell us, its ready and have it corrupt, years of imported and entered data. I have my wants and wish for features throughout the forum, and hope that you’re looking at those… You guys are perfectly positioned to be the go to app for financial management on the Mac. As a Quicken user of 19 years, (dos, windows 3.1, windows 3.3, Windows 95, etc, etc) I have quickly adjusted to your interface, still have some things to get used to but, overall I’m digging it.

    Thanks for a job well done, and to those of you wondering no I am not a paid spokes person… I just understand what it takes to develop a quality application not matter the platform or subject matter, what they have done is nothing short of amazing… So lets keep our expectations realistic, and support the people that are working to give us, the tools we need. (think about how Quicken dropped us…)

    Thanks

    Bill Jackson
    Memphis, TN.

  • Please put me down as a vote to sync through iCloud. I am in the cloud with all my devices, and this would make it so easy to keep up to date. Just my 2¢ Thanks.

  • Hi,

    COuld you please give us a little bit more details/infos about the ipad version of ibank?
    We all are very excited about that, and this would ease the wait.

    Congrats for your hard work.

    Thank you

  • First, let me say as a long time Quicken user, it has taken me a good six months to get totally converted to iBank, but now I am at the point where I not only like it as well as I liked Quicken, I like it, in most aspects better. You have done a superb job so far and I look forward to more improvements.

    I want to take a little different tack than some of the responders. Bill pay is no big deal for me. I wouldn’t use it any way. I get free bill pay through my credit union, and I doubt iBank could beat “free.” What I WOULD like to see, and this has been suggested on some of the forums, is two changes. First, I would like there to be an easier way to change the dates of transactions. A pop-up calendar would be really nice, but if not that, then at least using the arrow keys. Second, I would like the check number to be the last number entered and then be able to move incrementally up or down, as needed. The number that continues to pop up in my check number field I have no idea where it comes from. I have not ever used checks in that number series since I left Quicken for PC some 5 years ago. I have never entered a check in that number since coming to iBank. So make that little tweak and it would remove one little irritant.

    Other than these little annoyances, I really, really like this program and would not hesitate to recommend it to other Mac users.

  • @Wayne

    You can get a popup calendar to appear by selected the date field in a transaction and then press the down arrow key. You can also enter “lazy dates”. For example, since it is currently November entering “16” will get you Nov 16, 2011. Similarly, entering “111” would get you Nov 1. To increment and decrement dates use the [ and ] keys.

    I’ll look into the check number issue.

  • @IGG Software – I very, VERY strongly urge you to keep some kind of wifi-only sync option. Many people like myself do not want our financial data floating around out there in “the cloud”, not even an Apple-owned and -secured cloud. I see too many of your competitors being too cavalier about dismissing wifi-only options. You have an opportunity to differentiate yourself by keeping wifi-only sync as an option for the more paranoid customers like me!

    (@Chris B – Dropbox is hardly an “easy alternative”. One of iBank’s competitor products removed their wifi-only sync options, requiring everyone to sync using Dropbox instead… causing *tons* of problems for a non-trivial number of their users, some of whom still can’t sync.)

  • I really like iBank. It’s head and shoulders above Quicken, imo, with a few very minor inconveniences. I am looking forward to the iPad app! Two points:

    1) Please support iCloud!

    2) Please please please fix itemized transactions (splits): The combination of having only two lines visible with no way to tab between fields (with automatic scrolling) is a huge P.I.T.A. Ideally multiple lines (at least 4) would be visible and we would be able to tab through the fields for quick entry without using the mouse.

    Thanks for a great product and for rescuing us from Quicken h*ll!

  • I’ve been using iBank since version 2 and have been wanting an iPad version for the longest time. Glad to know it’s finally coming. I will recommend iBank to all my friends when that’s out, as I know they’re now on other apps which IMHO are not of iBank’s league.

    Hoping the Santas from IGG Software will bring us that specific gift this Christmas, finally.

    Thank you!

  • +1 for bill pay; +1 for tags/classes

    I’m still running ancient Quicken. I’d love to consider your product, but you need some important features. I’ve tried MoneyDance and might have to move to it, but I’m not as fond of it. If I break down and move 15-20 years of financial data to a new app, such as MoneyDance, I’m not likely to want to make the effort do move to another program later, such as iBank, and then you’ve lost a prospective customer for good. Getting new customers is typically the most difficult task for a company. Please speak up on these topics!

  • +1 for iCloud sync, +1 for tabbing split transaction fields.

    Also, a “clear all” option for split transactions would be a great time saver.

  • I would drop Quicken (I use a windows emulator) and move to iBank in a hearbeat if you had a an reconcilement to online balance that downloaded missing transactions. I can bill pay through my bank’s website. I reconcile my accounts every time I use quicken.

    Thanks

  • As a longtime Quicken user I made the switch to iBank when it became obvious that a Quicken Lion version was not to be forthcoming. I’m OK in the short term with the clunky way of having to do bill payment using my bank then entering the info in iBank, in hopes that iBank will support easy payment options. Quicken has recently announced Lion compatibility, so…….

    I hate the process of switching, but convenience is important!

  • I hope that in the rush to get IBank for the Ipad out you will not forget some of the bugs and missing features still found in the computer version. I think that the ability to enter a category in an investment transaction would solve a lot of problems. My budget will never be balanced as investment income is not included in the income/expense report.

  • +1 for iCloud sync and I’d be willing to pay for it. I don’t really get what the problem with going with iCloud sync is. This is already a paid app, most users are way invested in time and energy in getting their data in, and want to have their stuff synched in iCloud. Does IGG not know how to do it? Does it cost too much money to get access to iCloud? Does somebody inside IGG not like iCloud? Some concrete answers would be really nice.

  • Have been using iBank for about a 6-months now and really like the product. I have 2 annoyances that I would like to see addressed:

    1) Provide user the option to switch from 2-lines per transaction to a single line. Single-line is a much more efficient use of screen space and reduces the amount of scrolling the user must do when viewing transactions.

    2) Please don’t pop that annoying date display over the top of the truncations when scrolling (or provide an option to disable it). It blocks the user’s view of the information and is a distraction!

    But otherwise, great product. Keep up the good work!

  • Please, Please add the equivalent of Quicken classes. I have been watching your upgrades for over a year and that’s the only piece missing to get me to move to Ibank. I have been using quicken since DOS version 1.2 with the blue dot manual.

    hurry!!!!!

  • +1 for iCloud sync (or some similar solution). WiFi only would be terrible. I want my transactions uploaded to cloud storage when I’m travelling. Should I lose my device, my data is still safe in the cloud.

  • I agree with Neil Henke….until you add the “class” function, you continue to have a serious missing piece. i applaud the work that has been done in response to the market, but tracking classes of expenses across multiple categories is a fundamental need for me. Bring it on and I can switch! Please!!!

  • I have stopped using iBank4 because of the two line entry for a transaction, as so much space is wasted I was constantly scrolling. A major downgrade if you ask me.

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