For the last couple of years I’ve been building an expense tracking app that honestly barely anyone downloaded for a long time.
I kept iterating on it anyway because even though download numbers were low, it consistently had the highest percentage of paid users out of any app I’ve built. That made me feel like there was something there, even if I hadn’t figured out the right execution yet.
The biggest problem was that low downloads meant feedback loops were painfully slow. I’d ship features, wait months for enough users to try them, then try to piece together what was actually working through the little user feedback I was receiving.
The original versions of the app were functional, but they weren’t polished enough and the UX had too much friction. I was getting a decent amount of 2 and 3 star reviews that all pointed toward the same thing, the core idea was good but the app experience wasn’t there yet.
A few months ago I decided to stop constantly adding features and completely redesigned the UI/UX instead. That ended up making the biggest change so far.
Since then:
- Free to paid conversion has increased noticeably
- Retention is has slightly improved
- I’m seeing less 3 and 2 star reviews and receiving more 4/5
- And the app just passed $250 MRR for the first time (I know it’s small but after 2 years of being stuck at around $100 it’s a big milestone for me!)
Lesson learnt: users obviously want a good app but how it looks matters much more than I originally thought.
The core idea behind the app is still the same:
I tried many expense tracking apps but none ever worked for me because I’m lazy and always forget to log my spending. Im also quite a skeptical person and don’t want to connect my bank account to any apps.
So I built WalletPal, an iOS app that automatically tracks Apple Pay purchases using an Apple Shortcuts automation, without linking bank accounts.
It automatically logs transactions, categorises them, and sends real-time budget alerts/notifications when spending starts getting out of control.
Tech stack is fully native iOS:
- SwiftUI
- Swift Charts
- Core Data
- Combine
- Local notifications
- Apple Foundation Models for AI-powered spending summaries
It also includes budgets, subscriptions/bills tracking, CSV import/export, dashboard insights, etc.
My next goal is reaching $500 MRR, and I’d genuinely love feedback from people who’ve built SaaS/apps before because I still feel like I’m figuring things out as I go.
Would especially love thoughts on:
- onboarding
- pricing/paywall structure
- positioning
- or anything that immediately feels confusing/unnecessary
Appstore link: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/smart-budget-walletpal/id6475526197
