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CountAbout - Your Finance Savvy Management Software

Cons:

  • No Ads
  • Competitive Pricing
  • Two-factor Authentication

Cons:

  • Only premium members can track the investments
  • Cannot make payments via software

Average Rating: 4

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Are you looking for an application that can help you with budgeting and financial management? CountAbout can be a good option. However, before you get started, you should read our in-depth CountAbout review to develop a good understanding of the app. Unlike other CountAbout reviews, this one contains unbiased information so that you can weigh both the good and the bad and make an informed decision.

Let’s get started, but first, go through the complete list of topics this review will cover:

Contents

  • What is CountAbout?
  • CountAbout Key Features
    • Customization
    • Import from Mint or Quicken
    • Automated transactions
    • Android and iOS apps
    • Attachments Add-on
    • FIRE Widget
    • Scheduling
    • Reporting
    • Responsive Customer support
    • Invoicing Add-on
  • Pricing— How Much Does CountAbout Cost?
  • How does CountAbout work?
  • CountAbout Alternatives
    • CountAbout vs. Quicken
    • CountAbout vs. Mint
    • CountAbout vs. MoneyPatrol
  • Pros and Cons
  • FAQs
  • Conclusion

What is CountAbout?

CountAbout is a user-friendly, web-based personal finance software (android and iOS supported) application. This is a secure and stable application that can import data from Mint and Quicken, and it also syncs data from credit cards, banking, and retirement accounts. With CountAbout budget software, you can easily keep track and control your budgeting and financing. It offers a clutter-free interface with both standard and custom categorization, thereby making it incredibly easy to navigate through.

And, we are lucky to have this low-cost, super helpful, and handy management application, thanks to Joseph Carpenter and Alex Wong. These two very talented people made this happen (CountAbout) back in 2012, in Madison, Wisconsin, the USA – where they decided to establish a permanent seat. And from what we can see today, they proved to be one of the missing pieces in the personal finance software business.

Who is it best for?

This budget software is ideal for sole proprietors and small business owners. It also works great for individuals who want to keep tabs on their finances while balancing their books and starting a savings account.

CountAbout Key Features

One of the top reasons that make CountAbout the best budget app is that it is loaded with features. This feature-rich application is designed for performance. And with no further ado, let us see what the top features include:

Customization

With CountAbout, you can enjoy a personalized experience. The customization feature enables users to customize practically every function, field, and report option. In other words, users can customize any category or tag and even add, delete or rename them. Thus, you can customize it to suit your needs.

Import from Mint or Quicken

If you’re already a Mint or Quicken budgeting tool user who wants to use CountAbout now, don’t worry. You can easily make the shift because CountAbout personal finance software gives you the ability to import data from Quicken and Mint with the utmost ease, cutting down hours of work. Meaning, you aren’t required to re-enter your data all over again.

Automated transactions

CountAbout is the best budget app at present because it spares you from tedious data entry tasks by synchronizing all your transactions. However, many CountAbout reviews fail to mention that this feature is only available with their premium plan.

Android and iOS apps

This is a mobile-friendly application that you can use on any iOS or Android-powered device. That means that you can budget and control your finances on the go at any time. I am sure that to the utmost interest of many of you is that one of the perks this feature offers is the automated sync option—all of your records are up to the minute synchronized at all times.

Attachments add-on

Similarly, the attachment add-ons empower you to select and attach an image to your transactions. This further makes them easier to recognize, label, and detect. Also, users can attach a receipt for a transaction, making it easy and fast to keep track of billing and other records.

FIRE Widget

Also known as FIRE (financial independence, early retirement) – this widget allows you to track your early plans for retirement and agendas. You have the freedom to customize the categories as needed. Hence, the app will create a graphical representation to keep track of your expenses and income on a monthly basis.

Scheduling

The scheduling feature may come in handy—with it; you can include different types of payments into your budget smoothly, such as recurring payments, tracking outgoing payments, and remaining budget. This further helps you schedule and manage finances for upcoming months.

Reporting

This feature is worth mentioning in this CountAbout review as it gives users a different method to learn about their financials. As the name suggests, you can get accurate and comprehensive reports of all account activities and remain aware of your financial activities. You can have any of your reports exported for a later review by using this option on the plus side.

Responsive Customer Support

Their team is always ready and available to answer all your queries and address all of your issues. Still, you can’t contact support directly via call; you will have to email them first. Their experienced support staff is available to address all your issues.

On the other hand, registered users can always log in through their accounts and go straight to the applications’ Help page—see if you can find a solution there before creating a support ticket. However, if this is not the case, please fill out the form on their website. Once you do this, one of their support agents will get in touch with you soon after.

Invoicing Add-On

This is an all-important value-adding feature that enables users to generate invoices. I am more than certain that small business users, especially, will find it of great help. This way, they can generate invoices and give their business a more highly professional look.

Pricing— How Much Does CountAbout Cost?

When it comes to pricing and service availability, CountAbout keeps things simple. There are two plans to choose from—Basic package and Premium.

  • The Basic package is available at a modest price of $9.99 yearly – making it the cheapest package.

This package gives users complete access to all of CountAbout’s functions, except the automatic downloading of credit cards, banking, and other financial transactions. Therefore, the ones using this package must enter transactions manually into the budget software. Nonetheless, you can import files from banks if QIF (quicken interchange format) Files are produced.

However, if you want to access all the extra features and options offered by CountAbout, opt for

  • The Premium package comes for $39.99 yearly.

