Today I’m writing with some big news: this fall we are switching to a new pricing model. This new model will coincide with the release of Banktivity 8 for Mac, iPhone and iPad. We call this new model a “subscription that doesn’t suck” because, while you will be asked to pay annually, if you choose to cancel: the app continues to work and provide value, and we never hold your data hostage. For the rest of this blog post I dive into why we are changing pricing models, and I cover some of the details of our new subscription.
One important note before I dive into the details: over the coming weeks I plan to release a couple more blog posts covering the new features coming to Banktivity 8 for macOS, iOS and iPadOS. It’s been a long road to get here, and I’m excited to finally be sharing what we’ve been working so diligently on!
Why change pricing models?
There are two main reasons for switching to our subscription model. First, we want to work on things that make you, our customer, happy. Second, a lot has changed since we first started offering connected services. What used to be cheap, or even free, has now become quite costly.
Happy customers
We hear a lot from our customers, and that’s great. We hear that you want enhancements to existing features to make the application easier to use, faster releases of bug fixes, new features and OS compatibility updates, and you want all of our applications to work together. We want all of those too and our new subscription model helps us get there.
More updates, more frequently
Going years between big releases isn’t really good for customers or us. We want to release features as they are ready, not accumulate a bunch so that we can then declare a big new release and charge for it. With subscription we can just release features as they are implemented – this is a win for everyone.
One purchase, all of our apps
If you go out and buy all of our apps today, you will be faced with two required purchases (Mac and iPad), one free download (iPhone), and one optional subscription for Direct Access — which works across all devices. In addition to this being confusing, it never feels good to have to buy so much to go “all in” on personal finance software. We want customers to manage their finances at their convenience and we’ve developed three great apps (Banktivity for Mac, iPhone and iPad) to help them do that. But it’s confusing to have to buy two different apps and one subscription and understand how it all works. With our subscription you pay and get access to (and support for) all of our apps, including all upgrades with new features, enhancements, and fixes.
Online services
Back in the old days, there were many online services that were free and we were able to piggy back on these. For example, Yahoo’s stock quote service used to be free, disk space was often free and so on. But times have changed. Yahoo doesn’t even have a stock quote API for developers anymore. Really, across the board there has been an increasing monetization of data. Additionally, services which we’ve maintained for years, like our cloud sync server, are more expensive to operate now because of increased security threats. When it comes to managing financial data, you don’t want a company that has a “set and forget” mentality. We take security and privacy seriously, even if it demands more resources from us. By switching to our subscription model we can ensure that our customers are paying for — and receiving — active support and security for our online services.
What happens if I cancel?
IMPORTANT UPDATE as of October 16, 2024: Please read this article about how are subscription has changed with the introduction of monthly pricing.
We understand that some customers might wince at the sound of subscriptions. We get that! Many companies today take a very unpalatable stance on data access. For example, if you subscribe to Adobe’s Creative Suite and you stop paying their subscription, you can’t even open your existing Photoshop files. Hitting closer to home, if you subscribe to YNAB, but decide to not pay your subscription, you can’t access your budget or data. We think this is an odious practice: they are effectively holding your data hostage – ransom payment required!
Our approach is fundamentally different than many of the subscriptions out there. With our subscription, we don’t hold your data hostage. If you decide to cancel (hey we get it, it happens, no hard feelings!) you can continue to use Banktivity in basic mode. That is you can still add accounts and transactions, manage your budget, create and edit reports and so on. Other premium features, mostly the ones that connect to our online services, will stop working. This means with a cancelled/expired subscription, Direct Access, stock quote download and such will stop working. Similarly, our technical support will only be available to people with active subscriptions. However, our online support articles will remain available to everyone.
Common Questions
How much does it cost?
Our customers span a broad range when it comes to where they are on their financial journey. Some of our younger customers have only recently gotten to the point in their lives where they have finances to track at all, and may just be beginning to build an emergency fund — while some customers are managing millions of dollars across a diverse array of accounts and currencies. Given our customers’ diversity, we knew a one-size-fits-all pricing wouldn’t work for our subscription.
We will be offering three different pricing tiers to better accommodate our customers’ needs.
Our lowest priced tier is called Bronze and will cost $49.99 USD a year (that’s a little more than $4 a month). It includes everything you need to get started with managing your finances including Direct Access connectivity, cloud sync, budgeting and more.
The next tier up is Silver and includes everything in Bronze plus support for tracking investments, mortgages and loans, real estate and more. Silver also includes support for downloading stock quotes and home prices (US homes only). Our Silver tier is $69.99 USD a year (or less than $6 a month).
Gold is our premium tier. It includes everything in Bronze and Silver plus support for setting up and tracking accounts in different currencies and check printing. The gold tier also allows you to download currency exchange rates. The gold tier is $99.99 USD a year (or a little over $8 a month).
Compared to what some of our competitors offer, we think our new subscription is a great value.
