From your budget to your savings, you can keep track online.

Modern banking apps and websites allow you to do everything from transferring money to freezing your card the moment you realise you left it on the counter at the bakery. To supplement these apps and give you better control over your money, a range of tools is available.

The following apps and websites will make it easier to manage your personal and business finances: 

Budgeting and money management apps

Keeping track of where your money goes can be half the battle. Working to a budget lets you figure out what you are spending and helps you decide what to do with your spare change.  

TrackMySpend

Available on iOS and Android, TrackMySped encourages you to record all your expenses, including:

• Weekly household budget
• Costs for special events and parties
• Work or travel expenses
• Small expenses like coffees and parking

This app allows you to nominate a total or categorised spending limit so that you don’t go overboard on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis. You can easily review past expenses and mark what you are spending as a ‘need’ and a ‘want’ in order to identify areas where you could be saving.  

Money Brilliant

Register and connect this platform to your bank accounts then watch the magic happen. Money Brilliant will give you a complete view of your financial position by bringing together information from all the places where you keep your money.

From there, you can categorise transactions, create spending plans and access charts that give you an at-a-glance view of your budget, cash flow and savings. You will even receive advice on how to improve on your purchasing habits and reduce the bank fees you are paying.  

GoodBudget

Keep track of your money as a household with GoodBudget. This one works by asking you to divide your money into buckets / envelopes for different types of expenses.

As well as allowing you to see how much you spend in each category, Goodbudget can sync across multiple devices. This lets couples work together to manage their expenses and keep track of who is spending how much, and on what.

The free version gives you ten ‘envelopes’ to work with and can be shared on two people’s devices.  

Saving apps

If you’re in a position to do so, saving for the things you want is often a better option than taking out a loan and repaying the amount you have borrowed plus interest.

These apps will help you reach your savings goals.  

Acorns 

Acorns is a smart virtual piggy bank. First and foremost, it collects and stores your spare change when you make a purchase using your card.

After you have signed up and connected the app to your bank account, when you spend $4.20, the app will round up and squirrel away 80 cents on your behalf.

Taking this tried and tested method of saving to the next level, from there it invests the money for you in a diversified portfolio, providing you with the opportunity to grow your savings through small change.  

Unsplurge

Stay motivated and accountable with Unsplurge, which encourages you to set savings goals and work towards them.

Whether you are saving for a house, a holiday or even a new handbag, Unsplurge keeps you accountable by allowing you to share your heart’s desire with other users and your Facebook connections.

When you’re on track you can share your achievements and even compete against your friends. If you’re falling behind on your plans you can get tips from the community on how to get better at saving.

Actually putting the money away is up to you but this app is one way to make saving more fun.

Business management apps

One of the challenges of running a small business is keeping a close eye on finances. This includes sending invoices, making sure they are paid and filing your quarterly Business Activity Statement, which calculates the amount of GST you owe the government.

It’s all made easier thanks to online systems. Some of the most popular cloud based accounting apps include the following:  

MYOB

The features of MYOB are extensive. For a monthly fee, store owners, independent operators and large company finance managers can:

• Manage accounting, GST and BAS
• Manage payroll
• Work in multiple currencies
• Create and send invoices
• Track and pay expenses
• Monitor cash flow

That’s just a few of the software’s capabilities.

Being cloud based, MYOB is accessible from any device with a connection. It can be viewed on your browser or accessed through an app.  

Quickbooks

Quickbooks enables digital invoicing, payroll, payments and reports. Designed for small business owners, accountants / bookkeepers and the self-employed, this cloud-based platform is also available on desktop and mobile.

You can lodge your BAS directly with the Australian Taxation Office and also use Quickbooks to accept payments via direct deposit, PayPal or credit card.  

Xero

No more piles of receipts or paper-based invoicing. Xero, like MYOB and Quickbooks, puts all your business accounting in the cloud. The system is suitable for everyone from micro business operators to large companies, offering money management services including invoicing, payroll, accounts payable and cash tracking.

Xero can be linked with bank accounts and connected to some in-house systems to bring all your finances onto one screen.

By providing many at-a-glance features and being accessible across devices, these apps and platforms can save time and make managing money less of a headache for businesses and individuals.  

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