Planned Spending graph on Mobile is incorrect and doesn't match Web (edited)

RobWilk

I tried creating a planned spending entry for Electronics, more to get an idea what to expect in future months...  The estimate it gives me on web is far too large and appears to be due to a refund based on mobile app chart, but not web chart, of last 6 months category spending in planned spending details.

It tells me:

In short, the previous 6-7 months the monthly total for electronics was never over $100 according to "other spending" bubbles...  (Note: Those bubbles are no longer there, I put them into per-month planned spending.)

On further looking around...  i had a $977 purchase and return in April.  It only is registering the purchase when calculating monthly spending, not the return.  That's the only way we could get close to the average estimate of $190.55.  This is visible in the 1st image below.

This below circled "1k" amount is visible on the mobile app but not the website (yes, i just uninstalled and reinstalled the mobile app) -- The 'allotted this month of $44 is what was spent versus $977 transaction mentioned which was refunded...

The website shows a different 6-month chart:

Worth noting, but not related directly to this problem: March says $114 --but that factors in a $57 monthly bill- that's why in "other spending" bubble that month the bubble was below $100.

[edited image to reduce size]

Coach Natalie

Hello @RobWilk,

Thanks for posting to the Community regarding this issue, although I'm sorry to hear that you're experiencing difficulties with Planned Spending expenses in Simplifi.

To clarify, was the referenced refund transaction recorded using the same expense Category of "Electronics"? If so, when testing this, I am seeing that the refund transaction should also be reflected toward the Planned Spending expense and offset the expense transaction accordingly. 

To determine the average spending over the last 6 months, I'd suggest running a Spending Report using a custom date range of the same months covered in the Planned Spending graph, and for that specific Category. When viewing the Report "Over time", you'll be able to see each individual month's total, as well as the transactions for that month. You'll also be able to see a cumulative total for the time range, which can then be divided by 6 to get the monthly average.

I'm not sure exactly how the "suggested" amount is calculated, however, running this Report will hopefully give you a better idea of what you can expect to see in the Planned Spending graph for the same Category, as well as identify any discrepancies that exist. If you notice any differences for a particular month, I'd suggest looking at the transactions for that month in the Report, and then comparing it to the Spending Plan for that specific month. 

When it comes to the difference in the Planned Spending graph between the Mobile and Web Apps, this definitely shouldn't be occurring. In order to report this issue, I'll first need a fresh screenshot of the Planned Spending expense from the Web App that includes the name of the expense. Also, a screenshot or the details of the expense and refund transactions that took place in April would be wonderful to have, as it sounds like these are not being properly accounted for in Planned Spending on the Mobile App.

Please let us know how it goes!

-Coach Natalie

RobWilk

Here is the "Fresh screenshot of the planned spending expense from the web app that includes the name of the expense" (I presume you mean category when you say expense here):


Notice that April says $43 whereas the phone said "$1k"

The April transaction that was refunded is visible in this spending report:



Let's start with this one bug before we complicate matters.

-Rob

Throwing this here rather than posting it in a new message:  Here is "last 6 months electronics spending" no way that averages anywhere near $200 per month.  I'd be willing to guess the tally used ignorles negative numbers (returns).

Coach Natalie

Hello @RobWilk,

Thank you for providing the requested screenshots!

Before reporting the difference that you're seeing for April in the Planned Spending graph, I just wanted to make sure that you're still seeing that inaccurate $1K figure on the Mobile App now that a new month has started. 

Also, when it comes to the "suggested" amount for Planned Spending expenses, I think I've figured out how these are determined/calculated. I tested this by running a Spending Report for the same Category as my Planned Spending expense using a Date Range of 'Last 6 months' (since this is the date range that the Planned Spending graph uses).

I then looked at each individual month and added all of the transactions together EXCEPT income transactions of the same Category, and any transactions that were linked to a Recurring Reminder. Once I had a total of the remaining transactions for each month, I added them all together, divided by 6, and got the exact "suggested" amount that I was given when creating the Planned Spending expense.