Is there a free trial?
Yes! You can try the new Banktivity 8 apps for free for 30 days. After 30 days, your credit card will be billed based on the selected tier (bronze, silver or gold). During your trial you can switch tiers as much as you’d like to help you decide which is the right feature set for your financial tracking needs.
What happens if I’m a paying Direct Access subscriber and I want to move to Banktivity 8?
We allow customers to convert their remaining Direct Access time to the new system. This way our customers that want to move to our new subscription don’t have to leave unused time on our old system.
Can I subscribe through Apple’s App Store?
Yes, you will be able to subscribe through Apple’s ecosystem or buy from us. If you download Banktivity for Mac from our website, then the purchase will be through us. If you sign up through one of our apps downloaded from the App Store, then you’ll be signing up through Apple. You will still get the same great support no matter which channel you choose!
What if I want to stay on Banktivity 6 or Banktivity 7?
You can continue to stay on your current version of Banktivity if it is working for you. Nothing about them is changing now, but they will no longer be developed and support will eventually be phased out.
Will Banktivity 8 work offline?
Yes. While an internet connection is required to purchase and use some of our online services, all non-Internet based features fully work, even if you are offline.
Conclusions
We didn’t arrive at these changes overnight. For years we’ve been thinking about ways to deliver more updates to customers in less time. Further, we need a better way to pay for the online services our customers expect us to develop and maintain, in a world where those services incur continuous ongoing costs. Last, we wanted to do all of this while still offering a tremendous value to customers with the right spirit.
If you are a current Direct Access subscriber we think switching to subscription with Banktivity 8 makes a lot of sense. For as little as $5 more a year you get all three Banktivity apps, the new features coming to Banktivity 8, and access to future features as we continue to improve and enhance Banktivity across Mac, iPhone and iPad.
We love our customers, without you, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Further, we want to be around for many more years to come. So, please accept a heartfelt THANK YOU for your support over the years and we look forward to building the best finance apps for you and your family for many years to come.
I’m looking forward to talking about some of the user-facing features coming in Banktivity 8 for Mac, iPhone and iPad in the coming weeks!
Sincerely,
Ian Gillespie, President
- Banktivity 9.5 and Monthly Subscriptions - October 18, 2024
- Coming soon: Banktivity 9.5 - July 19, 2024
- Continuing Investments in Direct Access - February 26, 2024
I started off with iBank and have been a Bantivity Customer for a while. I held my nose and bought it because it wasn’t Quicken. But this simply is not a fair upgrade. I am paying $5 more on the basic subscription just to lose features I have now. And to get what I have now, I have to pay $25 more. So where is the customer-centric vision in that? I agree with what one of your ‘soon to be former’ customers said — sell more product to make more money. Don’t gouge your loyal base. Listen, Banktivity is not all that great, even though the customer service is really good. I am constantly fixing it’s duplicate entries, it’s wrong transfers into accounts, the direct access is quirky, some things merge, other things don’t, the reports are way too arcane, and my register is almost never right unless I go through my online bank statement and do a ‘quick reconcile’. This is not flawless software you’re selling. But it’s not the quicken monopoly and it’s just for Mac, and that’s why I came here. To keep my business, you need to give better answers than telling me I am getting more than I need in exchange for paying more than I can afford. Quicken is dangling a $46.79 price for more offerings than your $69.00 price. I think you can take off the multiple device support and cloud-based storage, and repackage this to a much more palatable package for consumers who just want to sit at their mac once a week and take care of their bills. Please don’t do this!
Hi John, thanks for the comments. If you just want to sit down on your Mac once and a week and take care of bills, you should subscribe for a year and then not renew. The app will keep working and you’ll get updates, free. You won’t get connected services or tech support, though. This is basically why we offer this unconventional piece to our subscription. We know there are customers out there don’t use our connected services and don’t need our technical support. For those under these conditions, then buy the subscription once and be done. It’s a really good deal! 🙂
That’s what I’d take (and I’d have to go the Gold one, just because I have accounts in two countries), but I’d loose the stock prices, which is an important part for anyone managing their retirement assets through banktivity.
Hi Ian,
I like the look of the new version. I am a version 7 user in the UK so can’t use the online service..That suits me and I’m happy to import my transactions manually via QIF files .
Am I right in thinking, from your comments above, that version 8 without a subscription would be the best solution for me? If I download the trial version but don’t proceed with a subscription, would I still be able to use Banktivity 8 in offline mode?
Hi Barry, you’d need to subscribe for at least one year, but then if you choose not to renew the app will keep working as you describe as “offline mode”.
Hi Ian, I am using Banktivity 8 under 30 day trial to see if it fits my requirements..So far so good and I am enjoying this App. I have few queried though before I decide to go for subscription.
1) If I choose to cancel subscription next year, do I still have to login on Banktivity App with Banktivity account?
