Two years ago, Microsoft started rolling out a budget tracking service called Money in Excel as a carrot for its Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscription. But the company has decided to drop Money in Excel, along with Wolfram Alpha data type support for Excel, starting next year.
According an email sent by Microsoft to certain Microsoft 365 subscribers, Microsoft has not fully explained the reason for its decision to remove these features. However, as noted by XDA Developers, the email stated that Microsoft will “occasionally remove underused features and benefits.” So it may just be that not enough people are using Money for Excel.
Update: here is the acknowledgment of receipt of email content from a Microsoft customer support article. The reason for the decision to discontinue Money for Excel next year is as follows: “We have learned a lot from Money in Excel and appreciate the many needs people have for their families and their money. There are other areas where we can have a greater impact and will focus on those moving forward.”
Money in Excel is a template and add-in for Excel. The feature allows users to automatically connect their bank accounts, credit cards, investments, and loan accounts to Excel through a relationship with Plaid. Users can track their spending habits and see their total monthly expenses through the “Snapshot” sheet. Microsoft planned to roll out this service globally for paid Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers.
According to the email, Money in Excel users can continue to use the service until June 30, 2023. They will not be able to add more data to their spreadsheets, but they will be able to continue accessing their existing data. . Microsoft offers a 60-day free trial of Taller for anyone looking for a similar service.
Microsoft is not giving up trying to seduce consumers with new services. Its WebXT team is pushing full throttle with new search, advertising, shopping and news services. And Microsoft is still trying to build a consumer audience for Teams.
A recent job posting for a position with WebXT (Web Experiences Team) claims that the team “is at the center of the next wave of consumer products.”
“Our team is responsible for designing, implementing and delivering modern AI-powered applications,” the job posting states. (I assume the reference to AI is largely due to Bing, which is where much of Microsoft’s internal AI work is housed and sourced from.) The connections between what Microsoft is doing on fronts of consumer applications and the Edge browser and Bing search/advertising runs deep.
