15 features the best expense tracker and budgeting app should have

In today's busy world, managing your money can be difficult. Expense tracking and budgeting apps are essential tools when it comes to managing your finances more effectively. They can help you make wiser financial decisions.

But with so many apps available, choosing the best expense tracking and budgeting app which is right for you can be challenging. So we did the work for you and have digged our way through many forums, subreddits and app reviews and collected the 15 functions that users often like the most.

With these insights you can define the app features which are most important to you so that you can find the best app for your needs and transform the way you manage your money.

1. Sync with bank accounts and automatic transaction importing

Users appreciate when apps automatically import transactions from bank accounts and credit cards. By connecting directly to bank accounts, these apps import transactions for automatic tracking. This eliminates the need for users to manually enter transactions, which can be time-consuming and error-prone, so this feature saves time and reduces errors, ensuring that all expenses are accounted for without manual entry. It's especially useful for real-time synchronization which ensures that users have an up-to-date view of their financial activity.

2. Recurrence tracking

This function automatically tracks recurring expenses, such as subscriptions and utilities. This prevents users from overlooking these expenses and ensures that they are included in their budget. Recurrence tracking helps users stay organized and avoid late payments.

3. Real-time balance

This function provides users with an up-to-date view of their account balances. This eliminates the need for users to manually calculate their balances, which can be inconvenient and error-prone. The real-time balance feature helps users stay on top of their finances and make informed decisions.

4. Automatic categorization of expenses

The ability to categorize expenses helps users understand where their money is going. By organizing expenses into categories such as groceries, utilities, and entertainment, users can easily identify areas where they may be overspending and adjust their habits accordingly. This function saves users a significant amount of time and effort by automatically sorting expenses into predefined categories. This eliminates the need for manual entry, which can be tedious and also error-prone like everything the user has to do manually. Users appreciate the convenience and accuracy that auto-categorization provides.

5. Custom categories

This function allows users to create their own categories to track specific expenses or financial goals. This is especially useful for users who have unique spending habits or who want to track progress towards specific financial objectives. On the downside, this may conflict the automatic categorization of transactions.

6. Budget creation and management

Users like setting up budgets for different categories to control their spending. This function allows them to allocate specific amounts to each category, track their progress throughout the month and helps them stay within their desired spending limits and avoid overspending. It's useful for ensuring that spending aligns with financial goals and for making adjustments as needed.

7. Savings goals

Many apps allow users to set and track savings goals, such as saving for a vacation, an emergency fund, a down payment on a house, or for paying off debt. Setting a clear financial target provides motivation and direction and helps users stay focused on their long-term financial objectives by tracking progress toward reaching it.

8. Bill tracking and reminders

Keeping track of when bills are due and getting reminders helps users avoid late fees and maintain good credit scores. This function is appreciated for its role in managing regular financial obligations and ensuring timely payments.

9. Report generation

Users enjoy having access to reports and visualizations of their financial data. These can include spending trends, income vs. expense reports, and category breakdowns, which are useful for deep dives into financial habits and for making informed decisions. For example, these reports summarize expenses and identify areas for potential savings. This helps users understand their spending patterns much more easily and make adjustments to improve their financial health. Spending reports can be exported to various formats for easy sharing and analysis.

10. Investment tracking

For those who invest, being able to track the performance of their investments alongside everyday spending and savings is a valued feature. It offers a holistic view of their financial health and helps in making informed investment decisions. This enables the users to have a real-time view on their net worth.

11. Debt tracking and optimization

Features that help users track their debts, including loans and credit cards, and suggest strategies for paying them off more efficiently are highly valued. Such functions allow users to track and manage debt, including payments and balances. They are crucial for debt reduction and financial freedom and help users stay on top of their debt obligations and make progress towards reducing debt. Debt management features can include tools for creating repayment plans and simulating different scenarios.

12. Secure data syncing

The ability to securely sync data across devices ensures that users can access their financial information anywhere, anytime. This convenience and security aspect is critical for users who manage their finances on the go.

13. Custom alerts and notifications

Customizable alerts for unusual spending, low balances, or achieving a savings goal keep users informed and engaged with their financial progress. These alerts can act as a prompt to adjust spending or as a congratulations on reaching a milestone, which can be very motivating. On the other hand this function can notify users when they exceed or approach budget limits or when a payment is due. This helps users stay on track with their financial goals and avoid overspending. Budget alerts can be customized to meet individual needs and preferences.

14. Multi-currency support

For users who travel or have expenses in multiple currencies, the ability to track and convert expenses across different currencies is highly valuable.

15. Collaboration

This function enables multiple users to share and edit expenses and budgets. This is especially useful for couples, families, or roommates who need to manage their finances jointly. Collaboration features can help improve communication and accountability.

All the above functions are popular because they offer users control over their financial lives, providing insights and tools to manage money more effectively. By automating routine tasks, providing valuable insights, and encouraging financial discipline, expense tracking and budgeting apps play a crucial role in helping individuals achieve their financial goals.

Let's build it!

At apocha we try to build the best expense tracker and budgeting app. The goal of apocha is to become the simplest, smartest and most automated and useful budget book ever. If you have any ideas or requests, or would like to have specific functionalities in your apocha expense tracker and budget book app, simply contact me by e-mail (see "Contact > Email" below) or tell me and other users by leaving a comment on apocha's roadmap.