Financial Management Made Simple on Your iPad

Managing your money is one of the most important disciplines to learn, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. While it may not be a real-life personal accountant, with the right no-how, the iPad is the next best thing. In this digital age, finance has never been more convenient, and knowing the right tools, tricks, and setups can transform your tablet into a pragmatic and organized machine to manage your finances.

As ZUGU provides some of the best cases for iPads on the market, we encourage you to utilize your hand-held computer to its fullest. The device comes built with powerful and user-friendly apps to get started, so let’s not waste any time and review how to simplify your finances using an iPad. 

Organizing Finances with Apple Notes

While a simple app for jotting down quick pieces of information, the Notes app can be a powerful tool for managing expenses. It has a lot of formatting and sharing features to keep your spending on track and is very useful to calculate budgets with family input if desired. 

Tracking Budgets

The Notes app lets you create detailed budgets with tables and checklists. Start by creating a note titled "Monthly Budget," and use the table feature in the toolbar at the top to break it into categories like income, expenses, and savings goals. You can customize columns for dates, amounts, and descriptions, making it easy to see where your money is going. For example:

Checklists are great for recurring bills — mark each payment as complete to ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

Digitizing Receipts

Receipts piling up in your wallet? Use the document scanning feature in Notes to keep them organized. Tap the camera icon, select "Scan Documents," and store your receipts digitally in a note. This is perfect for tracking warranties, business expenses, or preparing for tax season.

Collaborating on Shared Expenses

If you're managing finances with a partner or splitting bills with roommates, the Notes app makes collaboration easy. Share a note with others, and everyone can edit it in real-time. You can also track shared costs like rent, utilities, or groceries, ensuring everyone is on the same page.

How to Share a Note on the iPad

1. Open the Notes App

• Launch the Notes app and open the note you want to share.

2. Tap the Share Icon

• Tap the share icon (a square with an upward arrow) at the top-right corner.

3. Choose 'Collaborate' or 'Send a Copy'

• Collaborate: Let others edit the note. Select this option, choose a sharing method (Messages, Mail, or AirDrop), and send the invitation.

• Send a Copy: Share a non-editable version. Tap this option and pick a delivery method like Email or Messages.

Setting Financial Goals in a Fun Way

Visualizing your financial goals can be motivating. Create a checklist for savings targets, like:

• Save £200 for a weekend getaway 🏖

• Build a £1,000 emergency fund 🚨

• Set aside £500 for a new gadget 💻

With every milestone you check off, you’ll feel one step closer to achieving your goals.

Organizing Notes for Easy Access

Keep your finances neat and tidy by creating folders within the Notes app. Group related notes under categories like "Budgets," "Receipts," or "Savings Goals." Use tags (e.g., #budget, #savings) to quickly find the information you need. 

To create folders in the Notes app on your iPad, start by opening the app and navigating to the main Folders view. If you're currently inside a note, tap the back arrow in the top-left corner to return to this screen. Once you're in the Folders view, tap the New Folder icon at the bottom-left corner. A prompt will appear for you to name your folder — type in something relevant like "Budgets" or "Receipts" and then tap Save to create it.

Bonus: Integrate with Reminders

For even more convenience, link your Notes to the Reminders app for bill payment alerts. For instance, create a note for recurring bills and set reminders to notify you when they're due.

Apple Notes might seem simple at first glance, but with the right approach, it can become your go-to app for financial management. From tracking budgets to setting goals, it’s a free, versatile tool that’s already sitting on your iPad, waiting to make your life easier.

Using Numbers for Financial Management

Apple's equivalent to Excel is the Numbers app — a powerful tool for more complex financial tracking. Whether you're managing personal finances, tracking expenses, or building detailed budgets, Numbers offers more flexibility than the Notes app with its spreadsheet capabilities.

Setting Up a Budget in Numbers

Open the Numbers app and create a new document. Numbers offers built-in templates for budgeting, or you can start from scratch. Here's how to set up a simple budget:

1. Choose a Template: Start with a budget template, or create a custom one by adding columns for:

• Date: When the expense occurs

• Category: Type of expense (e.g., groceries, utilities)

• Amount: Cost of the item or service

• Notes: Additional details (e.g., payment method, vendor name).

2. Enter Your Data: As you make purchases, input the details into your table. You can easily update your figures as your financial situation changes.

