We are happy to release more updates on Track Every Coin.

Recurring Expense / Income:

You can add an expense as a recurring expense and set the frequency to: Weekly / Monthly / Yearly. The expense will be automatically added to your account. You can also add a shared / reimbursement as a recurring expense as well.

Now go ahead and add your monthly fixed income as a recurring income.

You can set the frequency to: One time / Weekly / Monthly / Yearly.

Budget:

Setting your monthly budget is now easy. Just click on the budget, it turns into a text box. Enter your monthly budget and press enter.

Current month’s budget is carried to the next month. Once you set your budget sync your TECI gadget to see the budget updated on the device.

Reimbursements in Who owes me:

You can now see your cumulative company reimbursements in your Who owes me list for a quick update. Also get the reimbursement total on your TECI gadget.

We are happy to share our interview on News 9.

We are excited to release a new feature of Track Every Coin… “Who owes me?”

Sharing expense with friends / roommates is now easy. You can easily share an expense by clicking on “Shared” and add people to it. Move the slider for the share amount or click on equalize for an equal share.

The expense will be marked as shared (s) and will be listed under “Who Owes me?”. Once you receive the money click on the tick mark to mark it as received.

What is even cool, if you are using the TECI gadget and sync with your account, it will show on your TECI… here is a small video showing the same…

We are happy to release the following features for Track Every Coin…

1. Mouse hover on the settings, logoff and sync devices are enabled.

2. Settings overlay is implemented. You can now update your user profile and change your password.

3. Inline edit of descriptions in the expense grid is functional. Now when you sync your TECI, it is very easy to fill descriptions!

Stay tuned for more updates!

This video shows all the cool features that you can do with TECI. It is small, handy, cool to carry around!

Note: Currently the events are not live on our site. Once the event is live on the site, you will be able to create new events on TECI.

To see how to sync with the website please watch this video.

This video shows the first time use of TECI, how to enter expense on TECI and how it is transferred to the website. Click here to view the video on youtube.

With lot of questions on what features we would have in the future, we thought it will be a good idea to show a sneak peek of the future features  to our users. The following features will be rolled out one by one…

Notice the following:

1. There are 3 more tabs that will come up; Dashboard, Planning and Events.
2. Settings button on the top right (next to log off) will contain all the user profile (change password, etc)
3. Notice the “Edit” next to Category-wise spending -> this will help you edit and change your categories.
4. Notice the Expense Graph -> this will give you an overview of your expense
5. Reminders -> will help you pay your bills on time.
6. All the expense that are shared now will show up under “Who Owes me?” on the right. This will also have your “Reimbursement” expenses.
7. You can search by category, amount and also by different clients (website, mobile, TECI hardware).
8. Planning will contain different goals that will help you plan your future.
9. Events will be of two types, Shared and non shared. A shared event can be with friends, non shared event is your personal group expenditure.
10. Lastly the Dashboard will have overview of your income, expense, savings per month and some more graphs.

The reason we went live without completing all these features, is to learn and put the right features that users want. In the past 2 days we have already learnt a few more things from the users and have made notes of them. Please continue give us feedback on bugs as well as new features that you would like to have.

Couple of words on the TECI hardware:

The hardware device(TECI) has many advantages. It is the fastest way to make note of your expenditure and forget about it. The hardware remembers the date and time when the expense was made and you will be able to enter which category the expense belongs to.

It is a bi-directional device, i.e. when you sync with  your account, information from the website is transferred to the device and vice versa. Once our event feature is completed, let us say you add a new Event Eg: Goa trip with 5 friends. Once you create an event on the web and sync TECI, the TECI will show the event “Goa Trip” and also the names of all 5 friends. During the trip you can enter everyones expense and also their shares. Once you sync back, the system will inform everyone about the bill settlements.

So we are really excited to bring all these features! Hope you like them. Do follow our blog for more updates.

Folks, we are overwhelmed to announce that Track Every Coin has gone live on 12th July 2010!

Who is it for?

Track Every Coin is a personal finance product for anyone who finds a need to get organized with their money and analyze their financials.

We have identified two unique needs of our customers. The first kind of users are those who prefer TECI – a small electronic gadget and the second kind are those who have a smart phone for whom we have built a mobile application that can be downloaded from the ovi store. The mobile app is in its final leg of completion and will be launched shortly.

How does it work?

Track Every Coin comes with TECI, the desktop uploader and a website.

• TECI is a small electronic device handy to capture the expenses incurred on the go and can be bought online right away!
• The desktop uploader is used to sync these entries from the TECI to the website via USB.
• The website (www.trackeverycoin.com) is to analyze income, expenses and savings.

