A financial management system I've developed over 15 years – would this help your business?

[TrueBalance]

Hi everyone,

Over the last 15+ years of running my own businesses I've gradually developed a financial management system that's completely changed the way I manage them day to day.

It came from one simple frustration.

My accounting software tells me what has happened.

My bank balance tells me how much cash is in the bank.

Cash flow forecasts tell me what might happen.

But none of them really answer the question I wanted answering every day:

"Where does my business actually stand right now?"

So I developed a simple method that continuously takes into account the commitments I already know about, rather than waiting for them to leave the bank account.

It continuously accounts for things like payroll, VAT, tax, finance payments, rent and other regular commitments as they build up, while also planning ahead for larger annual costs by calculating exactly how much should be put aside each month into a reserve account. It then tells you exactly what needs transferring into or out of that reserve account each month to stay on track.

The result isn't just a cash flow forecast.

It's a continuously updated financial position that helps me understand what my bank balance is actually made up of - what's already committed, what's being built up, what's reserved for future obligations, and what is genuinely left for the business.

I've been managing my businesses this way for years using spreadsheets, but I've recently built the whole system into an app to make it much easier to maintain and follow.

I'm interested in finding other business owners who feel they don't always have a complete understanding of what their bank balance actually represents, or who currently rely on spreadsheets and mental calculations to keep track of where the business really stands.

If that sounds like you, I'd be happy to explain the method in more detail or show you how I use it in practice. I'd really value hearing from people who think this approach could improve the way they manage their business finances.

 

[Scalloway]

I find keeping your accounting system up to date helps. All this kind of of software is only as good as the people using it.

 

[TrueBalance]

I find keeping your accounting system up to date helps. All this kind of of software is only as good as the people using it.

Hey Scalloway, thanks for your reply.

I completely agree. If you're keeping your accounting system fully up to date yourself, you're already in a much stronger position than a lot of business owners.

The people I think this is most useful for are those who don't use their accounting software day to day and instead rely on their accountant or bookkeeper for the bookkeeping side of things. For many owner-managed businesses, the only number they're really looking at regularly is the bank balance, and on its own that can be quite misleading.

I deliberately designed this to be a very low-maintenance process once set up. It's not intended to replace bookkeeping or accounting software, it's simply a way for business owners to stay on top of their financial position between accounts being produced, without needing accounting knowledge or spending hours keeping records up to date.

I personally use QuickBooks every day because I'm the finance director for our businesses, but I've always kept my own spreadsheet alongside it because it gave me a much better understanding of our actual financial position. My business partner would often look at the bank balance and think everything was looking healthy, whereas I knew a large proportion of that money was already committed to things like VAT, corporation tax and other obligations. It meant we were often looking at exactly the same bank balance but coming to very different conclusions.

That's ultimately why I developed this system. I wanted one figure that reflected where the business actually stood, rather than just how much cash happened to be sitting in the bank.

 

[fisicx]

What happens if something happens to you or someone finds a bug or the rules change or whatever. The problem always with apps is making sure support is always there.

And is your app SAAS or standalone on my phone?

 

[TrueBalance]

What happens if something happens to you or someone finds a bug or the rules change or whatever. The problem always with apps is making sure support is always there.

And is your app SAAS or standalone on my phone?

Thanks, they're both really good questions.

One thing I'd probably clarify is that I see True Balance as a financial management method first, and the app second. The method itself is simply a low-maintenance way for business owners to keep a much better understanding of their financial position without needing to become bookkeepers or accountants. You could absolutely follow the same principles in a spreadsheet if you wanted to. I did exactly that for years. I eventually built the app because it makes the whole process much easier to maintain and follow.

On the support side, you're absolutely right. That's one of the challenges with any software. At the moment it's still in its early stages, so I'd personally be providing all the support. I'm offering the first 50 businesses free access because I'd much rather work closely with real users, iron out any bugs, and shape it around genuine feedback before trying to scale it.

At the moment it's a SaaS web application. It's primarily been designed and optimised for desktop because that's how I personally manage all of this. I sit down at my computer each day to review the business finances. It does work on mobile too, but improving the mobile experience is one of the next priorities if that's how people want to use it.

 

[Daybooks]

It is true that some directors understand terms like ‘free cash”, “free reserves”, “burn rate”, “runway” to name a few. They can serve a purpose; but none better than the Balance Sheet, Budgets and budgetary control. Give them a try – you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[fisicx]

Mobile needs to be a priority. Many sole traders do everything on their phone. So they will raise invoices and send them to clients, manage their bank account and keep track of orders and invoices.

