function
Response from developer
An app that won't open is worth nothing, and twice in a row isn't bad luck. I'd rather find this than argue about it. Here is where I got to. I put it through repeated clean installs and launches, ran a full test pass over it, and went through the App Store analytics for this app line by line. No freeze on my side, and no crash report from any device. I'm not telling you it didn't happen. I'm telling you the data isn't showing me where it happened, and I don't want to guess at a fix. Going looking did turn up things worth fixing, so they're fixed. The opening screens are lighter now, animation that could drag on older iPhones is gone, and I closed a rare case where the app could end up stuck waiting on itself instead of getting on with its work. The download is also about 25 MB smaller, since a few components it no longer needed were cut out. That work is finished and going out in an update. If you're up for it, the fastest way to close this properly is an email to halimozturk@windowslive.com: which screen it stopped on (the welcome screen, one of the setup questions, or the main screen after that), your iPhone model, and a screenshot if you can grab one. Send that and I'll get straight on it and do everything I can to sort it out quickly.
Functional Yes, useful? No.
Recommend spending the time doing your expenses in something more viable, even an excel spreadsheet with enough know how can be more useful.
Response from developer
Fair, and thanks for putting it plainly. If getting anything useful out of the app means typing in every purchase by hand, that's a real cost, and you're right to weigh it. The linking part is a deliberate choice on our side, not a missing piece. Connecting to your accounts means handing a bank login to a third-party service and letting your whole transaction history leave your phone. We decided we didn't want to sit in the middle of that. Your data stays on your device and in your own iCloud, and we never ask for a bank login. That choice only earns its keep if the manual side is quick, so here's what already runs on its own: fixed costs like rent, subscriptions, insurance and loan payments are entered once as recurring transactions, and after that the app posts each one for you every period. Bill reminders clear the rest in a tap. A spreadsheet, however well built, won't do that part for you. What's left is the day-to-day variable spending, and that's the piece your review is really about. Making that piece faster is what we're building now, in large part because of feedback like yours: bulk import from a bank statement or spreadsheet file, one-tap quick entry, and automatic category suggestions. If you write in and tell us which format your bank exports (CSV, OFX, QFX and so on), we'll make sure it's on the list.
No Expense Sync
Response from developer
Thanks for being blunt. The manual entry part is a fair hit and it deserves a real answer. We don't connect to bank accounts, and that's a decision rather than something we forgot. Bank sync means handing your banking login to a third-party aggregator and letting your whole transaction history leave your phone. We'd rather not be in that position. Your entries stay on your device and in your own private iCloud, not on our servers, and we never ask for a bank login. That said, typing in everything isn't how this is meant to work either. Your fixed costs (rent, subscriptions, insurance, loan payments) get entered once as recurring transactions, and after that the app posts them for you every period on its own. Bill reminders let you settle the rest in a tap. For most people that's the bulk of a month handled without typing. What's actually missing is a fast way to bring in the rest, and you named it. Bulk import from a statement or spreadsheet file, one-tap quick entry, and automatic category suggestions are on our roadmap now because of this review. If you write in and tell us which file format your bank exports, we'll make sure that one is covered.
Support
Response from developer
Thank you for your feedback! We believe great support is just as important as great features, and we're always here to help when needed. We truly appreciate your kind words.
Not Actual Budget
Response from developer
You're probably thinking of actualbudget.org, the open source, self hosted project. This is a separate app, built independently, and it isn't connected to that project or run by the same people. If that's the one you wanted, this isn't it, and that's worth knowing before you spend time here. What this app is: a private budgeting app for iPhone and iPad. You set a weekly Safe to Spend number, log income and expenses, track savings goals and recurring bills, and everything syncs through your own iCloud instead of a server we run. No bank logins, no account with us. It's free to download and try. Anything paid shows its price up front before you decide, and downloading on its own never costs anything. If you give it a run and something's missing for the way you budget, tell us from Settings, Help and Contact. We read those.