2) After cancelling subscription, would I be able to import transactions using .OFX files saved on my laptop?
3) In one of reply you mentioned that after cancelling subscription, the app will keep working and you’ll get updates. Please can I ask, up to what software release, we will get free updates?
As a UK based user, I am not planning to use Direct Access or other online services so want to make sure I can use Banktivity 8 offline in case I choose to cancel subscription at some stage.
Thanks in advance.
I don’t know if I have the paid version of Banktivity 8. how do I find out? I have had trouble
changing from 7 to 8 and have written chats and, so far, have gotten no help. Please help.
Interesting read and I thank you for it. I was JUST ABOUT to change from Banktivity (cur ver 5.6). I do not use any of the wiz features like investments or budgeting or direct downloading. Every few years I upgrade just to stay current but I am not a fan of subscriptions given my basic needs (check writing and manual import of credit cards and bank reconciliation). So why move on and not just upgrade? I would feel significantly better if these two issues have been resolved favorably. I ‘get’ I can buy for a year and then cancel but prefer not to do that. (1) Over various iBank/Banktivity releases I continue to have with importing credit card activity as the rules are extremely confusing so things like Amazon or Apple or Lyft or Groceries, etc. never seem to have proper Categories applied (typically do not even get applied). I have called in on this over the past years and was basically given the cold shoulder – you can go back and see the transcripts – which morphed into ‘can’t help’ because you do not have a supported version. Another reason to upgrade now and again- I get it. (2) While not a fan of subscriptions – which I think your writeup did a good job in making its case, am I to understand I must go to the Gold $100 level/year just to support check printing? Can I not get [what I consider] this basic feature at the lowest tier? Thank you.
Hi Stuart, getting the categories to automatically appear 100% correct all the time isn’t realistic. Depending on how the vendor names gets reported to your bank, it can change and then the import rule won’t pick it up. Similarly, for many vendors, the “right” category can change. For example, sometimes I buy household stuff at Amazon, but sometimes it could something totally different (e.g. groceries, home maintenance, etc.)
You do need to subscribe to gold for a year at least once. But then you can downgrade to a lower tier and the check printing feature will keep working.
I have been an IGG Software Inc. customer since 2013 when the first iBank version was launched.
With the shift to subscription model at the end of 2020, check printing was the number one reason I subscribed to the Gold level last year…
Having researched my options carefully and after reading this blog by the developer, with the yearly renewal I recently downgraded to Silver. Surely enough, now with the latest software update, the check printing option does not work any longer and it triggers an automatic request to upgrade to Gold.
Do you have an explanation for this? Has the year-old policy suddenly changed?, or should I simply call this misleading advertising to say the list!!!
This was a bug, sorry! It is fixed in 8.7.3.
Much appreciated!
Have you fixed the direct access issues for EU banks yet? its been a long time.. until this is fixed I won’t upgrade and I will constantly look for alternatives. I agree with the first poster. Banktivuty isn’t great software. its ok. it has the edge in that it has a reasonable mobile app and is available on Mac.. but that is not good enough in reality.
Paul
Not yet, it is on our roadmap https://www.iggsoftware.com/blog/2020/08/services-roadmap/
Hi Ian,
Cutting to the chase:
Do I need to subscribe and pay for the Silver level in order to continue using (adding/editing) loan and mortgage account types?
Backstory:
I have been a long time user since iBank 3, similar to many others and also do not really use the connected services. I really did not mind paying between $30-$50 USD each year to upgrade on my own time. So we are now moving to a service based (aka subscription based) model for another price hike. I compared your subscription model to many others and it is comparable. So no major complaints other than not allowing all account types in the bronze level?
For all the dysfunctional parts such as direct access and what not that folks rely too much on automation, I just go with the extra few minutes of manually entering my things in to ensure things are how I want them to be. I get the complexity and the fact that it’s never going to be perfect for every scenario.
In regards to upgrades, not one person has asked the right question. It matters not when or if the services for Banktivity 7 will continue. It’s simple evolution. The fact is Apple is moving towards ARM based systems with their M based CPU’S and from past history this means we really only have two years before the plug is pulled. Even though Banktivity 7 is not supported on Big Sur with an M based chipset, it functions due to Apple’s Rosetta. So how long will that last is the appropriate question?
Anyways, I want to continue using Banktivity. I did move to Quicken recently but the conversion was just a huge mess. So I’m back and reading the fine details. Do I have to subscribe to the Silver level for a year to unlock the use of the loan accounts I have or will the bronze level be enough?
Hi Arvin,
You’d need to pay for and subscribe to Silver at least once to manage loan and mortgage accounts. If you didn’t need Direct Access for those accounts, you could then downgrade to bronze.
I’m currently using Banktivity 5,6.9 in the UK. .If I subscribe to Banktivity 8 bronze will all my data on 5,6,9 automatically follow me over?
Banktivity 8 can import data from v5 through v7, so you should be good to go.
