Track Loan Payments: Paid Ticks, Reminders and Home-Screen Widgets

Six months into a $25,000 loan at 7% over 60 months, you have paid $495.03 five times and can't remember whether the sixth payment went out. The schedule says the balance should be $22,874.03 by now. If the sixth payment is still missing, it is really $23,233.53, and that payment was due 14 days ago.

Loan Calculator can keep that record for you. You tick each month you have paid, and the app works out your actual balance, counts the months that are due but not marked, reminds you once a month and can show the next payment on your home screen.

Nothing here connects to your bank. The app only knows what you tick, and every calculation runs on your phone. Think of it as a tidy notebook for your loan, not a copy of your lender's records.

What should you compare?

Tracking is useful when you check a few numbers against each other:

• Scheduled balance vs actual balance: the schedule assumes every payment was made on time; the actual balance only counts the months you ticked.
• Payments made vs payments due: how many months have fallen due since the loan was paid out, and how many of those you have marked.
• The next due date vs today: whether the next unpaid month is coming up or already overdue.
• Your reminder day vs the due date: a reminder a few days before the due date gives you time to pay.
• Your record vs your lender's statement: if they disagree, the statement is what counts; see how to read an amortization schedule for what each column means.

Tracking features at a glance

The free version stores up to 3 loans, so you can track up to three at once. Pro removes that limit and adds the Loan progress widget. Credits don't unlock either of these.

1. Tick payments on the schedule

Best for: knowing your real balance when you have paid some months and not others.

1. Enter the loan on the calculator. Under Advanced options, tap Disbursement date: today and pick the date the money was paid out. If you skip this, the app uses the day you save.
2. Tap Save loan and give it a name.
3. Open the Saved tab and tap Track payments › under the loan. Opening the Amortization schedule straight after saving, without changing any numbers, also works.
4. In the Monthly view, tick the Paid box on each month you have paid. The column is hidden in the Yearly view.

Before your first tick, the line above the table ends with "Tick each month you have paid." After that it keeps count. For the $25,000 loan at 7%, paid out on March 10, 2026 and checked on September 24, 2026:

The actual balance is the loan amount minus the principal part of every ticked row:

$25,000.00 − ($349.20 + $351.23 + $353.28 + $355.34 + $357.42) = $23,233.53

Ticks don't have to be in order. If you forgot month 3 and ticked month 6 instead, the balance is $6.22 higher than with months 1 to 6 ticked, because month 6 carries $359.50 of principal and month 3 only $353.28. The app still counts month 3 as due but not marked.

A tick means "this month was paid as scheduled". The app doesn't record the amount you actually sent, late fees, extra interest for paying late, or partial payments. On a saved loan's schedule the interest method buttons are hidden, so your ticks always match the method you saved.

2. Due dates come from the disbursement date

Best for: getting "overdue" and "due in" right.

Month 1 falls due one month after the disbursement date. For a loan paid out on March 10, 2026, the due dates are April 10, May 10, June 10 and so on, and by September 24 six months have fallen due. A month due today already counts as due.

If you know your first due date rather than the disbursement date, open the saved loan's schedule and tap the "1st payment:" date button above the table. The app stores the disbursement date one month before the date you pick, and the due dates and overdue count follow.

The date also matters for the interest itself if your lender counts actual days; see actual/365 interest.

3. Monthly payment reminders

Best for: never missing a due date.

1. On the Saved tab, tap Remind on the loan.
2. In the "Payment reminder" dialog, choose Off or a day such as Day 7 of each month. Days go up to 28, so every month has that day.
3. The app confirms with "Reminder set for day 7 of each month, around 9 am." and the button now reads Day 7.

On that day the notification reads "Payment due", followed by the loan name, and "Scheduled payment: $495.03. Tap to open the loan." When the payment changes from month to month, as with a promo rate, a grace period or equal principal, it leaves the amount out and says "This month's payment differs from the last one (promo rate or grace period). Tap to open the schedule."

The notification has a Paid month 6 button that ticks a month without opening the app. It always marks the oldest unpaid month, so if month 3 is still unticked the button reads Paid month 3.

A few practical details from how the reminder works:

• "Around 9 am" is honest: the app uses a battery-friendly alarm, so the notification can arrive a little later.
• The reminder is set again after the phone restarts, the app updates, or the time or time zone changes.
• On Android 13 and later, the app asks for notification permission when you turn on a reminder. If notifications are off, it tells you: "Notifications are off for this app, so the reminder will stay silent. Turn them on in Settings."
• The reminder repeats every month until you set it to Off or delete the loan.

4. Home-screen widgets

Best for: seeing the next payment without opening the app.

Add a widget from Settings › Home screen widget, or from your launcher's widget list. There are two:

• Loan progress (Pro) shows the loan name and the next payment, $495.03 in the example. Under it a status line such as "14 days overdue" or "Due in 16 days", then the due date. Overdue and due-today lines turn yellow. The bottom line gives "5/60 paid" and the balance in short form, next to a progress bar. A check button ticks the oldest unpaid month, and tapping the widget opens the schedule.
• Quick calculate (free) shows the amount, rate and term of your last calculation with its monthly payment, such as "$495.03/month". Tapping it reopens that calculation, and a second button opens your saved loans.

Under "Loan on this widget", Loan progress can follow Automatic ("The loan you last marked a payment on") or one saved loan you pick. Depending on your Android version and launcher, that choice appears when you add the widget or from the widget's own settings. The widget refreshes when you tick a payment, when a reminder fires, when you save or delete a loan, and about once a day. Without Pro it shows Pro widget and "Tap to unlock loan progress on your home screen".

Which tracking setup should you choose?

FAQ

Does Loan Calculator connect to my bank?

No. The app never sees your bank account or your lender's records. The paid count and actual balance come only from the months you tick, worked out on your phone.

Why is my actual balance higher than the schedule's balance?

The schedule assumes every payment so far was made. After six months of the example that balance is $22,874.03. With only five months ticked, the app shows $23,233.53, because the sixth month's $359.50 of principal hasn't been marked as paid.

Can I record a partial or late payment?

Not as an amount. A tick marks the whole scheduled month as paid. If you paid late, tick the month once it is paid; the app won't add late fees or extra interest, so check those on your lender's statement.

Why can't I see the Paid column?

The column appears on the schedule of a saved loan, in the Monthly view. A loan you haven't saved, or the Yearly view, has no ticks. If you change the numbers on the calculator after loading a saved loan, the schedule you open is a what-if and isn't tracked.

Is the reminder free?

Yes. Reminders, paid ticks and the Quick calculate widget are all free. The Loan progress widget and more than 3 saved loans need Pro.