[laughfactory]

Hey there, new convert to the Blackberry family here, coming over from the Treo camp. So far I'm very impressed with the hardware, but very unimpressed with the 3rd party software.

Specifically I'm desperate for a decent, solid, intuitive checkbook app. I've tried Ascendo (ugly, unintuitive, too simplistic), eCheckBook (okay looking, more features, but awkwardly laid out and hard to use/unintuitive), Wisespend (wouldn't even run on my 8830, though it had an appealing look, though it may be too simplistic). There doesn't seem to be anything like Pocket Quicken or even the free Checkbook app that I used and loved on my Treo.

Help!

I find it a little odd that Blackberries are so popular--particularly in the IT crowd--yet there are so few decent applications for them.

MyCheck Book 3 looked interesting but doesn't have a trial available and there's NO WAY I'm paying for something I don't have the opportunity to try first.

Any other suggestions?

[gibber9583]

Jabplite, its free. There is another thread containing a link. do a quick search.

[laughfactory]

Or nearly, anyway. It seems to be just the ticket. It installs, runs, and does what I want in an intuitive way. If they could just pretty it up a wee bit more I'd be in heaven. As it is I'm happy though. Thanks for the suggestion. I was terrified that I'd be stuck with eCheckbook. Thanks again!

[gibber9583]

No problem! I use it, just wish it would somehow sync with MSMoney or Quicken, and like you mentioned, it looked a bit nicer. Oh well, it does the trick!!

[camaxtli]

I use echeckregister from total wireless solutions. It is pretty simple but does the job and can email the forms in csv. It is only $10 at handango.com

[laughfactory]

I'm glad it works for you but it was one of the solutions I tried and discarded. It seems to have a good feature list but poor implementation. For example: when I open my checkbook app I want to see an overview of my main account--recent transactions (deposits, withdrawals, etc.) as well as my current balance. I also want it to be really easy (a minimum of hoops to jump through) to put a new transaction into the program. echeckregister was simply hard to use, and separated everything out...which isn't a useful view to me. The other FREE suggestion was perfectly intuitive and, well, completely free.

[pyro451]

Does anyone seriously use a check register anymore? Sorry, but once you switch to on-line banking you can literally send checks directly from the bank to the payee from your berry. They are inserted into the on-line statement immediately and the bank mails the paper check.

Bank-of-America has an excellent mobile implementation of their on-line banking for the berry and other mobile devices. It is worth checking into it.

[nimocone]

Apparently lots of people still use check registers. I always seem to be stuck behind check writers in stores... ;)

[Schwin97]

Check register isn't used for people that write checks, but for those that would like to keep track of their spending when using their debit/credit card. I use jabplite, though I agree that it would be nice to allow for downloading the information to a csv.

[pyro451]

These transactions are also posted nearly immediately on-line. I still fail to see the value of manually re-entering data that is automatically populated in real time.

With that said, I hope the OP does find an application that meets their needs, as I can understand the frustration of looking for something with no results.

Originally Posted by Schwin97

Check register isn't used for people that write checks, but for those that would like to keep track of their spending when using their debit/credit card. I use jabplite, though I agree that it would be nice to allow for downloading the information to a csv.

[laughfactory]

Your debit card instantaneously updates your account? Wow, mine does not. Perhaps it's because my accounts are at a credit union, but debit card transactions take days to clear. It's not a problem, but it does need to be tracked with some sort of register functionality. If things immediately cleared--as is apparently the case for you--then of course online banking would be sufficient. Then again, my EVDO connection gets dropped frequently on my 8830, so it might not be a good idea to rely on anything which is online just yet. the jblite (or whatever it's called--needs a better, more memorable name) was an excellent suggestion. I've been using, and loving, it ever since I installed it. Good stuff. Just for the record, I only write checks for my bills. Again, my credit union doesn't offer bill pay; and I'm not familiar enough with how bill pay works to trust it. Plus don't they charge a fee for it (a per transaction fee to stamp the envelope, print the check, etc.)?

[pyro451]

Originally Posted by laughfactory

Your debit card instantaneously updates your account? Wow, mine does not. Perhaps it's because my accounts are at a credit union, but debit card transactions take days to clear. It's not a problem, but it does need to be tracked with some sort of register functionality. If things immediately cleared--as is apparently the case for you--then of course online banking would be sufficient. Then again, my EVDO connection gets dropped frequently on my 8830, so it might not be a good idea to rely on anything which is online just yet. the jblite (or whatever it's called--needs a better, more memorable name) was an excellent suggestion. I've been using, and loving, it ever since I installed it. Good stuff. Just for the record, I only write checks for my bills. Again, my credit union doesn't offer bill pay; and I'm not familiar enough with how bill pay works to trust it. Plus don't they charge a fee for it (a per transaction fee to stamp the envelope, print the check, etc.)?

When I use my Bank of America debit card I can see the transaction almost immediately on-line. It is definitely there by the time I get home. The only exception is foreign country use. Even then it typically only takes a day or two.

I have only used one book (not box) of checks in the past five or six years thanks to on-line bill payment. I do not pay any fees at all on my accounts.

It may be time to reconsider where you manage your money.

[wxboss]

Jabpl.ite looks like a good program, but I've found Ascendo's program to be very worthwhile. It has a pretty good feature set along with a desktop companion.

My one gripe is that the desktop version doesn't have the functionality of the BB version, but data configuration and entry on the BB isn't hard or time consuming at all. I'm pretty happy with it.

[laughfactory]

I guess I have a low tolerance for too much clicking and navigation, coming over to the BB world from the Treo touchscreen world. Most of my qualms with BB have to do with there being too many clicks and scrolls and confirmations required. And that colors whether or not I consider a program like Ascendo to be easy to use and worthwhile or not. Perhaps on your particular model of BB it works better than it did on mine. Perhaps the trackball functionality significantly alters the BB experience. I don't know. All I know is that I wasn't a fan of anything other than jabplite for checkbook functionality.

[Dawg]

Originally Posted by laughfactory

Your debit card instantaneously updates your account? Wow, mine does not. Perhaps it's because my accounts are at a credit union, but debit card transactions take days to clear. It's not a problem, but it does need to be tracked with some sort of register functionality. If things immediately cleared--as is apparently the case for you--then of course online banking would be sufficient. Then again, my EVDO connection gets dropped frequently on my 8830, so it might not be a good idea to rely on anything which is online just yet. the jblite (or whatever it's called--needs a better, more memorable name) was an excellent suggestion. I've been using, and loving, it ever since I installed it. Good stuff. Just for the record, I only write checks for my bills. Again, my credit union doesn't offer bill pay; and I'm not familiar enough with how bill pay works to trust it. Plus don't they charge a fee for it (a per transaction fee to stamp the envelope, print the check, etc.)?

I bought gas 20 mins ago and mine was there 5 minutes later I use WAMU

[gibber9583]

Bill pay is free. What bank charges for that in this day and age?