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Have you been searching for the ultimate budgeting app but still haven’t found the right one for you? Look no further than PocketSmith, one of the most versatile budgeting solutions around. In this PocketSmith review, I will share some of its unique features, who PocketSmith is for, and much more. Let’s get started!
What is PocketSmith?
PocketSmith is a budgeting tool that offers many other personal finance tracking features.
Founded in 2008, the creators of PocketSmith aimed to create a financial tool that would accommodate everyone’s unique money management style.
What they ultimately came up with is one of the most customizable budgeting tools available. It’s often the tool that people graduate to once they start to get the hang of their finances.
PocketSmith’s team is constantly improving the product to make it better for users. As part of this PocketSmith review, I will share what makes PocketSmith so unique. But first, let’s cover how PocketSmith works.
How PocketSmith Works
PocketSmith, like many other budgeting apps, works by linking to your financial data so you can track your spending, make smarter money decisions, and more.
Getting started with PocketSmith is easy. Start by signing up for PocketSmith, which takes mere minutes.
After signing up for PocketSmith, you’ll want to link your bank accounts. PocketSmith uses two data providers, Yodlee and Salt Edge, to help link to your financial data. Once connected, PocketSmith can help automatically categorize your data and show you key trends.
From there, it’s easy to create your budget and view your financial forecast, customizing the service as you see fit. It is that easy!
PocketSmith Features
Let’s cover some of the unique features of PocketSmith and how it can help you get the most out of your money!
Automatic Bank Feeds
PocketSmith allows you to link all of your bank accounts, making it easy to track all of your accounts in one place.
PocketSmith links to over 12,000 banks across 49 countries. That means no matter where you live, you can make PocketSmith work for you.
Check out the complete list of banks which support PocketSmith bank feeds here.
Income & Expense Statements
If you’ve ever looked at a company’s financial statements, you’ll know they use an income statement to track income and expenses.
PocketSmith allows you to do exactly that for your finances. The PocketSmith income and expense statements will enable you to easily compare your income to your spending to see if you’re on track.
Plus, it’s totally customizable! You can even see if specific projects are making or losing money. So, if you’re a side hustler, for example, it’s possible to review just the income and expenses for this part of your financial life to see if you’re making money.
Again, customizability is the standout feature!
Plus, if you want to track your cash flow over time (including historical and forecast), PocketSmith even offers a cash flow statement that you can export to Excel for further analysis!
Net Worth Tracking
PocketSmith offers an easy-to-understand net worth tracking dashboard. It very clearly lays out what you own vs. what you owe. Net worth tracking helps you track your financial progress over time – just one more tool to help you stay on track.
While PocketSmith certainly gets the job done, other net worth tracking tools are a bit more visual and offer more detail on your net worth.
Financial Forecasting
One of PocketSmith’s unique features is that it can help you create a personal financial forecast. PocketSmith can forecast cash balances up to 30 years in the future by learning about your income and expense patterns.
While budgeting usually focuses on the month-to-month, PocketSmith is unique in helping you understand how decisions impact your longer-term financial future.
Scenario Testing
If you want to understand how a particular financial decision can impact your future, PocketSmith offers a “what if” analysis to do exactly that. For example, if you want to see how taking a big vacation will impact your financial forecast, PocketSmith can help you do that.
By understanding the impact of financial decisions, you’ll be able to make much more informed choices about your spending before it happens.
You can even create multiple scenarios in PocketSmith to understand how different alternatives may impact your financial plan.
Budget Calendar
Trying to understand what bills you have coming down the path? With PocketSmith’s budget calendar, you can see expenses by calendar day as well as projected bank balances over time.
This feature makes it easier to spot cash flow shortfalls before they happen – and adjust your spending in advance.
Multi-Currency Support
Have accounts in multiple currencies? PocketSmith will automatically track them in both their native and converted currencies based on daily exchange rates.
PocketSmith even offers exchange rate support for non-fiat currencies such as Bitcoin!
Ad-Free
Perhaps the best feature of PocketSmith is that there are no advertisements – even on the free tier.
