Our most recent OBR Best of the Web winner (NB Sep 1), Seen Creative's billQ, has achieved another industry first, a bill payment-tracking widget for Apple Mac users (here's where you can download it from Apple's site).

The widget allows Mac users to drop a small billQ screen right onto their desktop (see NB 2 May 2005). It allows users to see what bills are due and mark them as paid without ever leaving their desktop.

The widget can also be downloaded at billQ's website <mybillq.com>.

In the latest from Online Banking Report, "Personal Finance Features for Online Banking," we've awarded an OBR Best of the Web 2006 to a new Web-based bill management service. It's the third winner of the year,* and 53rd since the first recipient in 1997 (here's the list).

And the winner is, drum roll please, billQ <mybillq.com> a new Web 2.0-inspired bill manager from Seen Creative Group <weareseencreative.com>, a relatively new website-design firm based in Rochester, NY. The company was chosen for raising the bar in three areas:

• User-interface design (click on screenshot below for closeup; see more screenshots by clicking the continuation link at the bottom of this article)
• "Add this bill" browser-toolbar button
• Publishing bills through RSS and iCalendar feeds

Read the entire review, along with a look at a dozen other online personal finance applications, in this month's Online Banking Report (#131/132).

--JB

*Previous 2006 winners include E*Trade Bank for its Mileage Maximizer airline card mile aggregator (NB 7 Dec 2005) and Prosper for its person-to-person lending platform (NB Feb. 5 and others).

Appendix

Welcome screen prior to setting up bills (see above for main screen after bills have been enabled)

Set-up reminders

Set-up feeds

Set-up feeds