[UPDATE March 16, 2015: For the latest on the transition from EEBA to Goodbudget, please read this post.]
Dear faithful EEBA supporters,
You’re right. We made the change to Goodbudget way too quickly. When you signed up, we promised you EEBA, with all the features you love. And then we broke your trust by trading it for software that, while good, did not include all the features you depend on. Even worse, we didn’t communicate with you about the changes in the place you most needed to see it — in the EEBA website itself. We hold ourselves to a standard of treating people as people, but this time we didn’t do right by you. And perhaps, that made it sting even more. We are deeply sorry that we have damaged our fundamentally human relationship with you. So I’m here to ask, can we have a do-over?
The EEBA website will remain available until we bring the list of features below to the new version in the months ahead. So if there is a feature that you need in EEBA that hasn’t made it to Goodbudget yet, you can still log in to the EEBA website. Please note that we’re working to restore the ability to edit and create scheduled incomes and distributions; you’ll see that come back to EEBA in the next few weeks. Your data syncs securely between EEBA and Goodbudget, and on both our mobile apps too. When you decide, you can check out our progress and manage your budget on the new site. And if you have questions or feedback about it, we’re here to listen.
In our first attempt at this transition, we did not communicate with you enough about the significant changes we were making. We try hard not to spam you, but this time we were too reserved about sending more than a handful of emails and posts about the changes that would affect you so deeply. We neglected to communicate with you in the place you most needed to hear from us — in the EEBA website itself. This time, we will post a notice in the EEBA website at least one month before we fully transition from EEBA to Goodbudget. And you’ll hear from us here on our blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GetSatisfaction. So, like, everywhere.
As I wrote earlier this week, we severely misjudged how critical certain features are to how you budget. Those features should have been part of the first release of the new version. And we’re sorry for making your life harder over the last week. We are working hard to make it up to you and bring the features you depend on to the new version. In the months ahead, you can expect these features to come to the new version:
[UPDATE Jan 12, 2015: All of these features are now available in Goodbudget. For a list of what’s next for Goodbudget, see our Roadmap.]
- One-step Income directly to Fill Envelopes (Specify and Sweep) [Released Dec 20, 2013]
- Remembered Refills, a.k.a Custom Quick Fills [Released Aug 19, 2014]
- Single click to clear transactions [Released Dec 3, 2013]
- In Add Transaction, show Envelope balances in drop-downs [Released Nov 25, 2013]
- Budget Allocation Report [Released Apr 15, 2014]
- Spending by Payee Report [Released Apr 15, 2014]
- Envelope Balances Report [Released Jan 8, 2015]
- Spending by Envelope Report Enhancements [Released Apr 15, 2014]
- Export transaction history (CSV) [Released Dec 10, 2013]
- Save & Add New Transaction [Released Feb 5, 2014]
- Record Now for scheduled transactions [Released Feb 5, 2014]
- Create a scheduled transaction for future only (don’t post any yet) [Released Aug 19, 2014]
- Make reconcile checkboxes easier to check off [Released Nov 25, 2013]
- Show “last reconciled” date [Released Nov 25, 2013]
While we can’t turn back the clock and undo the stress we caused you this week, we would like to offer a refund to subscribers for this month of service. Email us at refunds@goodbudget.com, and we’ll send it to you.
We are still committed to you, our budgeters. We sincerely hope you will let us earn your trust again.
Humbly,
Chi-En and the team
55 thoughts on “Do-Over, Please?”
I want to say thank you very much for the integrity of finding the faults and owning up to them. I think the new site looks great and I am very appreciative of your willingness to listen to feedback! I was already impressed with the product and now I am even more impressed with the company. Thank you so much!!
@Amy – thank you. We certainly hope to be a company with integrity.
Thank you! This product has truly helped change the way we do our finances as a family. It is a very vital part of our life. So it means a lot when you are looking out for our best interest. You don’t know how hard it was to get my wife to start using it in the first place, but now we can’t do without it. Thank you again for hearing our cries for help.