Want to share your finances with a family member, friend, or even trusted advisor? PocketSmith makes it easy for you to share your account with someone else who can securely access and view your account. It’s easy to see who has logged in, and access can be granted and revoked at any time.
This makes it exponentially easier to share your finances with someone and get on the same page. You can even track deductible expenses to share with your tax professional. It is so simple and something you won’t find with any other budgeting solution!
Email Summaries
Want email summaries of your finances? PocketSmith can send you summaries of any account updates you wish to receive and on the schedule that works for you.
For example, want a weekly digest recapping where you stand relative to your budget? You can do that. Or, if you want to see your net worth once a month, PocketSmith can email you to let you know.
Receiving updates via email can help ensure your budget doesn’t get forgotten in daily life.
Learning Center
As you’re working on getting started with PocketSmith, they offer a detailed help center to help you get started and answer the most common questions. It is one of the most robust learning centers available amongst budgeting apps, so definitely check it out if you need some help getting started.
As you can see, countless features set PocketSmith apart from the competition. No other service offers this many features in one place. PocketSmith is genuinely one of the most robust budgeting services available.
PocketSmith Plans & Pricing
Okay, so you’re convinced that PocketSmith is a unique solution. But I bet you’re wondering how much PocketSmith costs.
Well, here’s the good news. PocketSmith offers a variety of plan options based on your needs.
Basic
The most basic PocketSmith plan is FREE! With the basic plan, you can add up to two accounts and project your finances up to six months in the future.
The biggest downside to the free plan, however, is that you must manually import financial data. Manually importing your data can be terribly time-consuming, but if you’re just trying to figure out if PocketSmith is right for you, the free plan can be a great place to start.
Premium
The most popular PocketSmith plan option is the Premium tier. The Premium tier is where PocketSmith starts to shine.
With this plan, PocketSmith will automatically import your transactions. It will even automatically categorize your transactions!
Plus, the Premium tier builds on everything in the basic plan, offering the ability to add ten accounts, unlimited budgets, and forecast your finances up to 10 years in the future.
The Premium tier comes in at $9.95 per month, or $90 per year when paid annually.
When you sign up with PocketSmith, though, you can get 50% off your first two months of Premium!
Super
Finally, Super is the granddaddy of PocketSmith. It offers everything in the Premium tier, but it provides you the ability to link unlimited accounts and project your finances up to 30 years in the future.
Unless you have many accounts, you probably don’t need the Super tier, but if you do, it comes in at $19.95 per month or $170 when paid annually.
PocketSmith Alternatives
While PocketSmith is a tremendously flexible budgeting solution, it does have several competitors to consider. Let’s cover some of the most popular PocketSmith alternatives as part of this PocketSmith review so you can choose the best budgeting solution for your needs.
PocketSmith vs. YNAB
Perhaps the most popular PocketSmith alternative is YNAB. Comparing PocketSmith vs. YNAB, each one excels in slightly different areas.
YNAB excels in offering a very rigid budgeting system. YNAB’s rigidity is both its biggest selling point and its biggest weakness. When used correctly, it can be highly effective. However, because it is so rigid, the learning curve is quite steep, and it’s hard to tailor if you have a unique financial situation.
PocketSmith, on the other hand, believes that you should be able to customize your financial tool to your specific needs.
One other area where PocketSmith stands out is its forecasting features. While YNAB has excellent tools for planning future spending, it does not allow you to forecast your cash balances and what your financial picture looks like over time.
Finally, in terms of cost, both services are similar. YNAB costs $11.99 per month or $84 per year – roughly in line with PocketSmith.
You really can’t go wrong with either YNAB or PocketSmith. Both offer outstanding budgeting features and can help set your money straight.
PocketSmith vs. Personal Capital
Next, one apt comparison is between PocketSmith and Personal Capital.
PocketSmith is a hands-down winner when it comes to budgeting, as Personal Capital’s budgeting tools are very simplistic. Personal Capital has far less flexibility than PocketSmith when it comes to budgeting.
However, for financial forecasting, I prefer Personal Capital. Personal Capital also tracks your investment accounts and provides an investment forecast based on your portfolio allocation – a standout feature not offered by PocketSmith.