The chap who does our building work just about manages to send an invoice. Doesn't even own a tablet or computer. Which means your app has to be really really simple.

You might need to check if you need FCA approval. If SAAS there may be additional measures.

 

[TrueBalance]

Mobile needs to be a priority. Many sole traders do everything on their phone. So they will raise invoices and send them to clients, manage their bank account and keep track of orders and invoices.

The chap who does our building work just about manages to send an invoice. Doesn't even own a tablet or computer. Which means your app has to be really really simple.

You might need to check if you need FCA approval. If SAAS there may be additional measures.

That's really useful advice, thanks, I genuinely appreciate it.

I'll definitely make the mobile experience a priority. It was originally built around how I work, which is mostly at a desktop, but you're absolutely right that a lot of sole traders run their entire business from their phone these days.

The whole point of the method is actually to help people who aren't naturally numbers people get a much better grip on their business finances without needing accounting knowledge. The concept itself is deliberately simple. My brother runs a construction business and isn't particularly comfortable with numbers, but he was able to understand the system and get it set up without any issues.

I've also looked into the FCA side of things and, from everything I've found, it doesn't fall within FCA regulation as it's purely a financial planning and visibility tool. It doesn't provide financial advice, hold client funds or initiate payments.

 

[fisicx]

I've also looked into the FCA side of things and, from everything I've found, it doesn't fall within FCA regulation as it's purely a financial planning and visibility tool. It doesn't provide financial advice, hold client funds or initiate payments.

Interesting. Do you enter financial transactions into the app? For example each payment in and out of the bank account? Does it do any sort of forecasting?

The plumber uses QuickBooks on his phone. Likes it because it's so simple. And his accountant can access the data to do the books. If you had an even simpler version of QB he'd probably use it as QB has a bazillion features he doesn't need or use (like AI agents).

 

[TrueBalance]

Interesting. Do you enter financial transactions into the app? For example each payment in and out of the bank account? Does it do any sort of forecasting?

The plumber uses QuickBooks on his phone. Likes it because it's so simple. And his accountant can access the data to do the books. If you had an even simpler version of QB he'd probably use it as QB has a bazillion features he doesn't need or use (like AI agents).

That's a really good question.

No, the idea isn't to enter every transaction. I wanted to avoid creating another bookkeeping system because that's exactly what QuickBooks and Xero already do really well.

The initial setup is where most of the work happens. You enter your regular monthly commitments so they can continuously build up throughout the month, rather than only appearing when the payment leaves your bank account. The same applies to larger annual or irregular bills, where the system works out how much should be put aside each month so they don't suddenly catch you out.

After that, it's deliberately very light maintenance. You mainly keep your bank balance up to date, mark regular payments as they've been made, and add any new one-off commitments that come up. The aim is to make it something a business owner will actually keep using, rather than another system that needs constant attention.

It does also include forecasting, but that's really a separate feature of the app rather than the main purpose. Because the True Balance is a much smoother measure of the business's financial position, you can see the direction the business is heading much more clearly. You can also enter expected receipts and future payments to model different scenarios, which is particularly useful for businesses with lumpy or seasonal income.

The main goal isn't bookkeeping or cash flow forecasting. It's giving business owners one number they can rely on every day that reflects where the business actually stands.

 

[johndon68]

After that, it's deliberately very light maintenance. You mainly keep your bank balance up to date, mark regular payments as they've been made, and add any new one-off commitments that come up.

You might want to look at integration with the more popular accounting packages then so those transactions could be brought in automatically, if they have to be manually entered in to your app after the user has already entered them in to their accounts then that is going to be a bit of a barrier for your app...

 

[TrueBalance]

You might want to look at integration with the more popular accounting packages then so those transactions could be brought in automatically, if they have to be entered in to be manually entered in to your app after the user has already entered them in to their accounts then that is going to be a bit of a barrier for your app...

Its certainly a consideration, but there are barriers to doing that in itself.

The main hurdle is the set up process. Its really only the regular monthly payments that make a difference get added (and so apportioned into daily build up). Also, you may add a payment to this that hasn't actually hit yet, 'earmarking' the money in the bank account virtually. I've found this practice really useful

This is really aimed at those businesses that don't do their own bookkeeping anyway, which I've discovered is alarmingly many!

 

[NelaKo]

Do you enter financial transactions into the app? For example each payment in and out of the bank account?