@William – thank you for reminding us *how* to look out for your best interest. We need your input in order to do a good job. It’s a gift to us that you’ve allowed our product to become part of your family’s financial life, and we hope to serve you for years to come.
I would like to honestly know what’s behind the change? The new product feels rushed and unpolished while the old app worked quite well. A name change is one thing but this is a strange “from the ground up” update that removed functionality.
I’m just confused… Did the team change? Should I continue to feel secure posting my financials into this app?
@Christopher, I’m glad you asked. We are the same company that created EEBA (Dayspring Tech), and in fact, the same individuals who worked on EEBA are also on the team that designs and builds Goodbudget. We continue to use bank-grade encryption and have enhanced our security and privacy practices. You’re right that we rushed the first release of Goodbudget. That said, based on what we’ve heard from budgeters over the last four years, we knew we needed to make some significant changes to improve the user interface and also open up possibilities for what the product could do. And the best way to do that was to use what we had learned while building EEBA and build a new version from the ground up. The features that you see listed in this blog post were not removed intentionally — they were part of our original concept for the new version. It’s just that, like every team, we have limited resources and had to decide what to do first.
Thanks. I appreciate the response and the feedback from you guys in the last few weeks. Looking forward to continue to use EEBA and Goodbudget in the future.
As a counterpoint, I tried using the old site a number of times, and couldn’t stand it. It felt complex and clunky, especially compared to my preferred budgeting software (YNAB). I think the new version is leagues better. What it’s lost in features, it’s made up for in simplicity and ease of use.
I still have a laundry list of improvements that I would like to see to Goodbudget, but I do think it’s a big step in the right direction.
To update- I’ve been using the new website lately and it is more intuitive and faster. Glad some of the features above have been added and new ones that streamline the process.
Thanks. You also need to restore the breakdown of envelope totals by the category. In EEBA I could create categories by naming my envelopes “Bank: Some envelope”, “Bank: Another envelope”, “Wallet: This envelope” and then see a total for each category (i.e. bank or wallet). I can’t see a way to do that in GoodBudget so pulled out the old trusty calculator to figure it out myself before I found this and realised EEBA existed once more. Hope to see this feature back in GoodBudget!
@Brett, You can see the group totals on the Envelopes tab by clicking the little arrow to the left of the group header. If you don’t see the group headers, turn them on in My Household > View Envelope Groups. If you’re referring to seeing group totals in the reports, we’re working on that!
Thanks! Would be great if this setting followed over from EEBA, had no idea it was something I could turn on/off. Also, not sure where I log feature requests, but when entering a new transaction, it would be great if, when I manually choose the account and envelope, if I then change the payee, it didn’t then go and change the account and envelope automatically to the last one used for that payee. If I’ve gone to the trouble of entering the envelope and account, I probably know where I’m putting it even if I use the autoselect to choose the payee I’m typing. Thanks!
@Brett, the EEBA setting (collapse groups v. don’t collapse) is different than the Goodbudget setting (view group headers v. don’t view), so we couldn’t carry it over. We thought about it, though! For feature requests, our forums are the best place to log requests. That way other people who have similar requests can join in the conversation.
Thanks for the good work on EEBA and Goodbudget. This product has been amazing. I feel that I have complete control of my finances – something I could never achieve with any other budget program. I am always up for change, and appreciate your work to make EEBA even better. I really like many aspects of Goodbudget. There are some things I am still trying to work around. Overall, it is a great product and you have been a great company to work with. Thanks for your hard work!
Thanks for the encouragement, Dave! We hope forward to serving you and all our budgeters for years to come.
A quick update for those following this post – we released three features from this to-do list today: (1) envelope and account balances in drop-downs, (2) reconcile checkboxes that are easier to check off, and (3) last reconciled date.
If only Obama could have the moral fiber that you guys do to humble yourself and admit a mess-up. Thanks!
