Data storage, privacy and sync in GrandTotal and MacBusinessSuite

Name: GrandTotal
Author: Media Atelier

Data, privacy and sync, GrandTotal and MacBusinessSuite

Both apps keep your business data on your Mac and need no cloud account. GrandTotal stores a file at a location you choose, which several users can share through a cloud folder, and offers Web Access from a browser through an encrypted relay. MacBusinessSuite keeps the data in the app's container for one Mac and has no sync at all.

Side by side

As of October 2026. GrandTotal from its vendor's official pages (see sources), MacBusinessSuite from its documentation. Not documented means the vendor's pages do not say, not that the feature is missing.
	MacBusinessSuite	GrandTotal
Storage	Local database in the app container on your Mac	GrandTotal file at a location you choose
Account	None	Not needed for the data; licence per user
Sync	None. Built for one active Mac, moving means backup and restore	Through a shared cloud folder, for example Dropbox; no own sync server
Several users	No	Yes, on the shared file
Mobile access	None	Web Access from a browser through an encrypted relay run by Media Atelier
Encryption	Bank data encrypted per field with keys in the Keychain, encrypted backups, app lock with Touch ID	Optional AES-256 encryption of the file
Connections	Only for features you use, such as VIES, ECB rates, your own mail server and the App Store	Licence and update checks, optional online dashboard and number reservation

What GrandTotal offers here

Several users on one file through a shared folder.
Web Access from phones and tablets, the file stays on the Mac.
Every save is signed, with a field history.

What MacBusinessSuite offers here

No account and no sync. Records are stored only on the Mac and leave it only through features you use, such as sending mail, a VIES check or a backup you make.
Bank data encrypted per field, keys in the Keychain.
App lock with Touch ID, Apple Watch or your Mac password.
Automatic local backups, always encrypted.

Security settings with encryption status and key rotation — Screenshots show the app with sample data in German.

Questions and answers

Can several people use the same data?

In GrandTotal, yes, through a file in a shared cloud folder. MacBusinessSuite is built for one user on one Mac; team members are records for hours and rates, not logins.

Does either app send my business data to the vendor?

Neither app needs a vendor cloud for the data. GrandTotal contacts Media Atelier for licence and update checks and, if you use them, Web Access and the online dashboard. MacBusinessSuite has no server of its own for your records.