Personal finance app for people with disabilities - take the pain out of working out sums on tax, benefits, income and working time

If you have a disability keeping a record of incomings and outgoings can be hell. The tax/benefit system is very complicated and, if you add in all the uncertainties of a variable income, the sums are a nightmare.

As the sums are so difficult it is hard to know if working is worthwhile. There are many other factors which deter people from entering the labour market but this is one such factor.

Andy Bell (@namgalsipsclar) has very kindly pointed out to me the existence of Benefits Adviser, a web-based application on the UK government’s Directgov website but I would want an app with more capabilities. If you have a long-term disability then you have to make repeat calculations throughout your working life.

I tried this idea out for size last month when I went to a recent event in Cambridge. The title for theme of the gathering was Internet-Informed Patient. The occasion attracted participants from the word of health and information technology.

This occasion was a great place to meet people but it left me wanting more. I do not have the necessary technical skills to develop this concept but I do reckon that it could be of use to any individual with a disability who has a need to do tax/benefit/time billing calculations.

I would want a mobile app so I could store data on the go but I would want to be able to link it up to a web-based account. Ideally I want to store information in a way which gives me a chance to share data with employers, HM Revenue and Customs and the Department of Work and Pensions.

At the Cambridge event I chatted to John Naughton (@jjn1) Observer technology columnist and head of Cambridge University’s Arcardia Programme. He suggested I look at time management/billing software for lawyers and try using these applications as a starting point.

I am also talking to an expert group on disability and software Pesky People. I have also been invited to present this idea at Social Innovation Camp, an event taking place in Edinburgh in June.

Such a venture needs partners. It would need data from various government departments. Disability charities could help distribute such an application through their web sites. They could help a developer assess the actual needs of this very varied range of potential users. We may need more than one app as different disabilities have different accessibility requirements.