Table of Contents

What Is Personal Finance Management (PFM) and How Is It Used?

By

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Catherine Tymkiw

Updated March 30, 2025

Reviewed by Pamela Rodriguez

Fact checked by

Yarilet Perez

What Is Personal Financial Management (PFM)?

Personal🅺 financial management (PFM) ꦐis a category of consumer software that is designed for use in managing money. The category can include everything from home budgeting programs to mobile banking apps and bill payment systems.

Key Takeaways

Personal financial management, or PFM, is a category of software that is designed to help consumers and small businesses manage their money.
The first successful personal finance management program, launched in 1983, was an early version of Quicken, which simplified the process of paying bills.
As customer behavior and consumer needs evolve, so will PFM software and the apps that it powers.

Understandꦺing Personal Financial Management (PFM)

PFM has been around at least since 1983 when Intuit co-founder Scott Cook observed his wife struggling with the paperwork involved in paying bills and balancing a checkbook by hand.

Cook started to explore how to streamline the process. He teamed up with a progꦫrammer named Tom Proulx, 🙈who created a simple check-balancing program that became an early version of the personal finance software program Quicken.

And that’s how Intuit (INTU) was born.

A Crowded Field

When Quicken was launched, there was already a crowded field of software-based bill payment programs. There were 46 other personal finance products out there, but many were clunky and not easy to use.

Quicken’s biggest selling point was its ease of use. Because it𒀰 mimicked a paper check, the software was easy to learn for anyone who ever wrote a check.

Expanding Functionality

Listಞening to their customers revealed other ways t🐎hat customers were using the product, and pointed towards further refinements and expansion.

For example, once the company found that a third of its customers were using the software for business expenses, Intuit developed 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Quickbooks, a version🔯 of Quicken that focuses on track꧒ing expenses.

It also created a feature that allowed customers to download their brokerage statements and incorpo🍃rate t🍌hem into financial planning.

That set the staꦫg🐭e for the creation of other PFM products.

Today's PFM products include online tools focused on tracking 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:credit scores (think Credit Karma), phone apps that allow individual investors to trade stocks (think Robinhood)⛎, and software that tracks spending and bill paying (think Prism).

PFM is the software that powers these apps, as well as many 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:mobile banking tools that people use to cheไck their balances, transfer money, and deposit💛 checks.

Tip

Quickbooks integrates with TurboTax🌱, allowing those who are self-employed to import their financial information to prepare and file their taxes.

Special Considerations

Banking and finance apps may share𓂃 PFM software, but they are not all built the same. It’s important to define what your needs are to ensure that you are using the right system.

Some of these apps have free versions, although many have subscriptions to access advanced features. Some💖 are built for Windows and others are built for Macs.

While mobile banking can help with bill paying, tracking deposits and wit🎶hdrawals, and transferring funds between accounts, personal finance apps are often built with more comprehensive money management tools and a greater ability to personalize features.

Many not only allow you to pay bills and track deposits/withdrawals but also include broader options that give you the flexibility to take more control of yo♍ur financia☂l management goals.

Personal f𒐪inance apps have evolved to become mu✤ch more user-friendly and targeted to customers’ needs. Overall, these apps will allow you to be more organized with your finances.

At the most basic level, they will help you manage your budget, track your spe✨nding, and ensure that you pay your bills on time. If you ha🥃ve broader needs, then there are most likely apps for them, too—or soon will be.

Are There Alternatives to Quicken?

More than 40 years after its first version was introduced, Quicken still dominates the field of personal finance management software. But there are 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:alternatives:

Empower is a less expensive cloud-based program. Access to the basics like budgeting and bill payment is free. Premium tiers offer investing and wealth management services.
Banktivity, designed for Apple's iOS, has features that help a consumer or a small business owner manage checking, savings, loans, and investing accounts.

What Is the Best Software for Small Business?

That's a wide field, but two of the biggest categories for any small business are accounting software and tax software.

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Investopedia names QuickBooks Online as the besꦑt accounting software for small businesses in 2025. The best free option we found is Zoho Books.

For tax software, H&R Block is 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Investopedia's pick for 2025. Intui🐈t TurboTax might be a better choice for people who are QuickBook users.

How Do I Choose a Money Transfer App?

The choices seem to be endless, but for 2025 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Investopedia names Venmo as the overall best money transfer 💟app for most consumers. There are other choices for specific needs. For example, Wise and WorldRemit get kudos for handling international money transfers. Zelle and Cash App are notable for their low fees.

The Bottom Line

Personal financial management (PFM) software has grown from a single application that helped people record their checks to a major software category encompassing money maꦰnagement, bill payments, money transfers, personal investing, accounting, and more.

And💃, of course, the products now live online, are available in mobile versions, and store their reꦅcords in the cloud.

Article Sources

Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.

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