Ian you said to the person that I asked you if he goes from an older version of five through seven a Banktivity he should be good to go to download his data. That sounds like there could be problems to me. I have version 7.5.3 I downloaded Banktivity 8 but I’m scared to use it. I wish you would’ve said you will have no problem transferring your old data to Banktivity 8
Going from 7.5.3 to 8 shouldn’t present any problems. We also do a “conservative” upgrade, where we leave the original v7 data file intact and create a new file for v8.
Where is the option to cancel the subscription? It’s not very clear on the website under the FAQ or very accessible in the application itself?
This linklink tells you how.
Hi Ian,
I have been using iBank since 3. I am upgrades all the way to 7 over the many years. I don’t see that you have added Archive? Way back there was talk about doing so in maybe the next upgrade but it still hasn’t happened in 7!
Does upgrade 8 have Archive added?
Dan
Archive hasn’t been added in 8, but it is something we are considering adding.
I have over 30 years of data (I used an older product – Managing Your Money – in the 1990s and manually converted the data! Well, not quite manually, I wrote a script to convert the transactions). I finally did a manual archive last year, and it was a bit of a mess – the biggest problem is that I needed to keep around stock transactions to maintain purchase price and date. So, I understand the complexity of creating an archiving feature. I would love to see the feature, but if it doesn’t handle stock transaction appropriately, then I’m not sure it will work for many users. Good luck – I hope to see it soon.
The more I think about this, the more I’m leaning toward keeping around all relevant stock transactions, but archiving all old data, including stock positions that are now closed out.
I won’t be adding this subscription. I prefer to go into my accounts and manually download .qfx or .qif file, being certain each transaction is legitimate and applied to the correct “category.” I prefer to go into my data manually and export information from reports to see where my money is going. In that regard, Banktivity has gotten worse, not better. It’s almost impossible to search for a given transaction because I have to go through every register manually. There are services I WOULD pay more for, like better scheduled transactions that automatically post each month and prompt me to post, and reporting exports to Excel that help me see where my money has gone, rather than the rosy plans I laid out for where it should go. The road to hell is paved with good intentions; I’m interested in reality. I know: what could be better for you than having me pay you every month for something I ought to have been able to buy once and have been done with. I know: everyone is doing it, and you’re just jumping on Microsoft’s and Adobe’s bandwagon. My suggestion would be: come up with software that will allow me to export data from registers as well as reports and import it into Excel, and I would buy it once again.
Thanks for the feedback Karen, I appreciate it. Just want to clear up that you can export data from registers via File > Export Selected Transactions. From there you should be able to import that file into Excel. Thanks for the feedback on improving scheduled transactions, we will see what we can do.
Dear Banktivity/Ian,
Refugee from Quicken/Mac, where I was in a one-sided, abusive relationship with them for years; user since iBank; currently on 7.5.3; finally have a moment to consider 8.
Reviewing most of the comments on this thread: even after a decade of being exposed to this point of view, I am still shocked at how people have been trained to feel entitled to so much software at such a low price-point. I have no problem with the prices you are charging. People who want to compare with Quicken should keep in mind that Quicken spreads their costs across a MUCH MUCH MUCH larger user base.
After spending an afternoon reading through this entire thread, plus a bunch of other Banktivity web pages, I’m afraid I’m still left with the following questions and comments.
+ When upgrading from Banktivity 7 to 8, will it ALL JUST WORK? I understand I’ll have to point 8 to the data file from 7, that I’ll have to enter my admin password to be able to migrate passwords from 7 to 8. I seek assurance that all of my scheduled transactions, direct connect(?) / OFX(?) download from Bank of America, and so on will ALL JUST WORK.
+ Where do I find a description of the feature set on iPad / iPhone? I’ve read a ton of Banktivity web pages by now, see many references to the “3 apps”, see blog entries alluding to features available in the MacOS app that aren’t matched in the iOS apps, and want to know what I can/can’t do on the iOS apps.
+ One of the appeals to me of upgrading to 8 is moving to sync’d operations between Mac and iPad. My use case is paying bills while using iPad on vacation via Bank of America transactions created within Banktivity and then uploaded by Banktivity to BoA; normally in my workflow done by using Banktivity 7 on my Mac. However, putting my financial data on your server, even encrypted, increases my attack surface dramatically. I’d rather be able to trigger sync manually, confined to my local LAN, directly between my devices rather than routed through IGG (for instance, 1Password has an internet-based sync service but also provides a strictly LAN-based sync feature). Does IGG support a LAN-only sync? If not, is it on your roadmap?
+ For your IGG server-based sync, where can I find a description of your data encryption? End-to-end is meaningless if it turns out you decrypt data at any point yourselves (as famously other vendors have been found to do despite labeling their algorithms as “end-to-end encryption”).
