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Note to readers: Manilla is no longer in business.
If your New Year’s resolution for 2013 was to keep better track of your finances or you’re looking for a way to be better organized this tax season, you should check out Manilla. Manilla is a free service to help you avoid late fees and monitor your finances, bills, rewards programs, daily deals and subscriptions from your computer, smartphone or tablet.
What Is Manilla
Manilla is a free service that helps you manage your bills, finances, rewards programs, subscription services and bills. You link your accounts to Manilla to manage them from one site. You can monitor activity, get reminders, organize your statements and sign into your accounts with Manilla.
You can link accounts such as your mobile phone bill, utilities, cable TV, bank, 401(k), frequent flyer, daily deals and other accounts. Manilla supports over 3500 businesses so you can connect your accounts easily.
With Manilla you don’t have to worry about remembering lots of passwords to different accounts. As long as you remember your Manilla password, you can access your linked accounts through Manilla.
Manilla stores your monthly bills with unlimited storage so come tax time, you can have easy access to your bills from one spot.
Here’s a video from Manilla showing how the service works:
According to a study conducted by Manilla last month, 65% of its users found that visiting their financial websites through Manilla was easier then visiting the sites individually. Manilla also said that 65% of its users said that they argued with their spouses over finances (no word on whether it was the same 65% as those who found Manilla convenient) and 81% of respondents said that financial organization services such as Manilla can help minimize money arguments.
Advantages of Using Manilla
Organize Your Finances
Manilla lets you access all of your finances, subscriptions, bills, loyalty rewards and other services from one site. When you sign up with Manilla you link your accounts to Manilla so you have a single log in to access all of your accounts.
You can manage your frequent traveler rewards, renew expiring subscriptions, bills, Netflix account and other information wherever you’re connected to the Internet.
Unlimited Storage
Manilla stores your bills so you can have records of your transactions and access them when you’re at the office, at home or traveling. You don’t have to worry about shredding your bills or trying to find them later when you need them.
When it’s time to gather information to prepare your tax return, you can access your bills and other financial information through Manilla.
Avoid Late Fees
Manilla can send you reminders ahead of due dates for bills, expiration dates for Groupon and LivingSocial, and renewal dates for magazines and other subscription services. You can be reminded through email, text message and/or a mobile app notification.
Access Your Information from Anywhere
If you travel a lot or need to access your information when you’re on the go, Manilla can be very useful. You can log into Manilla from any computer and access your Manilla account from an app on your smartphone or tablet.
Security
Having your financial accounts in one place means that security is of utmost importance. According to Manilla, “To ensure that your account is always secure, Manilla uses multiple levels of physical security including biometric validation as well as AES 256-bit encryption. Our policies and security posture are monitored and verified by TRUSTe, Norton Secured, McAfee and other security agencies.” In other words, Manilla takes security very seriously and verifies its security with third party firms.
Manilla is password protected. When you log into your account for the first time from a device, you will be asked a security question to confirm your identity.
Apps
Manilla also helps you manage your accounts on the go. If you’re a frequent traveler or appreciate the convenience of accessing your accounts when you’re away from your computer, you’ll want to get the Manilla mobile app. The app is free for:
- iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch at the iTunes App Store
- Android Devices at Google Play
- Kindle Fire and Android Devices at the Amazon Appstore
The app can also notify you ahead of time when a bill is due or a subscription needs to be renewed.
What Else You Should Know
Paperless Bills
When you sign up for Manilla and link your accounts, you agree to switch to paperless billing with their billing partners: AT&T, Citibank, Comcast and DIRECTV. Manilla is free because its partners pay for the service. Companies want you to get rid of paper bills because it costs them 75¢ per bill to mail you a paper copy, according to Manilla. By signing up with Manilla you are agreeing to switch to paperless bills with partner accounts that you link.
If don’t have accounts with these companies, you’re already paperless with these companies or you want to go paperless to help save the Earth’s forests, then this may not be a factor. But if you want to continue getting paper bills from these companies, then you probably shouldn’t link these accounts to Manilla.
Availability
Manilla is available for US billers only.
Signing Up for Manilla
To sign up for Manilla go to manilla.com and start linking your accounts. The site starts by asking for your mobile phone account, then you can go on to link other accounts. You can search for businesses by name, alphabetically or by category.
The video posted above says that signing up takes 90 seconds. That is true if you remember your passwords to your accounts. If not, you’ll have to figure out your passwords, which could take some time. The good news is that once you link your accounts to Manilla, you may not need those account passwords again, at least not for a while.
Bottom Line
To stay organized, avoid late fees, have access to your account information on the go, and perhaps avoid arguments with your spouse, check out Manilla.
Do you hate paying late fees? Have you ever had a Groupon deal expire because you forgot to use it? Have you ever had to hunt for an old bill? As you’re preparing your taxes, do you wish you had a place to organize your bills? Would you find Manilla’s services helpful? Let us know in the Comments section below!
Hi Carolyn,
There is a service similar to this in the UK. I think the company as been in trouble for a while though and so I wouldn’t trust the service. I don’t even trust my banks. I tried to check my statement with one of them on-line and everything has changed, I kept getting errors messages. I’ve gone back to paper statements every 3 months. It’s much better. It doesn’t stop money going out of my accounts though! I just got my water bill for the year. I’m not complaining too much, at least I can pay it easily. The one business that has growth in the UK is pay-day loans. There are a lot of people struggling. I’m just having a terrible day on the stock market. Politicians just don’t know when to shut up! I’ve lost nearly 6% this morning because of outspoken politicians! Never mind, Spring is less than 3 weeks away! 🙂
Hi Mike, Yes, some people don’t trust their finances online. I’ve been banking online for over a decade and can’t imagine going back to writing checks and paying bills in the mail. This service helps you keep track of your accounts and helps you be better organized. I was excited to find out about Manilla and even more excited when I found out it was free to use.
