Local Web-Based Program Guarantees Cash Flow

Santa Barbara-based personal money management website GreenSherpa is taking a stand against other overly complex financial programs, helping its customers organize their bank accounts and ensure sound spending in these challenging economic times.

Co-founder Erin Lozano started GreenSherpa in early 2007 before the economic collapse of 2008. Lozano’s hope was to help customers make the connection between what they earn and what they spend.

“The core philosophy of GreenSherpa is to stay on track financially,” Lozano said. “To overindulge is a natural characteristic for today. What we say is that you don’t need to overindulge. You can have a choice.”

GreenSherpa is different from other financial systems, Lozano said, because it does not solely focus on budgeting, like its competitor Quicken from Microsoft Money. Instead, GreenSherpa focuses more on aggregating the cash flow to and from a client’s accounts; this means that at the end of the day, users can see how much cash they have to pay the bills.

A key feature of GreenSherpa is its ability to access all of a user’s accounts simultaneously, Lozano said.

“It is financial information that is on the go,” Lozano said. “The average American engages with at least six financial institutions. GreenSherpa accesses it all at once. You can even access your financial information when you are even shopping on your iPhone at the store.”

GreenSherpa’s title also stands for reasonable economic spending, Lozano said.

“We carefully chose our name,” Lozano said. “Green means growth and dynamic, and Sherpa means money guide.”

The program is geared toward what Lozano describes as “soccer moms,” or stay- at-home moms between ages 30 and 55; she also said that some husbands have even signed up at the behest of their wives.