ezBookkeeping — Self-Hosted Personal Finance Tracker

Introduction

ezBookkeeping is a lightweight, self-hosted personal finance tracking application. It provides a clean mobile-friendly interface for recording daily income and expenses, supports multiple currencies with automatic exchange rate updates, and stores all data locally so you maintain full privacy over your financial records.

What ezBookkeeping Does

• Records income and expense transactions with categories, tags, and notes
• Supports multiple accounts (cash, bank, credit card) with balance tracking
• Provides multi-currency transactions with automatic exchange rate conversion
• Generates monthly and yearly financial statistics and charts
• Exports data in CSV format for use in spreadsheets or other tools

Architecture Overview

ezBookkeeping is built with Go on the backend and Vue.js for the frontend. It supports SQLite, MySQL, and PostgreSQL as storage backends. The application is packaged as a single binary or Docker image with minimal dependencies. Exchange rates are fetched from public APIs and cached locally.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Deploy via Docker with a single volume for persistent data storage
• Choose between SQLite (default, no setup), MySQL, or PostgreSQL as the database
• Configure the default currency and timezone in the settings file
• Set up multiple user accounts for household finance tracking
• Enable two-factor authentication for additional login security

Key Features

• Mobile-responsive design optimized for on-the-go expense entry
• Multi-currency support with 170+ currencies and live exchange rates
• Transaction templates for recurring expenses like rent or subscriptions
• Category and tag system for detailed expense breakdowns
• Two-factor authentication and data encryption at rest

Comparison with Similar Tools

• Firefly III — full-featured with budgets and rules; ezBookkeeping is simpler and lighter for basic tracking
• Actual Budget — envelope budgeting focused; ezBookkeeping centers on transaction recording and reporting
• GnuCash — desktop double-entry accounting; ezBookkeeping is a mobile-first web application
• Money Manager EX — desktop app; ezBookkeeping is browser-based and accessible from any device

FAQ

Q: Can multiple family members use it? A: Yes. ezBookkeeping supports multiple user accounts, each with their own transactions and categories.

Q: Does it connect to bank accounts? A: No. ezBookkeeping is a manual entry tool. This design choice keeps it simple and avoids sharing bank credentials.

Q: How do I back up my data? A: Back up the data volume (SQLite file) or use the CSV export feature for portable backups.

Q: Is there a mobile app? A: The web interface is mobile-responsive and works well as a progressive web app. There is no native app.

Sources

• https://github.com/mayswind/ezbookkeeping
• https://ezbookkeeping.mayswind.net