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Message
YNAB: A Tale of How Not to Do Business
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:01 am
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:01 am
Some of you are familiar with YNAB software - You Need a Budget. Up until recently, it was by far the best personal finance/budgeting software on the market.
Their business model was simple. $60 one time, free upgrades for life. They did this for nearly 10 years. At the end of 2015, they released v5.0 of their software - a cloud based system that (1) wasn't really ready for public use, and (2) Would be $5/month forever - past users were not grandfathered in.
That pissed off a good bit of their loyal following, but they rectified it with a free year of YNAB 5. YNAB 5 is horrible. Its full of bugs, there is zero reporting capability, and its a complete disaster connecting to banks.
They have been touting big news for a couple weeks, and everyone is getting excited that they are finally going to fix YNAB 5 with a software update. The big news was announced Friday - an Apple Watch app.
People are pissed off.
Their business model was simple. $60 one time, free upgrades for life. They did this for nearly 10 years. At the end of 2015, they released v5.0 of their software - a cloud based system that (1) wasn't really ready for public use, and (2) Would be $5/month forever - past users were not grandfathered in.
That pissed off a good bit of their loyal following, but they rectified it with a free year of YNAB 5. YNAB 5 is horrible. Its full of bugs, there is zero reporting capability, and its a complete disaster connecting to banks.
They have been touting big news for a couple weeks, and everyone is getting excited that they are finally going to fix YNAB 5 with a software update. The big news was announced Friday - an Apple Watch app.
People are pissed off.
4
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:09 am to anc
I tried YNAB, Mint, and maybe quickbooks. All had their particular strengths but I wasn't impressed with any of them overall for what I thought should be some basic features. If I knew anything about how to write code I'd develop my own version of personal accounting software and be a millionaire. 
As for now I've been just doing a monthly excel spreadsheet and it works for me so much better than anything else I've used.
As for now I've been just doing a monthly excel spreadsheet and it works for me so much better than anything else I've used.
This post was edited on 5/23/16 at 10:11 am
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:18 am to anc
I have been a loyal ynab customer since the beginning. I was super excited after ynab 4 with their "biggest update yet" and it totally crashed and burned. I tried the online cloud system for a month and it was a total disaster. Everything that made ynab great was gone.
I am still using ynab 4 (which kicks arse) and will never switch to anything else. It no longer updates but it still works great and shares across all of our devices.
You are correct, this is a prime example of a company completely destroying their own loyal fanbase. They should've done a soft opening to a test group.
I am still using ynab 4 (which kicks arse) and will never switch to anything else. It no longer updates but it still works great and shares across all of our devices.
You are correct, this is a prime example of a company completely destroying their own loyal fanbase. They should've done a soft opening to a test group.
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:31 am to anc
quote:
I am still using ynab 4
I didn't realize YNAB 5 was a flop. But the $5 per month fee is a total money grab. I wonder if they've lost a lot subscribers.
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:31 am to anc
I've been using YNAB for a little for almost a year and a half now. I have convinced multiple people to start using it which is awesome. I was really irritated with the $5/month thing. I think it's really shitty that they did that to people who had already purchased the actual software. I was also very hesitant to use the web based version of YNAB, but so far so good for me.
I'll be honest, there are a few things that irk me...reports being the biggy. Another is when clicking on a budget item in nYnab I no longer have a way to easily view all the purchases made in that category other than the current month.
All of that said, I have had few issues with my bank connection and auto import functionality. I still log everything as if using YNAB4 but the import function to double check myself has been nice.
I originally didn't purchase the software...I kept trying and failing for a month to win a free copy through the webinars. Back then, I couldn't really bring myself to toss $60 towards it and it wasn't ever on sale via Steam anymore...so I found a pirated key to use. I'm happy to give them my money now, and did so with nYNAB.
I love the software, and although what I think they did was kinda shitty it doesn't change all the good using this software has done for me over the last 16 months.
I think they'll get everything ironed out, but if they keep introducing stupid bullshite like an apple watch app instead of the promised reporting functionality that was supposed to be in months ago...well yeah, they're going to have A LOT of very pissed off people that will probably continue cancelling their subs and going back to YNAB 4.
I'll be honest, there are a few things that irk me...reports being the biggy. Another is when clicking on a budget item in nYnab I no longer have a way to easily view all the purchases made in that category other than the current month.
All of that said, I have had few issues with my bank connection and auto import functionality. I still log everything as if using YNAB4 but the import function to double check myself has been nice.
I originally didn't purchase the software...I kept trying and failing for a month to win a free copy through the webinars. Back then, I couldn't really bring myself to toss $60 towards it and it wasn't ever on sale via Steam anymore...so I found a pirated key to use. I'm happy to give them my money now, and did so with nYNAB.
I love the software, and although what I think they did was kinda shitty it doesn't change all the good using this software has done for me over the last 16 months.
I think they'll get everything ironed out, but if they keep introducing stupid bullshite like an apple watch app instead of the promised reporting functionality that was supposed to be in months ago...well yeah, they're going to have A LOT of very pissed off people that will probably continue cancelling their subs and going back to YNAB 4.
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:34 am to Doldil
quote:
well yeah, they're going to have A LOT of very pissed off people that will probably continue cancelling their subs and going back to YNAB 4.
They have announced that they will no longer support YNAB 4 at the end of the year. They are all in on the SaaS model. I'm like you - I am irritated about the lack of reports, and they have been promising them since January.
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:36 am to anc
quote:
They have announced that they will no longer support YNAB 4 at the end of the year
We will still be able to use it after the end of the year right?
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:39 am to Azazello
quote:
We will still be able to use it after the end of the year right?
From my understanding - no. They are going to cut off access to banks, the classic mobile app, etc.
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:45 am to anc
I thought they were just ending the support for drop box...as long as that functionality is working there's no reason that YNAB 4 won't continue to work. Theoretically, it should continue to work forever since it's simply a software program installed locally.
Posted on 5/23/16 at 11:08 am to Doldil
The support for drop box is huge because it's how I link the app on my phone to computer. I enter 80% of all transactions on my phone.
This pisses me off beyond belief. Guess the search is on for a new program.
This pisses me off beyond belief. Guess the search is on for a new program.
Posted on 5/23/16 at 11:11 am to Azazello
quote:
Guess the search is on for a new program.
Let us know what you find! TIA
Posted on 5/23/16 at 11:13 am to RunningBlake
My search is really narrow because I don't use programs that auto-import from banks. I have never gotten a program to correctly sync with all of my accounts.
Gonna check out some blogs to see if there are any good spreadsheets out there.
Gonna check out some blogs to see if there are any good spreadsheets out there.
Posted on 5/23/16 at 11:18 am to Azazello
I really don't think you're going to have to worry about it not working. I don't think the drop box functionality is going to randomly break or anything. Although I guess when dropbox gets updates you never know what might happen, but things like that can always be rolled back and updates ignored I think.
I wouldn't abandon ship just yet, see how it plays out.
I wouldn't abandon ship just yet, see how it plays out.
Posted on 5/23/16 at 12:47 pm to Doldil
Persona budgeting would be so much easier if CC companies were able to post charges immediately.
I just use excel/ personal caps on spending per category per day. I come within $50-100 every month.
I just use excel/ personal caps on spending per category per day. I come within $50-100 every month.
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