The logo for the Cuentas custom app.

Financial Accounts

We developed a custom app on the Claris/FileMaker Platform that manages financial accounts. It gathers in one place income and expenditure, and allows transactions to be allocated to multiple accounts, against multiple categories and in multiple currencies.​ Transactions can be reconciled against statements and can be set up to repeat at any frequency. This case study looks at the objectives we wanted to achieve.

Please note that the screenshots contain mock data generated by Mockaroo; any similarity to actual people or organizations is entirely coincidental!

iPhone
iPad
Computer

Desktop & Mobile

  • Enjoy a unified user-interface that reflects the design language on desktop, on iPad and on iPhone, whilst being consistent across all three. The screenshot shows a dashboard in the custom app viewed on an iPhone.
  • See a chart of total spend over time.
  • Change the time period in the chart, at the click of a button, between weekly, monthly and yearly.
  • Select other dashboard items via the button strip towards the top of the screen.
  • Go to other parts of the custom app via a button strip at the foot of the screen.

Accounts

  • List the accounts that you want to manage within the custom app. The screenshot shows the list of accounts viewed on an iPad.
  • As well as the bank and the name, allocate a currency to the account.
  • State the account type, for example asset or liability. 
  • Add a custom icon to the account.
  • View the current balance on the account.
  • See a chart of the closing monthly balance for the previous 12 months.
  • State whether an account should be included in summary reports, such as total monthly spend. 

Categories

  • List the categories that you want to use for controlling expenditure. The screenshot shows the list of categories viewed on a computer.
  • Define up to three levels of category: first the type (e.g. Income or Expense); then a group (e.g. Home, Travel or Work); then the category (e.g. Internet, Pets or Mortgage).
  • Add a custom icon to the category.
  • See a chart of the monthly spend in each category for the previous 12 months. 

Editing

  • Open a separate window when editing anything such as an account, a category or a transaction. The screenshot shows the editing window for a category viewed on an iPad.
  • Pick from dropdown lists, checkboxes or radio buttons to make editing as quick as possible.
  • State whether a category is active: only active categories are available for assigning to a transaction.
  • State whether a category should be included in summary reports, such as total monthly spend.

Currencies

  • Use any number of currencies within the custom app. The screenshot shows the currency settings viewed on an iPhone.
  • Specify a default currency that is used for the majority of transactions.
  • Change the currency on a transaction and observe the final amount update in real-time as the custom app retrieves the exchange rate, based on the date of the transaction, through a public API (application programming interface).
  • Edit the exchange rate manually, if required.
  • Choose a default reporting currency, so that transactions in different currencies can be aggregated and reported meaningfully.

Transactions

  • Add a transaction to an account. The screenshot shows a list of transactions viewed on a computer.
  • Assign one or more categories to a transaction and observe the icon change to reflect the category or display a specific icon to denote multiple categories.
  • Create repeating transactions, for example to cover monthly rent or bill payments, or weekly paychecks.
  • Create transactions that are broken down into installments.
  • Reconcile, or check, transactions against a bank statement.
  • On iPhones and iPads, use an iOS shortcut to create a transaction within the custom app.