I actually think avoiding another bookkeeping system is the right decision here. There are already plenty of tools trying to do everything, and most small business owners end up using 10% of the features anyway. The bit I find interesting is the idea of separating the bank balance from what is actually available to spend. I’ve definitely seen businesses look healthy on paper because there’s money sitting in the account, then a few weeks later VAT, tax or annual bills arrive and suddenly things look very different. One thing I’d be interested to see is how quickly someone can get the system set up. The biggest challenge with any financial tool is usually not the idea, it’s getting people to actually build the habit of using it. If it genuinely takes minutes to maintain after setup, that’s where I think it could have value.

 

[TrueBalance]

I actually think avoiding another bookkeeping system is the right decision here. There are already plenty of tools trying to do everything, and most small business owners end up using 10% of the features anyway. The bit I find interesting is the idea of separating the bank balance from what is actually available to spend. I’ve definitely seen businesses look healthy on paper because there’s money sitting in the account, then a few weeks later VAT, tax or annual bills arrive and suddenly things look very different. One thing I’d be interested to see is how quickly someone can get the system set up. The biggest challenge with any financial tool is usually not the idea, it’s getting people to actually build the habit of using it. If it genuinely takes minutes to maintain after setup, that’s where I think it could have value.

Hi NelaKo, I really appreciate this comment because I think you understand what I'm trying to do with it. I've certainly struggled to properly explain its position, which is obviously something I'll need to resolve if I'm going to make this work.
I think the method I use its a bit of a mix of different existing disciplines rolled into its own system, designed to automate and simplify a lot of the process. The onboarding is definitely going to be the biggest barrier to entry as it stands. At the moment it relies on the user entering in the information. However, I dont actually think this process is bad. In fact, its actually probably a useful process for most business owners to do to help them understand their business cash flow and finances better. Once the onboarding is done, it really is as simple as entering in bank account values on a daily to weekly basis (It only records when this is done like a time stamped event), mark payments as paid, enter any adhoc payments/receipts and then a monthly process to help save for the biggest monthly bills. I do plan to make the onboarding swifter by getting data auto entered by using AI to either read statements/bank link/software link etc, but all of that is down the line as they're quite big hurdles in themselves with FCA/AI integration.
For the moment, I'm really just desperate to get people to properly look at the method along with the supporting platform to see whether it actually works for them. I'm actually pretty confident in it myself, since I use it already daily and would honestly feel lost without it. (I run 3 separate leisure/hospitality businesses through it with 5 separate venues). I think it probably needs some good video guides for it to really make sense to people.

If anyone would be kind enough to properly take a look, I would really appreciate it and would happily walk people through the set up! There would be no cost for life for anyone doing this either, I just want it tested!

 

[GLAbusiness]

Remember you are not selling the method, you are selling the result. Keep this in mind when describing the product. Put the user first. Concentrate on what it delivers, rather than how it does it.

 

[TrueBalance]

Remember you are not selling the method, you are selling the result. Keep this in mind when describing the product. Put the user first. Concentrate on what it delivers, rather than how it does it.

Very true. I guess I need to approach it this way:

Identify pain > Result > Method to get that result > Supporting software

 

[GLAbusiness]

Small businesses don't need and can't afford an all singing all dancing financial forecasting tool That would be using a sledge hammer to crack a nut. You are selling a nut cracker

 

[fisicx]

@TrueBalance - have you identified your target customer? The more focused and narrow the target the easier it is to sell.

As an example: are you targeting a micro business doing under £5k each year as a side hustle?

 

[TrueBalance]

@TrueBalance - have you identified your target customer? The more focused and narrow the target the easier it is to sell.

As an example: are you targeting a micro business doing under £5k each year as a side hustle?

No. It's realistically for small to medium sized businesses like the ones I own. I don't think its suitable for micro businesses because they don't really have the overwhelming number of outgoings to track. Nor is it as suitable for a sole trader who may get income in a lump sums sporadically throughout a month (Although I wouldnt rule them out entirely)

It would suit businesses such as hospitality or leisure, like restaurants etc, where income is consistent and bills are regular. It does well at accruing towards wages, rent, utilities etc that hit on a monthly basis, as well as the less regular bills such as VAT and corporation tax etc. I think it would work well for any industry where those things are true.

The platform has the ability to allow for single venue businesses, multi-venue businesses as well as multi-businesses with multiple venues, like the set up I own. Each requires a different set up and view as an owner.

 

[fisicx]

It would suit businesses such as hospitality or leisure, like restaurants etc, where income is consistent and bills are regular.

