Mint.com (www.mint.com) just made it easier for users to track their cash spending and monitor pending expenses, such as checks. Addressing a top user request by enabling manual entry of transactions, the new feature makes it easy for users to get an even more accurate accounting of their current financial picture -- without having to become accountants themselves.
"People have asked for a way to easily keep track of cash spending and account for expenses before they clear and we've worked to help them do that with the level of accuracy and detail they have come to expect from Mint," said Aaron Patzer, general manager and vice president of Intuit Personal Finance and founder of Mint.com.
"Whether you're living paycheck-to-paycheck looking to avoid overdrafts or other fees, or simply want to make sure you're accurately budgeting your cash spending, this new feature will make it easy to get a clearer view of your money."
Following the Money
After spending cash, users simply enter the amount and merchant: Mint.com will automatically deduct the amount from their most recent ATM withdrawal, unless they choose otherwise. Mint.com will then apply the spending to the appropriate category and budget. For checks, entering the check number and payee means the expenditure will be automatically reconciled when the amount clears.
In addition to helping people to better track spending, Mint.com's new feature will also account for tips, gifts, bonuses, owed money, or other income paid in cash or personal checks. Cash, checks and pending transactions will sync directly into a user's account -- tied to current budgets, personalized tags, categorized merchants, and linked accounts. Pending expenses will always top the list of transactions, helping people avoid overdrawing an account or exceeding credit limits.
"We developed this to make it as easy and intuitive as possible for users," said Patzer. "Users no longer need to check online bank statements to correctly categorize checks, or suffer through splitting a big pie piece of uncategorized cash withdrawals to know where they've spent. More accurate insight into spending and savings lets people make better financial decisions, and that's why we're here."
Customer feedback and requests help determine upcoming products and features from Mint.com. In the coming months, the Mint team plans to address user requests, adding support for thousands of additional financial institutions and an Android application to expand its mobile presence beyond its award-winning iPhone application.
Customers can offer input through the Facebook fan page, through Twitter, and directly within the product through a recent integration with GetSatisfaction that takes customer support and feedback to a whole new level.