Just tried out mvelopes.com. It was an interesting, flash-based user interface, but disappointing on many levels.

Major meta-service issue is that they require a credit card number to sign up and a call to cancel the account. Major application issue is that they do not allow for the categorization of past expenses from credit cards, etc. All newly added accounts are represented as balances and only new expenses are imported individually. Not sure why this is, seems like it would be fairly straightforward to implement past info importing if they have present info importing.

Their interface is good, but not revolutionary. Seems like this application could be done with a much simpler user interface and a much more friendly user experience.

One good point about the company is that their phone support was friendly and helpful. The cancellation call was relatively straightforward, but still painful since I shouldn’t be expected to commit and cancel to a service that I haven’t yet tried.

Comments(3)

1. Hey Owen - I have always liked your blog posts. Sorry to hear about your experience with the Mvelopes budgeting program. I have used it for several months already and completely hooked on it. Regardless of the interface and the credit card sign up (which is typical for most services) the budgeting program does help manage spending in an effective way. Hope you find something good

   Posted by Rich on

   January 30th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
   
   

2. The credit card signup, although annoying, was not the main problem. I was more frustrated by the fact that I had to call to cancel.

   Posted by Owen Johnson on

   February 23rd, 2007 at 12:22 am
   
   

3. Rich,

   Just be glad that you did cancel before the 30-day trial expired. I was out of town the week that mine expired and was planning on cancelling due to the fact that their product does not work properly with my bank’s two-factor authentication scheme.

   I have been forced to “chat” online with two separate customer support reps because they have no real product support (e.g. - a live person). Long story short, they will not refund my money because they say it is my bank’s issue. Nothing like “passing the buck” and letting the customer pay the toll for it.

   I have used several personal finance software packages and this one doesn’t even close to the others with respect to budgeting.

   Buyer beware!

   Posted by Chris on

   September 25th, 2007 at 10:56 pm
   
   

Post your thoughts