A Complete Guide To Build An Efficient Expense Tracking App
App Development
09Jun 2021
Tech-savvy mobile apps have made lives better to monitor our spending habits, manage money, and track expenses. Managing finance can be pretty lengthy and monotonous, but finance apps have made it easier to handle transactions. Mobile apps dominate the world with their advancements, and the same can be said for the finance world.
Combining the finance world with mobile apps has brought wonders to the way people manage their finances like stock trading, investments, transferring funds, bill payments, splitting bills, etc. And who could imagine a mobile app can do such a great job when it comes to managing your expenses.
Mobile apps make things convenient for people who need to manage their incomes and expenditures efficiently. For example, a monthly expense tracker mobile app automates the process of summing expenditures category-wise, recording transactions, and tracking progress towards goals. This blog will focus on must-have features of the expense tracking app and cost estimates to develop this app.
Topics To Cover
- The Reason to Build An Expense Tracking App
- Critical Features That You Expense Tracking App Must Have
- Popular Expense Tracking Apps to Look At
- Expense Tracking App Development Cost Estimates
- The Bottom Line
The Reason To Build An Expense Tracking App
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The finance tracking app works as a blessing for business persons as their earrings differ each month depending on their profits.
A finance tracking app keeps income records, manages taxes, creates a budget, tracks receipts, tracks incomes vs. expenses, and much more with full security. Expense tracking app development comes under the top mobile app trends, and several people are using this app.
According to sources, 45.5% of people in the US have saved nothing for their retirement, which is why they face trouble once they are retired. So now you know why it is crucial to have a finance tracking app to deal with your funds smoothly.
Reduces Data Loss And Fraud
Handling personal finances and expenses manually can't be easy as it cannot check each transaction in detail precisely.
Hence, fraud occurs many times. A finance tracking app can automate the workflow of money and finance management. This reduces fraud and makes the process more transparent and precise.
Manages Documents
Gone are the days when people used to use paper and excel spreadsheets to record cash payments and online transactions. Papers are difficult to manage and also threatening to the environment.
Whereas, excel sheets might provide an online solution but are not much of help to manage money. Hence, it's better to build a finance tracking app that gathers insights from the data and helps make improved business decisions.
Provides Accurate Analysis
Although an Excel spreadsheet might create valuable graphs and charts, track and store data, yet does not offer advanced functionality. Whereas human involvement can create possible errors. Therefore, the best thing is to develop a finance tracker app that performs accurate analysis and helps you make the best business decisions.
Store Receipts
You might not always find online and cash payments, which might be a major issue while tracking finances. Hence, if you wish to track your payments and investments, you should definitely use a business finance tracking app. These apps help store your receipts just by clicking their photos in your finance tracking app.
Prevents Human Error
Mistakes cannot be affordable when it is about managing finances and budgets. But humans might make errors due to negligence or recklessness. Using an expense management app can reduce every error caused due to recklessness.
Critical Features That You Expense Tracking App Must Have
Before you start your journey to find a reliable app development to build a finance management app, understand your requirements and the features you want to incorporate in your app. Just get a brief idea about it!
Below are some essential features compiled by our team that must be included in your expense management app:
Secures Data
Security is the topmost concern for every individual when it comes to their sensitive information. And as an app developer, you must prioritize this functionality the most. Your finance expense app must maintain a high-security level. Also, it should retrieve users' accounts if their smartphones or tablets are stolen or misplaced.
Generates Reports
Expense management apps should enable the users to create balance sheets, profit and loss statements, expense and revenue reports, etc. You can even use this feature to generate advance reports for budgeting and inventory.
Manages And Organizes Receipts
This feature fixes the issue if the user misses out on some transactions. The user just needs to click a photo of the receipt each time they receive or send an online payment. They should place it under the accurate category, and the finance tracker app will remind them of it.
Moreover, they won't misplace those pictures as they are saved in the cloud. The receipts are also organized properly so they can restore them whenever required.
Efficient Tax Deductions
If the users need to file for taxes, they can upload their documents using the expense tracker app. It will efficiently organize all incomes and expenses into tax categories. Finance management apps can streamline their business finances into relevant tax categories, thus helping them manage their earnings.
Allows Bills And Invoices
The finance tracking app permits bank transfers, net banking, UPI payment, and card transactions. Thus, an expense tracking app tracks their reports and the bills inside the app. The users can also create a professional invoice with a logo.
Manages Inventory
You don't have to build a phenomenal app to manage your stock; this app can also work this task. For example, an expense tracking app can track products and their expenses and send an alert if they run out of inventory. You can also see which item is highly demanded and which isn't.
Automates Processes
This functionality saves ample time that the user would usually invest in making, sharing, and analyzing reports. They can evaluate reminders that send alerts based on the needs of their business solutions. Moreover, these automated alerts improve client relationships, boost sales, and increase cash flow.
