When choosing a budget software tool, ensure that it meets your specific needs. Consider these features to look for as you weigh your options. In the software, you’ll assign categories to transactions you make throughout the month. It’s important to take these category assignments seriously. The more accurate the budget report, the more useful it’ll be. You should be able to split transactions into subcategories if you want more detailed reports. A good option for handling income or expenses that change monthly is to use envelope budget software. Envelope budgeting was created to deal with fluctuating expenses. Software that works on this principle rolls unused funds in spending categories forward to the next month. Envelope budget software will also automatically distribute paychecks among the budget categories to reflect how you plan to spend your money. It’s important to find software with a simple budget report, but you may occasionally want more detailed reports, and a good budget software should offer that option. If you want to print budget reports, look for that option as well, since some software only offers onscreen reports. Security is not an issue when you set up accounts with generic names like “Checking” or “MasterCard.” These generic accounts won’t have access to your account numbers or personal information, so even if your budget software account gets hacked, there would be no way to steal your identity. The downside is that these generic accounts aren’t as convenient since they don’t have the credentials to automatically download transaction data. Passwords may not be required for some desktop budget software. If the software you’re using doesn’t require a password for access, set up password protection for your computer. Your computer should ask for your password when it starts up and after it goes to sleep. Online budget software should always require a password. Don’t use online financial software without a password! While less common for casual budgeters, spreadsheets can be an important tool for people who are serious about financial analysis. If that describes you, you’ll want to pay extra close attention to a software’s export options. However, an overly confusing onboarding process could force you to make mistakes, which could then create issues down the road. The best way to determine the user-friendliness of budget software is to make use of any free trial offers available. If you find yourself not fully understanding the software setup, it could be time to switch to another app.
