onbalance

OnBalance is a cash-flow planning and finance-tracking app for solopreneurs and small businesses. It is best suited to owners who need to keep several ventures, accounts, or currencies organized without connecting bank feeds. Its forecasting and offline access are useful strengths, but manual data management will not suit everyone.

Overview

OnBalance brings cash-flow forecasts and transaction tracking together, with support for multiple businesses in one place. Users can start recording finances without setting up a detailed structure, or create projects, accounts, and categories to organize them. That flexibility can help a solo operator get started quickly while leaving room for more complex bookkeeping habits.

The app supports fiat and crypto accounts, transactions, conversions, and transfers, using near-real-time exchange rates. It also describes confidential collaboration with business partners and teammates. However, OnBalance has no bank synchronization and no external integrations. Users must maintain their own financial records rather than rely on connected data, a meaningful trade-off for anyone managing frequent transactions.

Key features

Forecasting and organization

OnBalance shows future balances and helps identify cash-flow gaps. That makes it more useful for planning near-term obligations than a tracker focused only on past transactions. Multiple projects, accounts, and categories can help separate business activity, while multi-entity support lets owners track multiple businesses from one place.

Offline access and data protection

The app says it works offline and synchronizes between devices in the background when connectivity returns. That can keep tracking available away from a reliable connection, though synchronization depends on reconnecting later.

According to the maker’s whitepaper, organization data is encrypted on the device with AES-256-GCM, and the server stores encrypted data and key containers. The master password, private keys, and recovery phrase are not transmitted to the server. Users receive a 12-word recovery phrase for restoring access without a third party. This approach gives users an important role in protecting and recovering their data, so the recovery phrase should be kept safe.

Users can export their data at any time. That is a useful safeguard for owners who want a copy of their records outside the app, especially given the absence of external integrations.

Pricing

OnBalance is free. Its onbalance plan costs nothing. The app is a straightforward fit for users who want cash-flow tracking without a subscription; there are no paid tiers to weigh against the free option. No seat or usage caps are stated, so the practical fit rests on whether its feature set and manual recordkeeping meet your needs.

Platforms

OnBalance is available on Android and iOS. It supports offline work with background synchronization between devices once connected again.

Who it's for

OnBalance targets solopreneurs and small businesses, including freelancers, content producers, real estate agents, repair and construction teams, handmade creators, event producers, florists, decorators, photographers, and marketplace sellers. It is particularly suited to owners who handle several ventures or currencies and want to monitor expected balances without bank connections.

It is a weaker fit for businesses that need transactions to flow in automatically from bank accounts or other software. With no external connections, users need to enter and maintain their financial information themselves.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Forecasts future balances and helps flag cash-flow gaps, supporting forward planning rather than recordkeeping alone.
• Pros: Tracks multiple businesses, accounts, projects, and currencies in one app, including crypto accounts and transfers.
• Pros: Free access and offline use lower the barriers to getting started and recording finances away from a connection.
• Pros: Encrypted organization data, a 12-word recovery phrase, and full data export give users defined safeguards and a way to retain a copy.
• Cons: No bank synchronization means account activity must be maintained manually.
• Cons: No external integrations limit connected workflows with other financial tools.
• Cons: Recovery relies on the user’s 12-word phrase, which must be preserved to restore access independently.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, see Cash Flow Management Software.

Choose Caflou if you want a free plan alongside a freemium offering and need web or API access in addition to Android and iOS. Cash Pocket is another free option, with Android, iOS, and web platforms.

Bankflow may suit users who prefer a credit-based plan: its free option provides 50 credits as a one-time purchase, while Starter costs $14.99 a month for 300 credits monthly. Trezy offers web access, a free trial, and a free plan that includes one bank account, cash-flow tracking, transaction history, AI categorization, and email support; its Starter plan is $12.50 a month.

Bokeping is worth considering for a defined free allowance: one user, 20 sales and purchase records per month, CSV bank import, financial statements, and accountant access. BankSummary offers a free web plan capped at two accounts, while Cashvue is free to use during its public beta. Statement is a paid web alternative.

Verdict

OnBalance is a sensible choice for a solopreneur or small-business owner who wants a free way to forecast cash flow and track multiple ventures, accounts, and currencies—including offline. Its main limitation is equally clear: without bank synchronization or other integrations, keeping the numbers current is a manual responsibility. Choose it for flexible, self-managed tracking; look elsewhere if connected financial data is essential.