So, in summary, it seems that the "suggested" amount is calculated using any expense transactions in the last 6 months, including the current month, that are not considered Recurring. Personally, I think this makes sense for a suggested Planned Spending amount. 

With that said, however, since the "suggested" amount is designed to exclude income transactions of the same Category, you may consider creating an Idea post requesting that this be changed so that situations such as what you experienced are more properly accounted for when suggesting an amount for a Planned Spending expense.

https://community.simplifimoney.com/discussion/998/creating-and-voting-for-ideas-in-the-community 

Otherwise, please let me know if you're still seeing the inaccurate $1K for April and I'll get it reported ASAP.

-Coach Natalie

RobWilk

If I understand what you're saying, 'income' transactions on expense categories are ignored from the estimated spending, so if there was a refund it will not be accounted for properly.  I'm unsure if i want to bother creating an idea post -- in the common case i don't have a lot of refunds.

The 6-month estimate came *way* down this month (to $65).  However the $1k is still on the chart:

The being said, this is not going to be an every month expense category for me if i can avoid it.  I'm trying to eliminate unnecessary spending, simplifi is helping with that.

[edited image to reduce size]

Coach Natalie

Yes, that is correct, @RobWilk. I also saw your Idea post and added my vote.

One last thing before reporting the issue with the 'Last 6 months' graph for that Planned Spending expense on Mobile -- have you tried fully deleting and recreating the expense to see if doing so helps to clear things up? I know you said that you uninstalled/reinstalled the App, however, you'll want to also try deleting and recreating the expense.

Please let me know how it goes!

-Coach Natalie

RobWilk

@Coach Natalie - In this case, I created a one-time, not monthly, expense, and had just created it before i took that screenshot.  I'm not ready to create a monthly expense for this.

=== below reading optional/extra/off-main-topic ===

If you're interested, backward looking, my every-month planned expenses are in these categories:
-Pharmacy
-Clothing
-Gas & Fuel
-Restaurants

I haven't yet identified any other definite recurring regular monthly categories to budget for.  I've been working on setting up planned spending only this last week since the 12-month spending plan became available which let me look ahead.

Coach Natalie

@RobWilk, please go ahead and delete/recreate that one-time Planned Spending expense to see if the issue with the 'Last 6 months' graph on Mobile clears up.

-Coach Natalie

RobWilk

@Coach Natalie The 6 month chart on the mobile app is identical to the last one i sent after doing what you suggested (delete and recreate one-time planned spending expense).

Coach Natalie

Thanks for confirming, @RobWilk!

I went ahead and got this reported and will be sure to post back as soon as an update is received.

-Coach Natalie

SIMPL-13235

Coach Natalie

Hello @RobWilk,

Since some time has passed since we originally reported this bug, I wanted to reach out to see if you're still experiencing it. If so, please provide a fresh example with comparison screenshots between Mobile and Web so I can bump the ticket. 

Please also submit your logs via the 'Send Feedback' option by following these steps: 

1. Log into the Simplifi Web App.
2. Select Profile from the left-hand navigation bar.
3. With the Profile menu open, hold down the Option key for Mac or the Alt key for Windows, and then click Send Feedback. 
4. Leave all boxes checked, add a brief description of the issue, and then click Send. 

Thanks in advance!

-Coach Natalie

RobWilk

You can close this.  I cannot easily check if it's still happening based on my current dataset.  I don't have any $1000+ returns.

If I see it again, I'll report it again, but if I haven't seen it in the last 5-6 months, I don't think I'll see it again.  

I could not locate the 6-month chart I posted in the first message here, so I cannot check against recent returns.

Coach Natalie

Thank you, @RobWilk.

I went ahead and closed the ticket, however, please be sure to let us know if the issue pops back up and we can reopen accordingly.

-Coach Natalie