+ Is it possible to do an initial IGG-based sync between devices, then turn off the sync feature? If so, what happens to the data file that resided at IGG? Could I then, after working offline for a while, re-initiate an IGG-based sync? (Use case: sync before vacation to migrate data from Mac to iPad, turn off sync to eliminate IGG-based attack surface, generate check transactions while vacationing using iPad, then return home, re-initiate sync to migrate data from iPad to Mac, then kill the sync again to eliminate the IGG-based data file.)
Thank you for your time and attention. I appreciate it.
Alan
Hi Alan, I’ll do my best to address each point.
– Yes, it will all just work. Even if it didn’t for someone reason (like say your DB was corrupted in v7), upgrading to v8 is essentially risk free because we always leave the original v7 data file intact. Banktivity 8 will read the v7 file, but will not try to change it at all. After completing upgrading to v8, you’ll have a brand new file just for v8 and your old v7 file will be there as well.
– We don’t have a page dedicated just to iPhone/iPad features. However, our “Features” pages found in the top-nav of our website do a pretty good job of calling out when a feature is not available on all platforms.
– We don’t support a LAN only sync and it is not on our roadmap now. Your cloud sync data is encrypted at rest with a password only you know. We at IGG have no way of even looking at your cloud sync data. If you lose that password, we have no way to recover the data on our servers. You can also delete the data on our servers at anytime. Here is a short article about it.
– You could do an initial sync to get data on all devices and then turn it off. However, you could NOT turn it back on have it just sync the changes. If you turned it back on, it would be like setting it up for the first time. I do not recommend this approach.
Hello,
I just got the free trial and I’m evaluating my possibilities.
I just wanted to ask how I cancel my subscription in the event I don’t want to use Banktivity any longer past the free trial.
I checked the app on my Mac but cannot find a way to cancel – if necessary
Kind regards,
Pascal
Hi, on Mac you can go to File > Subscription > View My Subscription then click the Cancel button.
Hi Ian. I have a few questions: 1.Does Bvy 7&8 work with Apple’s New M1 chip?
2.. If I change to Bvy8 Is the transition from Bvy 7.5.3 seamless?
3. If I cancel subscription after one year, how long will I get updates….only for version 8 or later versions as well?
4. When you say no tech support for the basic version, does that mean no “tickets” or Chat feature?
I use Bvy only for keeping track of my checkbook and a few reports during tax season. I don’t use online features.
Hi Joyce, I’m happy to try and answer your questions. See below:
1. Both v7 and v8 work on the M1 chip, but only Banktivity 8 runs natively (faster)
2. Transition from v7 to v8 is safe and seamless. After you do it, you’ll have a new file that is only for v8 and the one to use going forward. (Your original v7 file is left untouched.)
3. If you cancel the subscription after one year, you’ll continue to get updates for free, even past v8
4. Correct, tech support is only for people with active subscriptions. If you chose not to renew after a year, you won’t have access to tech support (unless it is about how to renew…)
I hope this helps and thanks for your support!
Thanks Ian for your prompt reply. A few additional questions came to light:
1. In case of non renewal, does the data for V7 and V8 sit within my computer (as the V7 data does now) or do they sit in your servers?
2. If I lose my Mac, am I able to get my data back by downloading it from your servers?
3. Will my V7 and V8 data be backed up to time machine whether or not I have a subscription?
4. If I buy your subscription and I get hung up in the transition between the legacy and subscription transition, how do I get help? Not dealing with support directly by phone unreal time can be a significant impediment……this has happened to me before in a similar situation and the customer support, also no phone support, was so slow and unhelpful that I stopped using the program altogether. If your customer service is as prompt and helpful as you have been so far, this shouldn’t be a problem but I would like to know what your response is.
Hi, thanks for the prod 🙂 Answers below:
1. Data remains on your computer, just like v7
2. If you use our Cloud Sync, then a copy of our data would be stored encrypted on our servers. You could retrieve a backup from it, as long as you remember the password to decrypt it (we have no way of recovering this password, we can’t see the encrypted data)
3. The data is stored in a file on your computer (unless you use cloud sync, then it is stored locally AND in the cloud), so you can have it backup to time machine if you want
4. We offer live chat 9-5 Mon to Fri ET. We also have our ticket system, which right now doesn’t have much of a wait time. We are always working on improving our support, but we do tend to get quite busy around the new year
I hope this helps and we’d love to have you on board!
Hi Ian. I told my daughter about Bankitivity and she asked me if there is a referral code in case she decided to get a subscription.
Joyce
Hi, we don’t have a referral program right now.
Thanks Ian. I’m going to subscribe shortly. I listened to the You Tube webinar that was done in Dec 2020 by Nancy Libby. It was excellent. I’m sure I’ll have questions once I start using Bvy 8 since I’ll be using features that I haven’t used before in Bvy 7 or ones that Bvy 7 didn’t offer. It’s good to know that you and your company’s support is ready to help. Thanks again, Joyce Lemkin
Hi Ian. I sent you additional questions on June 28th. I’m leaning towards your subscription service for Bankitivty 8 but would really like to get your answers to the questions I sent on the 28th. If you’re tied up, could you have one of your tech support people answer them. Looking forward to your reply.