AI-based Insights And Data Analytics
Using AI and data analytics, you can help your users get ready-made reports with accessible charts, graphs, and visuals. These reports can be used for evaluating and creating insights. You can make this function your app's default tool for users to understand if their businesses are running properly or if they need some improvements.
AI-driven Robo-Advisors
This is an AI-based feature that renders financial advice virtually. In addition, this feature generates algorithmic investment solutions and evaluates, supervises, and improves various investments.
Typically Robo-advisors gather data from clients about their financial status and future goals and use it to advise them. Robo-advisors provide suggestions easily, and novice investors can easily trade stocks in real-time with actual costs and no risk of real money.
Track Credit Score
This function displays the current credit scores, weekly scores and provides the score rating like fair/good. Moreover, the finance tracking app will also inform about the improvement needed in your users' credit score through push notifications and tailored suggestions based on their current score.
Make Small Investments
This feature helps your user make small investments so that they don't have to think about making larger investments which can be difficult. They can simply automate monthly investments or do it manually as per their account balance.
AI-powered Chatbots
These virtual bots are fantastic as they interact with your users and leave them with a smiling experience. These virtual assistants are super equipped to understand your requirements and queries. Moreover, they help examine your account balance smoothly.
Deals And Offers
This feature helps save money by offering deals on products they need based on their choices. It also discovers and displays special offers on products your users want to buy or find less expensive substitutes to the same items near the purchase time. An expense tracker app informs them on how to save money and renders solutions for saving it.
Recurring Costs
A finance tracking app tracks specific transactions and bills occurring at frequent intervals. They can allow the app to look after the recurring expenses. This will automate and facilitate the smooth workflow of regular expenses, invoices, and bills.
Managing Travel Finances
Your expense tracker app can include this feature to create a budget before your staff member makes a business trip. You can include the trip destination and get a chart as per their comfort. Later, you can assign resources based on the expected travel expenses. This will save ample money invested in business tours.
Agreements with Vendors
Using the expense tracking app, the user can include details of vendors and categorize them. Moreover, they can keep records of all the payments made by them, like who, how much, and when.
Budget Monitoring
Several expense tracking apps show the difference between income and expenses. This certainly helps the user see the complete picture to get profound insights. Hence, you should have complete information on the budget and how much to invest in real-time. Moreover, this app helps adhere to the budget and create solutions, such as mitigating unwanted expenses.
Safe Access
Managing accounting all alone can be truly difficult. Therefore, as an app developer or an app development company, you can provide your users with safe access while managing their finances. You can offer some particular access to some features of this app to prevent errors.
A finance tracker app also empowers work to boost the team's efficiency and expertise. Using this app, the whole team can be on the same page to share the data easily.
AI-based Predictions
AI knows your expense patterns and finances and accordingly forecasts your further purchases. Moreover, it renders particular data on how to save money. From how much to spend to where to spend, you can understand all the factors that can fluctuate your expenditures.
Popular Expense Tracking Apps To Look At
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Below is a list of the 7 popular and top-notch tracking apps for personal and professional use.
1. Mint App
This is a great way to manage your finances and has a user-friendly interface. Mint can provide you with custom budgets, personalized insights, subscription monitoring, and spend your tracking for free. This app automatically classifies your expenditures, and expense categories can manually change.
App users can create a budget of recorded transactions, and this app offers ample additional features like payment reminders, low balance notifications, and free credit score checks. This app is already used by more than 24 million people and is one of the best expense tracking apps to manage your money.
This expense tracking app also provides free budgeting tips and advice to save your money. It helps you create effective budgets and keeps an eye on your balances with the budget tracker. Moreover, you can also check your estimated date and refund status when you file your taxes with Turbo Tax. It should be noted that the app is owned by the parent company of TurboTax, Intuit Inc., hence offers matchless features.
2. Expensify App
Expensify has a broad range of features and automation capabilities. This expense management app comes among the best finance tracker apps that you can use for your business. Expensify can do everything from report management to managing receipts.
The app's SmartScan tech removes the need for manual data entry and makes it easy to track receipts. It allows 5 free SmartScans each month, or users can scan unlimited receipts by paying only $4.99/month.
Expensify's pricing is not as its name suggests; its pricing is quite cost-effective than other apps. Group plans can cost around $18/month/user and include extra features like accounting software integration and expense approval functions.
Moreover, this expense tracking app can report and submit expenditures to create real-time reports. All you need to do is click a photo of the receipt, and information such as date, price, and vendor are naturally coded for quicker payment. You can receive live travel alerts for delayed flights, upcoming trips, etc., and modify your itinerary.
The only drawback is that the interface isn't amicable for all the users.
