DueDock User Guide

Your personal financial planning companion that helps you track bills and income

What is DueDock?

DueDock is a simple app that helps you see exactly which bills are due and when they're due. It shows you your upcoming bills and income so you can plan ahead and avoid missing payments.

The main goal: Help you organize your bills and income in one place.

Core Concepts

📅 Forward-Looking Planning

DueDock focuses on what's coming next. It shows you:

• When your next paycheck arrives
• Which bills are due before then
• How much those bills total

🎯 The Coverage Check

This is DueDock's main feature. The Coverage Check shows you:

• Total amount of bills due before your next income
• Your next income amount and when you'll receive it

The Coverage Check displays two key numbers:

1. Total bills due: $X
2. Next income: $Y on [date]

💡 Planning Period

Use the Coverage Check to plan ahead:

• See which bills fall within your current pay period
• If you have multiple income sources, use the plus/minus buttons to switch between pay periods

Main Features

📊 Dashboard View

Your main screen shows:

Coverage Check

• "Total due before income": Shows the sum of all bills due
• "Based on your next scheduled income of $X on [date]"
• Plus/minus buttons to change the time period

Bills Section

• All bills due in your selected period
• Organized by account nickname (e.g. "Chequing", "Visa", "Line of Credit")
• Shows which need attention

Income Information

• Shown in the Coverage Check caption
• Tap the income amount to see all income sources
• Shows when you'll get paid

Info Buttons

• Blue info icons appear next to section headers
• Tap them for quick tips about each feature
• Toggle them on or off in Settings

🔍 Bill Management

Manage bills directly from the dashboard using swipe gestures:

Swipe Right on a bill:

• Dock Full (Red): Pay the full remaining amount
• Custom (Orange): Pay a custom amount

Swipe Right on a variable bill (no amount set yet):

• Update Amount (Orange): Enter the actual bill amount
• Custom (Orange): Pay a custom amount

Swipe Left on a bill:

• Edit (Blue): Update bill details
• Delete (Red): Remove the bill

Bill Status:

• Overdue bills are highlighted in Red with visual indicators (sidebar, badge, pulsing amount)
• Regular bills show in standard text color

Long-Press Context Menu:

• Change account assignment
• Duplicate a bill
• Quick access to edit and delete

� Bill Scanner (Premium)

Quickly add bills using your camera:

• Point your camera at a bill or statement
• DueDock automatically extracts the company name, amount, and due date
• Review and confirm the detected information
• Premium feature - requires upgrade

📅 Calendar View

See your bills on a calendar:

• Visual overview of when bills are due
• Tap any date to see bills due that day
• Installment payments shown alongside regular bills
• Access from the calendar button on the dashboard

🗓️💳 Installment Payments

For big bills you can't pay all at once:

• Divide and Conquer: Set up automatic partial payments that align with your income frequency.
• Interactive Dual-View Progress Bar: The dashboard features a premium progress bar that tracks your installments in real-time.
  • Single Installment View (Default): Focuses on the current payment period, showing exactly what you've paid towards today's target (e.g., "$50 of $100").
  • Full Plan View: Tap the progress bar to switch to a bird's-eye view of your entire multi-payment plan, complete with numbered step markers.
• Clean Labeling: We've removed redundant terminology like "remaining" and "installment" to keep your dashboard focused on the raw numbers and your progress.
• Surplus Motivation: When you choose to pay more than your target, DueDock acknowledges your accelerated progress with a ✨ Surplus Badge on your dashboard.
• Include in Coverage: Installments are intelligently included in your Coverage Check, ensuring you have the money set aside before your next payday.

🎯 Savings Goals (Premium)

Set targets and track progress:

• Vacation fund, emergency fund, etc.
• Visual progress bar shows how close you are
• Contribute directly from the dashboard
• Long-press for quick actions: contribute, duplicate, reset, or delete
• Premium feature - requires upgrade

🏷️ Bill Tagging (Premium)

Organize bills with custom tags:

• Create tags like "Urgent", "Quarterly", "Business"
• Filter dashboard by tags to focus on specific bills
• Color-coded tags for visual organization
• Premium feature - requires upgrade

📸 Proof of Payment

Keep records of your payments:

• Attach photos of receipts or confirmation screens
• Store confirmation numbers for digital payments
• Access proof history for reference or disputes
• Integrated with payment flow for automatic capture

