The good news is that YNAB Lite has been in the wild since Friday evening. Over the past 2-3 weeks, while waiting for the review, we’ve been fixing bugs and doing little tweaks to YNAB Lite. So we were ready to immediately submit 2.0.1, which is now Waiting for Review.
There was one crash that caught us off guard, and were able to update the Desktop App to handle that. It was on the phone’s side of things, but since we don’t have to wait for Apple approval on our own desktop release, we were able to get that out quick. If you’re experiencing a crash on sync, make sure you’ve updated to the latest version of YNAB 4 (you can do that by going to Help -> Check for Updates in YNAB 4).
The exact timing of things with YNAB for iPhone (Full) over the weekend is murky for me. I believe Saturday morning we found out it was rejected because we include links to YouNeedABudget.com, where someone could purchase our desktop software. Our links were there to let people know that the iPhone app REQUIRES a $60 purchase of Desktop software, and here’s where you find more… we pulled those links.
We also had a link to our support page in the app, but pulled that to be safe.
Some of you more familiar with Apple’s policies probably know that they don’t like you shuttling iPhone users away to purchase directly from you.
We were surprised to fail the review in this regard, since we’ve included links to the YNAB site from Day One of being in the App Store (and featured, no less!).
We’re also very grateful that the Lite app made it through, considering it has the same links that the Full version has.
So on Saturday we submitted a new binary. We had to submit the new binary to be able to pull out the links. This means we start at the back of the line with the full app. On the plus side, all of the little fixes we’ve made to the app since it was originally submitted for review are now included in the new binary.
We’re sorry it’s taking so long to get the Full version in everyone’s hands — especially those that have already purchased and are simply waiting to get it as a free upgrade!
YNAB Lite is a fine stopgap until the Full app is released. It lets you check your budget balances on the go, and record transactions at the point of sale. It will definitely help you stay up to date on your budget and make sure you stay aware of your goals. It’s a fine app :)
(To clarify, the differences between Lite and Full are that the Full version: has an accounts view, allows wi-fi sync, category favorites, and my favorite: geo-aware payees, where when you go to add a new transaction, it recognizes you’re probably standing in Home Depot, and pre-fills the payee to Home Depot, and categorizes the transaction to whatever category was last used by Home Depot; you end up entering the Amount and hitting ‘save.’ Unless you have a dozen accounts, in which case I don’t envy you for so many other reasons :))
Thanks for keeping us up to date. I’ve been enjoying the lite version for now. Let’s hope Apple will get it together and approve the full app. Maybe they don’t like the word “budget”. Lol.
WOW. All these delays are ridiculous–why can’t Apple look over the whole thing and give you all the stuff that needs fixing at once instead of sending you back for a million fixes?
I am so glad the Lite made it through.
“We’re also very grateful that the Lite app made it through, considering it has the same links that the Full version has.”
Some more of that robust Apple testing that everyone keeps telling me is “for my own good” I guess. Nothing arbitrary or tester-specific at all.
I never realized how much I use the accounts view in the mobile app until I didn’t have it anymore. I hope I have it again soon.
@Mark:
One tip in the mean time: if you tap the + to add a new transaction and then tap the account, you will get a list of all your accounts and their current balances. You can then cancel without adding a new transaction if you just wanted to see the account balances. That has been good enough for me until the full version is finally approved.
Good tip!
Lite is fine….full version will be great, especially with geo-aware payees! That function ROCKS! Just one or two taps at the register and you’re done.
Dude.
So sorry. Yeah. Amazing how one app gets rejected for something the approved app already has.
Here’s hoping that the review process is quicker this time around for the FULL VERSION.
No doubt! And here’s hoping that this time around, the full version gets assigned to the tester that tested the Lite app….apparently he’s not such a stickler, LOL!
…or she :-)
I am using the lite version as a stopgap until the full version makes it through. One issue for me is when adding the amount, I keep on hitting Save vs Done on the number pad and the entry disappears into the ether. Without the Payee or account being populated, there is no way of finding it again. Will the 2.0.1 version disable the Save button while the number keyboard is up?
+1 BRILLIANT SUGGESTION! I’m having the same problem and that would be a perfect solution.
