Family spending program. Overview of the best programs for managing a family budget

If you and your family members have thought about a convenient home bookkeeping to visually see not only your income, but also your monthly expenses, then the usual paper notebook with a pen is already an outdated option, and standard Excel is, of course, not bad, but if you have not fully mastered this program, then a special program for home bookkeeping, which you can download for free on the Internet quite easily, will be the best solution for realizing your goals.

There are quite a lot of such programs, so among all the variety you will definitely find the one that will be ideal for you. Programs for accounting for the home budget can be both paid and shareware ( limited functionality or with a trial period) and are completely free. I would like to note right away that free programs do not mean " bad» programs, because they also have all the necessary functionality for competent and accurate accounting of family funds. The differences most often lie in the design, as well as in some convenient " chips”, which, in principle, can be dispensed with.

In our article, we will take a closer look at completely free programs, as well as those that can be free download, but in the future you will need to activate them to expand the functionality. All programs in our review are issued in Russian.

Free home bookkeeping software

Cubux

Cubux(www.cubux.net) is a fairly convenient service for managing income, expenses and debts online. Use a gadget or just a computer, the data is synchronized and saved from all devices into one database.

Maintaining a common budget for the whole family is quite possible using the “Joint Accounting” function. After leaving the store, you can quickly and easily create an expense operation, thanks to the “Multi-expenditure” function. The action is performed in three clicks: Account, Category, Date and after entering the amount, the expense is saved.

The report on your finances is monthly reflected in the statistics. Do not forget about your debts, as well as about your debtors, the "Debts" section will help.

Use the instructions for using the service or contact the technical support service to resolve the issue. Don't worry about the data, you can download it to an Excel file and save it to your computer.

Supported Platforms: Windows, IOS, Mac Os, Android.

(http://homebank.free.fr/) - in full free an application that allows you to organize - accounting for expenses and income. A distinctive feature of this program is that it supports data exchange with the service Microsoft Money, as well as Quicken and some other applications. Works with the following formats:

• QFX (OFX);

Features of work:

• the ability to break down expenses and income by category;
• data output in the form of diagrams;
• planning for future expenses;
• the ability to create transactions in automatic mode;
• visualization of current operations;
• import of data in certain formats with which the program works.

If you decide to download it for free (https://dervish.ru/), then when you open the program for the first time, its interface may seem too simple, uncomplicated and not attracting attention to you, but do not rush to close the newly installed application. If you stay in it for at least 20-30 minutes, you will understand that it is unique and completely in front of you. free without registration opens up a lot of possibilities.

With AbilityCash you can:

• create a variety of accounts without limiting their number and currency;
• work with popular formats. xls and .xml;
• print various types of reports on paper;
• use some rare languages ​​(Ukrainian and Lithuanian);
• customize the appearance to suit your preferences: add options hidden by default (“price”, “quantity”), use a tree structure with the ability to add an unlimited number of subcategories, make notes and important notes to specific cells.

By default, only the Russian ruble is pre-installed, but you can expand the list of currencies using up-to-date data from the website of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

Another program released entirely in Russian language (http://www.softportal.com/software-4910-semejnij-byudzshet.html).

Benefits family budget the following can be noted:

• can keep records of income and expenses for several accounts at once;
• the function of auto-selection of categories is available, i.e. starting to enter a certain product, it will automatically be sorted into a certain category;
• the ability to create a report of 8 points by pressing just one button;
• use of popular formats .bmp, .txt, .xls, .doc;
• printout of reports;
• the possibility of using the program by several people at once, and registration is free for each of the users with the creation of their own login and password, which must be entered at the entrance.

(http://myhomesoft.ru/) in addition to the standard features for accounting for income and expenses, family budget planning, it has some individual features that distinguish the program from analogues:

• Ability to create multiple accounts.
• not only cost analysis is available, but also their control, i.e. upon reaching a certain maximum set by you, the program will notify you of approaching the mark;
• the ability to account for debt obligations, both your own and those who owe you;
• use of different currencies;
• creating backup copies of the database, which can later be restored or uploaded to Microsoft Excel.

(http://www.domeconom.ru/) refers to free programs without registration for home accounting, so it can be downloaded from both the official and any other site.

The program allows you to work on several devices at once, and through automatic synchronization.

