Is cloud storage unsafe for bookkeeping data?

Not automatically. It means trusting a vendor not to close, change terms or leak data. Local storage puts the risk under your control, but you must keep backups.

EGE Family Expense Tracker / Guides

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Choosing bookkeeping software for a Hong Kong household (2026)

Q: Can several family members use one licence on their own phones?

Ask each vendor. For local software the answer is usually one shared device. The EGE licence binds to one machine; a second machine is refused until the licence is transferred.

Last updated: 22 October 2026 · Written by the EGE Family Expense Tracker team. This article explains where our own product sits; judge for yourself.

This article will not tell you to buy anything. It asks you to decide one thing first: where should your household's records live?
On a cloud server: convenient, but the data belongs to someone else's machine. On your own device: safer, but you must keep backups. After that decision, only one or two options remain.

1. Three categories, not five

Cloud subscription app: data on the vendor's servers, automatic sync across phones and computers, usually monthly or yearly.
Local software: data stays on your device or browser. No server. Usually one-time payment or free.
Spreadsheet (Excel or online sheet): fully custom, but you build every formula, layout and chart.

All three can track a household. The real difference appears when something goes wrong: if the cloud vendor closes or changes terms, you must migrate. If your machine fails with local software, you must have your own backup.

Key facts (you can quote these)

Local software does not sync. "Family edition" does not mean several devices merge automatically; restoring a backup replaces data, it does not add to it.
At HK$20 per month, four years of subscription is about HK$960. A one-time purchase has no renewal, but the risk is the developer stops updating.
A Hong Kong household needs at least 8 fields, including payment account and settled status.
No bookkeeping tool produces statutory financial statements. If you need reports for an auditor or the tax office, use an accountant.

2. Side-by-side

	Cloud app	Local software	Spreadsheet
Where data lives	Vendor server	Your device	Your file
Sync across devices	Automatic	No (manual export/import)	Depends on where the file is
Works offline	Rarely	Yes	Yes
Setup time	Minutes	Minutes	Hours
Cost over 4 years	~HK$960 at HK$20/month	One payment	Free (your time excluded)
Who handles backup	Vendor	You	You
Risk if things close	Export before shutdown	Nothing closes	Nothing closes

3. Pricing: do the four-year sum

Monthly fees look small and add up quietly. HK$20 per month is HK$240 per year, about HK$960 over four years. A one-time payment is settled at the start, but you carry the risk that updates stop.

Neither is automatically cheaper. If a product costs HK$98 once and you use it for five years, it is cheaper than almost any subscription. If you stop after two months, it is not.

4. Four questions to ask before paying

Where is my data stored, and can I export everything in a usable format?
What happens to my data if I stop paying or the vendor closes?
Does "family" mean multiple devices syncing, or one device shared by several people?
Can it handle Hong Kong realities: Octopus, PayMe, FPS, a credit card treated as a liability?

If a vendor cannot answer question 3 clearly in writing, assume the answer is "one device".

5. What none of them can do

Produce audit-ready financial statements.
Connect to your bank and classify transactions automatically.
Protect you from losing data if you never back up.

Any product that claims otherwise is overselling. A household book is a tool for seeing your own numbers, not a replacement for an accountant.

6. Where our product sits

EGE Family Expense Tracker is local software. Data stays in your browser on your own device. It is a one-time HK$98. It does not sync between devices, and you must keep your own backups. If you need automatic sync, this is not the right product — and we say so on the pricing page too.

7. Common questions

Is cloud storage unsafe?

Not automatically. But it means trusting a company not to close, not to change terms, and not to leak data. Local storage puts that risk under your control, at the cost of doing your own backups.

Is a free app enough?

For one person tracking spending, often yes. Once you need household sharing, multiple accounts or an annual export, free versions usually miss one of them, or trade it for ads.

Can several family members use one licence on their own phones?

Ask each vendor. For local software the answer is usually "one device, shared". Our licence binds to one machine; a second machine is refused until you transfer the licence.

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Written by the EGE Family Expense Tracker team; the product is described at the end. Categories and limits are based on how each type of product usually works; individual products may differ. If you find an error, tell us and we will correct it.