Famjama (beta)

So much of our lives has migrated online and become centralized there. Communication, socialization, finance, entertainment, career... A relatively new type of application seeks to move yet another aspect of life online, to centralize it and make it easier to handle: household management. Of all the family organizer apps I've seen, none gets the job done as well as Famjama (beta) (free), our Editors' Choice in this category. While the service is technically still in beta, and a few more minor features are still in development (Google Calendar syncing, for example), Famjama will remain free after it's officially released, according to its founder.

Famjama puts many of the most important parts of family life into one central space, such as emergency contacts, notes for caretakers, and a shared family calendar, and gives parents excellent tools for acting as the account administrator, without fuss or complication. Famjama's weakness is it misses a few areas of family management that other competitors cover, like the ability to see a profile of each family member, add important information about people such as medical concerns directly to each person's profile (although you can add medical notes more generally in a section designated for caretakers), upload important documents such as proof of insurance certificates, and manage finances.

However, we have yet to see one single app that covers all these bases, meaning Famjama's shortcomings are no different than those of the competition. Of the competing family organizer websites, each one emphasizes something unique, while also missing entirely areas that the others cover. For example, Doxo (free, 3.5 stars) emphasizes bill payment by giving you one login to access all your e-statements from banks, credit card companies, and other service providers. But Doxo doesn't take on people management, so you can't create a profile of each member of your household. AboutOne (beta) (free, 3 stars), on the other hand, has great tools for uploading documents and cataloguing the family's possessions, but no bill pay features. Cozi's (free to $49.99 per year, 2 stars) sweet spot is in lists and calendars, a lackluster niche to have seeing as better digital calendars and list-making apps already exist.

Famjama Features
When you sign up for a Famjama account, one of the first things you'll do is create an entry for each person in your household. These people can include parents, children, caretakers, carpool buddies, pets?you name it. For each person, you can associate an email address and phone number, log a birthday, and assign a color, which is used throughout the app to identify the person. Additionally?and this is where Famjama handles the people side of family management better than other apps?each person has permissions that you can toggle. Is the person considered a caretaker? Should they have the ability to edit information about other family members? Can the person request items be added to a shopping list?

All these permissions settings in Famjama are implemented very well. They're not overly confusing, but they do set much needed limits on each person's access to the family account.

As you explore Famjama, the big features you'll find first are a shared calendar, where you can set appointments and make them visible only to selected family members, shopping lists, to-do lists, and emergency contact information. Buttons on the top of the page denote that you can sync the Famjama calendar with your other calendars in Apple (iCal) and Android devices, with integration planned for Google Calendar and Outlook once the product is finalized and officially released (as mentioned, it's still in beta). .

All these components appear as widgets on the homepage, making them easy to find, explore, and access. And you can add to most of them with one click right from the widget. For complete editing abilities, you'll have to double click to open the component on its own page.

Dig a little more, and you'll uncover some additional features that set Famjama apart. As you design shopping lists, for example, Famjama will suggest applicable coupons if it finds ones that match keywords in your list. It also has a section dedicated to coupons that you can openly explore (I reckon the coupon integration is how Famjama makes its money and remains a free service to end-users). A weather widget in the upper right corner of the screen shows the three-day forecast for your ZIP code by default, although you can customize it if you like. And a "family announcement" sticky note shows up bright and yellow on the homepage if you need to get a message to everyone who logs in.

The sticky note is a neat feature, but say you need to alert your family members to something more urgently. You can "blast" a message to the whole family, or any subset of the family members that you create into a group. Groups are another feature unique to Famjama. While you could group together all your children so you can message them easily, you can also create new groups for clubs, teams, PTA councils, car pooling, and so forth. I set up a group called Children's Book Club, added new members, started a calendar, and sent out a message announcing the next meeting.

Still Waiting for Something Great
Although Famjama is still technically a beta product, it's our Editors' Choice for family organizers because it's more on the right track than other household management apps. It includes several great capabilities and settings that set it apart from other apps in its class. Sure, it could use a few more features. It doesn't have the finance management tools found in Doxo, nor the document management features found in AboutOne, but its core concept and design is right.

If you're looking for an utterly fantastic household management tool that lets you upload and backup important documents, maintain a group calendar, collaboratively write and share lists, and manage your family's budget, keep looking. Until there is a family organizer that works more like content management software and reaches all those extremes, the closest available option is Famjama, our Editors' Choice and a great tool for helping you run your household.

More Personal and Home Software Reviews:
??? Cozi
??? Famjama (beta)
??? Doxo
??? AboutOne (beta)
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