The functions of this utility otherwise completely repeat the similar and standard for similar programs ( for example, Home Bookkeeping, and other free programs).

Remarkably, the help is quite competently and clearly implemented here, so if you don’t know where to start or how to organize work with the utility, then after reading the appropriate section, you can easily deal with the problem.

(http://www.ownmoney.org/) is a completely free application with great features:

• accounting of income, expenses, including those that you plan in the future;
• multicurrency, unlimited number of accounts and accounts;
• tree structure with various sub-items and branches;
• transfer of funds between accounts;
• automatic update of exchange rates;
• accounting not only purchases, but also their weight;
• the ability to schedule some transactions in automatic mode, as well as temporarily disable such payments;
• work with counters, as well as accounting for benefits and discounts.

(http://www.softportal.com/software-1128-cashfly.html) is a free home accounting that allows you to calculate complex transactions related to income and expenses for various items. Among the main advantages are:

• the ability to archive data;
• password protection;
• preparation of planned operations;
• construction of graphs and diagrams for various parameters;
• the ability to print data;
• address book for recording data of persons and organizations;
• the ability to keep a diary and set up notifications about memorable dates.

Free trial home bookkeeping software

These programs can be downloaded for free without registration, but for extended functionality or long-term use, payment may be required.

(http://www.mechcad.net) is available in four versions, so you can download the full version or use the Lite version and add-ons. The Lite version differs only in that with the help of the program you can manage no more than two accounts, but for most families this will be more than enough. The account here means not only bank cards or accounts, but also the cash of family members, i.e. if there are two workers in the family, then the Lite version will be enough for them. The cost of the full version of the program - 1 300 rubles.

With the AceMoney program you can:

• manage your funds in various currencies (more than 150 currencies are represented);
• follow online changes in exchange rates;
• distribute your budget according to the items of expenditure (more than 100 options for spending money are preinstalled in the program);
• tracking budget receipts and expenditures;
• calculation of expenses according to a certain sample for the period of interest (utility payments, mobile communications, products, etc.);
• reporting (common .xls and .html formats available);
• accounting for savings, debt obligations, mortgages;
• the ability to create a backup, etc.

The program (https://www.keepsoft.ru/) is one of the most common among those that are distributed on the Internet for free. Today, you can download the Home Bookkeeping program for free without registration from many services, but do not flatter yourself, because to get the full extended version, you will have to pay 400 rubles. This computer application will allow not only to calculate the accounting of expenses and income in the family, but also cope with bookkeeping in a small company.

The Home Bookkeeping program:

• keep records of expenses and income;
• calculation of debt obligations (both yours and those that have formed in front of you);
• calculate the possibility of partial repayment of debts, as well as interest on debts;
• remind you of the time of payment of debts or mandatory payments;
• build reports in the form of tables and diagrams;
• synchronize databases, compress them, clean up unnecessary, etc.

The main advantages over other programs:

1. the presence of pop-up tips on budget planning;
2. updating via the Internet;
3. interface customization;
4. the ability to convert data in 15 most popular formats;
5. currency exchange, up-to-date information on 5 selected currencies, current exchange rate;
6. planning income and expenses for the future, etc.

You can download the Home Bookkeeping program for free without registration on the official website (https://www.keepsoft.ru/), here you can also expand the functionality.

Family Pro

Family Pro(http://www.sanuel.com/ru/family/) is another shareware version of a paid program. Do not rush to look for something else, as it is quite convenient to use and for free 30 days you will definitely be able to understand whether it is right for you or you should look for something else. If free version completely satisfies you, then paying 500 - 600 rubles for the full package is not so much.

For private business purposes, this home bookkeeping program is also suitable, which you can download for free from many Internet services. In this utility, the most interesting and competent among competitors is the ability to create and save reports, as well as instantly send them to print. With Family Pro, you can create the following types of reports:

• family budget analysis;
• a detailed report on the items of expenses and income;
• comparative analysis by months;
• analysis of debt obligations and a list of debtors;
• comparison of income and expenses, etc.

With the help of the utility tools, the user can plan deposits and loans for free, predict spending and income to the budget for a certain month or period, predict a possible cash flow if there are several sources of income and a mental account is completely unacceptable.

