Pots summary confusion

Feedback & Ideas
1

A couple of times now, the pots in summary have caused me some confusion. I am on Android, if it is relevant.

I see the Pots section in the summary tab and think the number is how much money the pot currently has. I worry for a moment until I realise that this is listing how pots relate to my current balance.

For example with imaginary numbers.

  1. I see the pots in summary saying £100
  2. I think the pot only has £100 and worry because I thought it had £500
  3. I end up clicking the item and it shows this actually means £100 has been added to the pot

I realise this is possibly a complicated UX problem to solve and I just wanted to flag up my experience in case it is useful.

3 Likes
2

I occasionally do the same. I also keep thinking the number shown is the amount put into pots when it’s actually the amount put into the main account (ie: the amount withdrawn from pots).

Renaming the pots section in Summary from “Pots” to “Transfers from Pots” could solve this issue.

3

It’s interesting. Since nothing else on that screen (or at least in that table of numbers) is a balance, what is it about the pots figures that makes you think they are different to the others?

4

For me it’s that “Income” and “Spending” are both clearly transfers and so I automatically think about them as transfers. I associate the word “Pots” with the amount I have in my pots and not with the amount transferred from them.

I’d also argue that the main budget at the top of Summary acts like a balance because it tells you how much you should have available to spend that month, so it’s not unreasonable to think the Pots section in Summary is showing you how much you have available to spend in your pots.

1 Like
5

I also keep thinking they’re a balance. I mean, here’s what my brain sees when I look at that page:

SUMMARY (of my finances, presumably)

  • Money I can spend (yay)
  • Money I recently spent (boo)
  • Money someone gave me (yay)
  • Pots (yay more money that I can spend!!)

The fact that “pots” comes after we’ve scrolled past “income” and “spending” is a big hint that we’re done with transfers and we could be looking at something else now. Then the word “pots” is a pretty massive signal that what is in that section might be… pots?

2 Likes
6

Yeah, I think it is a similar situation for me. The tab is called “summary” which could mean multiple things to me. Then the “pots” section is a separate block to spending, and doesn’t explicitly say “pot transactions”.

Another possible contribution is that it shows as black text, with no -/+ symbols or other indication in general that money is moving.

1 Like
7

If the net effect is positive to your current account balance (i.e. a pot withdrawal) then the text will be green indicating a current account deposit. Not a useful discriminator when the flow is largely into pots though.