🔒 Privacy Lock (Premium)

Protect your sensitive financial information:

• Secures access to payment history and proof records
• Requires Face ID or Touch ID to view past payments
• Keeps financial history private while allowing app access
• Protects sensitive data if someone borrows your phone
• Premium feature - requires upgrade

↩️ Undo & Redo

Made a mistake? No problem:

• Undo payments, account changes, and deletions
• Redo to reapply an undone action
• Available on the dashboard
• Works with bills, savings goals, and account assignments

💾 Backup & Restore

Never lose your financial data:

• Export complete backup to a single file
• Includes bills, payments, logos, tags, and settings
• Restore seamlessly when switching devices
• Manual backup and automatic autosave options
• Autosave Manager lets you browse, restore, or clean up autosave files

🎨 Biller Logos

Visual identification for your bills:

• Add a website URL to your bill, then tap the globe icon and "Fetch Logo" to download the company logo
• Makes bills easy to recognize at a glance
• Included in backup/restore files

🏦 Account Nicknames

Organize bills by giving each payment source a nickname:

• Create nicknames like "Chequing", "Visa", or "Joint Account"
• Create new nicknames directly from the bill form
• See the total of bills due per account on the dashboard
• Assign and reassign bills to accounts easily

Note: DueDock never connects to your bank. Account nicknames are simply labels you create to organize your bills. When you "dock" a bill, you're recording that the payment has already been made through your bank, online banking, cheque, etc.

🌟 Premium Features

DueDock offers a free tier with essential features, plus premium upgrades for advanced functionality:

📊 Free Tier (Always Free)

• 15 bills maximum
• 2 account nicknames maximum
• 2 savings goals maximum
• Core Coverage Check and planning
• Basic bill management and swipe gestures
• Calendar view
• Undo/Redo

💎 Premium Upgrade

Unlock everything:

• Unlimited bills, account nicknames, and savings goals
• Savings Goals - track multiple targets
• Bill Tagging - organize and filter bills
• Bill Scanner - add bills with your camera
• Payment History - complete record with proof
• Installments - split large payments
• Privacy Lock - protect financial history
• Advanced Backup - complete data protection

🚀 How to Upgrade

• Tap any premium feature lock icon
• Access through Settings → Upgrade
• Subscription options with 7-day free trial

How It Works

1. Setup (One Time)

Add your information:

• Your income sources and pay dates
• All your regular bills with amounts and due dates
• Account nicknames for where you pay from (e.g. "Chequing", "Visa")

2. First Launch Experience

DueDock guides you through getting started:

• A short onboarding walkthrough introduces the app
• Contextual tips appear as you explore each feature for the first time
• Tips cover the Coverage Check, Calendar, Settings, and Manage views
• Each tip appears only once per feature

3. Daily Use

Check the Dashboard

• See what's coming up
• Check your Coverage Check totals
• Dock any bills that are due

Use Bill Management

• Swipe to dock bills quickly
• Long-press for more options
• See which bills need attention first

4. Planning Ahead

Use the Coverage Check

• Look at this pay period's bills
• If you have multiple income sources, use the plus button to see future periods
• Plan for big expenses

Smart Features

🤖 Automatic Calculations

DueDock does all the math for you:

• Figures out which bills are due when
• Calculates totals automatically
• Updates as you dock bills

📱 Same-Day Conflicts

Sometimes bills are due on the same day as your income. DueDock shows these as conflicts because pre-authorized payments often require funds to be in your account the day before the payment is actually withdrawn.

This creates uncertainty: if you pay a bill on the same day you receive income, the payment might not clear in time for the withdrawal.

DueDock shows these as conflicts and lets you decide which to include in totals. Use a toggle to include pre-authorized payments when you're confident the timing will work.

