Side project / Prototype
Pocket Ledger
A deliberately small expense tracker for independent makers. Private by default, useful without an account.
JavaScript / IndexedDB / CSS
The problem
A fictional maker wants to track project expenses without adopting a complete accounting system. The first version focuses on one question: what has this experiment cost so far?
The approach
Keep the data on the device. Make entering an expense fast. Offer a plain CSV export so the information remains portable.
- One screen for adding and reviewing expenses
- Categories that match the project rather than a fixed accounting vocabulary
- A clear export path and no account requirement
What the prototype taught me
The interesting challenge was not the chart. It was making corrections easy. An expense needs an obvious edit action, and a mistaken deletion needs a way back.
Next experiment
Test whether a weekly summary is more useful than a dashboard. This is a fictional case study; no live product or financial results are claimed.