Mobile Ministry Magazine

We are ministers first. We have such a huge responsibility in this aspect, and part of that responsibility is to project fiscal discipline.

The mobile world we live in makes this responsibility even more challenging. We scoff at paper, and do you really want to be caught with a paper balance book?

If you carry a PDA, like a lot of us do, financial software is of a premium. If you own a Palm device, BudgetMaster by Solid Rock Software is a true blessing.

BudgetMaster touts itself to be a simple solution to anyone's budget making and recording needs. This writer decided to take it for a spin, and see just what this software could do.

To summarize (much as I hate to destroy the suspense), it's phenomenal.

The interface was perfect for this writer. In other words, you can make it yours. I spent my first day of testing just whimsically playing with the layout by using the built-in palette. While this may not be the definition of a standard "power user" feature, I was quite impressed. I finally decided to think positive and finally settled on green.
This was only just a portion of the "User Preferences", which included adjustable settings for bill reminders and password selection (to secure your sensitive data).

BudgetMaster allows you to customize your budget by allowing one to have an unlimited number of categories. Along with these you can customize your income sources as well. These can be set by month. The "Spending & Bills" menu allows for the user to to create the debits section of the budget by category as well.
One idea I absolutely loved was the Budget Transfer option. It allowed me to transfer "money" from one spending account to another. So, say, if I had an overage in my entertainment spending, I could adjust for a shortage in my laundry account, without destroying my entire budget. It did this seamless offset on its own.

For all transactions, I saw the running total, and the balance left.

Of course, it helps you keep track of bills. You simply select any budget to be a "bill" when assigning it at the beginning. The bill reminder feature mentioned earlier can be set as well, to help you balance your checkbook.

There is even a category for those unforeseen bills or impulse buys, listed under "Quick Spend". You simply list the what, when, where and the amount spent, and you're set. There was even a built-in calculator wich made things easier.

Just when I had decided I was impressed, I found something very valuable. Then again, most people who know me will tell you that I am a "reports" kind of guy.

There is an entire Report menu. It gives an income-budget-spending overview, which, of course, gives you a snapshot of where you stand fiscally. On the spot, you can see how you are doing, and what you may need to adjust, pare down or even discard.
It features a spending overview, and a spending details report, which creates memos that can be hotsynced, viewed and/or printed. The same goes for Budget listing report, which breaks down your budget categories.
It is possible to also check your spending history with the help of historical reporting.

Along with these tools, I was able to create a pie chart, and this really wowed me. I really, really loved this feature. Here I was, looking at the circle of my fiscal future. I was a financial guru. I was headed to MSNBC, and Wall Street. I was...

...daydreaming. Again.

Bottom line is that if you have dreams, goals, or just want to be better acquainted with your spending, this is the software for you. If you value customer service, Karen and Bill will soothe your mind. They are some of the most courteous people I have met. You can drop them a line, or find out more about this excellent software, by navigating to the Solid Rock Software website. Solid Rock Software also provides a desk top companion to the palm software.

Please look for reviews of two other software titles by Solid Rock, Weight Diary and Expense-N-Go.

Remain blessed.