🔄 Variable Bills

Some bills change each month (like credit cards):

• Mark bills as "variable"
• Enter actual amount when you get the bill
• DueDock uses the real amount for calculations

💰 Payment History

Track all your payments:

• Records when you paid each bill
• Shows payment progress
• Stores proof of payment if needed

🧪 Demo Mode (Free Version Only)

Try DueDock with sample data:

• Access by tapping the "DueDock" title on the dashboard, then select "Demo Mode"
• Loads realistic sample bills, incomes, accounts, and goals
• Explore all features without entering your own data
• Warning: Entering Demo Mode will replace your existing data with sample data
• Exit Demo Mode to start fresh with an empty app (your original data will be permanently deleted)

Getting Started

Week 1: Setup

1. Add all your income sources
2. Enter every bill you pay (or scan them with the Bill Scanner)
3. Set up your account nicknames
4. Check your first Coverage Check

Week 2: Build Habits

1. Check the dashboard daily
2. Pay bills using swipe gestures
3. Watch your Coverage Check totals
4. Explore the Calendar view

Week 3: Plan Ahead

1. Use the plus button to see future periods
2. Plan for upcoming expenses
3. Set up savings goals

Ongoing: Stay on Track

1. Check Coverage Check before big purchases
2. Update variable bills when you get them
3. Keep your payment records up to date

⚙️ Settings & Configuration

Access Settings to customize DueDock:

🔐 Security

• Privacy Lock: Protect payment history with authentication (Premium)
• Biometric Options: Face ID or Touch ID support

🎨 Appearance

• Theme: Light, Dark, or System settings

🔔 Notifications

• Payment Reminders: Get alerts before bills are due (applies to all bills)
• Timing: Choose when to receive notifications (global setting for all bills)

ℹ️ Info Buttons

• Show Info Buttons: Toggle the blue info icons on or off
• Useful for new users learning the app

📊 Data Management

• Backup: Create manual backups
• Autosave: Automatic backups happen in the background
• Autosave Manager: Browse, restore, or delete autosave files
• Restore: Import data from backup files

📄 Legal

• Privacy Policy: How your data is protected
• Terms of Use: App usage terms and conditions

In-App Help

📖 Help Centre

Access the Help Centre from the dashboard for detailed guidance:

• Use Cases: Real-world scenarios showing how different people use DueDock (freelancers, families, students, and more)
• FAQs: Answers to common questions about features and functionality
• Tutorial: Step-by-step guide covering core concepts, adding data, and using tools

💡 Contextual Tips

Tips appear automatically as you use the app:

• One-time tips guide you through key features
• Info buttons provide persistent access to feature explanations
• Tips cover the Coverage Check, Calendar, Settings, and more

Tips for Success

🎯 Use the Coverage Check

The Coverage Check helps you see the big picture. Use it to plan ahead for expenses.

📊 Check Multiple Periods

Use the plus button to look ahead at future pay periods for better planning.

💡 Use Installments Wisely

Installments are great for big bills, but remember they're still commitments.

🔄 Keep It Updated

The more accurate your information, the more helpful DueDock will be.

Common Questions

Q: How is DueDock different from other budget apps?

A: DueDock focuses on upcoming bills and income rather than tracking past spending. It's designed to help you plan ahead.

Q: What if I have irregular income?

A: DueDock handles different pay frequencies (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, and more). Just enter when you expect to get paid.

Q: Is my financial information secure?

A: Yes! DueDock stores everything on your device only. No cloud storage, no data sharing, complete privacy.

Q: Can I use DueDock for business expenses?

A: DueDock is designed for personal finances, but many users track small business expenses alongside personal ones.

Q: What if I miss a bill?

A: DueDock will show it in red as overdue with prominent visual indicators. You can still mark it as paid and the app will update your calculations.

Q: How do I try the app before entering my data?

A: Use Demo Mode from the About section on the dashboard. It loads sample data so you can explore all features risk-free.

Getting Help

If you have questions or need help:

• Check the Help Centre in the app (accessible from the dashboard)
• Browse Use Cases to see how others use DueDock
• Read the Tutorial for step-by-step guidance
• Tap info buttons next to section headers for quick tips
• Visit the User Guide online at mashfield.github.io

The DueDock Philosophy

Financial organization shouldn't be complicated.

DueDock believes that:

• Seeing your bills and income together helps you make better decisions
• Planning ahead reduces financial stress
• Simple tools work better than complex ones
• Your financial data should be private and secure

The app is designed to be:

• Simple: No confusing features you'll never use
• Visual: See your financial picture at a glance
• Actionable: Clear information, no guesswork
• Private: Your data stays on your device

Welcome to DueDock! Here's to organizing your finances and planning with confidence.

Last Updated: February 2026