A new online service called Money Dashboard plans to improve financial litery for the masses

As an entrepreneur, Gavin Littlejohn has had his share of financial worries and it is partly these experiences that drove him to set up Money Dashboard, a free online service to help consumers manage their finances online. "I have always been constrained by time so I wanted something that allowed me to manage my money that was very quick and very easy," he says.

Littlejohn's objective is to make it more straightforward for consumers with average incomes to create budgets and to feel in control of their finances. "Currently customers are poorly served by an industry that is taking their custom for granted, but we want people to understand what they are buying. We want them to be able to fully figure out whether they are getting good value from the products that they use," he says. "Consumers are being educated to shop for financial services, but they are not getting any guidance or advice unless they are receiving professional financial advice, which is a market that really focuses on high-net worth people."

Money Dashboard enables users to view all their accounts, credit cards and mortgages in one place. "It will help people to create and manage budgets and to make sure they are able to manage their income from payday to payday ensuring that they have enough money to meet their commitments," says Littlejohn. "They will get email and text alerts if they are close to their overdraft limits or if they are making inefficient use of credit cards or if they are overspending in a particular area."

The website, launching in "February or March", will initially target 20-40-year-olds. "We'll focus on people who have come out of further education or gone into a trade and are struggling to manage their debts, such as credit cards and student loans. They may be trying to get on the first rung of the housing ladder or they may be at a later stage and already have a family and a mortgage and are trying to create a stable financial circumstance for themselves and loved ones," he says.

Littlejohn has raised £1m of investment for the Scottish-based company and is feeling confident about the launch. "By January next year we'll be looking at six figures of users and the objective clearly is to be the leader in this market space. The company is entirely geared around being the one place to manage your money [online] and that will be the central focus," he says.