3. Add Formulas for Totals: Numbers allow you to add formulas for automatic calculations. For example:

• To calculate total expenses, add a formula in the bottom row to sum all amounts in the Amount column.

• For savings goals: You can set up a formula to subtract your expenses from your income and see how much you save each month.

4. Visualize with Graphs: Numbers make it simple to create graphs based on your data. You can insert a chart to visualize your spending over time, helping you spot trends or areas where you might cut back.

Using Formulas in Numbers

Set up formulas to track your savings goals or calculate the difference between planned and actual spending. Some of the most basic formulas are:

Adding two values together:

Type the equal sign to start a formula; then, you can select the cell you are on or another one. It could look something like  =A2+16

• A2 is a cell reference (it points to the second cell in the first column).

• The "+" is an operator that adds the value before it (A2) with the value after it (16), which is a constant.

• So, if the number two was in Cell A2, the formula would add two to 16 to make 18. 

This formula uses the SUM function to add up values in a range of cells:

=SUM(A2:A10)

• SUM is a function that calculates the total of the numbers in its argument.

• A2:A10 refers to the range of cells from A2 to A10 (nine cells in the first column). The SUM function adds up the values in these cells.

Apple’s User Guide provides an incredibly useful library on all types of formulas, graphs, and other accounting tricks. Make sure you look it over when planning your budgets.

Keeping Things Organized

Just like with the Notes app, you can keep your Numbers document organized by creating folders for different areas of your finances (e.g., Monthly Budget, Savings Goals, Debt Tracking). You can also use the search function to quickly find the information you need.

Using the Apple Calendar for Finances

Speaking of useful apps that come with the iPad, don’t overlook the Calendar app. Managing finances isn’t just about tracking payments but planning how and when to move money promptly. The calendar will help you stay on top of your finances, from paying bills to saving up for something nice. 

 Schedule Bill Payments

To make sure you don’t miss a payment, use the calendar to plan due dates. Open the Calendar app and tap the + button in the top-right corner to create a new event. Label it with the billing name, like "Pay Rent" or "Credit Card Due," then set the due date and time. To make sure you don’t forget, tap Add Alert and set a notification, for example, “One day before.” For bills that repeat, simply select Repeat and choose the appropriate interval (monthly, yearly, etc.).

Stay Organized with Links to Notes

Need to track details or have a reference point? You can link your Calendar events to your Notes. For instance, within a bill payment event, add a link to a note detailing the breakdown of that bill or a note tracking your savings progress. This keeps everything in one place, easily accessible with a single tap.

Using the Calendar app will ensure your finances are well-planned and organized, with all the details at your fingertips.

Using the Calculator App

Of course, how could we forget the bread and butter of basic financing, the calculator? As it functions like the age-old classic number-processing machine we all know and love, we won’t go into much detail about how to use the Calculator app to add, subtract, divide, and multiply. There are however a few neat tricks worth knowing. 

Hidden Calculator Powers on Your iPad

While the iPad calculator looks simple, it hides some clever tricks to speed up your number crunching:

• Swipe to Delete:  Mistyped a number?  Just swipe left or right on the display to erase the last digit. No need to hit the clear button!

• Scientific Mode: Need more than basic math? Rotate your iPad to landscape, which is easy with an iPad Pro magnetic case, and the calculator transforms into your digital whiteboard with advanced functions.

• Copy and Paste: Long-press the displayed number to copy it, then paste it into other apps. Perfect for transferring results to your budget in Notes or Numbers.

• Instant Answers in Spotlight: For quick calculations, swipe down on the home screen to open Spotlight search. Type in your math problem (e.g., "20 * 15"), and the answer appears right there!

Keep Your iPad and Your Finances Safe

Whether you’re looking for an iPad Pro case for the latest model or something for the iPad Air and iPad Mini, ZUGU has the perfect protective cover for you. Our magnetic cases provide revolutionary protection while allowing you to prop your tablet at adjustable angles and even stick it to metal surfaces. This makes preparing shopping lists, reviewing your spending in Numbers, or making calculations with the Calculator app all the more simple and comfortable. 

A ZUGU case will keep your iPad safe for years to come, ensuring that money spent on any physical repairs is one less expenditure to worry about. Browse our selection of top-quality cases today.