# Shortfall - Paperwork Check — Catch the hidden car fees > Scans car contracts to identify and flag hidden or inflated fees. (iPhone/iPad app by Steven Knauss.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shortfall-paperwork-check/id6763161521 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Steven Knauss](https://appshunter.io/developer/1877190883) - Category: Finance, Utilities - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 5.00/5 from 1 App Store ratings - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 26.0 · 3 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2026-04-26 - Data updated: 2026-06-26 - Monetization: free with in-app purchases - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shortfall-paperwork-check/id6763161521/reviews.md ## What is Shortfall? Buying a car this week? Don't sign until Shortfall reads the paperwork. Car dealers know most people won't study the contract. That's where the extra charges hide. Shortfall reads the paperwork on your phone and flags every fee that's higher than typical for your state. One free audit included, then a one-time $4.99 in-app purchase unlocks unlimited future audits. No subscription. WHAT'S FREE, WHAT REQUIRES THE $4.99 UNLOCK Free, no purchase required: • Your first full contract audit — complete verdict, every flag, full Walkaway Card share • Your first Four Square Decoder round — back-solved interest rate and verdict • Checking Kelley Blue Book trade-in values and saving the numbers — always free, no cap Requires the one-time $4.99 in-app purchase: • Every contract audit after your first • Capturing revisions when the dealer rewrites the numbers at the desk • Every Four Square round after Round 1 (for the same negotiation or a new one) • Saved audit history across all future car purchases HOW IT WORKS Scan the contract with your camera or import the PDF. In about a minute, Shortfall pulls out the price, interest rate, doc fee, warranty, GAP insurance, and every add-on, and compares each one against what car buyers in your state usually pay. You walk into the dealership knowing: • Whether the doc fee is legal (12 states cap it) • Whether the interest rate matches your credit • Whether GAP and the extended warranty are marked up • Whether the monthly payment actually adds up Every flag reads in plain English — "$300 above typical for your state" — not a judgment. You decide what to push back on. STUCK IN THE FINANCE OFFICE? The Four Square Decoder figures out the interest rate from the monthly payment, even when the salesperson "forgets" to write it on the page. Round 1 is free. Capturing each revision they hand you after that requires the one-time $4.99 unlock — so when they rewrite the numbers, Shortfall shows exactly what moved. TRADING IN? (ALWAYS FREE) Shortfall opens Kelley Blue Book in Safari so you can look up your trade-in range yourself. Save the numbers — when the dealer throws out a low offer, you have something to check against. No in-app purchase required for the trade-in tool. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Everything runs on your phone • No account, no email, no cloud • We don't sell your data because we never collect it Works in all 50 US states. Every benchmark cites its source, and you can override any state's numbers locally if you have a better reference. Pricing: the app is free to download with one free contract audit and one free Four Square decode included. A single one-time $4.99 in-app purchase unlocks unlimited future audits and capturing every dealer revision. No subscription, no recurring charges. Requires iPhone 15 Pro or newer. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ ## Key features - Scan car contracts with camera or PDF - Flag fees higher than typical for your state - Analyze interest rates and doc fees - Track dealer contract revisions - Check Kelley Blue Book trade-in values - Private by design, no account needed ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Unlimited Audits | $4.99 | one-time | ## Frequently asked questions about Shortfall ### Does Shortfall have ads? No, Shortfall does not contain advertisements. The app is free to download and offers a one-time in-app purchase for full functionality. ### How much does Shortfall cost? Shortfall is free to download and includes one free contract audit and one free Four Square Decoder round. Unlimited future audits and revision tracking require a one-time in-app purchase of $4.99. ### What devices does Shortfall support? Shortfall currently supports iPhone 15 Pro or newer models and is available on iPhone devices. ### How often is Shortfall updated? The latest version of Shortfall is 1.0.2, and it was last updated on May 26, 2026. Updates are released to improve functionality and add new features. ### Is Shortfall secure? Yes, Shortfall is designed with privacy in mind. All processing runs on your phone, and no account, email, or cloud storage is required. Your data is never collected or sold. ### What kind of fees does Shortfall check? Shortfall checks various fees including the price, interest rate, doc fee, warranty, GAP insurance, and other add-ons, comparing them against typical costs in your state. ### Can Shortfall help if the dealer changes the contract? Yes, if you purchase the one-time unlock, Shortfall can capture revisions when the dealer rewrites the numbers at the desk, showing you exactly what has changed. ### What is the age rating for Shortfall? Shortfall has an age rating of 4+, making it suitable for a wide range of users. ## Version history (last 3 releases) ### 1.0.2 — 2026-05-26 A coordinated polish pass across the whole app: • Brand surface — onboarding, paywall, and CTAs now match the navy/gold spec end-to-end. • Cross-state detection — if Shortfall sees a contract from a different state than your stored picker, it asks before running the wrong benchmarks. • Reliable retries — when an extraction fails, "Try again" actually retries against the same paperwork. • Settings unlock entry stays visible after you've unlocked, with a clear receipt view. • Persistent unlock row on the home screen so the path to upgrade is always one tap away. • Paywall recovery — Try Again + Restore appear together when a purchase hits an error. • Quote-and-decode polish: amber verdict cards open by default, APR shows 2 decimals, Walkaway card shares with a clearer URL. • In-app Kelley Blue Book browser — no Safari hop needed. • Accessibility: bigger tap target on the context chip, Dynamic Type ceilings on the brand surfaces. ### 1.0.1 — 2026-05-06 -bug fixes ### 1.0 — 2026-04-26 No release notes. ## More apps by Steven Knauss - [Enveloop](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/enveloop/id6759178198) - [Primo - Gift & Event Planner](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/primo-gift-and-event-planner/id6759265509) - [Riffl - Word Puzzle](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/riffl-word-puzzle/id6759587346) - [HomeBaseAI - Home Manager](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/homebaseai-home-manager/id6759628026) - [Substrata: Headache Tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/substrata-headache-tracker/id6759664433) - [Sievr - AI Photo Cleaner](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sievr-ai-photo-cleaner/id6759723263) All apps by Steven Knauss: https://appshunter.io/developer/1877190883 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-26.*