I'd be amazed if these sort of businesses don't have an accountant or bookkeeper.

 

[TrueBalance]

I'd be amazed if these sort of businesses don't have an accountant or bookkeeper.

They do, but that doesn't give them daily clarity. I do the bookkeeping for our 3 businesses and I still use this separate method and linked spreadsheet alongside it because they didn't give me what I needed. Bookkeeping software doesn't have an ongoing log of an accruing regular monthly bill that deducts from the bank account giving a clear daily number to be relied upon. I'm pretty sure many businesses end up creating their own spreadsheets that compliment their existing bookkeeping, filling in gaps to help them get a better understanding of their business finances. Accountants are for completely different purposes in my opinion. You would be mad to be going to them for this sort of information on a regular basis.

 

[fisicx]

They do, but that doesn't give them daily clarity.

Unless their bookkeeper already does their budgeting.

You are not targeting businesses. Your target is bookkeepers. Businesses aren't looking for your product so you are unlikely to ever gain any traction. But show bookkeepers how useful it is and how is it integrates with their existing software and you might get some interest. But only if it's free.

 

[TrueBalance]

Unless their bookkeeper already does their budgeting.

You are not targeting businesses. Your target is bookkeepers. Businesses aren't looking for your product so you are unlikely to ever gain any traction. But show bookkeepers how useful it is and how is it integrates with their existing software and you might get some interest. But only if it's free.

I'd have to respectfully disagree on this one.

Bookkeepers do bookkeeping and there are plenty of major products already for that.

I honestly don't know many business owners who not only have a bookkeeper, but who also is ingrained in the business enough to do their budgeting. We would certainly never outsource an important process of planning to someone like that. I think you maybe overestimating how many businesses actually do budgeting and are just winging it. I think they're the target audience. They probably won't know they have a problem unless you identify the problem to them and offer them an alternative. So you're probably right that people aren't going to be searching it out, which will be a major hurdle. I want this to be seen as an 'easier than bookkeeping' process for business owners to keep their own track of their financial position without the need of external help.

(Really appreciate all the feedback everyone has given so far by the way!)

 

[fisicx]

But….

Keeping track of bank transactions is something bookkeepers do. They will be the ones populating the app. The business owner will just login and see the numbers.

If a business owner wants to see their cashflow they will already be doing the maths (or getting someone to do it for them).

This is going to be a hard sell whoever you target. Without a decent marketing budget it’s never going achieve much. And if you plan to charge for the app interest will drop off.

 

[GLAbusiness]

You might want to consider a cut-down simple version as a free product. Then offer an upgrade if the hook works

 

[TrueBalance]

But….

Keeping track of bank transactions is something bookkeepers do. They will be the ones populating the app. The business owner will just login and see the numbers.

If a business owner wants to see their cashflow they will already be doing the maths (or getting someone to do it for them).

This is going to be a hard sell whoever you target. Without a decent marketing budget it’s never going achieve much. And if you plan to charge for the app interest will drop off.

The only data entry that happens is:
1) On set up (before any semi-automated process is installed). This is basically working out what regular monthly outgoings you have. Any business owner at this level should be able to do this and would be a good exercise for them if not.
2) Ongoing its just updating the bank balance and recording when an obligation that has been building up and becomes due gets paid. There's deliberately very minimal after that to keep on top of. The system then does the maths for them every time they log these things.

The main concept that differs from others is that essentially you're virtually putting money aside for each bill as it builds up, rather than it just hitting in one go. It smooths out the 'available' money in the bank account every day.

 

[TrueBalance]

You might want to consider a cut-down simple version as a free product. Then offer an upgrade if the hook works

Yes this is definitely a consideration, but the system is deliberately simple that restricting any of it like that would almost destroy the methodology behind it. I do plan a 3 month free trial, as I believe if someone uses it for 3 months then they would probably pay to continue after. I would personally be lost if it was deleted for me. The only scale on payment I plan is the scale of the business/multi business access.
Its still early days so I haven't put too much thought into what the final price would be, but nothing crazy.

 

[GLAbusiness]

Then maybe a fully functional time limited for 3 months. If they want to keep it they pay to remove the lock

 

[TrueBalance]

Then maybe a fully functional time limited for 3 months. If they want to keep it they pay to remove the lock

Yeah thats the current way its set up. Gives people a proper chance to test and install it into their routine and only those who gain value will then pay.

 

[fisicx]

How do you plan to market your app?

