A small Birmingham team building a spending tracker for students
Zuzefu makes a mobile application that helps students record what they spend and see where their money goes each week. We started in 2017, and today nine people work on it from our office at 13 Wake Green Road, Birmingham B32 0FZ.
This page explains how the company began, what we are trying to do, and how we work day to day.
How it started
The idea came from a simple observation. Several of us had been students in the West Midlands not long before, and almost all of us had run out of money in the last week of a term without knowing why. Bank apps showed a list of transactions, but they did not tell us what a normal week looked like, or how much of a maintenance loan instalment was already committed to rent.
In 2017 we built a first version for ourselves and a few friends. It did very little: you entered an amount, picked a category such as food, travel or course materials, and saw a weekly total. People kept using it, and asked for small additions, so we kept going.
Since then we have worked with 648 students in total, which is roughly 72 a year, and we have completed 1052 jobs for them, from setting up budgets to fixing sync problems. Of those students, 177 came back for a second piece of work, usually after a change in their circumstances such as moving house or starting a placement year.
Mission and vision
Our mission is narrow on purpose: help a student know, at any moment, how much of their money is left for the rest of the week or term. We do not try to sell loans, cards or investment products, and the app does not rank you against other users.
Our vision is a tracker that a student can learn in one sitting and still find useful in the final year of a degree. That means keeping the screens few, the wording plain, and the data easy to export if someone wants to leave.
- Founded in 2017, so 9 years of running the product.
- 9 people on the team, across development, support and design.
- 8 services, from budget setup to data export help.
- Requests are usually answered within 1 hour on working days.
Core values
These are the rules we check our decisions against. They are short because we want people on the team to be able to recall them without a document.
Say what it costs
Prices and limits are written down before anyone commits. No surprise charges after sign-up.
Keep data minimal
We ask for what the app needs to work and nothing else, and we explain why in the settings screen.
Reply properly
A real person answers each request, and we aim to respond within 1 hour between 09:30 and 19:00 on weekdays.
Stay realistic
A tracker shows you the numbers. It does not promise savings, and we avoid claiming that it will.
Experience and how we work
Most of our work follows the same order. First we ask how a student receives money: a loan instalment, part-time wages, family support, or a mix. Then we set up categories that match their real weeks rather than a generic template. After that we agree a review point, normally four weeks in, to see which categories were useful and which can be removed.
Over nine years we have learned that the hardest part is not the arithmetic. It is the habit of logging small purchases. So we spend more time on quick entry, reminders that can be switched off, and clear weekly summaries than on charts.
We serve students in three areas around Birmingham and offer remote help to others. Support is open Monday to Friday, 09:30 to 19:00, and closed at weekends.
Alongside the app itself, we help with practical matters that tend to come up: splitting shared household bills, planning for a gap between loan instalments, and keeping receipts for course costs. Details of each are listed on our services page.
Some questions come up often enough that we have collected them in one place on the FAQ page.
People you may deal with
Three members of the nine-person team, and what each one does.
Daniel
Product leadDecides what goes into each release and keeps the app from growing more screens than it needs.
Priya
Student supportAnswers incoming requests, helps with budget setup and follows up after the four-week review.
Tom
Mobile developerBuilds and tests the app on common phones and fixes sync and export problems when they appear.
Questions people ask about us
Who is the app meant for?
University and college students who want a plain record of their spending. It works for people on a maintenance loan, on wages, or on a mix of both.
Where are you based?
Our office is at 13 Wake Green Road, Birmingham B32 0FZ. We are open Monday to Friday, 09:30 to 19:00, and closed on Saturday and Sunday.
How quickly will someone reply to my request?
Typically within 1 hour during opening times. Requests sent outside those hours are answered at the start of the next working day.
Do you guarantee that I will save money?
No. The app shows you your own numbers more clearly. What you do with them is up to you, and we do not promise any particular outcome.
Can I take my data with me?
Yes. You can export your records at any time, and we can walk you through it if the process is not clear.
Talk to us about your budget
Send a short message describing how you are paid and what you spend on most. We will reply within 1 hour on working days with a clear next step.
Contact Zuzefu