I’ve had the same problem. It would also help to have an undo feature for mistakes like this. In the old iPhone app I could just go to the accounts view and edit my transactions with the blue dot. Something like this would be very helpful in both the light and the full versions of the app. Thanks.
^^ this. Working on retraining me, but…
We’re definitely going to address this. It’s an excellent point that we missed in our haste to speed up transaction entry. We sped it up alright, but at some cost. :) We’ll get it fixed.
+1 I also have the same problem! After that I can’t find the transaction until I get home and open YNAB on the Desktop
Same problem. Also have noticed that while I am entering a transaction on Lite it will randomly close. Not sure why, just a little frustrating. Otherwise love not having to sync manually!
Thank you for the updates!
Just curious…what do you mean when you say “Wi-Fi Sync” for the full version. I’m already syncing Lite via 3G or WiFi, presumably whatever I’m connected to, what’s the difference with the Full version?
@Scott:
Wi-Fi Sync means LOCAL sync between a mobile device and a desktop computer that are on the same network. Wi-Fi Sync does not require Dropbox or an Internet connection to work. Cloud Sync can be done using wi-fi, but requires Dropbox and an Internet connection.
Sorry, I mean the manual wi-fi sync that happened with the old YNAB iPhone version and YNAB 3.
I’m really sorry to hear about this rejection, especially since my poor old 2nd gen ipod touch can’t run the light version of the app :( . The urge to buy a new ipod is getting stronger…but it will nevertheless have to wait until I can afford one!
Setup a new category and away you go :-)
Sorry to hear Apple is being so difficult. For what it’s worth, my YNAB Lite still crashes after I launch it. I’ve updated to the latest desktop version and of course deleted and re-installed the app many times. :(
Never mind! Turns out my Dropbox app was the problem. After deleting and re-installing it, I was able to connect with YNAB. Looks like something happened to the Dropbox app, based on the app store reviews for the current version.
I wonder if the whole corrupted app SNAFU was what caused the delay in getting the new YNAB app approved. If the testers were trying to use YNAB with the bad version of dropbox…
Jesse,
Thank you for being so transparent on this. I like seeing the struggles and successes of start-ups.
Start-up? That is an interesting comment. Makes me wonder how long a company can be considered a start-up. YNAB has been around, what?, 8 years. There is a staff and functions for development, support, training. YNAB has been around a year or so more than Mint. Quicken has been able to produce 7 or 8 versions in that time (just guessing).
I sure appreciate the transparency too (not to mention the product itself) but I don’t think I will be calling YNAB a start-up anymore.
We haven’t been having any issues with YNAB lite! We love it! It was so fun to see the first transaction sync from my husband’s phone to my phone! The new layout looks fantastic. Looking forward to when Apple finally gets it together to release the full version. We are singing your praises!
Using lite for now. Perfectly adequate for what I need. I do now realise that you now have the option to switch budgets. I managed to miss this feature addition even though I’ve been reading a lot of emails and blog posts. This is excellent news and I might not be the only one who missed it so perhaps something worth making a point of mentioning this again or making it more prominent in the features list (which I failed to find)
I just wanted to say I LOVE YNAB Lite! I can’t begin to imagine how much more awesome the full version can possibly be. :)
YNAB Lite working FLAWLESSLY… LOVE IT, praying the YNAB full version will be approved by Apple before YNAB 5 makes it to our computers!!!!! Feeling for you guys!!! The inconsistency of Apple’s approvals and their ridiculous standards (that go over the top of protective) are duly noted, and will factor into my decision of my next smartphone…
Thanks for the updates. I am also loving the lite app! I am happy to wait for the full version. Appreciate all the effort you are going to.
Well I am still waiting on the full app before I upgrade. I am looking forward to it but I can wait until the full iphone version comes out which will hopefully be soon.
Since I purchased the YNAB 3 app will I have to pay for the new full one as well? My concern is I deleted the old app when the lite was released so it may not show it as a update ?
Nope. It will be a free update.
Also, the App store remembers all your purchases, even if you delete them from your phone and iTunes. For example, if you got sick of playing Angry Birds that you paid a $1 for and deleted it from everything, and then six months later want to play again, you can reinstall it at no cost.