 

[TrueBalance]

How do you plan to market your app?

Only very early in the planning process, but the idea will be to get the methodology out there of an alternative way to view the business finances. I plan to do some educational infographic style videos explaining the concept and way it works and how it can benefit people, which will naturally lead to the app being the best place set up specifically to run it for them.
I'm thinking of doing an affiliate programme for accountants and bookkeepers, who will be able to earn through some form of 'referral', for them to get businesses they work with onto it as a way to help them manage their day to day view of their finances.

There are a few other channels I'm considering, but right now its early on in the process and I'm more focussed on getting the method set and teachable. This is very much a side project on top of my existing work, so I'm in no major rush to spend a lot to kick it off and want to take it slow with people testing it and improving and validating it before spending anything properly.

 

[fisicx]

All great but that won’t get eyeballs on the product.

You are almost certainly going to need advertising. No other methods will have the same reach. SEO will help but not even sure what keywords would work. As previously mentioned, nobody is looking for your product so you need to be very creative.

Consider also 1000 views may generate 100 visits. 10 will actually sign up and maybe 1 will end up paying. Those are typical stats. Sometimes you will get lucky but the percentages who subscribe to a very niche product is always tiny.

 

[NelaKo]

Only very early in the planning process, but the idea will be to get the methodology out there of an alternative way to view the business finances. I plan to do some educational infographic style videos explaining the concept and way it works and how it can benefit people, which will naturally lead to the app being the best place set up specifically to run it for them.
I'm thinking of doing an affiliate programme for accountants and bookkeepers, who will be able to earn through some form of 'referral', for them to get businesses they work with onto it as a way to help them manage their day to day view of their finances.

There are a few other channels I'm considering, but right now its early on in the process and I'm more focussed on getting the method set and teachable. This is very much a side project on top of my existing work, so I'm in no major rush to spend a lot to kick it off and want to take it slow with people testing it and improving and validating it before spending anything properly.

I’d definitely look closely at the affiliate idea with accountants and bookkeepers, because they already have the trust and the relationship with the exact type of businesses that would need something like this, so it could be a much easier route than trying to convince business owners cold. The key thing would be making sure the incentive is worthwhile and that it genuinely helps them provide more value to their clients rather than feeling like they’re just selling another piece of software. If the methodology gives accountants a better way to have financial conversations with clients, they could become your best marketing channel. I’d probably test with a small group of accountants first and see how they introduce it to clients before building a full affiliate system around it.

 

[Newchodge]

But….

Keeping track of bank transactions is something bookkeepers do. They will be the ones populating the app. The business owner will just login and see the numbers.

If a business owner wants to see their cashflow they will already be doing the maths (or getting someone to do it for them).

This is going to be a hard sell whoever you target. Without a decent marketing budget it’s never going achieve much. And if you plan to charge for the app interest will drop off.

But this isn't keeping track of bank transactions. It is keeping track of forthcoming transactions, which my accounting software struggles to do. As an example, I have a monthly direct debit payment to pay for an annual purchase (not a loan). I need to process the invoice when it is received, and I need to make the payments every month, but my software will not allow me to set up a monthly credit to that account. I have to do it manually when he payment is due. That makes cash-flow forecasting more difficult.

 

[TrueBalance]

But this isn't keeping track of bank transactions. It is keeping track of forthcoming transactions, which my accounting software struggles to do. As an example, I have a monthly direct debit payment to pay for an annual purchase (not a loan). I need to process the invoice when it is received, and I need to make the payments every month, but my software will not allow me to set up a monthly credit to that account. I have to do it manually when he payment is due. That makes cash-flow forecasting more difficult.

This is pretty much exactly it.

I see it in 2 parts. The first is on a monthly basis, whereby the impactful monthly costs are effectively saved for every day. We take a chunk of our bank account every day and save a little bit towards these bills so they're covered when they're due. The method and platform does this automatically... not physically... but by removing these accruing obligations from the bank account, leaving the business's remaining True Balance.

The 2nd part are those larger more irregular bills that often catch people out. We calculate their total, divide them by 12, giving us our 'monthly reserve' amount needed to put aside monthly to cover these costs. That monthly saving amount then becomes just another one of those impactful monthly costs that's saved taken into account through the system.

I have a separate savings accounts (better saving rate) to put this monthly amount in, and the major payments are then always saved for and don't catch me out. The True Balance is a far more stable figure over time compared to the bank account as we're putting these balances aside on a daily basis.

