MoneyCoach Diaries is my ongoing journey to turn my indie app into a more sustainable part of my business. First time reading? See what happened until now by tapping this link.
Hey there, did you miss me? I missed you too. I missed writing these diaries. I missed sharing my thoughts and feelings with you. I know I didn't make it on time for the 15th of the month update, but I was busy with releasing not 1, not 2, but 3 apps. And fixing some bugs and adding new features to MoneyCoach, MoneySpaces and Realtime Screen Time. And I was sick for a week. And... well, read on to find out more.
What happened in the last 15 days?
It all started with a rumor I read on Twitter. iOS is gonna launch within 2 weeks. I kind of knew from the years before, but I didn't wanted to accept it, because who needs extra pressure, right? But I had to accept it. I had to prepare for it. I had to make sure that MoneyCoach is ready for release day. And I had to make sure that MoneySpaces is ready for release day too. So my original plan was to release only two apps on the 15th of September.
I added the Interactive Widgets to MoneySpaces first and then did some acrobatics to adapt it to MoneyCoach. I had to make sure that the widgets are working properly and that they are not breaking anything else in the app. I focused more on iOS 17, because I knew that it will be released first and I wanted to make sure that the widgets are working properly on the new OS. I also kept an eye for possible iOS 16 bugs.
If you want to know more, read the article we wrote about this major update. MoneyCoach 9.0: Interactive Widgets, Apple Watch App, Apple Pay Import
I had to work in three major fronts:
- Interactive Widgets
- Apple Watch app
- Automatic Apple Pay import
As the first week went by, we made little progress and everything was like 80% done. Interactive widgets were working, but they were not updating properly. Also there were some edge cases. And a stupid bug that allowed you to add a transaction to any account, which made it possible for free users to "bypass" the account limit. Fixed that too. On to the next one.
Apple Watch app. My favorite part of the new MoneyCoach 9.0. We completely redesigned it and tested it thoroughly. I used it every day for since end of August. I spotted some bugs with and fixed them. Little did I know that the release version didn't open at all. You see, in some rare cases the release build gets compiled in a way that a framework is missing. And you can't spot that when developing. So thanks for reporting it. I fixed it in 9.0.1 which is out now.
Import transactions from Apple Pay / Wallet app
Testing this feature in real life consted me a lot of money. Why? Because I had to buy stuff to test it. And I had to buy stuff with Apple Pay. The main problem is that iOS doesn't offer a way to trigger this feature. So I had to buy stuff and then wait for the shortcut to run. And then I had to wait for the transaction to appear in MoneyCoach. And on top of that, the current iOS 17 developer documentation doesn't provide any information related to this Transaction Import feature. So I had to figure it out on my own. Most times the shortcut automation failed without giving me a reason or some error message to debug.
This feature is pretty new and it is incredible once you set it up.
People are loving it. I am loving it. And I am sure you will love it too.
Here is one of our loyal users:
The latest update is just Brilliant! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Apple Wallet integration is now my favourite function. Saves me hours each week from having to add transactions manually.
by gdelfava
Introducing MoneyCoach Hospital
In the second week, when the development was at its climax and when the official iOS 17 date was released yours truly got sick. 39 degrees fever (which in Fahrenheit is like 9000), headache, you name it. I was in bed for 2 days. I couldn't work. I couldn't do anything. Oh sorry, I lied about the bed. At the same time my wife got sick and my kids got sick. We transformed into MoneyCoach Hospital. We were all sick. And if you are one of the lucky parents to read this, you know that sickness in toddlers and kids means nothing to their general motoric skills. They are still running around, jumping, screaming, crying, laughing, playing, eating, pooping, peeing, you name it. It is just you cannot do anything. You are just there, watching them, trying to survive.
We thought we got some bug from the kindergarten, but it turned out to be something else for me and a different thing for my wife. And the kids got something else too, courtesy of the kindergarten. So we thought it would pass within 3 days. No antibiotics for three days. Fever spiked. Kids were whiny and stuff. It got worse. And we had to go the doctor. In the meantime, baby shark and cocomelon were acting as interim parents ;).
I couldn't sleep at night, because I was missing the deadline. I was missing the release date. I was missing the launch day. I was missing the iOS 17 release day. My ego and business were suffering. I was suffering.
So fast forward to the doctor's visit. We got some antibiotics and some other stuff. And we got better.
Back to work
I was feeling better. I was feeling like I can do it. I was feeling like I can make it. I was feeling like I can release MoneyCoach 9.0 and MoneySpaces 2.0 on time. I had only 4 days left. So I went and finished what I started. I fixed the bugs. I added the missing features. I tested everything. I made sure that everything is working properly. I handed it over to Krist, he tested them as well. He found some bugs. I fixed them.
And then I uploaded the two builds to App Store Connect. I submitted them for review. And I waited. The next morning they were approved. Yay. I was happy. I was relieved. I was proud. I was excited. I was exhausted.
What about Realtime Screen Time?
I will write about it next time. I promise. I have some exciting news to share with you. But I will do it next time. If I forget, remind about it on Twitter.
Oh and look for us on TikTok. And Insta.
Follow me on Twit... sorry, X to learn more.
Have you meet my other apps?
You know I love to experiment with ideas and create apps that solve my own problems, right? If not, then here are two apps for you.
Both of them are free. Take a look at the articles I attached, if you want to understand what they are and why I made them.
That would be it for today. Thanks for reading this far and for being part of my journey. Let me know your thoughts on Twitter or by replying to this email.
Love, Perjan
