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CalendarBudget Online Budgeting Software

By , About.com Guide

CalendarBudget is an online money management tool that tracks daily spending.

CalendarBudget Demo

Screen Shot by Shelley Elmblad

Viewing Accounts and Expenditures:

Updated 01/07/2010

CalendarBudget Premium is online personal finance software for tracking spending today and budgeting 20 years into the future. CalendarBudget also comes in a basic version, which tracks only one account.

CalendarBudget looks like an online calendar, similar to Google Calendar, with income, expenses and a running balance of all accounts combined for each day. Access a calendar view for individual accounts or all accounts using the tabs at the top of the screen.

Financial Reporting Feaures:

CalendarBudget provides financial reporting from the side bar and a Reports module at the top of the screen. The side bar is populated with color-coded spending categories and the amount available for spending per category, or the amount overspent. Click a tab above the side bar to see high and low monthly account balances and surpluses and deficits for budgeted categories.

The reports module has graphical reports selections for monthly spending by category and spending trends over the past six months. An option to create a printable PDF of the calendar and to export data to CSV for spreadsheet analysis of finances.

Transaction Downloads:

There are no automated transaction downloads in CalendarBudget, but you can import transactions using an OFX file download, which most financial institutions provide through online banking. If you have been using automatic downloads in financial software, you may find that you miss this feature.

Working with Transactions:

CalendarBudget Premium supports up to nine accounts, which is adequate for many people. However, this limitation could be a problem for parents who track children's accounts along with their own or those who want to include investment accounts (CalendarBudget has no investment-specific features).

CalendarBudget does not handle transactions in individual on-screen account registers. To enter a transaction, click on the date the transaction occured on the calendar and enter the details, including account used, budget category and whether this is a repeating expense or income item.

Alerts, Reminders and Bookmarks:

You can set CalenderBudget to send reminders via email for upcoming bills, a date when you need to do budget plan updates and important announcements. These reminders are called Alerts, and are not the same alerts that are in the side bar.

CalendarBudget has a Bookmark feature for returning easily to a date on the calendar. Set a bookmark for a date from the settings menu and then return to the date using the dropdown Bookmarks list on the upper right part of the screen.

CalendarBudget Support and Membership:

Help options for using CalendarBudget are listed under the Help link at the top of the screen. FAQ's, videos and an user forum are listed, and an online form for contacting support.

CalendarBudget Premium is available for monthly, semi-annual and annual fees of $7.95, $44.95 and $85.95. The Basic version costs $4.95, $27.95 or $52.95, but is limited to one account, includes advertising and does not import or export data.

You can try the CalendarBudget Demo, and if you register for membership you will receive a 30-day free trial of Calendarbudget Premium.

Visit CalendarBudget.com

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