I'm currently working on learning Canva so I can better explain the method in a more understandable format. Its nothing revolutionary... it's just taking some different financial management principles and putting it into a low maintenance workflow to give business owners clarity and confidence that they're covering their obligations over time.

The app is purely a support system to most easily follow this method, as well explain its benefits.

I'm unable to post a link here, but would love feedback on it. It has the ability to see inside it via a few demo businesses. Its still a work in progress, but does a better job of explaining it, but it really does need videos to support the understanding. You can find it by searching True Balance App. It's currently a .io site, but I do have the other domains for it which might be more suitable.

 

[NortonBishop]

But this isn't keeping track of bank transactions. It is keeping track of forthcoming transactions, which my accounting software struggles to do. As an example, I have a monthly direct debit payment to pay for an annual purchase (not a loan). I need to process the invoice when it is received, and I need to make the payments every month, but my software will not allow me to set up a monthly credit to that account. I have to do it manually when he payment is due. That makes cash-flow forecasting more difficult.

It is disappointing that Xero - and presumably whichever software you use - doesn't have a facility to enter recurring transactions to the bank account. Seems such an obvious thing to have software do.

 

[fisicx]

I see it in 2 parts. The first is on a monthly basis, whereby the impactful monthly costs are effectively saved for every day. We take a chunk of our bank account every day and save a little bit towards these bills so they're covered when they're due. The method and platform does this automatically... not physically... but by removing these accruing obligations from the bank account, leaving the business's remaining True Balance.

The 2nd part are those larger more irregular bills that often catch people out. We calculate their total, divide them by 12, giving us our 'monthly reserve' amount needed to put aside monthly to cover these costs. That monthly saving amount then becomes just another one of those impactful monthly costs that's saved taken into account through the system.

So is this just a cash flow forecast for business?

I seem to recall Microsoft Money doing this years ago. I use an app on my phone that does my cashflow forecasting.

 

[TrueBalance]

So is this just a cash flow forecast for business?

I seem to recall Microsoft Money doing this years ago. I use an app on my phone that does my cashflow forecasting.

An an alternative way of looking at it.

Cash flow forecasts look at when money actually enters and leaves your account and tracks the actual bank account balance.

This method automates a way of putting a bit of money aside each day for those bills, so you look at and rely upon a balance that has already accounted for those accruing bills. I think of it like little piggy banks for each meaningful bill, that you put a bit in each day so that when the day comes they're due, you don't pay out of the bank account, you pay out of the piggy bank.

Instead of real piggy banks, or separate accounts for each bill, the system removes those amounts virtually, accounting for them, and gives you your True Balance once all that has been taken into account. It does it for monthly obligations, but also on the larger less frequent ones like quarterly rent, VAT etc. By doing this, rather than looking at a bank account balance that swings wildly depending on what day of the cycle it is (it could be 2 days before corporation tax and VAT both come out), you see a more stable balance over time that allows better clarity of the businesses financial health and what is actually left for the business after costs.

It suits businesses that have consistent income, rather than lumpy large chunks hitting the bank account.

The only reason I was able to get into business as a younger man was because I was able to buy into an existing business that needed cash flow because they got caught out by a big bill they hadn't planned for.

 

[fisicx]

The fact you have to put in so much effort to describe your app and how it works identifies a problem you will have with marketing.

What’s the one killer benefit you can summarise in a single tagline? What’s going to make a bookkeeper or business sit up and go wow! I want this?

 

[TrueBalance]

The fact you have to put in so much effort to describe your app and how it works identifies a problem you will have with marketing.

What’s the one killer benefit you can summarise in a single tagline? What’s going to make a bookkeeper or business sit up and go wow! I want this?

I'm working on a more compelling educational infographic video to help with explaining the concept better than I ever could in a forum post. Explaining the method isn't the marketing though, you're right that I'd need to grab their attention to even get their time to look at that in the first place. It's more about explaining the methodology than the app. The app will just support the user in following the method, which is why the angle is to sell the method rather than the app.

So regarding marketing and getting attention, I would position it as the following:

"Stop making spending decisions based on your bank balance. True Balance shows you how much your business can actually afford to spend today"
Or
"True Balance gives you a clear financial position by ensuring your known obligations are already accounted for"

Alternatively you could push the main benefits:

• Clarity – Know your true financial position today.
• Confidence – Make spending decisions without second-guessing yourself.
• Protection – Don't get caught out by bills you already knew were coming.
• Control – Ensure money is already allocated to your obligations before they're due.

Really appreciate the feedback here!