I hope you have a marvelous weekend, Mike, and that next week is kinder to you in the stock market! 🙂
Sounds wonderful Carolyn!
Manilla seems just the answer for many of us who spend so much of our time paying the bills and clearing all kind of dues. It’s a great way to stay organized, more so now you don’t have to worry about the late fees too. Additionally, you have access to your account information, and yes, most importantly – avoid arguments with your spouse!
We do have such free services in our country too, but they don’t do all of these things, though am sure they would soon be coming up with something soon. Or perhaps there are and I don’t know of them.
Thanks for sharing this one with us. Happy weekend too. 🙂
Hi Harleena, I’m glad you have similar services in your country, Harleena. I was very impressed with Manilla when I discovered it. I don’t know that it can solve all marital woes, but if it stops a few arguments, well then that’s pretty good!
Have a lovely weekend, Harleena!
Sounds really enticing Carolyn!
Manilla seems to be a one stop solution to all the intricacies related to paying the bills and clearing dues on time. Great solution to simplify the financial stuff related to day to day routine.
Thanks for this great share
Hi Rashmi, Yes, Manilla is a great solution for keeping your accounts organized. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts with us.
But will it put money in my account?
Sounds interesting; maybe I better check it out. However, I don’t handle our finances, I have a CFO (wife) that does all that. All I have to do is make sure there is a deposit in the account once a month…:).
I’ll look at it and see if it’s something she would be interested in; thanks for sharing.
Hi Bill, Yes, Manilla will put money in your account, if you count avoiding late fees as money in your pocket! 😉
Even if you don’t handle your finances, you can still use Manilla to keep track of expenses, past bills, rewards programs, and other accounts.
Thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts, Bill!
Hey Carolyn,
I think this app is useful only for American users as it won’t support users from other countries. Am I right?
Hi Aasma, Yes, you’re right, this service only works with billers in the US.
Manilla is good app to manage all bill, subscriptions in a easy way. In our busy life we generally need such a tool which remind us in timely manner about subscriptions, bills, tax, finance tasks.
Hi Narenda, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Yes, Manilla will definitely help us manage our accounts and save us precious time doing so.
I’m going to have to send this to my sister Carolyn’s because she pays everything online where I don’t. Yeah, I know… Still so old school but I had some issues with that some time back so I found it to be so much more of a headache.
I’m never late and I never forget to pay a bill. Yep, Miss organized over there but I know so many people who could really use this service.
Thanks again Carolyn for sharing this cool service with us.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, That’s great that you’re so organized. Manilla helps even those who are organized already by giving them access to their accounts from one place.
Thanks so much for sharing this article with your sister, Adrienne. I hope she finds it helpful! 🙂
Carolyn,
Looks like a great service. However I never used such kind services but it looks like it leaves less burden on you by handling so much for you. 🙂 thanks for sharing!
Hi Atish, Yes, Manilla is a great way of keeping your accounts organized and accessing them all from one place. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Atish. 🙂
Carolyn,
Good question! I don’t know if I would use a service like this or not. I can see how handy and convenient it “might/could” be. I also can see a potential risk at having everything together, especially with all the recent cyber attacks on corporations (just my opinion though) I realize that they take extreme measures to keep safety priority one but it still something I certainly would consider before changing everything.
Aaron Brinker aka DadBlunders
Hi Aaron, So far, bank level security hasn’t been breached. If it were, online banking would be over. Some people don’t trust online banking, but many people do. I can understand your concern about having access all in one place, some people are more cautious than others when it comes to their online finances.
Thanks for offering your thoughts on Manilla, Aaron!
No love for Canada, tsk tsk tsk.
I always feel so left out when I read your posts Carolyn! I get all excited about the solution/technology, and then half way through the article, I have to come to terms with the fact that it’s not yet available in canada!
Unrelated – just came home from a conference and was introduced to a tool called Hailo. Maybe you’ve covered it already, I was blown away! It’s essentially a taxi cab app – but the user experience is really amazing! So simple and streamlined.
Hi Ruth, Yes, I feel your pain. When I lived in the UK, I was constantly frustrated by the tech that hadn’t made it outside the US. Unfortunately, Manilla is US only. I wish all tech were international, but often tech begins in the US before it expands to other countries. I report on US only tech sometimes to give people outside the US a glimpse of tech that is coming down the road.
I don’t know whether Manilla will ever expand beyond the US borders, but even if they don’t, I imagine some enterprising Canadian will develop a similar service for Canada.
Hailo hasn’t come to Philadelphia yet, but I reviewed a similar service called Uber: https://wonderoftech.com/uber-car-service/
Manilla sounds really great, and I must say the storage is too good, I mean managing 3500 businesses is not easy. And not to forget the portability benefit because of which it is that much a useful thing. Thanks for sharing Carolyn.
Hi Peter, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! Yes, it’s impressive that Manilla offers unlimited storage of past bills. That could really help clear out office space and eliminate the waste of shredding paper bills.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Peter!
I for one can use an app to stay organized, avoid late fees, have access to your account information on the go. Manilla looks interesting but I believe they could have gone for a better name. Don’t you think? 🙂
Hi TechChunks, Yes, it’s great to have all of those features in one free service.
Manilla is a reference to Manilla folders, and is a good way of picturing the services they offer, IMHO. What name would you suggest for them? Who knows, they might appreciate your suggestion! 🙂