Ghanesh RSKaasu: a spending diary you talk to
Kaasu (காசு) means money in Tamil. Say "700 for groceries on Zepto", "ezhunooru auto, cash", or share a bank SMS. Kaasu files it and tells you where your money went. I designed and built it end to end with Claude, and I use it every day.
Use it right here.
This is the real app, running in a phone frame. Tap the mic and say a spend, tap Type, or press Load a sample week to see the summaries.
Your entries stay in your browser. Voice needs Chrome or Safari and mic permission.
One thumb, three tabs, one mic.
Tracking fails at the moment of spending.
Every expense app I tried died the same way: I paid ₹60 for chai in cash, meant to log it later, and never did.
Apps either read your inbox or make you fill forms.
I compared the trackers people in India use today. Digital payments are well covered. Cash, still an estimated 50 to 60% of household spending (RBI, Oct 2024), is not.
| App | How you log | Good at | Falls short |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axio (was Walnut) | Reads bank SMS | Automatic for UPI and cards | Needs SMS access. Misses cash. |
| Money View | Reads bank SMS | Budgets, bill reminders | SMS access can expose OTPs |
| Money Manager | Manual forms | Fine control | 30 to 60 s per entry |
| Jupiter, Fi | Linked bank | Auto categories | Must link or move your bank |
| Finny | Voice, text, receipts | Fast capture | iOS only. AI is paid. |
| Kaasu | Voice + shared SMS | Cash in one sentence, no account | No auto-capture yet |
Sources: RBI Monthly Bulletin via Data For India, Finny and Calcwise app reviews (2026), store listings.
Talk like you'd tell a friend.
Every other app
Kaasu
- Save first, fix later. Instant save with Undo and Edit, no confirm screen.
- Private by default. No account, no bank linking. Data stays on the phone.
Thirteen versions in eleven days. Each came from using it.
Prove one sentence works
Mic, typed text and pasted SMS into one on-phone parser. Plain-word summaries. No account.
Fix typing and safety
Tappable tags for category, mode, place and date. A confirmation before any delete. Saves stay instant.
Build the daily habit
Opens on Today. Repeat a recent spend in one tap. Onboarding, budgets, an evening cash nudge, Tamil and Hindi number words.
Name it and share it
A name that means money. Opens in a phone frame on laptops. Feedback goes straight to WhatsApp.
Deleted, not gone
Delete is instant with Undo. A Recently deleted list keeps entries for 30 days. Usage counts testers can choose to send.
Fixes from real use
Testing with my dad, the mic cut him off mid-sentence, so it now keeps listening until you tap Done. When I said "ezhunooru" in Tamil, it failed, so Tamil and Hindi script and spelling variants now parse. Language chips and an Edit text button before saving.
Tamil tens
Irupathu to thonnooru, spelled the way speech engines hear them. "Irunooru ambathu" now reads as ₹250.
Start over, keep talking
A Clear button wipes what it heard without closing the mic.
Edit what you said
The live transcript sits in one box. Tap it to pause and fix a word. Tap the mic to talk again.
See it before you save
The form fills in as you talk or type, and you can fix any field. Voice starts in English for mixed Tamil and Hindi phrases. Language chips moved into the Menu.
Speak your language
English, தமிழ் and हिंदी chips sit right by the mic. Tamil and Hindi script, and mishearings like “i nooru” and “do so”, now parse. 20 parser tests pass.
Say a list
Recall a whole day in one go: “100 Zepto UPI, 200 Uber cash yesterday”. One card per spend, Save all. Google Pay, Paytm and app names now read in Tamil and Hindi script.
Any day, past or next
A pause now starts a new spend. ‹ › to see older days, weeks and months. “Day before” and “tomorrow” work. The text box grows so you can fix everything. 42 parser tests pass.
“Show me tags that I can click and add to the text box, and ask me for confirmation before I delete anything.” My own note after using version 1.
Built with AI. Decided by me.
Built for how India talks about money.
No AI service and no network call. A small rule-based parser runs on the phone, so it's instant and private. Pick English, தமிழ் or हिंदी right by the mic.
1.2 lakh salary→
ezhunooru auto, cash→
do sau ka chai→
Swiggy 480 yesterday→
Rs.649 debited … VPA blinkit.payu@hdfcbank→
Tested on spoken phrases and real-format HDFC and UPI messages. Ignores account and card numbers.
Small choices that make it fast.
A mic in the thumb zone
A dock at the bottom: Type, a big mic, and Paste SMS.
Undo, not "Are you sure?"
Saves instantly with Undo or Edit. Only delete asks first.
Insights in plain words
"2 app orders came to ₹1,180." Monthly budgets warn at 80%. An evening nudge if no cash was logged.
Real people, real spends, seven days.
- Time to log cash: stopwatch, tap to saved. Goal: median under 3 seconds.
- Parser accuracy: share of entries saved without an edit. Goal: 85%.
- Habit: testers still logging on day 7. Goal: 6 in 10.
- Ease: SUS survey. Goal: 70 or more.
Want to be a tester? Message me on WhatsApp. Results go here when the test ends, good or bad.
Honest about what's missing.
Can't do yet
- 🌐Voice needs internet and Chrome or Safari.
- 📵No sync. One phone, one browser. Export a CSV.
- ✋No auto-capture. You share each SMS.
Next
- ⚡Auto-capture UPI and card payments from notifications.
- 🔒Quick Settings tile to log cash from the lock screen.
- 🗣️Full Tamil and Hindi sentences, and push reminders.
- ▶️Play Store release.