I renovate houses. It's a hobby I love, and a great contrast to my day-to-day work building digital products.
With every renovation, I want to know exactly what I've spent. Was the work worth it? Did I make money, and what was my margin? It sounds simple, but my renovations stretch over months, sometimes years, squeezed into the gaps of a busy life, and the answer is surprisingly hard to piece together.
I started with Excel spreadsheets, listing every purchase. Then came notepads, and various bits of software on the internet to help me plan projects and work out what to do next. Nothing brought it together. The numbers were scattered across too many places, and a renovation is stressful enough without chasing your own figures.
With my background in digital design and software, I knew I could build something that brought all of this together. I began with purchases, just as I had been doing in my spreadsheets, because that's where the money actually goes. From there, it gradually grew into a way to organise projects, sketch out estimates and keep track of what I needed to buy.
Reno Tracker came from wanting to make my own renovations easier to manage. I wanted one place where everything made sense, where I could see what I'd spent, what I still needed to do and where things were heading. Something that took the effort out of keeping track, so I could spend more time on the renovation itself.
I hope it saves you the same time it saves me.
Neil BradleyNew Zealand