[App Fridays] Trackash - A basic, yet beautifully designed expense tracker

I'm a spendthrift and I'm usually out of money by the 20th of the month. What is worse, is that I really don't know where it's all going! Now this is a big problem and I tried to get to identify the cause. The root cause of this problem, at least for me, is unawareness. I don't know how much I'm spending in a day. This is where Trackash helps. After having used the app for a week, I can already see a difference in my expenditure. But will I continue to use this? Read on to find out -

A simple function

The app aims to help you record your expenses and income. It's quite simple to do so. Just type what you've spent money on and

specify the number in plain text. The app records the transaction in a timeline like view. In anther view, it helps you see your total expenditure and income.At any given time, the app gives you a fair idea about your total expenditure and a time based break down of it.

Keeping it contextual - Hashtags and location

Trackash also has some features on the app which puts expenditure into context. By Hash-tagging your expenses, you can sort and pull out expenses of a certain kind. This is difficult at first to get used to, as

other expense tracker apps work using category menus. Having said that, the average smart phone user will be used to hash-tagging, so this will grow on you as you use the app.It also has a location tag on every entry that you make. However, it makes a location entry of the place you made the entry, and not the place you made the expense itself. So unless you record the expenditure at the place where you made it, the context is lost.

Some workarounds and features that can help this app

Using this app requires some amount of discipline. Imagine having to enter details every time you make a payment. A feature that can overcome this is a reminder feature. If you can click a button on the app (or a notification on the notification bar on Android) to register that you have made a purchase, and a

reminder later on to fill in the details of the purchase. (A similar app called one touch expenser does this)An interesting feature would be the ability to sync with excel or any other spreadsheet software.

Trackash can also do with a widget. The current avatar of the app requires you to go into the app to record a transaction. It would be great if the user could do this on the homescreen itself.

The Good and the Bad

Trackash is a very well designed app. A very sensible use color schemes, clean iconography and typography and a smooth UX are all signs of the design sense of maker of the app. Trackash is also irresistibly simple to use. You enter the app, enter expense details and that's it. You're done. From a function perspective, it is the perfect smart phone app.

But somewhere, in the way it executes this function lies its biggest and only flaw. Mobile phones are not type friendly, and while the ability to enter using simple text is a novel feature, it is an inconvenient thing

to do. This can be solved by providing a better categorization, which will minimize the requirement for a user to type details.Conclusion

Trackash, if used, will save you money. You will know exactly what you've spent money on and through hash-tagging, you will be aware of the unnecessary spending that you do. Some more features on the app will really make it complete. Usability is a concern, but this is early days for Trackash and we're sure there is more work being done at the developer's end.

Try it out, and let us know what you think!

Download Trackash for Android.