As Runtut prepares to go live in just a few days, I’ve been thinking a lot about what happens after the initial release. Right now, Runtut is a solid, functional expense tracker, but if I’m being honest, it still feels a bit like an "ordinary" tool. It’s missing that specific journal vibe—the feeling that you’re documenting your life, not just a list of costs.
For the next major update, I’m going to work on that specific "feel" and a few other features to make recording your expenses a lot smoother.
1. The Journal
Think about a regular diary: it’s a story of your day, what you did, or a place to keep memories. I want your financial records to tell a similar story. What do I mean by that? Imagine you travel to a new country. You buy something and log it in Runtut. Just by seeing that different currency, you already have a story—a memory that you were somewhere else, experiencing something new.
The big picture for Runtut is to be a continuous narrative. I know the simple way is to just let you add photos or audio, but I’m still thinking about the best way to make that "journal vibe" actually felt. This will be the heart of the next major update. I’ll be gathering your feedback to make sure I’m balancing my vision with what actually helps you.
2. OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
OCR is going to be a lifesaver if you’re the type to keep every receipt. It makes inputting transactions smooth—you won't even need to type.
Since we're in the era of AI, the easy way is to just send an image to the cloud and let an AI handle it. But that requires internet. I’m actually working on using local machine learning so it works offline. It’s a challenge because I need it to handle different languages (not every receipt is in English!) without it becoming a burden or being inaccurate.
I want OCR to come out even faster than the Journal features since it helps the recording process so much. Let me know, is this something you guys would actually use?
3. More Currencies
As of version 1.2.4, Runtut now supports 15 total currencies, covering the most popular ones. That said, I’m definitely not closing the door on more. If you need a specific currency that isn't there yet, just tell me and I’ll add it in a future update.
4. Bug Fixes
I’m going to be very active in finding and fixing bugs. If you run into any "problems" or errors, please report them to me. I’d really appreciate it—I don’t want any fatal bugs ruining your experience. I’ve been using Runtut myself for months and have fixed a lot of issues along the way, so it’s feeling pretty stable, but I’m always staying alert.
Closing
Developing Runtut has been a lot of fun because I actually use it myself every day. It helps me stay organized and—it helps me look back at my history and realize all the useless things I probably shouldn't have bought!
I hope Runtut becomes your "home" for tracking your finances through a journal habit. I’m always open to feature requests if they make sense for the app. If you find an issue or have a great idea, head over to the Runtut GitHub.