Thank you so much for your apology and care in this situation! EEBA has become core to our finances…we have been trying to follow Dave Ramsey’s envelope system and his baby steps to work our way out of debt and struggling for years, but EEBA has given us the tools to stay on the same page. Having updates available real time on both our phones has kept us accountable to each other. EEBA has been such a blessing and we really appreciate the care that you are taking in creating the new site as well. Thank you again!
Another update today – you can now clear transactions with a single click from the home page. We also released a few other enhancements.
I saw that you offered a rebate for the month of December. I will not take you up on that offer as EEBA and now Dayspring still offer all that I need. Your software system has been a blessing to me and over the years I have used you, you have saved me countless dollars. So put my $5.00 to better work improving your product and yes I still tell everybody I know about EEBA and now Dayspring because it brought my spending under control. Thank you for all the hard work you do.
@Matthew, we’re glad that the software has blessed you!
We released another update today — you can now export your transaction history as a CSV file. Today’s update also included a couple bugfixes. More info here.
I was wondering if android and iPhone can sync yet? My husband and I would love to use this budget app together (like my daughter and her husband already do) but he has android and I have an iPhone. This is #1 on my wish list
@Cindy Freeman, yes of course! Our Android and iPhone apps have been able to sync since October 2011. Register your username and password on one phone, and then login on the second phone with the same username. That’s it! Works for syncing to the web too.
I was so happy to see your apology. I was getting extremely frustrated with not having the remembered refill and actually thought I was doing something wrong. In fact, I was considering finding another program to use that was more functional, like EEBA used be. Quite frankly, I still like it better but am willing to stay with you.
still cant enter receipts in iphone goodbudget app. majorly inconvenient
@amber – Sorry about the trouble! Would you email support@goodbudget.com with your username so we can take a look?
We released another update today — you can now create an income that goes straight to Envelopes (specify / sweep). Today’s release included a couple bugfixes too. More info here.
Will you redesign the phone app too? The current UI really needs an update. 🙂
@Balázs, right now, we’re focused on adding the features listed above to the web app and fixing bugs. After that, we’re planning to work on an Android update.
I was just starting to find the tag feature in EEBA quite useful (by using hashtags or #). Will that feature be coming to Goodbudget soon?
@Natalie — we’re glad you like using tags! They were in the original version of Goodbudget, and you use them same way with hashtags. You’ll also see them auto-suggested in the search box with a little tag icon.
Thank you for having the courage to be honest and take steps to remedy the upset caused by the quick transition. I also really appreciate the quick and helpful responses I had received by email late last year to my queries and issues. Hope you get it all done soon – I’m sure having 2 sites operating is causing you more stress and hassle ! And thanks for great software that has really helped me keep my spending under control.
Just wanted to say that for the few features that I use on a regular basis, this user interface works better for me. For example, I was able to easily schedule monthly refills very easily. Keep up the good work.
We put out another update yesterday — add multiple transactions quickly with ‘Save & New,’ and post scheduled transactions early with ‘Record Now.’ Lots of bugfixes too, including iPhone crash and sync fixes. More details here
I’m new to using accounts and mostly use just one, so I don’t need to keep track of multiple accounts. I have the free version of the App. Is it possible to have the option to not associate a transaction with an account? I occasionally use another account at another bank mostly bill pay type stuff. I still want to track those, but they don’t belong as a transaction in my main account. Right now for every transaction I have to choose account, and since I only have the free version with one account, I’d like to choose none for those others. Thanks.
@Vanessa All of your transactions will need to be tied to an Account–the free version supports up to one Account so if you need more, you can upgrade to the paid version for unlimited Accounts. Alternatively, you can leave all of your recurring bills associated with your second Account out of Goodbudget and just track your main Account.
Thanks for the notice–I’m disappointed, honestly, but I understand the challenges of pushing out new tech. If I pay annually for my subscription, what will be done by way of refund?
Hi Mark–we can extend your current subscription by one month so that you’ll be billed later. Just email support@goodbudget.com and we’ll be happy to do so.
Is there a way to get the Transaction History on one page so I can do a print of it. The only way to do this now is through downloading a CSV but it doesn’t format as nicely that way.