This package is worth every dollar spent. Consequently, as a premium user, you can enjoy the automatic downloading of credit cards, banking, and other financial transactions.

However, you will get charged extra for add-ons. The fee charge is only $10 per year for the attachment add-on and $60 a year for the invoicing add-on.

And if you are still doubtful whether CountAbout is the right personal finance software for you or which package to go for, then we suggest you take advantage of their FREE of charge fifteen-day trial. You should know that the free trial period is, in fact, the Premium package. After the expiration of this period, you are free to choose which package you would like to subscribe to.

How does CountAbout Work?

As we mentioned earlier before, CountAbout is an online application. Meaning, you don’t need to download it on your computer or an electronic device. For a more clear picture, let me break this down into steps:

  1. Open your browser and visit countabout.com.
  2. Once you are on their website, just sign up to create an account with them.
  3. Now that you have an account login (which will take you to the website’s main transaction tab).
  4. Here you can add and categorize your transactions. You can also create and edit budgets, compare spending against them, manage ongoing and recurring transactions, and run reports.

CountAbout Alternatives

Now that we know so much about CountAbout let’s compare it with other personal finance software available and try to find a better alternative (if any).

CountAbout vs. Quicken

CountAbout is relatively new to the market than Quicken (there’s a gap of 29 years of experience). In addition to this, Quicken is also slightly expensive (with a starting price of nearly $36 a year), but that money is well-spent as you get some unique features that CountAbout doesn’t offer.

For example, a financial dashboard, online bill payment, tax reports, and property management. Plus, Quicken has a robust network connecting users to over 14.500 financial institutions and 11.000 online billers.

Apart from that, Quicken also over ranks CountAbout when it comes to their free-of-charge policy. Quicken offers a thirty days risk-free trial option, whereas CountAbout offers only a fifteen-day trial.

CountAbout vs. Mint

Mint is a budgeting app just like CountAbout. However, there’s a ‘tiny’ difference between these two. Mint’s premium version of the credit monitoring service is costly—around $203.88 a year (or $16.99 a month). And if you remember well, we mentioned that CountAbout has a starting price of merely $9.99 a YEAR. This price difference is hard to ignore, to be frank. Furthermore, Mint features ads that distract users from things that matter to them the most.

If you want no ads at all and seek affordable and feature-rich personal finance software, CountAbout is a better option. Unlike Mint, it also helps manage finances through accurate and detailed reports of all account activities.

CountAbout vs. MoneyPatrol

MoneyPatrol is another personal finance, budgeting, and money management service. It helps you organize finances, manage transactions, and spot suspicious and fraudulent transactions.

Like CountAbout, they too offer a fifteen-day free trial. BUT, if you want to take advantage of this free deal, you must provide your credit card details.

Nevertheless, they don’t offer their services at the same price rate. MoneyPatrol is available at around $60 a year. Compared to CountAbout, this other finance management service offers a bit more advanced features. It seems like a convenient service for those who like managing their finances months ahead from now.

All in all, it’s a good option if you’re looking for a solution that is more than a budgeting tool. But, if you have a limited budget and have no use of all of the advanced features of this other service, we suggest you stick with CountAbout and make the most of all the helpful tools it has.

Pros and Cons

Unlike other CountAbout Reviews, we have created a list of pros and cons to help you get a clear understanding of how the benefits of this app and the areas where it lacks can lead you to make an informed choice.

Pros

  • Free Trial

The company offers a fifteen-day free trial. Free, as you don’t have to provide them with any payment information or credit card details when using CountAbout on a trial basis.

  • Competitive Pricing

Their packages’ pricing is highly competitive, making them one of the most affordable personal finance software out there.

  • No Ads

With CountAbout, you won’t have to deal with any whatsoever ads. So you don’t have to watch ads that attempt to upsell different products.

  • Import Quicken and Mint Data

It allows you a smooth transfer from Quicken or Mint without losing any of your previous data.

  • Two-factor Authentication

CountAbout security is superb—It has integrated a two-factor authentication login process. Thus, making it difficult for hackers to access user information.

Cons

  • This app isn’t the most suitable for those who want to create a goal-based savings plan.
  • You can’t track your investments unless you are a premium package subscriber.
  • CountAbout doesn’t let you make payments via the software. Although your accounts are synced, you can’t use the app to make payments.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, CountAbout is functional and user-friendly personal finance software that allows users to budget and manage their finances smoothly via their phones. I think there is no other such software that can provide you with so many assets for such a humble price.

It may not be THE greatest ever, but it sure is more than good enough for most of you to take care and good track of your finances and get your financials in good balance. With this CountAbout review, we have brought you a step closer to what you can do with this finance software. Now that you understand everything CountAbout offers, I hope we helped in your decision-making.

FAQ

1. Can CountAbout link to my bank?

Yes. It’s only available to premium users. They can link to their bank accounts and download transactions.

2. Can Mint import Quicken data?

Not by any means. You can’t import data to Mint from Quicken. However, with CountAbout, this is possible. Importing data to CountAbout from Mint and Quicken is easy to get done task.

3. What payment method does CountAbout support?

It supports an annual payment method. Therefore, when you register with it, you pay every year.

4. How do I enable multi-factor authentication with CountAbout?

First, you need to log into your CountAbout ‘My Account’ field. Afterward, choose to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA).

Once you do that, a QR code will show up. Next, download the Google Authenticator app and then scan the code. This will give you a 6 digit number.

Type the numbers in your CountAbout window and click on ‘verify.’ Now, you need to come up with a CountAbout security question and answer. Once done, click ‘submit.’