When I first created Inzolo, I thought it would be nice to have a way to set up filters to automatically assign transactions to envelopes based on filter rules – much like you can set up filters in email applications like gmail. Since someone else suggested it and this feature request got pushed to the top of the list in the feature vote system, it became top priority.

How it works

In order to auto-assign transactions, you must first create an auto-assign filter. You can create filters by going to the Filter Rules menu option. There is also a shortcut on the Unassigned Transactions list. If you click on the [] icon, it will take you to the add new filter view and pre-populate the payee and memo fields with the transaction payee and memo fields.

Rules are very basic and simple. Enter text in the Payee and/or Memo fields. If a transactions comes in that contains the text in the payee or memo field, then it is assigned to the envelope you select for that filter rule. The verify checkbox provides a way to see what will be auto-assigned before it actually happens. I personally prefer to leave this checked for every rule because I like to see every transaction that comes in.

For example, lets say you create a filter with the payee text as “Costco”, leave memo field bland and set “Groceries” as the envelope. Any transaction that comes in where the transaction payee field contains the word “costco” (it is NOT case-sensitive), then it will trigger this filter rule. If you don’t have the verify option checked, it will automatically assign it to the Groceries envelope. If you do have the verify option set, it will assign Groceries as the pending Envelope. Below is what it will look like in a pending state:

Now, you have the option of first verifying the envelope assignment. If you click the accept button [] then it will be assigned to the Groceries envelope. But, as is often the case with stores like Costco, Target, Wal-Mart etc., this may not be groceries. You may want to move it to a different envelope or split the transaction amount multiple envelopes.

Pro Tip: Notice the accept button on the table header. If you click this accept button, it will accept all pending envelopes in the unassigned transactions list.

Don’t worry, as always, if you make a mistake assigning a transaction to the wrong envelope, just click the envelope to view the transactions and click the undo button [].

It is also important to note that the order of filters is significant. Let’s say you also purchase gasoline as Costco. You could create a filter that has “Costco gas” in the payee field and goes to a Gas/Oil envelope. Filters will be triggered in the order you see them in the list, so if your previous filter of “Costco” is listed first, it will trigger and the transaction would go to the Groceries envelope. So you would want to drag & drop the “Costco gas” filter rule above the “Costco” filter rule. This way, a transaction that has the payee as “COSTCO WHSE #0487 00SANDY CITY” for example, would not trigger the “Costco gas” rule and be assigned to the Grocery envelope, while a transaction with the payee of “COSTCO GAS #0733 000LEHI” would be assigned to the Gas/Oil envelope.

Another time saving feature

Now, while we are on the topic of saving time and assigning envelopes, there is another little feature I have added to give you an alternate method for assigning envelops. If you click on the pending envelope icon, or, if there is no pending envelope, you can click on the assign envelope icon [] to bring up a pop-up dialog box with all your envelopes.

Note: It may not be obvious from the screenshot, but this list is scrollable if all your icons are not displayed.

The drag and drop is nice, but I will probably find myself using this new method of assigning envelopes far more. What about you? Do you think you’ll prefer the old drag & drop method, or this new method?

I’ve added a new report to the reports section: Spending by Month.

The report will let you select a date range, then show your spending for each month in that range, along with totals and averages. It’s as simple as that. Not much else to say. Go give it a try.

I recently learned how to make Google Chrome extensions. For kicks & giggles I made an extension that will load Inzolo mobile in a pop-up window. This can be handy if you want to jump into the simply mobile interface to check envelope balances, bank account balances or add a new transaction while sitting at your computer.

You may have noticed a new menu option for “Feature Vote”. This is a new tool I have added to let you help decided what you think the most important feature request is for Inzolo. You get 10 votes every month to put toward the idea you think would be most beneficial. Also, you can add your own feature ideas. Here is a brief video showing you how simple it is:

My microwave blew up a couple of days ago. OK, so it didn’t blow up, but I thought it was going to! We hadn’t used it for ours and the display turned off. When I went to pull it out of the cabinet to check to plug I nearly burned my hands. The whole thing was so HOT!

We bought the microwave in April when we moved to our new house. Previously we had an over the range model so we couldn’t take it with us. We bought this GE model from Lowe’s. Seeing how it was only 6 months old I wanted to see if I could get it replaced or fixed under warrantee. I’ll be honest, I don’t keep manuals. They are just clutter. I figure if I need a manual I can always look up a model number online and find it.

I don’t keep receipts either. In this instance I wish I would have. I wanted to see how much I paid for it and when exactly. I opened inzolo and looked though my past transactions in the envelopes I expected it in, but couldn’t find it. That’s when I realized, Inzolo really needs a transaction search feature.

I spent a couple of hours writing a search feature. It’s now in place. Click the new “Search All Transactions” button from within the Budget view to try it out. It will search the Number, Payee, & Memo fields of transactions. This search feature is also in the transaction list when you click on an envelope or envelope category.

I found my microwave transaction. It’s a long story, but it definitely wasn’t in the envelope I expected it to be in, which is why I couldn’t find it originally.

TIP: If you are importing transactions for you bank, take the time to edit edit the memo fields with keywords that will help you find the transaction easier in the future. In this case it was easy. I searched for Lowe’s and found it, but I also had “Microwave” in the memo field so I could have just searched for that term.

