Money Manager (Remove Ads)

Review by eFreeware

The most distinctive thing about Money Manager is that it is built on double-entry bookkeeping rather than the simple list of expenses most phone finance apps offer. When you enter income, the money is deposited into an account; when you enter an expense, it is drawn from one. That sounds like accounting jargon, but it changes the character of the app: every entry touches two sides of your finances, so the totals for your accounts stay tied to the transactions you record. Realbyte Inc. has been shipping this app since 2012, and it currently sits at a 4.7 average from more than 18,000 ratings.

That approach points to a specific audience. If you want to know where your salary went last month and little else, the structure here will feel heavier than you need. If you keep several accounts, juggle a card whose bill lands weeks after the purchase, or want a record that balances rather than merely tallies, the double-entry model is the reason to consider it. The paid version costs $5.99, and up front, this paid edition still contains ads and offers in-app purchases.

A ledger that balances, not just a spending list

The core of the app is the account book itself. Income and expenses move money between your accounts automatically as you record them, which is the practical effect of the double-entry method. Transfers between your own assets are supported too, so moving money from one account to another does not get miscounted as spending.

On top of that sits budget management. You set a budget and the app charts your expenses against it, which gives you a quick read on how much room is left before the month runs out. Instant statistics do similar work for categories and for changes between months, and the app graphs shifts in your assets and your overall income and expense picture.

The repetition in real financial life is handled with recurrence and automatic transfer settings. Salary, insurance premiums, term deposits and loan payments can be scheduled rather than retyped each time. For expenses you record constantly, the bookmark function lets you enter a frequent item all at once instead of filling in the same fields again.

Cards, accounts and the gap between buying and paying

Card handling is where the app earns its keep for anyone who pays by card more than by cash. If you enter a settlement date, the asset tab shows the payment amount and the outstanding payment, so the money you have already committed but not yet paid is visible rather than hidden until the statement arrives.

Debit cards get a different treatment. Connecting a debit card to an account sets up the automatic debit, which the developer presents as a way to arrange those withdrawals without tracking each one by hand.

This is the part of the app that addresses a common blind spot in personal finance: the days between swiping a card and the money leaving your account. Seeing the outstanding balance alongside your actual assets gives a more accurate picture of what is really available.

Getting your records onto a bigger screen

Money Manager includes a PC manager function that works over Wi-Fi. From a computer on the same network you can view the app's records, edit them and sort by date, category or account group, and you can see account fluctuations drawn as graphs. For anyone who finds a phone screen cramped for reviewing a month of transactions, this is the feature that separates the app from phone-only trackers.

Backups are handled in two ways. The app can create and open backup files in Excel format, and it supports backup and restore through Google Drive. The Excel route matters if you like keeping your own copy of the numbers or want to open them in a spreadsheet, while the Drive option covers the more ordinary case of restoring your records after changing phones.

There is also a passcode for the account book, which is a reasonable precaution given how much of your financial life a full ledger contains. A calculator is built in, reachable from the amount field, and subcategories can be switched on or off depending on how fine-grained you want your records to be.

What setup asks of you

The PC manager works over Wi-Fi, so your phone and computer need to be on the same network for that feature to do anything. The backup options are the app's own Excel files and Google Drive.

Beyond that, the effort is conceptual rather than technical. Double-entry bookkeeping asks you to think in terms of accounts and transfers, and the budget, card settlement and recurrence features each need a little configuration before they pay off. Entering a settlement date is what makes the outstanding payment figure appear; linking a debit card is what enables the automatic debit. The app rewards a patient first pass through its settings, and the bookmark function exists precisely because the developer expects you to be entering the same expenses repeatedly.

The app has been updated recently: version 4.12 added three Quick-Add widgets, refreshed the look of the existing widgets, and let you choose a theme and transparency level for them. The previous release brought daily, monthly and annual views to the detailed accounts page, the ability to select all transactions when editing on the search page, and the option to save a photo from the view photo page.

The kind of person this ledger suits

This app fits people who already think of their money as sitting in named accounts and moving between them. If you have a checking account, a savings account, a card or two and a loan, and you want one place where all of that reconciles, the double-entry foundation and the transfer and recurrence tools are aimed at exactly that job. The PC manager widens the appeal to anyone who prefers doing the monthly review at a desk.

It also suits users who value owning their records. Excel backup files and Google Drive restore give you a copy you can open and keep.

The cost side deserves a plain statement. This is the paid edition at $5.99, and it still carries ads and in-app purchases. Anyone expecting a one-time payment to remove every commercial element should weigh that before buying. The install base of over 100,000 and the 4.7 average suggest a settled, widely used app, but the price and the ad situation are part of the decision.

A considered pick for account-by-account bookkeeping

Money Manager is worth installing if you want a genuine account book on your phone rather than a spending diary. Double-entry recording, transfers between assets, budget charts, card settlement tracking and recurring entries cover the mechanics of managing several accounts at once, and the PC manager over Wi-Fi plus Excel and Google Drive backups make the records portable and reviewable. The recent widget work shows the app is still being tended.

The caveats are straightforward. It is a paid app at $5.99 that still shows ads and offers in-app purchases, and its accounting model asks more of you than a simple expense list. If you want to jot down purchases and see a monthly total, this is more machinery than the task needs. If you want your accounts to balance, with card bills and scheduled payments accounted for, it is built for precisely that.

What's new in version 4.12.14 GP

4.12.x Three new "Quick-Add" widgets have been introduced. The design of existing widgets has been refreshed. You can now customize your widgets by selecting your preferred theme and transparency levels. 4.11.x Daily / Monthly / Annually views are possible on the detailed Accounts page. “Selecting All transactions” is possible when editing them on the Search page. It's possible to save the photo on the View Photo page.