More More, we want More!

We’ll be continuously adding new features to the website and device, so stay tuned to this blog.

It has been a long journey to get to this point. We thank everyone for your support and appreciate for being patient. We have launched the alpha version of the website. So in case you encounter any issues, please let us know.

We will be more than happy to receive your feedback about track every coin.

Get your TECI now and sign up for free at www.trackeverycoin.com

And yes … Now Never Lose Track of your Money!

Nokia launched the N900 smartphone recently and the Nokia forum had held a competition for mobile application innovations. We are thrilled to announce that the track every coin mobile app won a prize at the event!

There were around 30 participants who showcased mobile apps ranging from social networking to games to directory services and language translations. It was nice to see many new ideas being implemented.

Head of Forum Nokia, Mr. Sunil Rao was also present…

Track Every Coin Mobile app was shown to public for the first time…

We had a great time getting good feedback about the product. You can see a small preview of the product on the TV screen!

We are now doing the final testing of the application and will be launching in a few days. More to come shortly!

Yesterday we took the almost final trial of TECI (Track Every Coin hardware device) after molding.

Due to unavoidable circumstances, the molding company took a little longer than we expected. Nevertheless we got to see the process of injection molding, and it is extremely complex. It took them more than 200 electrodes to edge the tool. It is a field where precision is of atmost importance as it dictates the look and feel of the end product.

Notice the product stuck to the mould after it is complete. Once the moulding company finalizes the mould, it has the capacity to product one TECI every 20 seconds!

Meanwhile we have finalized the packing (blister packaging) of the product and here is the sample picture of it.

… yes, you are right, it resembles our company logo! We are looking forward to your feedback on the packaging.

Hopefully everything goes smooth from now (fingers crossed) and the product will be produced soon.

It is a dream come true for us. Like the saying “Patience is bitter, but reaps the sweetest fruit”, our wait and perseverance has paid us off! It took us about 2 years before we could be stocked in a big retail chain.

The Story behind the Ion:

The company I worked for earlier gave away ipods to employees on becoming a CMM L5 company and I was urged to build my own charger for it. Little did I know then that a weekend project would one day become utility to so many people. The initial product looked like this.

We then conceptualized the idea, bettered the design, optimized the circuits and today Ion is the smallest USB charger available.

We started selling IONs mostly online and in a few small stores in Bangalore (Channel 9, Jayanagar). We have done everything from talking to retailers in Mumbai to meeting distributors in Bangalore. We have been through the long process of vendor registration and have tried to negotiate channeling costs. There were times when nothing was moving except for our online sales. It was quite amazing how people all around India have found us and bought the charges. This is the biggest motivation that kept our spirits high.

Yes after all the follow-ups and loads of patience we will finally be stocked at all the Apple Stores in India. This is huge morale boost before we launch our next product shortly.

The biggest learning for us is that, the pricing of the product is very important for the retailing and distribution channels. The price point of a product is very sensitive and market driven. If you are an established brand, you can dictate the pricing as your volumes are high. On being a startup the story is a little different. If the product is new in the market, the distributors demand more. If the product has competition then it is mostly a volume game (low margin high volume) which makes it difficult for a startup to handle without being funded.

All in all, we are really thrilled to have the product available at the Apple store (Imagine store) shortly. Now customers can easily buy the ION at their favorite Apple store!

Believe it or not, in India the term “I-pod” has taken a common name for an MP3 player.

In the common market, if someone asks you “Which i-pod do you have?”.

If you say you have a nano, shuffle, touch… he would be confused! But if you say that you have an Apple, Sony or a Philips i-pod he understands!

I wonder how this happened. How did the word ‘I-pod’ takeover the name for an Mp3 Player? Is it because Apple did not spread the awareness very well in India and the buzz spread through word of mouth? I wonder if the following could have happened:

Person A: What is an i-pod?

Person B: It is something that can play music!

Now when Person A sees an MP3 player he thinks it is an i-pod!

Not sure if this is a boon or a bane for Apple! Yes, the word “i-pod” is now widely used, but not sure if that is translating to sales for them.

Anyways we are keeping a short name for our product. The hardware device will be called “TECI”, short form for Track Every CoIn. So that it is easy to refer it – “Do you have a TECI?”

We were in Kerala last week, putting up posters, talking to umpteen people and showing a demo of Track Every Coin! Yes .. we were at the 97th Indian Science Congress for 5 days at Thiruvananthapuram and we had a cozy little stall for Ionlab.