Hi Chris, unfortunately no. The best way to get all of your transaction history onto a single page is to download it as a csv file and print it from there.
So it has been over two months since your last released something from your “do over” feature list. When can we expect that any further progress will be done on this list?
Hi Michael, we just knocked three of the features on this list and will update this post after we tackle the other ones. Enjoy the new budgeting reports, Michael!
Hi everyone! We released three financial reports yesterday:
1. Budget Allocation Report
2. Spending by Payee Report
3. Spending vs Budget Report
And we enhanced the Spending by Envelope report. Read more (and see screenshots!) at our full post about the new budgeting reports.
Thanks again everyone, for sticking with us through this transition. To reiterate, we’re committed to finishing the 3 remaining features above before closing the old EEBA site. If you’re interested in a fuller list of what’s next for Goodbudget, you can see that on our Roadmap. And as always, we’d love to hear your feedback.
Really excited to have remembered refills back soon! Once that is complete I’ll no longer need to the old EEBA site. This was one of the best tools that you guys had before because my wife and I have various checks that come in during the month and they go into different accounts. The problem with putting everything into unallocated is that there isn’t an account associated with it and when I go to distribute it later I may not know what account that money is coming from. I have set it up so that our family has envelopes and my wife has business envelopes. We also each have our own bank accounts. So when I get a check from her business, I need to be able to put it in those envelopes and that account and the same when I get a check that is for our family envelopes. If the money gets mixed in the unallocated category, I have to go back and figure out what account that money is in and distribute it accordingly. Remembered refills allows me to quickly associate an account and specific envelopes with the type of income I have received.
Thanks for working to get it back! I’m looking forward to the day when I no longer visit the old EEBA site! 🙂
We’ll be excited when you fully transition to the Goodbudget website too! Lauren’s running a prototype of Remembered Refills and is working out the kinks as we speak.
One thing that either website has is the option to have our budget restart every 4 weeks. Some people do it every 2 weeks but since we get paid bi-weekly it works better for us to do it every 4 weeks and the only option we have is by day of the month. Is that something that can be done?
Hi Karina,
We currently don’t have a 4 week budgeting period option. We recommend using one paycheck per month so that you can get a bonus paycheck at the year. Read more about how you can do so on our blog: https://goodbudget.com/2013/05/how-to-budget-with-a-4-week-paycheck/#.U5ZICfldV8E
I love the improvements to the Android App, and I absolutely LOVE GoodBudget. I have been on stable financial ground ever since “discovering” EEBA a few years ago. There have been a few bumps in the road, but your support is awesome, and I appreciate your mission.
Liesl — we’re so glad that you’ve been on stable financial ground since starting with EEBA / Goodbudget. And thanks for your support all these years!
Are you planning on having a shell interface so i can actually find things that i used to be able to find on eeba such as a tab for scheduled or distribute from unallocated? or are you only appealing to the app users because that is what goodbudget looks like i miss how eeba had everything that i needed in one click and i didn’t have to look for it or worse call you to do it for me since i cant…if not its fine might be time to switch to quick-books or something i know isn’t going to change. its sad though i have been a customer since you first opened up.
Hi Shannon,
We’re not planning to create a shell that mimics the old site, but I hope you’ll find the new site easier to use.
You can click the “see all scheduled transactions” link in the transactions window to see all of your scheduled transactions in one place.
Distributions from Unallocated are a click away as well, just renamed to be easier to understand. Click on the “Fill Envelopes” button and you’re there.
I think this is great. I don’t sign on to the site often, but I use the app every day. It would be great if there was a ‘cleared’ button so that when I’m reconciling, I can quickly see what’s still hasn’t cleared and reconcile my accounts a lot faster.
Hi everyone — I just wanted to note that we released the Envelope Balances Report last week, which means that the features listed above have all come to Goodbudget. Of course, we’re always working to improve your budgeting experience, so if you’re interested in what’s next for Goodbudget, check out our Roadmap.