It works great! - UPDATED
I’ve been using Pocket Register for 5 months. It has made the reconciliation of my bank statement to my checkbook almost effortless. It used to be a major hassle, doing it by hand years ago, and then more recently in half-baked apps that were missing one or more features to make it easy. Now I actually enjoy the end of month reconcile. It’s so fast and simple. It’s the use of recurring transactions, and the ability to edit recurring values for: ‘This Transaction Only’ or ‘All Future Transactions‘. The app’s features go way beyond that. This is a new app with a very responsive developer. Try it… It really, truly, works great.
PREVIOUS: version 3.02.
I’m using it on my iPad and like it a lot. I’m really happy I found it. It looks nice, handles all the basics and critical functions really well, and has a set of advanced features for those who need them. It’s not a subscription.
I decided to write a thorough review because this is a fresh, new app with only a few reviews - a hidden gem in the rubble of the App Store. I have used or tried several checkbook register apps over the last couple years. This is the best functioning / best looking/ most intuitive / easiest/ I’ve found. It deserves to be recognized. The app is updated often, which indicates the developer is very active, responsive to users, and that this is a new app, less than a year old. That’s a good sign. The developer has other apps too.
I tested/played with the free version for a few hours, including a trial run using six weeks of my actual checkbook transactions, followed by a successful reconciliation to my actual bank balance. I happily paid for the app. Since then, I have been it using as my goto checkbook register and reconcile app. Like most people, my checkbook register is fairly complex, including ACH Debits and Deposits, Electronic payments, Transfers, and some paper checks. Many are recurring transactions that it handles perfectly.
Here is how it works:
The Transactions screen:
The app opens to the ‘Transactions’ screen. It looks like a checkbook register. It a very nice design, and shows recent transactions, with all transaction history just a scroll up, or scroll down. The transaction stack can also be sorted by newest, oldest, $ amount. The information on the transactions screen is everything that’s needed for a register, including a checkmark if the transaction has cleared. You clear/unclear a transaction in its sub-screen (a page that appears by transaction touch). The sub-screen holds all of the transaction’s details and can be easily edited. Note that on the transaction’s screen, recurring transactions appear automatically & reliably according to your specification. Setting up recurring transactions and editing them is easy. That’s not usually the case in other apps I’ve used. Buttons make it easy to switch to a weekly, monthly or yearly view of transactions.
At the top of the transaction register is a header. It’s a status summary box which includes the current account balance, cleared and uncleared totals and the reconcile button. And, for paid apps, access to additional accounts is located there.
Adding transactions:
New transactions are easily added by touching the app’s “+” button. (Widget link too). You fill out new transaction details in a drop down box, and if it’s recurring (by week, month, etc,) that’s where you indicate that. There’s a switch for ‘cleared’ or ‘uncleared’. When you ‘clear’ a transaction, it auto creates a check mark on the register screen. You can select a pre-loaded category such as “Grocery” or you can create your own categories which is what I do. An example of a transaction in a created category might be: “Haircut Joe”, appearing in a category called “Payments By Paper Check”. That information, $ amount, cleared status, and highlighting icons, will appear on the transaction page along with your other transactions. Each transaction (when touched) opens up to its own page showing all of its details. That’s also where you can change any transaction’s status to recurring if needed, or edit the $ amount, date, etc. Transactions can be deleted on the register screen with a finger swipe left.
Recurring transactions:
Works great. Very easy to set up. Editing is easy (and that’s a big deal). It’s absolutely the best rendition of recurring transactions I’ve tried or used.
Categories:
The app comes with some categories (such as ‘Entertainment’) or you can create your own. They’re easy to edit/manage. The management of categories, and category editing is easier with this app than others. And… a big plus - it’s easy to pull up all of the transactions in any one category, by using a button on the transactions page. That can be really helpful.
Reconcile to Bank Statement:
The reconcile button is in the account’s status box at the top of the transaction register screen. The cleared and uncleared totals are there too in app version 3.02. To reconcile, touch “Reconcile”, A drop down box appears. You enter your end of month bank statement balance and the app calculates if your transaction register matches your bank statement. It also shows all the info available to help you figure out why it does or does not balance. That’s a critical feature done very well in this app that I’ve had trouble with In other apps.
Insights screen:
It is a smartly designed graphics screen, a button touch away from the transactions screen. Your expenses and income are summed up by category using bar charts. Inflow and outflow is shown graphically too. It can be set to show yearly, monthly, weekly, or even “all transactions”. It’s especially useful if you set up your transaction categories thoughtfully - and it’s pretty.
Monthly Budget:
You can set a budget value for each category and follow your progress graphically on the ‘Insights’ page. It’s easy to set up and use. It’s another indication of how thoughtfully this app is designed to focus on checkbook finances/reconcile.
Response from developer
Wow — I've read this review three times. Thank you. Honestly. Reviews like this don't happen often, especially for a small app, and I know you put real time into writing it. The fact that you tested with six weeks of your own register and a real bank reconcile before paying says a lot about how you approach apps, and I'm glad Pocket Register held up. A few of the things you called out (recurring transactions being easy, the reconcile flow, category management) were the hardest pieces to get right and the ones I cared most about. Hearing they actually work the way I hoped means a lot. And thank you for the bug reports along the way — they made the app meaningfully better for everyone who uses it. Please keep them coming. I'll keep listening.
Great app
Response from developer
Thank you for the feedback. Glad you are enjoying the app!
Great Accounts Register
The price is more than fair. No subscription, just a flat and reasonable price to support the creator.
Some things I’d like to see added: a memorized payee list and an option to auto insert a decimal point when entering amounts. Also, I’d like to be able to back up my data to Dropbox.
Response from developer
Thanks so much, Rick, and sorry for the slow reply! You can already save a copy to Dropbox: go to Settings → Data & Backup → Export, Backup, & Clear, tap “Export CSV to Files…” and pick Dropbox from the list. You’ll need the Dropbox app installed. A remembered payee list and an option to put in the decimal point for you are both great ideas, and I’m working on them for an upcoming update. Thanks for supporting the app!
Great
Response from developer
Thanks, that means a lot! Simple is what I was going for, so I'm glad it's working for you.
Used to be great
Response from developer
I'm sorry the app slowed down for you — you've been with it since early on, and it should get better over time, not worse. I'd actually already been working on a fix for exactly this: on registers with a lot of history, the app was doing more work than it needed to on every tap and scroll, which is what caused the slowness and glitching. That fix is done and should be out very soon. If you'd like, email me, I'll help directly and make sure your register runs smoothly again. Thanks for sticking with it — I'd like to earn that back.