(http://www.personalfinances.ru/) is unique in that by creating a certain database on your computer on your computer, you can download home accounting and on your mobile device by installing a similar application based on Android or IOS and synchronizing the information.

The Personal Finances program is presented in a free demo version with limited, but sufficient for comfortable use, functionality, as well as in a paid version costing from 2,450 rubles (personal and commercial licenses). Moreover, these licenses are mutually exclusive, i.e. commercial can not be used for the home and vice versa.

The program has a lot of possibilities:

• family budget management;
• tracking mode online interest on deposits;
• the ability to repay loans;
• multicurrency with the ability to update courses from the Internet;
• organization of expenses not only by category, but also by each family member;
• work with debts;
• reports in the form of graphs, diagrams, projects, etc.

Economy

Program Economy(http://home-economy.ru/) is ideal for those who are not at all "friends" with economic and financial terminology, and also cannot distinguish the concept of "transaction" from "investment". There are no hard-to-understand terms and words here, so even a teenager or an elderly person can probably use this utility.

True, the program is not completely free, because. there are limitations here: if your budget is more than 14,000 rubles per month, buy the paid version.

Application advantages:

• simple, clear, convenient and eye-pleasing interface;
• creation of an unlimited number of accounts and accounts in each of them;
• the possibility of creating foreign currency accounts, as well as accounting in various currencies;
• a reminder of the dates of payment of loans, utility bills and other obligatory payments;
• the ability to use various filters;
• data backup, recovery option;
• reference information for Russian-speaking users.

If your budget has grown above 14,000 rubles, then you can always buy a paid version, especially since its cost is only 250 rubles.

Online bookkeeping

You can do home accounting for free without even downloading any applications to your mobile devices or home computer, as today there are quite a few online services for keeping track of family expenses and income.

Among the most common and free, the following services stand out:

• Drebedengi;
• Where is my money?;
• Easy Finance;
• HomeMoney etc.

The convenience of these services is that there is no need to download applications, and all data is stored on servers on the Internet, which allows you to view your entire history from any computer or device with Internet access. At the same time, the functionality does not suffer at all, since all the same functions and capabilities are available to you as in standard programs.

Budget planning is the key to a successful life, even with a small income.

This article presents far from all the currently existing home accounting programs and. Only the most popular, successful, and also available for download without restrictions are described here. If desired, each Internet user can find something more suitable for himself than presented here. For example, X-Cash, Xenon, Home Finance, DaReManager or something else. Find what suits you and plan your budget!

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter! Thank you so much for your help, it is very important for us and our readers!

To competently and simply keep family accounting, there is a program for the family budget, which is called "Home Accounting". This software allows you to manage general and personal finances from various devices with data synchronization and exchange between a computer and mobile devices, since its versions work on Android, iPhone, and iPad. In a free test mode, you can use it for 30 days, after which you will be asked to buy the software. However, for those who do not want to spend money, there are other services freely available that structure household expenses and income. The best programs for accounting and managing a family budget, which can be downloaded for free, are presented in our review.

Program "Home Accounting"

Since the offer from Home Accounting (http://www.keepsoft.ru/) can be used for free for a month, users who choose intuitive, simple and functional versions of the software can use this example to compare the capabilities of paid and free programs "in the field conditions." Thanks to the function of uploading data to Excel in a month, you can return to the tables without losing your accounting if you wish.

The distinctive advantages of "Home Bookkeeping" include:

1. The availability of using not just a list of income for each of the partners, but linking to the “common wallet” the status of several accounts - cash, bank cards, electronic money.
2. An interface in which you can see both the big picture in one table and each of the subsections in a separate window displayed (for example, the window of loans and debts).
3. The ability to build visual charts that at a glance allow you to assess the current financial situation in the family.
4. Additional features:
   • income and spending planning,
   • importing data on bank statements,
   • export to Excel, Word, Access, HTML

Unlike many free "blank templates", here the basic part is already written. For example, the articles of possible expenses are entered in such detail that it is extremely rare that there is a need to add something (although there is such an opportunity, as well as the opposite - deleting the "extra" article). Thus, the 16 main basic categories of expenditure are divided into many subcategories. For comparison:

• 9 “default” subcategories have already been entered in the “Car” category: Car wash, Gasoline, Spare parts, Tax, Repair, Parking, Insurance, Inspection, Fine.
• in the category "Clothes" - 44 subcategories.
• in Household Goods - 62 options from nails and hangers to light bulbs and filters.

