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FinTracker is an online account keeping tool, allowing users to manage and track their spending, while offering the freedom of being able to access that information wherever they go.

Project Background

I’ve always used computer based account managers, such as AceMoney or Quicken Personal, to track and control my personal finances. This has allowed me to plan for bills, and set goals and budgets, and stick to them.

The great features I love about these types of software are the reports it can give you. If you track every dollar you spend with this software, you can easily see what percent of your income all those coffees at work cost you, or the entire takeaway you have. The downside of the software is that you have to go onto the computer to put these transactions in, and you have to keep receipts for cash transactions etc.

To solve this issue, I started making a web-based financial tracking system, which would primarily have the same basic features of the popular software based account management tools.

Having the system online, will allow users to enter transactions from anywhere at work, home, or even on-the-go. It also means reports can be generated at anytime, and could even be emailed weekly or monthly.

In November 2008 I started working on this system, under the working title/codename of FinTracker. Trying to keep the system as open source as possible, it’s built with MooTools, and uses MochaUI for the user interface. An iPhone version is available, which allows me to enter transactions on-the-go, at any time.

My personal development ground

Working part-time and doing my Diploma didn’t give me much spare time to code. So FinTracker became my personal development ground, where I was able to put new skills and theories into practice. FinTracker is the first system I have experimented with Facebook Connect (now called the Facebook Platform), which will allow any user with a Facebook account to login to FinTracker with one click.

I’ve also been able to start using Object Orientated Programming with FinTracker. I will soon be applying more techniques I’ve learnt to the system, when I get more time to continue working on this project.

Planned Features

The current version of the site was a concept site, to see if I could get the basic functions and requirements of the website working together. As I’ve been able to achieve that, the next step will be to continue developing FinTracker into a web application, which will be usable on multiple systems and browser types.

FinTracker will become my next main focus project, which I will be working closely with Toby Allder, to become a featured project of our new company Phil & Toby.

When developing the site, I hope to make the system expandable, and functional. From a better designed user interface, to working with a new PHP Framework, FinTracker will be completely re-coded from the ground up, taking what’s worked from the concept site, and changing what hasn’t.

Features

Record different types of bank accounts, such as Savings (Bank) Accounts, Credit Cards, and Cash accounts.
Each account has its own name, and you can select which bank it belongs to.
Each account can have children accounts. This allows money inside accounts to be divided up. For example, your high interest account may have a balance of $2000, but $600 of that is reserved for your car registration, and the other $1400 is your “emergency” money. FinTracker will allow you to see what your accounts money is made up of.
Children accounts can go two levels deep, to further organise money.
Categories can be assigned to transactions, to track how much money is being spent on a certain type of expense (not just where the money is being spent).
An iPhone friendly version of the website is available for viewing balances, and entering transactions on-the-go.
FinTracker includes a Future and Recurring transactions system, where transactions that will occur in the future are automatically entered on the day.
Everything is secured behind a username and password system, allowing it to become multiuser capable when developed.

Start Date: November 2008
Current Version: Concept Site

The FinTracker logon screen

Entering a new transaction on the iPhone web app, with payee auto complete

Create account window, uses tabs at the top for different account types.

MochaUI allows dialog windows to be opened inside the user interface, which can allow for multiple actions to occur at once.

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FinTracker is coded in Object Orientated PHP.

In the future, the coding will be upgraded to use the Zend Framework.

FinTracker uses a MySQL database to store all transactions and account information.

The database is designed to run in both Windows and Linux environments.

Using MooTools, FinTracker has access to advanced animation effects, as well as many other advanced coding techniques, including a JavaScript auto completer script.

Utilising the MochaUI library, FinTracker becomes a full web2.0 application, with little design requirements.

MochaUI was used to test the concept of the site. In the future, the UI will be custom made.