So it’s late Friday night, my wife is out of town, kids are in bed, and what do I do? I start a hacking session to see what my transactions would look like in a calendar view. Honestly when I started it, it was mainly out of curiosity. Three hours later I found the view interesting enough and working well enough that I just decided to push it live for all to see and use.

Right now, features are pretty basic. It displays all your transactions (associated with any bank account on the calendar). Withdrawals are red, deposits are green. You can move transactions around to change the date of the transaction.

Here are a few of things I thought would be nice to add to this view:

• Ability to add & edit transactions from this screen
• Add notes to dates to remind you when bills are due, or when to expect paychecks.
• Filters? (by envelop or envelop category)

Welcome September indeed! If you are anything like me you tend to spend more money during the summer months. Kids are out of school. You cram your calendar with as many little vacations, reunions and activities as you can. While all of this is fun and will be missed, my budget could use a breather! Let’s put the kids back in school, stay home on weekends and generally spend less money and basically plug holes in perverbial budget damn.

Below are recent updates made to Inzolo:

1. First, thank you for all the feedback I got on the mobile Inzolo redesign. I’ve moved forward with that design and added a few more features – most notably you can add and edit transactions.
2. Added Trust Guard. You might notice on the home page and login page I’ve added a Trust Guard icon. Basically this service runs a series of tests and hacking attempts each night on the server. I’m happy to report that since its very first run, zero vulnerabilities were found. In other words, I have not had to make any updates to increase safety on Inzolo.com.
3. More Banks: I’ve written a script to connect to OFXHome.com‘s API to merge all the banks they have in their directory that support OFX Direct connect. I’m working with the owner of that site to make sure the directory stays as up to date as possible.
4. I’ve added a new page for testimonials. If you’d like to add your kudos, I welcome your email. I can even link to your blog or website if you wish.
5. When you are looking at history in your envelopes or your unallocated income box, you can filter transactions by deposits and withdrawals. This may help you find the transaction you are looking for.
6. When creating or editing an envelope and selecting an envelope icon, the icons are sorted by name alphabetically now. This seems to have put them in better groupings anyway.
7. A recent new member requested a dog icon for their pet envelope. Frankly I’m surprised it hasn’t come up until now. There are now new pet icons available. Wouldn’t you know that a couple weeks later my family gangs up on me and now we have a dog. No, I didn’t name the dog Karma (her name is Daisy and she’s a Great Dane).

And now, for an assignment… I’ve been thinking it would be nice to have a visual reminder of debts while working on the debt snowball — something to see where you’ve been, where you are at, and where you plan to be. A thermometer comes to mind. You can see the red decreasing until it gets to zero. But what else could you use to represent this visually? Ready… go! Reply to this post and share your ideas.

Thanks,
Dustin

I find these 3 video very hilarious because it seems to show a glimpse of my past life and how ridiculous my thought process was.

The first is a lending tree commercial. “I’m in debt up to my eyeballs” [Yet I'll keep smiling so no one knows]. Tip: Consolidation will not solve your problems buddy. A budget will.

Another classic is this SNL skit. It cracks me up how funny common sense can be when it’s not so common.

This last one I saw today for the first time. This reminds me of the “house poor” feeling. You have no money, so you might as well snuggle up and enjoy your debt.

Recently I added support for Google Chrome Frame. It has brought up a few questions from some users. Why did I do this? Let me explain.

The most bug reports I get come from people using Internet Explorer (IE). IE is notorious for having problems. Not only is it more prone to allowing a virus on your computer, but it doesn’t support web standards properly, which is the real issue.

The one advantage of IE is the ability to support Active X controls. This allows you to use plugins that can extend the usefulness of your browser. I used used to work for a company where we made a web based document management solution where you could connect to your scanner, scan files and view the scanned tiff files all within IE. But the problem is, it is this support for Active X that opens the doors for malicious viruses.

A while back I was thinking about this and realized that if IE allows you to plug in Active X controls and essentially run other programs within the browser, why not try to run a better browser inside of IE.

Fortunately I wasn’t the first person to think of this. Someone at Google did, and that is where Google Chrome Frame comes in. If you install Google Chrome Frame, Inzolo will act as if you are using Google Chrome. You will have less issues, better rending, faster performance, and an overall better experience. If you don’t have Chrome Frame install, you will see Inzolo as you normally would in IE.

There is a JavaScript snippet included in Inzolo that will detect if you are using IE. If you are, it will prompt you to install Google Chrome Frame. You can choose to close the pop-up if you don’t want it, but I recommend either installing it, or using one of these more modern browsers:

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Safari
• Opera

I know that Microsoft is doing a lot of work on IE9 to improve things and address all the web developer’s complaints. But so far it is still lacking support from what I have tested.

And now, for a little fun.

There have been a few occasions when I have edited envelope amounts for people. I figured rather than me doing it, why not just everyone more power to make the software do what they want it to do. I don’t want you cheating on your budget… but if you ever need to manually adjust an envelope amount, you can do it now.

To manually set an envelope amount:

1. In the budget view, click on an envelope to highlight it.
2. Click the Edit button ()
3. Click the Edit Balance link
   
4. Set your new balance amount.
5. Hit Enter or click OK to save.