Thanks to such detail and even the “meticulousness” of the authors, it is much easier to plan, since the menu itself seems to suggest what is usually forgotten in everyday chores.

Separately, it should be noted the search function with details on names, categories-subcategories, repaid and outstanding debts, notes, etc. That is, by entering a marker word in a note, you can use the search to immediately see all the movements that relate to the “encrypted” topic .

The mobile version of the service differs from the offers of most competitors in its functional diversity, which becomes noticeable even when looking at the start menu.

Home Bookkeeping has a lot of good reviews from users with many years of experience, noting its dignity, and one “disadvantage” - it is paid. The software allows you to log in, changing usernames, and conduct independent budgeting. However, in a paid offer, this advantage is leveled, because for the free use of several family members, most likely, you will need to buy a more expensive license.

In total, 3 main options are offered and a monthly subscription with renewal:

1. Private license for installation on one computer - 800 rubles. during the discount period and 990 rubles on an ongoing basis.
2. Family license for two computers 1200 rub. at a discount and 1490 rubles. - without.
3. The portable (recommended by the manufacturer) option for free movement of the program on a USB flash drive costs the same amount.

"Family Budget": program, reviews, opportunities

"Family Budget" is a program for Android, the free version of which can be considered as a good example of bringing a useful product to the market for nothing. Of the minuses of using only called:

• the presence of advertising that can be switched off for money,
• the ability to backup only to a memory card of a mobile device in version 2.1.11, while you can download the family budget program for free and without registration in version 2.2.5–2.2.7 (for example, here http://top-android.org/programs /1379-semeynyiy-budjet/) - general requirement: Android 2.1 and above.

"Family Budget" is an official mobile application for Android, which duplicates the functionality of a web service for accounting.

The advantage over desktop competitors is that in the mobile application all expenses can be entered without leaving the cash register and without forgetting about them.

And there are a lot of such everyday petty waste, and it is they that require special consideration, because, judging by the statistics, the general treasury imperceptibly melts not when buying TVs and refrigerators, but because of snacks, coffee breaks and unaccounted for beer on Fridays.

To create a new record in the accounting history, you need to:

• select a menu item,
• enter the amount of expenses and a note,
• mark a category (either create it yourself or choose from a ready list).

The functionality added in later releases allows you to specify the means of payment, fixing the state of funds on a bank card and cash in a wallet. Synchronization with Mobile Bank is available. A separate section is reserved for planning potential expenses.

• At the beginning of the month, the total amount of upcoming expenses is calculated and indicated.
• The amount is signed by category, indicating the part planned for food, utilities, repayment of loans, etc.
• The end of the month shows savings or a negative balance.

As in the previous software, this application provides for search, the ability to leave notes, and also generate a report on the movements in the family wallet in the form of diagrams.

AndroMoney, CoinKeeper, Expense Manager

AndroMoney

Similar to the previous and another multifunctional AndroMoney application, which is also used for household accounting on Android devices. The goal of the developers was to make an interface for hostesses - an intuitive menu without sacrificing functionality.

There is a free version and a Pro version (about $5). The advantages include: the choice of "step" (day, month or year), narrow budgeting for certain categories and the ability to create copies both in the device's memory and in cloud storage services (Google Drive, Dropbox). Data can be password-protected and, if necessary, converted to CVS-format to work on a PC.

CoinKeeper

The difference between the shareware (test version is used for the first half a month) CoinKeeper platform from others is that it allows both “manual management” of your finances and automatic mode, for which you must first specify the monthly income. The work is facilitated by the fact that each menu item is explained, thanks to which the platform has one of the most understandable interfaces among similar products.

Allowed: synchronization with other devices, storage in cloud services, setting a password. But, compared to others, this application has few reports, no "desktop" version, slow animation.

Expense Manager (by Bishinews)

In Expense Manager (from Bishinews), in addition to the limited functionality of the free version (the full version also costs about $ 5), the absence of the Russian language is considered a relative disadvantage. In the English-speaking environment, multi-million downloads demonstrate the popularity of this software. Here you can plan the ratio of income and expenses, change the settings for yourself, display a detailed expense schedule, store information in the cloud or on a memory card. The interface looks minimalistic, but this only simplifies the work of both the user and the gadget.

