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We are providing an app which manages your finances — like a housekeeping book. Our space is limited; therefore, we want to use the slogan "Housekeeping App". Would an English speaker know what is meant by that?

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I would be wondering how an App would sweep, wipe counters, etc. – Ben Hocking May 16 '11 at 14:52
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I agree with Ben. "Housekeeping" to me implies sweeping, washing dishes, doing laundry. "Housekeeping book" is not familiar to me either. If you mean household finances, a checkbook register or a ledger book might be more suitable starting points. – KitFox♦ May 16 '11 at 15:25
Hm, housekeeping is a term frequently used in computing, but not generally targeted towards the user - more of a means to label your internal maintenance mechanisms. I can't think of a developer that would think literally of household tasks when this crops up... actually, scratch that, I can. – Mr. Disappointment May 16 '11 at 15:50
@Mr. Disappointment: that's at least 2, three if you're included. :-) – KitFox♦ May 16 '11 at 16:04
Book-keeping is the term I would use. – Matthew Read May 16 '11 at 16:08

3 Answers

up vote 6 down vote

To expand on my comment, housekeeping to me has the wrong connotation. Perhaps the word you're looking for is bookkeeping? (Although that arguably has some negative connotations with regards to gambling, I reckon.)

Edit to add: Another "word" that might work for you is HouseBook. I've never heard the term before, but it might allow you to allude to the specific nature of this App, while also including a nod to bookkeeping. As Steve mentions, in the product description you should refer to personal finance.

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Thank you, Is housekeeping book at least correct? – Phil Peter May 16 '11 at 15:00
I have not heard that term used either, but it might be an American/British (or some other nationality) thing. I live in the US. – Ben Hocking May 16 '11 at 15:17
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@Phil: No; as others have commented, housekeeping doesn't relate to finance. – Steve Melnikoff May 16 '11 at 15:37
+1, book-keeping is what I would use. – Matthew Read May 16 '11 at 16:08
+1, I go for book-keeping. Personally I think that the financial connotations of "housekeeping" are there but quite dated: it sounds like a Dickensian kind of thing (in Bleak House Esther Summerson acts as John Jarndyce's housekeeper, but she's not the one doing the all sweeping: she essentially has a managerial role, including keeping the books). – AAT May 16 '11 at 16:14
up vote 5 down vote

If you mean that, just by the slogan "housekeeping app", an English speaker would be likely to think you are talking about an app that manages finances, then the answer is definitely no.

The primary meaning of housekeeping is cleaning and repairing the house. Keeping track of personal finances is not generally considered part of housekeeping at all.

If anything, I would consider the management of finances to be "finance tracking".

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up vote 3 down vote

A general term for software which allows you to manage your own finances would be personal finance software.

There are examples of references to such software on other Stack Exchange sites, for example:

As several others have mentioned, "housekeeping" is not the right word here, as it doesn't convey any association with money.

However, an app called Accountant might convey the right idea.

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