3. QuickBooks App
This is another one owned by Intuit, after Mint. This expense tracker app safely uploads and classifies expenses, and it allows users to create invoices, track stock, receive payments, etc. All these features make this app the top preference for businesses worldwide to manage their finances conveniently.
The app has an invoice generator to easily track the sent invoices, even if they are various currencies. After connecting your bank with the app, you can closely check the profits and losses of your organization.
This app allows you to tailor your invoices and sales receipts using your company's logo, and you can make all the essential tax deductions by rendering your accountant access to your account.
Moreover, the stand apart feature of this app is its advanced bill management tool. This tool allows you to set up regular bills and record them. Furthermore, you can also set up merchants, control expenditures, and pay different vendors simultaneously.
All these amazing features come at a cost, as Quickbooks' plan starts at $25/month and can go up to $150/month for more premium features. It offers 25% off for the first 3 months, so you can definitely give it a try to see if it's worth it or not.
4. YNAB App
This app is best for those trying a new approach to manage money. This app is created with the philosophy that families should spend only the money presently available. That means YNAB will require you to embrace an open mindset.
Key Features
- You can connect to various bank accounts and upload your transactions to have updated information.
- You can access all your budget data across different devices in real-time and thus have all the details to make better spending decisions.
- The app offers daily free workshops and digital guides, including finance topics, and describes how to use the app efficiently.
- This app will match the upload transactions with those you input manually so that your account balances are always precise.
- Our support-friendly team is always at your disposal for live chat and provides over 100 live budgeting sessions every week for free.
You can download the app and use it at no cost for 34 days, after which you need to pay $11.99/month or $84/year. Moreover, grad students can use the app free for 12 months.
5. Personal Capital App
This is one of the best finance tracking apps for investors, as you can view all your bank accounts and investments in one app. This app provides you investment tools, expense classification, advice and helps you remain updated for upcoming bills.
Personal Capital is free to use and provides you a clear summary of your overall financial well-being. This app is used by 2.8 million users so far and has been awarded as "The Best App For Investors" in 2021 by CNBC.
Key Features
- You can avail of financial advisory services using this app if your investable assets exceed $100k. After connecting your accounts, you can receive an initial free consultation with one of the best advisors.
- This app's engaging cash flow tools enable you to see your total revenue and expenses across your accounts.
- With the investment checkup tool, you can check how your investments are doing and how they can improve.
- Retirement Planner can create, manage, and predict your retirement in one place.
6. Shoeboxed App
This app is no rocket science for someone who needs to manage receipts without manually entering the data. This app is the best for those businesses that generate high volumes of paper receipts. This app offers an easy way to handle receipts and other paper documents.
App users can scan receipts on their own and send them to Shoeboxed for scanning. This app will generate expense reports and sync with other tools like QuickBooks.
This award-winning app has been featured in several popular publications such as The New York Times, Forbes, The Wall Street Magazine, etc. And the app is currently used by over 800k people to scan and streamline receipts, track expenses, and more.
7. SupportPay App
This is a unique expense tracker app used by co-parents who share their expenses for their children but do not live together. This is the most installed and most-rated app by single parents, separated or remarried for some reason. SupportPay allows the parents to click a picture of bills to share with the other parent. Payments can be made straight through the app or can be recorded manually as well.
Expense Tracking App Development Cost Estimates
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The cost of building an app depends on several factors, as your app is a build-up of several features, frameworks, and functionalities.
While considering the cost of finance tracking app development, several things must be taken into account, such as:
- App size
- Number of platforms (Android, iOS, or Windows)
- 3rd-party integrations
- App features
- UI/UX design
- App testing
- Location
However, we can give you a rough estimate for your expense tracking app, somewhere between $20k to $30k depending upon the features.
The Bottom Line
This article has made it crystal clear that managing your finances using expense tracking apps can be fruitful for individuals and businesses as it can help them with various things. If you want to develop an app, get in touch with our experienced team to share your unique ideas.
Harnil Oza is the CEO & Founder of Hyperlink InfoSystem. With a passion for technology and an immaculate drive for entrepreneurship, Harnil has propelled Hyperlink InfoSystem to become a global pioneer in the world of innovative IT solutions. His exceptional leadership has inspired a multiverse of tech enthusiasts and also enabled thriving business expansion. His vision has helped the company achieve widespread respect for its remarkable track record of delivering beautifully constructed mobile apps, websites, and other products using every emerging technology. Outside his duties at Hyperlink InfoSystem, Harnil has earned a reputation for his conceptual leadership and initiatives in the tech industry. He is driven to impart expertise and insights to the forthcoming cohort of tech innovators. Harnil continues to champion growth, quality, and client satisfaction by fostering innovation and collaboration.
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