No one likes paying bills, but we all have to do it.

Managing bills is a tedious and frustrating task for most — and several new ventures are taking renewed aim at this pain point.

Google Now
Google Now is a predictive personal assistant that tries to figure out what users need before they need it. The service is fairly comprehensive on Android devices, while iOS users must do with a slightly watered-down version.

Recently, the Mountain View-based company added a new feature to remind users to pay their bills on time. Here’s how it works: Google Now scans a user’s Gmail account to find bill receipts or email notifications from companies, including those from cell phone providers and credit card companies, and reminds the user of the amount that’s owed and the date by which the bill needs to be paid.

Payments cannot (yet) be made from Google Now, but users can tap on the card — the panel within the app that carries the reminder — and read the original email from their Gmail account. Bill reminders can be turned off, for those users that find the Gmail access an invasion of privacy. The bill reminder feature update came out earlier this month and is slowly being rolled out to users.

There is no word yet on whether Google will remind users to buy their spouses anniversary gifts.

Bills Forecast
Another app that has been making waves in the burgeoning bill reminder subcategory is Bills Forecast. The first app from the Australian-based Minus4°, Bills Forecast is a user-friendly app that helps users look ahead to bills that need to be paid in the next few months. Bills Forecast is climbing in the rankings among the most popular paid apps in the Finance category in the iOS App Store, according to AppShopper.

The app has a clean design and is considerably more comprehensive than Google’s bill reminder service in Google Now. With Bills Forecast, users can input the bills manually, add the dates when the bills need to be paid, and the app will do the rest, constantly monitoring monthly bills for the foreseeable future and breaking down each month, bill by bill. Bills cannot be paid from within the app. To see Bills Forecast in action, check out the video below.

It looks like bill reminder apps are becoming more popular mainly because they fill a need that many people have. With tech giants like Google and up-and-coming apps like Bills Forecast entering the mix, more apps can be expected soon.

Google Now is available for free on iOS and Android devices. Bills Forecast is $1.99 and only available on iOS, but an Android version is in the works.