Top 3 Budgeting Apps for Personal and Business Use

The world of mobile applications is expanding all the time, with more and more people learning how to make their own. There are many different categories that these apps fall into, from social to artistic, educational to gaming. As so many of us have busy, hectic lives, apps that help us organize our lives are some of the most popular.

Many of these apps out there, and ones that allow users to organize their finances are especially popular. When there are so many apps available, how do you tell which ones will serve you the best?

Here is a run down of three top budgeting apps, to give you a good starting point from which to begin organizing your finances.

1. Mint
Runs on: Android
Cost: Free
Continuing the LifeHacker favourites, they named Mint ‘Best Mobile Personal Finance Tool’ in January 2012. Mint collects all of a user’s personal financial accounts into one place and allows them to access it from anywhere.

They can use this information to create budgets, track spending and save money. All users need to do to get hold of this app is to sign up with Mint.com and they can collate all the aspects of their financial lives.

Pros:
-The app is free.
-You can view and connect all your accounts.
– Mint alerts you on bills and ways to save more money through SMS and e-mail.
-Account transactions are downloaded automatically

Cons:
-The app doesn’t give you full access to the features of their website.
-It can’t assign multiple savings goal to one account.
-Multiple currencies isn’t supported

Verdict:
The budgeting app is very easy to read. Bank accounts, transaction records and budgeting plans all appear in a simple and intuitive layout. Best of all, it’s free! The app still needs some improvements though. Mint isn’t as fast as other budgeting applications, but it’s still a great app to use for tracking your weekly and monthly budget plans.

2. MoneyWise
Runs on: Android
Cost: Free / MoneyWise Pro – £4.30

“The Best Budget-Tracking App For Android,” LifeHacker’s choice MoneyWise does a wonderful job in keeping track of your expenses and financial plans.  With this powerful app, users can view their expenses in different categories.

With graphs to check and see if you’re keeping up to your budget targets, managing your financial resources isn’t a hassle anymore.

Pros:
-The interface is very easy to use. It sorts out details in easy-to-read graphs and tables.
-Adding manual transactions is very simple.
-You can back-up your records and upload them to your Dropbox account for safety.
-Adjust budgets on the fly. With a few touches on your phone, you can edit budget and savings plans in a jiffy.
-The app works even when you’re offline.

Cons:
-You can’t attach photo-receipts
-It’s also limited to two accounts only.
-The app doesn’t allow bank-to-bank transfers.
-The free version is swamped with advertisements. You have to upgrade to the full version to remove this and some other limitations.

Verdict:
Even on its free version, MoneyWise still brings wonders to many users being a straightforward and user-friendly app. No more need for overdrafts or complicated graphs. This app does wonders for people who wish to get a firm grip on how their financial decisions come.

3. PocketMoney

Runs on: iPad,
Cost: full version – £2.99, lite version – free.

PocketMoney is a personal financial manager that is easy to run and will allow you to see your finances in a concise manner. It’s a very useful app for those who want to keep track of their budgets and expenses on the iPad.

Pros:
– Everything is manually done in PocketMoney. You can keep a close eye in your financial usage and plan your budget on the go.
– You can transfer funds between stored accounts and see transaction records in a detailed or summarized view.
– PocketMoney can sync with your desktop. Keep your records and organize it while you’re at home.
– The budgeting feature lets you set limits for your monthly budgets and track your savings easily.

Cons:
-You can only add up to two accounts on the lite version. You have to upgrade to the Full version to access more features.
-It’s a bit slow on 3G connection.
-The app still has some glitches. It sometimes crashes on start-up and there are some problems on editing or adding transactions.

Verdict:
The app is very simple to use. Although it his still some issues, regular updates fix recurring issues. If you want a personal financial manager on the go, PocketMoney will do a great job for you. If you’re still not convinced, there’s the lite version that you can try for free.

Are you using any of the above apps to manage your money ?