Hi Ian –
Firstly congrats on a very nice MAC based financial solution. I previously used Quicken (starting in 1999) and was also a part of their Mac solution beta testing (users) team. Some years ago I switched to Banktivity and was very happy to do so. It was years ahead of Quicken and also much more cost effective than Xero plus the various add-ons I would’ve needed to get the functionality I require.
One of the things that has appealed to me is the ability to use .csv files, rather than the automatic download and sync options. In some cases, banks charge a fee to use auto-downloads and in others for some reason the timing gets “off” and the register data corrupted. I also found that paying approx $50 every two years or so was very good value. To compare, on version 8, I would require your top tier of $100 annually. While likely still good value, a 4X cost increase is hardly customer centric.
Having said that, I’m curious about your Forex download feature and capabilities. I currently have accounts and transactions in multiple currencies and have to present annual figures in both AUD and USD. In order to do this accurately, requires Forex conversion based on the date of each transaction. Will your Forex capabilities in version 8 do this? Currently I have a complex spreadsheet that I use to get this right and it would be a huge time saver if your new version did this. Simply keeping balances in multiple currencies and/or reporting figures based on a single point in time is of little to no value.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Ian. I have a problem. I downloaded Bvy * and tried to install it since I don’t have a Bvy Password and ID. I put in to recover information and it doesn’t recognize my old iBank 5 email or password! I found and did a screenshot of when I bought It which I’ll try to include here. I don’t want to start fresh since I have data files as far back as iBank 5. What can I do? I can’t add my screen shot here. My Registration Info was Joyce Lemkin R9RF-4262-RR59-4630-QJJ6-44J8-UC46-44M9-REDACTED
Hi Joyce, I’ll have someone email you directly instead of troubleshooting in these comments. I believe all you need to do is create a new Banktivity ID. After you do this, you can still import your existing iBank 5 data.
I recently upgraded my MacOS to Catalina and found that my version of Banktivity (version 6) no longer works. I attempted to upgrade to version 7 but you no longer allow that.
My needs are very basic but I have one account in a different currency which means I need to upgrade to your v8 Gold plan at $99 per year. That’s double what I paid for the original software and triple what I would normally pay for an upgrade. I simply can’t afford that.
I have contacted your support and asked for a product code so I can upgrade to version 7 (I am happy to pay the upgrade fee). However they say that is not possible. But of course it is, you simply don’t want to do it.
So now I have several years of my financial data that I can no longer access. You have priced me out of your software.
You say in your blog “We love our customers, without you, we wouldn’t be where we are today” and “we never hold your data hostage”. Well, neither of those are true are they.
Please tell me how I can gain access to my seven years of data if I can’t afford your Gold plan? It seems my data is indeed currently being held hostage by you.
Thanks.
Hi Robin,
Thanks for reaching out. I don’t know if I have a great answer for you. Banktivity 6, which came out 5 years ago, isn’t compatible with the more modern operating systems. It is also true we are no longer selling Banktivity 7. I think your best options are to downgrade your operating system or move forward with Banktivity 8. Supporting multiple currencies takes a lot of development resources and that is why it is in the gold tier. Every new feature we implement takes additional engineering time to make sure it integrates well when customers have multiple currencies. We are trying to find a path forward that keeps our lights on while also trying to meet the diverse needs of our customers. For example, if you don’t need our connected services, you can buy the app for a year, not resubscribe and the app will keep working and you’ll keep getting updates. I’m sorry if you don’t think the gold plan offers enough value to justify the cost.
Hi Ian,
It’s not about whether I think the gold plan offers enough value or not. I simply can’t afford it. And I upgraded my operating system for a good reason so I cannot downgrade.
So as it stands I am locked out of my data and I can’t access my financial records for the last seven years.
I know for a fact you could give me a product code to unlock Banktivity 7. And I am willing to pay for it. But you choose not to.
As a long term customer this is not only frustrating but distressing for me too.
I need access to my data but you won’t help. Perhaps it’s not important to you. But it is to me. A pretty disgusting way to treat a long term customer.
Whenever you upgrade your operating system, there is always a chance it will break some older software 🙁 I’ll go over some of the previous communication via LiveChat and tickets and get back to you that way. Just to be clear, we aren’t selling Banktivity 7 anymore because it contains services that cost us money and we will be phasing them out at some point. Our old way of selling software isn’t sustainable, it is why we moved to flexible subscriptionflexible subscription.
I’m sure we can find a solution.
Hi Ian. I was wondering that if someone hacks your Bvy account can they get into your bank accounts? Also how can one change their Bvy password and security question?
