Late last year, I released Budget, a free open-source App powered by the Costs to Expect API, with a beta tag. After bringing the Wife on board to help, we started to respond to feedback and polish the App. We wanted as much feedback as possible before the official release which is now ready.

We spent quite a while testing the App before releasing it with the beta label. However it is always amazing just how many issues appear when the public at large start using your stuff.

We ended up pushing seven small updates, each improving the UX and UI of the App that extra little bit. All these improvements will make it into Budget Pro (the subscription version of Budget) and eventually all my other Apps. After 25 years of web development, I still admit I have a lot to learn and am always happy when I do learn something new.

I’ve released several Apps over the last two years. However none have been as polished as Budget and I have to say I am proud of what I’ve created and keen to start focusing on Budget Pro, the commercial offering of Budget.

I have a blog post coming soon explaining why there are going to be two versions of Budget and why they are going to be created in the way they are. The short story is, I’ve always intended for the Apps to be separate, and I think the approach I’m taking will ensure that they can each shine in their own way.

This is the start of a new chapter and I’m keen to see where it goes, only time will tell.

We learned so much during the last two months, hopefully we can benefit from the new knowledge as we approach the beta release of Budget Pro. Budget Pro is much more complicated than Budget so I’m sure we will discover an entire new set of issues which hopefully our beta users will be able to help us resolve.