MCC software
Bookkeeping, personal finance and tax software you own, not rent
Overview
Three apps that run on your own computer and keep your data in a file you own. Buy the app, then pay a small monthly fee only for updates (tax is a single payment). The prices are on this page and each app says plainly what it does not do.
Try before you buy: Wrenfold runs free in your browser (up to 60 entries), and Tallyfinch has a free download (up to 60 entries).
PERSONAL FINANCE
Wrenfold
$79 once, then $5 a month for updates and support
- Accounts and net worth, budgets with what is left to budget, bills and paychecks, a cash forecast, savings goals
- Import your bank's CSV, OFX or text PDF statements, with rules that categorize for you
- Debt payoff planner, spending and cash flow charts, and heads-up notifications on your computer
Not included: a bank connection of our own (you can link SimpleFIN yourself, a separate service), tracking of individual stocks and funds, and an App Store app.
BOOKKEEPING
Tallyfinch
$99 once, then $5 a month for updates
- Double-entry books, invoices with several lines, estimates, bills, customer statements and payment reminders
- Bank import and reconciliation, profit and loss, balance sheet, trial balance, budgets, assets and year-end close
- A set-aside estimate for estimated taxes and notifications for what is due
Not included: payroll, sales tax filing, inventory costing, several users, cloud access and a mobile app. It is built for simple books.
TAXES
MCC Tax 1040
$39 one time, tax years 2025 and 2026
- A guided Form 1040 with the common schedules, education credits and health savings accounts, standard deduction compared with itemizing, and a printable return
- An optional New Jersey resident return (NJ-1040) from the same answers; no other states
- Reads your W-2s, 1099s, SSA-1099, 1098s and 1098-Ts from PDFs, scans and photos on your computer, and shows you what it found before anything is used
- Lists the situations it does not handle and marks the return not complete instead of guessing
Not included: e-filing, state returns, and returns that need things like foreign income, sales of business property, or a credit for minimum tax paid in earlier years.
Switching from another app?
See plain side-by-side comparisons: price, where your data lives, and when another product is the better choice.
Why own it
Rented software is easy to start and hard to leave: your records sit on someone else's servers and the bill tends to grow with users and tiers. These apps work the other way round. You buy the app, your data stays in a file on your computer, and the one recurring charge, for Books and Personal Finance, is a small fee for updates. Stop it and the app keeps working.
| Hosted software you rent | MCC apps you own | |
|---|---|---|
| Where your data lives | Usually on the provider's servers | One file on your computer |
| Pricing shape | Often per user or by plan tier | One price per app, no per-user fee, no tiers |
| If you stop paying | Access depends on an active plan | The app you have keeps working; you stop getting updates |
| Leaving | Depends on the export the provider offers | Copy the file, or export every table to CSV |
| Fits | Payroll, many users, access from anywhere | One person or a small business with simple needs |
What you give up, said plainly
You keep your own backups. The apps run on one computer, not in the cloud. Nobody else can log in to your books. If you need payroll, a team, or access from anywhere, a hosted service is the better choice.
What it costs, in plain numbers
| Price | Billing | If you stop | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Finance | $79 once, then $5 a month | One checkout through Stripe: the fixed price once, then the monthly plan for updates and email support. Cancel the plan any time from the billing portal. | The app keeps working fully and your data stays yours. You stop getting updates. Keep a copy of the app file, because downloading it again needs the plan. |
| Books | $99 once, then $5 a month | One checkout through Stripe: the fixed price once, then the monthly updates plan. Cancel the plan any time from the billing portal. | The app keeps working fully and your data stays yours. You stop getting updates. Keep a copy of the app file, because downloading it again needs the plan. |
| Tax 1040 | $39 once | One payment. Tax years 2025 and 2026 are both in the one app. | Nothing to cancel. Your return is a file on your computer. |
All three for the first year: $337. That is $178 once for Personal Finance and Books, $10 a month for their updates ($120 over twelve months), and $39 once for Tax. After the first year it is $10 a month if you keep both updates plans, and nothing if you stop them. There is no per-user fee and no higher tier to move up to. Prices shown are what checkout charges today.
