AceMoney Classic

AceMoney Classic is the earlier AceMoney personal-finance program by MechCAD Software, sold since 2002 for Windows and also offered for macOS: accounts and registers, scheduled bills and deposits, budgets, investments, reports, bank-file import and online bank download, in 39 interface languages. AceMoney Lite, its old free edition limited to two accounts, keeps working for people who already have it but is no longer offered for download; new users can start with the Free version of AceMoney Studio. The program calls itself just “AceMoney” in its own menus and dialogs, and this chapter quotes those labels exactly as they appear.

AceMoney Classic is no longer sold, but it is still supported: every license ever issued keeps working, the installers stay available, updates continue as published, and support answers questions about it. Its successor is AceMoney Studio, a separate product for macOS, Windows and Linux, which opens your AceMoney Classic data file directly.

What is in this chapter

Is AceMoney Classic still supported?: what “not sold, still supported” means, which computers run it, where to get help, and the path to AceMoney Studio.
Download and install AceMoney Classic: the installers, the first run, updating, reinstalling and uninstalling.
Register AceMoney Classic with your license: entering your name and serial number, the 30-day trial, AceMoney Lite, and a lost key.
Move AceMoney Classic to a new computer: the multi-user permission, which files to copy, reinstalling and re-entering the key.
Move your AceMoney Classic data to AceMoney Studio: open your .amj file in Studio, or import a JSON export, what is preserved, checking the balances.
Pair AceMoney Classic with AceMoney Receipts: the 8-digit code, what syncs each way, and unpairing.
Fix common AceMoney Classic problems: the questions support is asked most, with their fixes.

Find your way around the program

The main pages are on the toolbar and the View menu, each with a function key: Accounts (F2, every account grouped with totals), Banks (F3), Payees (F4), Categories (F5), Schedule (F6, recurring bills and deposits, with a Calendar tab), Reports (F7) and Portfolio (F8, investments). Double-click an account to open its register, the Account page. Back, Forward and Home move between pages; Tools > Options… chooses which page opens first.

The register shows the columns Num, Date, Payee, Category, S (state: blank for uncleared, C cleared, R reconciled, I imported), Withdrawal, Deposit, Total (a running balance in date order) and Comment. The side panel has New, Edit, Delete, Balance (reconcile against a statement), Download (online bank download), Account (properties) and Report. Future scheduled bills appear in grey at the bottom of the register.

Your data lives in a single .amj file (older files are .mmw) wherever you saved it, usually in Documents. Back it up with Tools > Backup…; the file stays on your computer and nothing leaves it unless you start a bank download, a quote download, an update check or the Receipts pairing sync.

Common questions

Is AceMoney Classic the same thing as AceMoney Studio?

No. AceMoney Classic is the earlier program. AceMoney Studio is the new, separate product that replaces it. Studio opens your AceMoney Classic data file directly, and owners of an AceMoney Classic license can buy AceMoney Studio at a founder price at www.mechcad.net/upgrade/; see Is AceMoney Classic still supported?.

Can I still download and install AceMoney Classic?

Yes. The installers stay on the downloads page so you can reinstall; see Download and install AceMoney Classic. New licenses are not sold any more; existing licenses keep working. AceMoney Lite is no longer offered for download; new users can start with the Free version of AceMoney Studio.

Where do I get help with AceMoney Classic?

Through the support portal at https://support.mechcad.net/ (opens in a new tab) or by e-mail to support@mechcad.net. The Support page says what to include in a request.

Where is my AceMoney Classic data stored?

In your .amj data file on your computer, in the folder you chose when you saved it (usually Documents). It is not stored online. See Privacy and your data.

Troubleshooting

The program opens empty or your accounts seem gone. The data file was not loaded. File > Open and find the .amj file (search Windows for *.amj), then tick Load last file at startup in Tools > Options…. More in Fix common AceMoney Classic problems.
“Failed to open document” on another computer. The file was copied without multi-user access. See Move AceMoney Classic to a new computer.
“Invalid serial number” when registering. Paste the name and the whole serial block from the license e-mail; do not type them. See Register AceMoney Classic with your license.
The phone says “Sync code not found”. Read the fresh code on the phone; codes last 30 seconds. See Pair AceMoney Classic with AceMoney Receipts.