Your Banktivity ID is used for a lot of the different subsystems in our apps. For example, it is used for cloud sync, Direct Access, downloading stock quotes, etc. However, when it comes to your banks and Direct Access, Banktivity is read-only. That is, the app can pull transactions down, but it can’t create new transactions with your bank. The exception to this is our Bill Pay feature, which doesn’t use your Banktivity ID. You can change your Banktivity password and security question by going to File > Subscription > Banktivity ID
Thanks Ian. I was also wondering if you have direct access to download of your checking account transactions, if you have manually entered your checks into Bvy let’s say until July4 2021, will the download include months of overlap of checks already entered into Bvy. Can you “tell’ the bank when to start download i.e. July 5. Also, once you use downloads, will Bvy download activity in your checking acct from the bank whenever a check clears the bank ? If you use download from bank and don’t like it, can you stop it?
Thanks Ian. Much appreciated.
Hi Ian. I left a question on the log on 7/9. Depending on your answer, I can decide whether to download banking data into BVY8.
Hi Ian, This question has probably been asked already. That said, I’ll just cut to the chase. I’m currently nursing along an old MacBook Air that’s running MacOS High Sierra. It’s my only device that runs Banktivity (Version 6.3.4). I want to upgrade to Banktivity 8 using my current Banktivity 6 file. I understand that Banktivity 8 does not support Apple devices older than MacOS Catalina. Any suggestions?
Hi, sorry for the slow reply. I was on a camping trip. If you want to move to Banktivity 8 your best bet is to move to a Mac that can run macOS Big Sur or even better, the forthcoming macOS 12 Monterey.
If I stop paying for the subscription is it correct to say that all of my stock prices stop updating? If so, then the value of my stocks will be frozen in time forever and never correctly reflect their true value. That seems like a very good reason to never update. Please clarify.
Hi Mike, providing stock quotes is one of our ongoing connected services cost. If you move to 8, subscribe for a year at Silver and then cancel, that is correct, stock quotes will stop downloading. Please note, in time we will be turning off our connected services of all of our older versions of Banktivity. We haven’t announced any dates yet, but it will happen eventually. Remember, we moved to subscription because we want to keep making great software, but we need a revenue model that is commensurate with our ongoing expenses as well.
Due to accidentally deleting Banktivity 7 App on my phone i have upgraded to Banktivity 8 as version 7 download no longer available. I am happy to pay but do not use online services apart from cloud sync. Will cloud sync continue to work if i can subscription or free trial?
Will cloud sync continue to work if i CANCEL subscription or free trial?
Hi Peter, Cloud Sync is one of our connected services, as such, it does require an active subscription to use it. I hope this clarifies any questions you have!
The new subscription plan has made my choice for me. I’m staying with Quicken. I hate subscription plans, but if I have to go with one, I might as well stay with the devil I know than continue with the pain of moving to one I am less familiar with.
Fair enough Bill. We’d love to have you as a customer so please let us know if you have any questions!
Di I need to upgrade to 8 (from 7) to use it with Monterey? Need to know before I upgrade to Monterey
Thanks
Banktivity 8 is the officially supported version for Monterey. It is possible v7 works on it, I haven’t personally tried it. Importantly, if there are problems with v7 and Monterey, they won’t be fixed as we are now continually updating and improving v8.
If only YNAB knew how to make such an elegant, responsible, empathetic, transparent, and personal announcement such as yours everyone would have been saved a world of hurt.
Proud to have been a daily Banktivity user since 2010 and am having a blast learning to use new features I had neglected in the past.
Keep up the great work with integrity!
The subscription model is great, particularly the ability to keep data even if unsubscribed. I’ve had a sub. for a year, but I won’t be continuing with it because all the benefits only apply to the US. I’m in the UK. There’s no online access to my accounts**, stock downloads don’t work, there’s no support for UK tax reports and even importing downloaded files from my UK bank doesn’t work. I assume that the number of UK users is so small that not worth making the app connectivity work here.
*I know that that I can access my UK bank accounts from Banktivity via third party apps but even if my Bank’s Ts and Cs didn’t prohibit me from sharing log-in details with third parties, I still wouldn’t give my banking creds to anyone else.
Hi, just want to clear up one thing. When Banktivity connects to financial institutions in the UK, it does through Open Banking – this is the official way banks want you to connect. Then via GDPR, you opt to share your data with Banktivity. Your login credentials are never stored, instead, they are used to get an authenticated token which is then used for further access. You can revoke the access at any time.
Thanks Ian.
I looked at Banktivity’s connectivity. It’s done through Salt Edge Limited, which has a balance sheet of negative £285k and they owe their creditors £400k. The registered address – 71-75 Shelton Street – is just a correspondence address in Covent Garden (£39 per year here – https://www.1stformations.co.uk/registered-office-service). It’s certainly not the throbbing epicentre of London’s Fintech – maybe they are all WFH. If you were thinking of doing business with them then you’d have to ask yourself why, when they have so much debt, they are paying for a correspondence address instead of using that prestigious Canary Wharf address of Salt Edge Inc – unless they are nothing to do with Salt Edge Inc or Salt Edge Inc wants to keep them at arms length.