Toolkit members get MCC Tax 1040 included. Personal Finance and Books are sold separately and are not part of the membership. See the membership.
How it works
- Pick one and buy it. You give an email and get an access link.
- Paste one install line (or use the start file). It checks for Python 3.9 or newer and offers to install it if it is missing.
- Use it in your browser. The page is served from your computer and reachable only from it.
- Your data stays in one file you choose. Back it up by copying it. Export everything to spreadsheets at any time. Books and Personal Finance use a standard database file other tools can read; Tax uses a plain JSON file.
What leaves your computer
- A licence check about once a day for Personal Finance and Books: your order code and email. It confirms the licence, not the monthly fee, so the app keeps working if you stop the fee.
- An update check: the app name, the version you have and your order code. You can switch it off.
- Things you turn on yourself: the SimpleFIN bank link (a separate service), phone push notifications through ntfy, the Personal Finance assistant, and, the first time you import a scan into Tax, a one-time download of the text reader from this site.
- Nothing else. We never see your transactions, books or return.
When to use something else
Use a hosted service or a professional if you need payroll, several people in the same books, access from anywhere without your computer, inventory costing, a bank feed built into the product, or e-filing from the app. For taxes, use IRS Free File, other tax software or a tax professional if your return involves foreign income, sales of business or rental property, a credit for minimum tax paid in earlier years, or anything else the Tax app's first screen lists. We would rather tell you that now than after you pay.
MCC Solutions is not a CPA firm, a tax preparer or a financial advisor. These tools are for general information, are not tax, legal, accounting or financial advice, and read-from-file features can misread a form, so check every number. You are responsible for what you file and keep.
Questions
Why is it cheaper than the big names?
These apps run on your own computer, so we do not pay to host your data, and they are built for simple needs: one person or a small business, no payroll, no extra users. If you need those things, a hosted service is the better fit and we say so below.
Do I have to buy all three?
No. Each one is sold on its own and none needs the others or a membership.
What happens if I stop the monthly update fee on Personal Finance or Books?
Nothing happens to the app you already have: it keeps working fully and your data stays yours. You stop getting updates, and downloading the app again needs the plan to be active, so keep a copy of the app file with your backups. Restart the plan whenever you want updates again. A refund ends the licence, and the app then turns read-only: you can still open your data and export everything.
What does the monthly fee pay for?
Updates: new versions, fixes and changes to rules and figures. For Personal Finance it also includes email support from the person who builds it. The fixed price is for the app itself.
Is there a trial?
Personal Finance and Books: a copy without a licence is a trial that records up to 60 entries, and the demo command shows each with sample data. Tax 1040 has a demo command with a sample return.
What do you see of my data?
Nothing you enter. Personal Finance and Books check your licence about once a day, which sends your order code and email. All three can check for updates, which sends the app name, the version you have and your order code. Anything else is optional and named on the product page (for example the SimpleFIN bank link, which is a separate service you sign up for yourself).
Does MCC Tax 1040 file my return?
No. It prepares the numbers and a printable return, and tells you how to file on paper or electronically through the IRS. It covers common returns, lists the situations it does not handle, and marks the return not complete instead of guessing.
Is any of this tax, accounting or financial advice?
No. These are record-keeping and preparation tools for general information. MCC Solutions is not a CPA firm or a tax preparer. You are responsible for what you file and keep. If your situation is not simple, use a professional.
Which computers does it run on?
Mac and Windows computers. You need Python 3.9 or newer; the start file checks for it and offers to install it if it is missing. It opens in your browser at an address only your computer can reach. Personal Finance can also be opened on a phone on your home Wi-Fi and pinned to the home screen. There is no App Store app.