The Indian Science Congress is the largest national science event in India with thousands of delegates participating, exploring, understanding and interacting on the matters of science. It was one platform where innovators across India came together to exhibit technology and innovations. We were overwhelmed for having been invited to participate and set up a stall at an event of such magnitude.

The ISC was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India followed by the inauguration of the Children’s Science Congress by Dr Abdul Kalam. The Govt of India’s department for Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR) sponsored stalls at the exhibition to encourage Entrepreneurs through their TEPP initiative.

It was a great learning and a product validation opportunity for us at Ionlab. We showed demos of the product and its features to people from various walks of life – students, IT professionals, home makers, small-medium businessmen to academicians. Everyone loved it! The beauty of TECI really lies in the simplicity and versatility of what it offers to each and every person. We identified that there is a clear demarcation of segments who find the mobile application more useful than the hardware device and vice versa.

We sold a few of our first product The ION – USB Charger as well.

The overwhelming response is a big confidence boost and we are working fiercely towards putting the bits together and bringing Track Every Coin to you soon!

Click here for more photos of the event.

News about 97th Indian Science Congress:

http://sify.com/news/2-000-papers-presented-at-97th-Indian-Science-Congress-news-National-kbhuEgjieha.html

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/sci-tech/all-set-for-the-97th-indian-science-congress-in-kerala_100297628.html

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100104/jsp/frontpage/story_11939850.jsp

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/editorial/The-ills-of-Indian-science/articleshow/5411082.cms

We have completed the manufacturing of our PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards). We are working with our partner Micron EMS, who are into Electronic Manufacturing Services. The process of putting the components together is fascinating. We thought we will show you the process.

Here is a small video showing how the components are placed together…

All components are surface mounted and some of them are as small as 1.00 mm by 0.5 mm. The robot picks up the components and places them at the right place and it does it with great precision.

After all the components are placed they are soldered using a wave soldering machine. Here are the PCBs placed after soldering.

After soldering of the components these PCBs will be tested and assembled.

Hope you enjoyed watching the video. We thought it was quite cool.

I believe that building a product is like building your dream home. You take atmost care in laying out the essentials, chalking out the must-haves, drawing the blue print of the architecture, bricking the house to designing the interiors that makes a cozy home.

Similarly, at IONLAB, we have made sure Track Every Coin is on par with any internationally acclaimed consumer electronic goods and has features that cater to the needs of all of us. Despite the delays and little setbacks we have now been able to put two and two together. We present you the final prototype of our much anticipated hardware device – Track Every Coin, nicknamed TECI

With the holiday season kicking in, this is normally the time you get to spend some time with your family reflecting on the good moments of 2009. We decided to retrospect and bring to you the highlights at Ionlab and the making of TrackEveryCoin, a project we have put our hearts and souls into.

January 2009: Prototype breadboards were converted to PCB designs

February 2009: Researched and begun sourcing components from various suppliers (LCD, Micro-controller, USB etc) from Singapore, China and India

March 2009: Changed LCD module to work at low voltage, Started talks with manufacturers, CAD designing, and completed Low level drivers for the hardware.

April 2009: New hardware version released (low power micro controller), Ported low level drivers for the new micro controller, Started design work on website.

May 2009: Sourcing of hardware components, Hardware design frozen for CAD designs, Trackeverycoin pre-launch website, www.ionlab.in website launched.

June 2009: Local source for LCD modules found, Identified manufacturing service, Base design for mobile application.

July 2009: PCB design for production complete, Placed production order for microcontroller and other components.

August 2009: Application software testing on production hardware, base version of CAD design ready. Website architecture design in place.

September 2009: PCB fabrication complete, received the first plastic prototype, testing different versions of mobile application.

October 2009: Identified packaging people, button sticker people, Microcontroller and other components arrives, second and third prototype of plastics arrives, Front end UI of website frozen, Mobile navigation simplified.

Noverber 2009: Application software bug fixes, Manufacturing plant software released, Desktop software (used to upload hardware data to website) is complete (testing in progress). Completed user manual for hardware.

December 2009: Integration of website backend and frontend started, Received the final prototype (shown above), we are tooling ready, Mobile application testing in progress, Desktop software released.

Next couple of milestones:

• Production of hardware
• Tooling of device and production
• Packaging
• Mobile application launch
• Alpha/beta testing of website
• Launch of hardware

Much appreciate your comments and feedback! A fantastic 2010 to all of you. Thank you for following our blog and cheering us thru 2009.