Money is like water - it flows through your fingers, no matter how hard you try to hold it. And it can be very difficult to figure out where they are leaking. Few of us keep in mind the amount of daily petty expenses, and it is they who create the very gap in the family budget that has come from nowhere.

Have you finally decided to put your family finances in order? Do not rush to enroll in accounting courses. A computer program can become your personal economic advisor. Do not think that this is something complicated and expensive. Many home accounting programs are completely free and do not require special knowledge of economics. They will open the channels of money leaks for you, take over the reduction of "debit with credit", teach you how to plan your budget correctly and tell you what you can save on. As practice shows, those who regularly use such programs have managed to reduce their monthly expenses by 5-25%.

More than 15 years old, but users still consider this program one of the best among analogues. It does not shine with sophistication of design, but it is very clear and simple, which can be judged even by the appearance of the main window. In addition, it is very functional: if you compare the capabilities of CashFly and the bulk of free analogues, then the first wins in many respects.

Here is a partial list of what she can do:

• Work without installation, which allows you to use it on different computers (for example, at work and at home). It is enough to unpack the archive with the application files into a separate folder and save it on removable media or in the cloud.
• Keep records of income and expenses for an unlimited number of items, several accounts and in different monetary units. Initially, the program contains US dollars and rubles, but you can add other currencies.
• Take into account the income and expenditure transactions of several users - both in the general budget and separately.
• Manage bookkeeping for a small business.
• Make calculations using a calculator.
• Make account statements, prepare summary reports on the movement of funds for selected periods of time and display them in the form of graphs and charts.
• Print summaries.
• Protect data with a password.
• Plan a budget for future periods.
• Keep old data in archives.
• Store user notes (diary) and a phone book, more precisely, lists of organizations and individuals with their phone numbers, addresses, dates of birth and other information. Make event reminders.
• Convert amounts from one currency to another, according to the exchange rate set by the user.
• Disable unused features.

Unfortunately, the development of CashFly is currently stopped. Its last version was released in 2010, and since then the product has not been updated. The list of systems supported by it officially only includes Windows 7 and earlier operating systems, but, as it turned out, it starts and runs without problems on Windows 10.

(download from a mirror) is another worthwhile personal finance management tool, but, like CashFly, has long been abandoned by developers.

The main advantages of the program are simplicity and flexibility, as well as high performance due to the absence of rarely used functions. The user can customize the appearance of the main window to his liking by enabling or disabling individual blocks and panels in it.

How Xenon can help you control your Family Budget:

• It will take care of the accounting of income and expenditure transactions for any period of time. The list of main items of income and expenses is already included in the program. Each operation can be supplemented with text notes-comments.
• It will allow you to control the movement of funds on several accounts in five currencies: Russian ruble, Ukrainian hryvnia, Kazakh tenge, US dollar and euro. Current rates do not need to be entered manually, as in CashFly. It is enough to download them from the Internet.
• Shows reports on types of transactions and currencies for the selected period of time.
• Exports the selected data to Excel documents or prints it on a printer.
• Save your notes about various events.

"Xenon Family Budget" is a single-user program, but allows you to keep track of the income and expenses of several family members. There are no restrictions on the amounts, number of accounts and operations in it.

The last release of the program was released in 2006, and since then it has also never been updated. However, there were no problems using it on Windows 10.

It is a light version of AceMoney, an advanced commercial product for home bookkeeping. The difference between the free version and the paid version is the ability to manage only two accounts (the program considers not only the funds stored in the bank, but also, for example, cash belonging to the family, to be an account). The rest of the functions of both products are almost the same.