You couldn’t set up an operation to look more dodgy if you tried. However, that’s just me being paranoid and I’m sure that Banktivity has done its due diligence in recommending Salt Edge Limited for its UK customers and you’ll be able to set my mind at ease. In the mean time, I won’t be sharing any information with them, thanks.
BTW – I tried to print the Ts&Cs and Privacy Policy and, although I can read them fine on the screen, when I try to print them they come out blank. Good job I’m not the suspicious type.
The blog post states: “Other premium features, mostly the ones that connect to our online services, will stop working. ”
“Mostly” is a vague term.
I’m on v7 now, do not use any online features and have no need for such. I don’t want to sync data with other devices, download transactions, or update stock prices. I want all my data exclusively on my local machine and prefer to enter all information manually. Under no circumstance do I want my personal data located anywhere but my local machine. That is how I use v7.
What other features, aside from tech support, disappear without a subscription?
If I purchase the basic level of v8, what offline features from v7 do I lose?
What “level” do I have to purchase to get equivalent offline functionality of v7?
Would I need to do anything special to prevent my data being uploaded and/or stored anywhere other than my local machine?
Is the subscription an automatic renewal?
If so, can I purchase v8 and immediately cancel the subscription to avoid automatic renewal?
If I do cancel immediately, do I lose all the subscription features, including support for the first year that has already been paid for?
Hi Joe, I’ll do my best to answer this here.
– Your data is still only ever stored locally, unless you use cloud sync of course, which puts an encrypted copy on our server
– tech support, cloud sync, quote downloads, currency ex. rate downloads, home prices and bank downloads are the features that only work with an active subscription
– If you have investment accounts, you’ll want Silver, if you have accounts in different currencies, you’ll want gold, otherwise, you can go with bronze
– The subscription renews automatically, but you can turn that off right from within the app: File > Subscription > View My Subscription [then click the cancel button]
– You’ll want to start the 30 day free trial, then after the trial, your CC will be billed. At that point, you can cancel the subscription, which is effectively turning off the auto-renew. All service based features will continue to work for the remainder of the year.
I hope this answers them all!
Thanks for the informative response.
I don’t track investments in this software (never found an off-the-shelf app that can properly track what I do). I have no need for different currencies. So it looks like Bronze would work for me.
Aside from investments and currencies, does “bronze” lose any feature or functionality from Banktivity 7? Is there anything on your website that details the features I would lose or gain by moving from v7 to v8 Bronze?
This page outlines all the differences: https://www.banktivity.com/pricing/
That link outlines the differences in the various v8 options. It says nothing about what features may be lost or gained vs v7, which was the question I posed.
Other comments here leave me with the impression that going from v7 to, for example, “bronze” will result in lost functionality. From your answer, I’m guessing that there is nothing on the website to indicate the difference between v7 and v8.
I wasn’t happy when IGG did away with local sync and went “cloud.” That’s when I deleted my iPad version and went desktop only. Then you went subscription, which, while I don’t like the concept, I will agree yours doesn’t suck as much as some other subscription models out there.
Now as I reconsider continuing with the software, the potential loss of features in v8 along with IGG’s avoidance of the topic leaves me rather skeptical.
Long time V7 user, found out that starting this month (October 22), I can no longer download my Chase Visa data, and this older version will not support the new protocol. So yes, I downloaded V8, set up the new system, which is supported, and all is now well. The update/upgrade process was pretty seamless, which is a plus. Now I’m a subscriber thanks in part to Chase. While my wife subscribes to Quicken and I could share this subscription, I simply refuse to do so and will stick with Banktivity. I do again have to say how easy it was to migrate from V7 to V8 and setup the new downloading schema.
I am not in the US. I don’t need bank sync (it wouldn’t work anyway). I just need a basic app that syncs with my iPhone. Don’t need your cloud. What about a version on banktivity for macos and for iOS that uses Apple iCloud to keep data in sync? This way, who needs a really basic basic sync, will not hit your servers, your resources, your investment in security. Being your customer since it was named iBank. Moved to GreenBooks after you introduce subscription. I would be happy to pay for a version of banktivity with icloud sync.
We introduced our cloud sync with Banktivity 5.5, which came out many, many years ago. At the time, we did consider using Apple’s iCloud. However, we’ve learned the hard way that relying on others’ services can come back to bite us. About 15 years ago, we used Apple’s MobileMe for sync which is obviously no longer around now. For something as important as sync, this is something we feel strongly about keeping in house. We’ve made end-to-end encrypted and we can manage to suite the needs of our customers. The other problem with Apple’s iCloud is that you can too easily end up overwriting existing data.