Finally, Personal Capital is entirely free, so it’s a tremendous addition to anyone’s financial planning. In fact, I would suggest using Personal Capital in parallel with a budgeting tool like PocketSmith or YNAB.
PocketSmith vs. Mint
Next, some wonder how PocketSmith compares to Mint. There is no comparison here. While exceptionally popular, Mint isn’t very customizable, and it’s a bit lackluster when it comes to helping you make financial decisions. Both of these areas are where PocketSmith excels.
Plus, Mint often bombards its users with various forms of advertisement. PocketSmith does not use ads because they’re laser-focused on helping you improve your finances with no unnecessary distractions.
PocketSmith vs. Tiller Money
Finally, let’s compare PocketSmith to Tiller Money. Both of these solutions are highly customizable and excellent solutions for those looking for advanced budgeting tools.
Tiller allows users to track their financial data using Excel and Google Sheets, meaning it is as flexible as your imagination. Tiller comes in at just $79/year, so it is slightly cheaper than PocketSmith but not by much.
When it comes to deciding between these tools, it comes down to personal preference. If you are an Excel junkie, go with Tiller. However, if you prefer to manage your finances on the web through a customizable dashboard, go with PocketSmith instead.
Express Migration Tool
If you want to move from another budgeting tool to PocketSmith, it’s effortless using PocketSmith’s Express Migration tool. You can easily move over from YNAB, Mint, Quicken, and more! All you have to do is reconnect your accounts after the migration, and you’re ready to start using PocketSmith!
PocketSmith will preserve your categories, transactions, accounts, and labels. It’s never been easier to switch budgeting tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Before wrapping up this PocketSmith review, let’s cover some of the most frequently asked questions!
Who Should Use PocketSmith?
PocketSmith is a great budgeting tool for almost anyone. Because it is highly customizable, it can be tailor-made to work for nearly anyone’s financial situation.
In general, however, PocketSmith is for users who find that they want more customizability in their budget relative to other financial tools. If you find tools like YNAB or Personal Capital are too limiting, try PocketSmith!
How to Sign Up with PocketSmith
Signing up with PocketSmith is easy. Simply choose the plan that is right for you, and you’re ready to get started. You can then import your financial data, including from other budgeting services, and you’re ready to begin customizing your budget to meet your needs.
Is PocketSmith Safe?
PocketSmith takes security very seriously. Your connection to PocketSmith is encrypted, and all data on PocketSmith’s servers is also encrypted.
To deliver bank data to PocketSmith, PocketSmith uses two data providers: Yodlee and Salt Edge. Both of these services are account aggregation leaders. They are used and trusted by financial institutions worldwide.
Finally, PocketSmith offers two-factor authentication to all of its users.
To learn more, check out PocketSmith’s security policy.
Does PocketSmith Offer Customer Support?
PocketSmith does not offer phone support, but they do offer customer support via email. It’s easy to get help when you need it, though it can take a day or two to get answers to your questions.
However, using the learning center can help you get answers to questions quickly, so start there to find quick answers to common questions.
Does PocketSmith Have a Mobile App?
Yes! PocketSmith offers a mobile companion app to help you keep track of your finances on the go. While the mobile app doesn’t provide all of the web application features, it does offer a financial dashboard, a transaction tracker, and key budgeting features.
In addition to its mobile app and website application, PocketSmith is also working on a desktop app to help you keep your financial data at your fingertips.
PocketSmith Pros & Cons
Let’s quickly recap some of the pros and cons of PocketSmith.
PocketSmith Pros
- Highly customizable to meet your needs
- Aggregates all your accounts in one place and works with financial institutions all over the world
- Forecasting tools are unique
- Easy import from other budgeting tools
PocketSmith Cons
- Does not track investment accounts
- The free version is quite limited
- The learning curve is somewhat steep
PocketSmith Review: A Summary
Wrapping up this PocketSmith review, PocketSmith is one of the most unique, customizable budgeting solutions available. It offers countless features not provided by any other budgeting platform.
From forecasting your finances to scenario testing of various financial decisions, PocketSmith can be the perfect financial tool for almost anyone.
Take control of your finances today and start using PocketSmith! Plus, you’ll even get 50% off your first two months of Premium when you sign up today!