Features of AceMoney Lite:

• Control and accounting of any incoming and outgoing transactions.
• Automatic recording of regular payments and income (for example, loan installments and salaries) according to a custom schedule.
• Support for 150 world currencies. Display of exchange rates in real time (with Internet access).
• Budget planning for different purposes at different time periods.
• If a bank account is connected to the program, AceMoney can receive up-to-date data on its status directly from the bank (however, the program is not “friendly” with Russian banks).
• Conclusion of up-to-date information about the value of exchange shares (significant information for investors).
• Calculation of debts (payments on loans and credits), savings (deposits and deposits), mortgage payments.
• Various types of reporting: on the movement of funds on the account, expenses, income, categories of expenses (for example, on monthly expenses for gasoline, food, utilities), budget, investments, etc. Reports on individual correspondents (those to whom you pay and from whom you receive payments).
• Password protection for reports and backups.

For those who are just mastering home economics, help on working with the program will be a useful help. In AceMoney it is in Russian.

AceMoney Lite, unlike the two apps above, is updated regularly. In addition, it officially supports Windows 10 and all earlier editions of the system, starting with Windows XP.

- Another "lightweight" commercial product of the same name. The free version retains full functionality until the total monthly income of all its users exceeds 14,000 rubles. After exceeding this modest amount, the program will offer you to buy the full version, which costs 250-500 rubles.

Features of Economy Lite:

• Support for multiple users and any number of their accounts in different currencies (US dollars, rubles, euros, pounds sterling).
• Accounting for income, expenses, debts (credits) both for each user individually and jointly.
• Accounting for transfers of funds from account to account (for example, when withdrawing funds from a bank card, the program will write off the amount from the “card” account and add it to the “cash” account).
• Formation of reports on income, personal expenses, account balances, debts (how much and to whom you owe, as well as how much and who owes you), loans, income minus expenses. Displaying reports in graphic and text form.
• Printing reports on a printer.
• Color highlighting of individual categories of income and expenses for greater clarity.
• A reminder of the terms of regular payments, for example, loan contributions, utilities, etc.
• Built-in help in Russian and useful tips on using the program.
• Scheduled data backup.
• A convenient system for searching and filtering information of interest.
• Protection of access to the program with a password.
• Automatic installation of updates that come out almost every month.
• Technical support.
• Switching from the Economy Lite interface to useful articles on the developer's site. Articles are devoted to finance, personal growth, earnings on investments, work and career (including earnings on the Internet on affiliate programs, blogging, YouTube, freelance exchanges, etc.).

Economy Lite is officially supported by all versions of Windows since XP.

is the only cross-platform application in today's rating that, in addition to Windows, can be used on Mac OS X, Linux, iOS and mobile phones on the java platform. To install the distribution, you must have Java SE Runtime Environment 1.5 or later installed on your system.

At first glance, DomEconom may seem complicated (at least in comparison with other applications reviewed), but immediately after installation, along with the main window, Russian-language help opens, which contains all the necessary information on working with the program. In addition, the registration of a user account and the creation of the first financial notebook (a file that stores information about income and expenditure transactions) is accompanied by the Master.

Features of DomEconom:

• Support for multiple independent user accounts.
• Maintaining general and separate budgets.
• Data entry from various devices. When you connect your computer or phone to the Internet, DomEconom data is automatically synchronized, but you can also work offline if you wish.
• Support for different types of accounts (cash, bank, credit, etc.) in almost any currency.
• Automatic update of the exchange rate.
• Planning expenses for various types of needs.
• Preparation of balance sheets and reports for all categories of income/expenses in tabular and graphical format.
• Export reports to Excel documents.
• Create an unlimited number of individual and shared notebooks protected by passwords.
• Automatic backup.
• Password protection of user accounts.
• A large number of built-in templates for all types of operations, expense items and more.
• Help section in the main window, where tips on actions in the program are displayed (can be disabled if desired).

Currently, the development of DomEconom is suspended, but the official site, from where you can download the application distribution kit for all supported OS, is still working.

Programs for maintaining, accounting and planning the family budget, are reliable assistants for effective management of the family budget. Why? Because they allow you to automate many processes, which greatly simplifies the process of maintaining home finance.

In addition, this software has a lot of auxiliary functions that allow you to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your relationship with money, open your eyes to seemingly obvious things, but for some reason not used in everyday life. Family budgeting programs make it much easier and help create a holistic picture of our relationship with finances.