I am also very happy with YNAB Lite and YNAB4 in general. I’m currently working in London while my wife is back home in North Carolina and keeping up with everything between us. I am looking forward to the full version of the YNAB iPhone app, but doing just fine in the meantime. I realize that it is early days on YNAB4 and the new iPhone app, but I have had no problems thus far and am very impressed with both and with the YNAB team.
Thanks for all the updates on the app! I think it’s about time that Apple reconsiders it’s approval process…
I updated to YNAB 4 and used version 3 with the iPhone app. I am now thinking about switching to the lite version until Apple finally releases the full app. That said, I currently have about 50 transactions in my app, which I don’t want to lose, nor re-enter in the desktop version (preferably). How do I achieve this?
Any help appreciated!
Hey Dave, this is a bit of a workaround, but turn off cloud sync in YNAB 4 (File -> Preferences) then go to File -> Wi-Fi Sync and do a wi-fi sync with your iPhone app (the version 3 one). The phone will send all of the transactions and then will say that the sync failed. The sync “failed” because the iPhone didn’t get any data _back_ but the transactions you had unsynced will now be in YNAB 4.
At that point you can install YNAB Lite and get that all set up and off to the races and just wait for the update to come through to update YNAB for iPhone (full) to the latest version.
Did like you suggested – it workd like a charm… Thanks & keep up the great work!
Is there any roadmap for currency support on the iOS / Android apps?
I travel a lot and am using iXpenselt to track cash purchases in local currency converted to back to my base currency.
If YNAB apps had currency support it would be easier to capture this spending on the go.
And make sure I stick to the travel budget!
Hi Ryan,
Unfortunately we don’t have currency support for iOS/Android on the roadmap at the moment. That would likely come when we introduce multiple-currency support in the Desktop app.
Please please please can you help me with this new app! I live and work in Dubai, meaning my budget is in AED, but having this option means that all my numbers are in arabic and i cant read them. The only way i can work around this is by changing my budget to be in GBP, but then this effects my UK budget which is GBP and although it makes me look like a millionare, its really frustrating!!!
It works fine on the MAC, but the iPhone still stays in arabic if i use AED>
In the settings there’s an option to not use the device region, so the phone, regardless of its settings, should respect the currency set on your desktop.
Thanks for replying, I really love YNAB and use it all the time, religiously, but if I have YNAB in AED on the desktop, I can only have it in ARABIC settings, which means that the iPhone also is in arabic?
Try it you will see what i mean, its a pain in the 455 as i don’t read arabic!\
Any ideas?
If you enable the setting “Use device region” on the settings screen of the app (tap the gear icon), and restart your phone, the app should then use whatever region is your device region.
This forces the app to ignore your budget settings from the desktop and rather use your device’s region to display numbers.
The currency symbol might be wrong then, but you should be able to read the numbers again.
Hi… I just wanted to say to Jesse, Don’t get discouraged! I check back pretty often to see if the full app is ready, and when it’s not, I feel worse for Jesse than I do for myself. YNAB is so awesome, and I love the new upgrade, I just want Jesse to know that this is a tiny bump compared to how WORTHWHILE this software and the budget-high I get off of using it has been for me and countless others! Don’t worry, that dang app will come through eventually, in the meantime, Lite is fine and you’ve done an amazing job!!!! Thank you!
Does YNAB for iphone allow you to split transactions? This is a pretty important feature to me.
Yes it does. When selecting a category there’s a split button at the top right.
I have the full paid version for iPhone – why did you get rid of the ability to choose categories for entries made on the app??!!!
Hey MFG, in YNAB 3, go to file and enable error checking. Then disable it again if you want. Once that’s been toggled, do a new wifi synch with your phone and it should be fixed.
That’s a bug we’ve fixed in an upcoming version that made an assumption it shouldn’t have made…
We have the full versions of YNAB for iPhone and Android. We love it and use it every day. However, I noticed the Android version does not show the Budget amount on the home screen whereas the iPhone shows it. Is this something that will be fixed in the future?
With the new operating system I can’t get YNAB lite to load at all. I miss my Mobile YNAB!
Please write in to us at support@youneedabudget.com — we should be iOS 6 ready!