Looking for a self-hosted "friends/family loan management" application? reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- fmillion · 2023-12-21 02:50 So what I'm looking for is a simple straightforward application to track money that I am owed by friends and family. I have a horrible habit of forgetting to write down both when I loan out money and when I get paid back, so the question "how much do I still owe you" is often an awkward one. Very common example is I pay for everyone's dinner during an evening out, and I want to be able to track when and how much I've been paid back. What I'm hoping for is a simple application that basically looks similar to a typical credit card website. I want to be able to login and enter in both amounts loaned out and amounts received, but I also want anyone I give an "account" to, to be able to login and view how much they currently owe me. (This both helps me keep track of money flow but also helps keep me accountable - if I forget to enter it, I'm sure to get a text saying "why didn't you enter it when I paid you back on some/day?" Descriptions for both loans and repayments are strongly desired. That way I can write a description like "Loan for dinner at Red Lobster on 12/1 - $25". Same for repayments - sometimes I might accept repayment in kind, e.g. "Credit of $25 for helping with a project" or "Credit of $40 - thanks for the copy of some video game". No need for any sort of payment system on the site - like, I don't need a "pay me back with PayPal" link. I want to manually enter in everything on my end, "account holders" should only be able to view. It is a pretty simple app and I would code it myself (I could definitely write the backend) but I completely suck at frontend design even with the help of frameworks - CSS and its derivatives just confuse the hell out of me and I spend way too long trying to get some div go where I want it to go... and I REALLY dislike JavaScript and even TypeScript as a C#/C++/Python programmer. So I'd either like some sort of simple solution for this, or alternatively I need some REALLY good advice for how to actually not suck at frontend development (lol) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dazchad · 2023-12-21 05:06 A spreadsheet would work for you. I sincerely don’t think people that owes needs an app to remember the debt. They will most likely ignore the tool. If you still want to move forward, there are plenty of no code tools that don’t require FE knowledge. Airtable and clones come to mind ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SomeOddCodeGuy · 2023-12-21 05:50 After reading this... I feel like you are attempting to avoid the awkwardness of asking for your money back by leveling up the awkwardness to grand new heights by making people use an app to remind them to give you your money back. In terms of the app: I mean, if you really hate JS/typescript that much then Python web apps are a thing. You could just make a python front end/backend using gradio or something like it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IceOleg · 2023-12-21 07:58 Something like [Splitser](https://splitser.com/) but self hosted? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- fmillion · 2023-12-21 09:41 It's awkwardness but of my own failing because I *suck* at remembering to input simple stuff like this into an excel sheet (especially when not at a computer) and I don't want to shortchange myself nor do my friends want to underpay me but I also don't want to overcharge friends. I don't want this to turn into an LPT post though. This type of app has plenty of other uses - virtual bank/credit for kids, roommates splitting rent/bills, etc. I'm not suggesting anyone should install an *app* - just a quick glance at a web view would work. Ideally you could add some cool stuff like SMS based reminders or inquiries but that's a whole new ball game. But my idea for now is just "really easy for *me* to input data while mobile, while also a nice-to-have of others being able to view on their own" - if someone wants to ask me instead that's fine but then I can view it myself on the site rather than screwing around with mobile Excel *shudder* ---------------------------------------------------------------------- olejazz · 2023-12-21 09:42 If you want a full-blown application that you can self-host on the web, have a look at Mifos: https://mifos.org/mifos-x/flexible-product- configuration/ It's more than you need, as it can run as a small "bank" giving loans etc. :) But I guess, you can just sue the parts you want. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- fmillion · 2023-12-21 09:45 Splitting bills is only one instance. I might say loan a friend some money if they're in a pinch or whatever. You may not believe it but my friends and family do pay me back and this sort of tool wouldn't be ignored in my case. We just want to avoid "I *think* you paid me back last month...?" sorts of scenarios. And I'm definitely a victim of "if it's a shit UX I'm just not gonna use it" which is why mobile Excel isn't really a good "solution" even if it's functionally adequate - I know I simply won't use it if I have to fiddle with a clumsy UI on my phone in a restaurant. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dazchad · 2023-12-21 15:07 You can create a google form and bookmark on your phone. Can’t get any simpler than that. There are third party tools that also integrate with google sheets (smartsheets come to mind). It sounds to me that your problem is creating any record of the event, so I’d focus on fixing this problem first. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- fmillion · 2023-12-21 20:30 Yes, but a big part of self-hosting is not depending on a third party service like Google... A self-hosted Google Forms+Google Sheets might be an option too... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dazchad · 2023-12-21 23:25 There are a few database apps with forms functionality. Since you mentioned being a programmer, you can also try to use Django admin with a nice looking template, or maybe even postgrest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- elliottmarter · 2023-12-29 21:11 Take a look at money-balancer. I'm looking for something similar for me and my partner.