PocketCharts is a simple, single-page web app to work out everyday expenses and personal finances. We needed this to be working as soon as possible, so this prototype may have rough edges! No sign-up is required so you can get started straight away!
Hi Makers and Finders! 👋 Sam and Janis here.
We wrote this app to calculate how much it would cost to move house, as well as to watch any expenses in the next few days. This version is actually a modernised version of a program I (Sam) wrote in Turbo Pascal during the mid 90's to manage pocket money when I started high school.
In its primary form, PocketChart shows a linear graph where recurring and one-off expenses are displayed to work out available money from income sources over time. It's small, compact, and more of a web-based calculator than a fully featured app.
You can select a range of days on the main chart to see a list of transactions in that selection only. We used this feature to see if we had enough money for the following week.
The dates for transactions also need to be manually typed in. We were planning to have a popup where we could choose the start date and intervals for payments or expenses, but to get it working sooner we were happy to enter the dates and intervals for each transaction manually. (It's only a few numbers or keywords, anyway.)
To see how it all works (including the manual date entry system) an example file has been included in the "Help" section. Give it a go!
We found it useful when used with quick budgeting on pen and paper. If we have enough interest from others or if you find it useful as well, we can add more features to cater for a broader audience as this was a prototype we built in a week.
The Good: 👍
⚫ Start charting straight away - no sign-up or login required.
⚫ Chart values update live as they are adjusted in the table of transactions.
⚫ The selection on the main chart can be moved or resized.
⚫ Runs on client-side vanilla javascript only. Works offine too!
⚫ Free/open source software released under GPL3. Save the web page and poke around the source code to see how it works!
The Bad: 💔
⚫ Dates need to be typed in manually; no calendar-style picker for transaction dates yet!
⚫ Does not validate CSV files, try importing anything for fun ;)
⚫ No network support or ways to share and collaborate, other than sending exported CSV files.
⚫ Transactions with an interval date *before* the starting date aren't added.
⚫ Using 29, 30, or 31 as interval won't appear in transactions for months that don't have those dates.
The Ugly: 😱
⚫ Fixed to a maximum length of approximately 12 weeks.
⚫ The tooltip for the main chart can get in the way sometimes.
⚫ Zooming, changes to the graph values, or UI elements aren't animated.
⚫ Needs more styling; colours aren't perfect but do what we wanted 😎
⚫ No undo/redo features.
⚫ No log(10) scale, useful if values get in the thousands.
⚫ Doesn't save to local storage.
⚫ Not mobile or small-screen device friendly.
And, The Roadmap (of changes we would like to add): 🚀
⚫ Allow main chart resolution to show weekly or monthly periods, instead of just single days.
⚫ The ability to save and share charts online.
⚫ Bug fixes. Yes, we know where you little critters are.
⚫ Log(10) Scale.
⚫ Reminders for upcoming bills, payments or expenses.
⚫ The ability to overlay multiple charts together to compare scenarios.
Thank you for your time, and we would LOVE to hear what you think 😊