Purpose of the review

• Determine from the variety of specialized software, the most successful ratio of price and quality;
• Choose the most optimal and easy-to-use program for managing the family budget;
• Determine the main characteristics of the proposed programs for maintaining the family budget;
• Identify the most simple and understandable solutions for beginners, as well as select more serious and complex products for advanced users;
• Determine the degree of convenience in working with each program;
• Choose the most pleasant software for design and management;

Criteria for evaluation

I will evaluate all programs for managing the family budget according to five main criteria:

• Simple and clear interface;
• Ease of use;
• Functionality;
• Family budget planning;
• Reports and analysis.

Why according to these criteria? Because these are the cornerstones of any special software for accounting and family budget planning. In many programs today, much more complex features are implemented. But they are needed only when the utility suits the criteria listed above.

If the product is difficult to learn or difficult to use on a daily basis, then the user will not need all the “bells and whistles” that the developers stuffed into their product.

What programs for managing the family budget will be in the review

To date, these are one of the most popular programs for managing a family budget on a computer. I do not take into account online services for accounting for personal finances online. In the future, I plan to regularly monitor new items and add reviews on them to my blog.

What will the review look like?

I decided not to do a general review of all the programs, as it will turn out to be too large and inconvenient to read. Therefore, a separate report with screenshots will be prepared for each program. In the blog, I will create a special section, which will be called “Software”. In this section, you can find a list of the considered programs. There will also be a link to a detailed review of each product and the cost.

The final stage will be the publication of a brief report on all programs, as well as a table with estimates on the main parameters of the program. There will also be an overall score below, on the basis of which you can understand which of the products, in my opinion, deserves the highest ratings.

There are many obstacles to controlling the family budget - laziness, lack of time, self-doubt, lack of knowledge and experience. Accounting for expenses in the long run is beneficial, because the statistics clearly show all the excesses. Daily insignificant financial losses turn into big expenses if you look at them from the "height" of a long period of time. People live in the moment and very few people are able to calculate their family budget for the year ahead.

To facilitate financial planning, it is recommended to use special software. There is a whole class of programs that are designed to manage the family budget. Such a program is enough to take into account expenses, plan future expenses, control loans and other aspects of the family's financial life. If you want to know how much you spend on food, car and entertainment, then you can't do without special software. If you have a program for tracking income and expenses at hand, then over time you will find all the weaknesses in your budget. And not just discover, but be able to eliminate these "black holes", while getting a noticeable savings in money.

This review was created to help you choose a program for managing your family budget. We tested the most popular windows-programs designed for financial control. The main focus of the review is the accounting of expenses and incomes on a family scale, that is, programs must be multi-user so that the expenses of each family member can be accounted for in one application.

Poll: Have you controlled the family budget before?

Family budget "Housekeeper"

The size of the installation file of the program is less than 3 MB - this is the most compact program of all considered in this review.

After installation, it turned out that there is a demo base that helps the user understand the principles of the application. In the "users" section, you can see the list of users (family members) and the structure of accounts.

Adding an expense transaction is done in the "expenses" section - click the "add" button, specify the expense categories, account and amount. And then press the "Select" button. A new entry in the "Expenses" table has been added. Please note that in the process of adding a transaction (expense or income), you need to specify an account for debiting (or crediting) money. For clarity, in the tables of expenses and incomes, categories are highlighted - each of them has its own color. You can customize the colors in the "References" section.

The main principle of the "Family Budget" program is that each family member has his own accounts and any transaction is tied to a specific account. This approach allows you to keep the family budget both for each user separately and for all together.

The appearance of the program leaves a pleasant impression - the interface is thought out, control buttons are conveniently located, it is possible to sort data. For example, you can only view expense transactions for a specific month and for a specific user. For this, elements such as "user", "month" and "year" are used. Above the table, there is a mini-report that shows the total amount in the table for the month (subject to the "user" filter).

The income section works in a similar way. To add an income operation, press the "add" button, select a category (for example, "salary"), indicate the account to be credited and enter the amount. In the upper part of the window, you can select the user to whom the transaction will correspond. When a user is selected, all his accounts are automatically loaded, and we have the opportunity to specify which account the money will be credited to.

If you are fully familiar with the Family Bookkeeping program, you can delete the demo database. To do this, delete all users in the "users" section. In this case, all data in the tables of income and expenses will also be deleted. Then you should add real users, set up accounts for them and start managing the family budget.

