How to Track expenses with Soulver

1 Create some variables

We’ll start by defining a couple of variables. These use the construction [variable] = [number]. This can be as simple as a = 1. For our expenses example, enter two lines: Hotel = $199 and Breakfast = $19.

2 Add a heading

Soulver uses shorthand to format lines in specific ways. To mark up a heading, type an @ symbol at the start of the line. Everything to the right of that will be formatted in bold and not evaluated. On line 4, type @ January.

3 Use your variables

Now we’ll use the variables to add information for a three-night stay. Across the next two lines, type 3\*hotel and

3\*breakfast. Soulver automatically converts \* to a multiplication sign. Also, note that variables aren’t case sensitive.

4 Type out a label

Another way of formatting text in Soulver is to use a label, which sets anything to the left of a colon in bold, and only evaluates anything to the right of it. Use this to add a line totalling costs for taxi journeys.

5 Work with tokens

Notice that Soulver tots up line values in the answers column. You can add these to your ongoing sum as answer tokens, which update dynamically. Type

Jan total: then double-click each of the three answers under January’s heading.

6 Copy, paste, edit

Copy and paste January’s section of the document and change the copy’s heading to February. Under this, alter the number of days of hotel stays and breakfasts – note that the tokens in the line for its total automatically update.

7 Create a grand total

Soulver’s automated total bar (View > Show Statistics) is fine for basic documents, but this one includes subtotals. You need to manually create a grand total using tokens from the two lines for monthly totals, like in step 5.

8 Currency conversion

Soulver’s great for swift currency conversion. On a new line, add the grand total as a token and type in GBP after it. To see how flexible Soulver is, update the Hotel variable’s value to $249 and watch that affect calculations throughout.

9 Export your calculation

Saved Soulver documents remain editable, but to send your output to someone who doesn’t have the app, go to File > Export. Choose which elements to include in your PDF, HTML document or email, click Next, and then save/send.