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Recording expenses in a notebook is not a very useful exercise. Keeping notes on a smartphone is also inconvenient.
Fortunately, the developers have taken care of us for a long time and created applications for personal finance accounting.
Each of us knows this feeling when at the end of the month we are surprised to find a shortage of funds in the account. This is because most do not plan their income and expenses and do not track transactions.
Applications for personal finance accounting will allow you to record all expenses in a few clicks, categorize expenses and easily manage your finances.
Let’s take a closer look at what financial applications are and find out what is needed to create them.
What is a personal finance app?
A personal finance app is built to serve one main purpose: monitoring the user’s money cycle. It should help a person manage his finances and effectively track profits and expenses.
The application can be quite simple and only perform a few tasks:
- record expenses and income;
- provide reports for a specific time.
The functionality can be diversified and integrated with payment systems, for example, to automatically take into account the funds spent, remind you of upcoming payments. You can integrate gamification and add the ability to set goals.
One of the most popular financial tracking apps is Mint, with a user base of 30 million worldwide.
User expectations for a personal finance app
Each user has certain expectations from the product. On the one hand, a large number of applications presented in stores make it easier and suggest what should be included in the product. On the other hand, they raise the bar and create high expectations among users. Either way, your customers expect to see at least the following:
Visualization
Charts, infographics – this will help to simplify the management and understanding of the added data. Visualization is especially relevant for financial applications, as it uses numbers. Graphics help organize information.
Security
Make sure the app is completely secure. Financial data is the user’s personal data, so it is necessary to create a secure environment in the application. Think multi-factor authentication, trusted cloud services, encryption.
Ease of use
Users are more comfortable when it takes no more than three clicks to perform an action in the application. Simplicity and ease of interaction with the application should be your priority in development.
Advice! Use helpful content. Tell people how they can cut costs, increase their financial literacy, add challenges.
Why do people use financial apps?
Personal finance apps allow people to stay organized and predict their spending. This way they can save capital for unplanned expenses and generally have more control over their finances.
Financial management and tracking of expenses by categories create a clear visualization of when and where money was spent, helping to plan the budget.
Basic steps in creating a financial application
The process of developing a financial application, like the development of any other product, begins with determining the target audience and includes several main stages: competitor analysis, selection of functions, selection of a technology stack, and the actual development, promotion and work of the marketing team.
Find your audience
Understanding your user simplifies many tasks: it helps to create a better product, more accurately define a set of functions, build a strategic and effective promotion plan.
Do your research and determine the main criteria for your user profile.
Keep it safe
In a financial application, it is important to ensure good protection of the user’s personal data:
- Use two-factor authentication – add authorization with a password and a code sent via text message, email, or phone call.
- Reduce the session time to reduce the period when the application can be run in unsecured mode.
- Use discreet and low-key fonts to display information to avoid data leakage if a person uses the app in a public place.
What features to include in the financial application?
Start with the basic features that every personal finance app has.
Account Authorization: Make this process quick and easy, but remember that it must be secure as you work with a lot of personal information.
User profile: required for users to enter general information with the possibility of changing it.
Tracking income and expenses: allow you to control all transactions, get quick access to them and use filtering to see data for a certain time.
Categorization: Users need to categorize their expenses in order to better understand and manage their budget.
Notices: notify the user about upcoming payments, increased expenses.
Plus, you can add more features to your personal finance app.
Goal setting: Have people set goals, such as saving $100 a week, or participating in challenges to build healthy financial habits.
Linking to bank accounts/cards/payment services: link the application with other financial services to provide users with synchronization and automate some processes.
Calculator : A nice addition to the list of features that allows you to quickly make calculations without having to switch between applications.
Currency Converter: For people who travel a lot, this will be a great feature.
Set of tools
Once you have decided on the functionality and general idea of your budget tracking application, choose the tools and technologies that you will use to create the product. The set of these tools will include libraries, programming languages, frameworks, etc.
For the frontend, this is HTML, CSS or JavaScript combined with frameworks. The most commonly used are React and Vue.js.
The backend stack includes Ruby, C++, C# programming languages, which are considered the best for financial products.
Databases must be secure and able to process queries quickly. Among the best options are MongoDB, Kibana.
Depending on the complexity of your application, you may need to consider the functionality of an API, an AI solution.
Create a user-friendly UX design
Financial management should be simple and understandable. Show only the information you need so you don’t overwhelm your users. We recommend using plain language so that everything is easy and understandable. An application about finance should not be overloaded with heavy terminology.
Test and Run
When the development phase of the financial application is almost completed, and you are ready to submit the first MVP, the main work passes into the hands of the QA team. Their task is to test the application and identify all the shortcomings.
Try to involve people related to the financial sector in the process.
Once everything has been tested and improved, launch the application. Keep in mind that a launch doesn’t just mean placing a product in stores. A good marketing strategy will largely be responsible for the success of a product.
Tips for building a successful financial app
To sum up, here is a list of the main things to consider when creating a personal finance app.
- Think about your customers and their needs. Always tailor your development process to the needs and expectations of your users.
- Focus on simplicity. Convenient UX design and data visualization will not leave users indifferent.
- Security. Make sure your customers’ data is protected.
- Use gamification. Engage users with interactive content, helpful budgeting tips.
Creating a financial app in 2022 is a great idea. Don’t be afraid of high competition. The ability to control their finances in a mobile application is what users need. So go ahead and create another cool budget control tool.
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