As the base currency, you can use any currency in the world (rubles, dollars, euros, yen, and others). Each user can have any number of accounts in any currency. When generating reports, the program will automatically recalculate all currency transactions into units of the base currency. For this purpose, each account indicates the exchange rate in relation to the base currency (section "users" - "accounts").

Now let's look at the "reports" section. To build a monthly expense report, select the appropriate report type and click the "build" button. We receive data in graphical form. The chart displays the categories of expenses and the amounts that correspond to them. By clicking the right mouse button on the chart, you can customize it: show amounts or percentages, show a legend, sort, etc. Opposite the "report type" area there is a button for selecting a report in a visual form. If you click it, a window will appear where the reports are grouped into categories - expenses, incomes, debts and users.

The reporting system in the Family Bookkeeping program is very simple and understandable. Even novice users will be able to deal with reports without any problems. The built-in help system will help you quickly master the program - almost all sections have a button with a question mark. By clicking on this button, you will receive help on the desired section.

Another program is able to work with debts and loans. If you have lent money, the application will automatically remind you if the debt is not returned on time. The "loans" section is responsible for your debts - here you can add any type of loan (mortgage, car loan).

Conclusion. Family accounting "Housekeeper" is a simple and effective tool for managing a family budget. It has everything you need: accounting for expenses and income, support for foreign currency accounts, multi-user mode, convenient and visual reports, work with loans and debts, monthly reminders. The program is very simple, and the interface is so thought out that the help section may not be needed. The speed of reporting and data entry is high. Program price: from 0 to 300 rubles(it is possible to use it for free). If you are just starting to control the family budget, then we recommend starting with this program.

Alzex Personal Finance

At the first launch of the Personal Finance program, the user is prompted to make basic settings: specify the language, date format, numeric separator, select a folder for the backup. It is noteworthy that the program interface has been translated into many languages ​​- there are at least 20 languages ​​in the list. At the beginning of working with the application, the user has the opportunity to download a demo database.

The first section of the program is called "overview". All financial transactions are displayed here. The most important information on the list is the amount, date, category, and family member. Any entry can be edited by double-clicking on the row.

Another interesting feature of this section is the presence of unconfirmed transactions. This is handy if you use auto payments. For example, you pay a monthly subscription fee for the Internet. The program can be configured in such a way that it adds an expense operation to the list of transactions every month. The status of the operation will be: “pending confirmation”. You immediately see both a payment reminder and an expense transaction.

To add a new transaction, press the "Insert" key or right-click and select "add transaction". In a new window, specify the type of operation (income, expense, transfer), category, family member, account and amount.

In the "transactions" section, the structure of expenses on user accounts is visually presented. By clicking on any account in the list, you can get the structure of expenses and income. It is a pity that the program does not link accounts to family members - it turns out that the account is primary and the user is tied to a transaction, not an account. For example, Anya can pay from Sasha's account and vice versa. You can keep family records in this program only by considering all the money and accounts as common.

The program has an expense and income planner. In the "scheduler" section, you can add the desired operation to the plan. It is also easy to set the frequency of the new operation - to perform daily, weekly or monthly. The "budget" section is responsible for planning the family budget - limits for spending categories are set here. The "debts" section controls your debts and debtors.

The "reports" section is responsible for the construction of graphs and charts. To view the structure of expenses for the month in the form of a diagram, you need to select "view - overview - expenses" and "graph - circular". If you are interested in a specific time interval, then you should click on the month and set the "arbitrary interval". In order for the chart to display amounts, and not percentages, you need to click "graph" and check the "show values" box. In our opinion, the reporting system in the program is not ideal. For example, we were unable to build a report on the expenses of a particular user.

Conclusion. The appearance of the program leaves a pleasant impression. There is a good event planner and the ability to plan a budget. But the application has a rather confusing way of displaying transactions - it's easy to get lost in a single list. It’s also confusing that you can add an expense without being tied to a specific family member (how can you take this data into account later?). Accounts are not linked to users - an arbitrary name is specified in the account settings. In the demo version of the program, it is not possible to build a report on the expenses of each family member, and this is an important report for the family budget. It will be difficult for an inexperienced user to immediately deal with the reporting system. The price of Personal Finance is 590 rubles(personal license), for a commercial license you will have to pay 990 rubles.