Getting Started

Set up the foundation before the month gets busy.

This page covers the best starting order, what the dashboard is meant to do, how accounts fit into the app, and how recurring items should connect to account tracking.

Updated April 13, 2026. Covers start here, overview dashboard, accounts and net worth, and recurring-to-account linkage.

Docs Getting Started

Start here

Recommended first steps

  1. Add your main checking, savings, card, and debt accounts, and optionally record balance snapshots.
  2. Save recurring transactions for the incoming and outgoing items you expect.
  3. Create a new month or clone the most recent one.
  4. Open Plan and Edit to pull those recurring transactions into the month.
  5. Add one-off entries manually as the month unfolds.
  6. Mark items paid, update actuals, and review the month in Budget, Breakdown, and Plan and Edit, using Grouped, Full List, or Calendar inside Budget.

Helpful app behaviors

  • The dashboard is designed to get you back into the right month quickly.
  • Reason-based filters only show values that actually exist in the current month.
  • Plan and Edit includes guided recurring actions for paychecks, subscriptions, monthly bills, payment plans, and card payment estimates.
  • Some recurring-generated entries can automatically mark themselves paid when due.
  • Recurring generation actions hide in older months that already look complete.
  • Estimated card payments add minimums for active cards first, then use leftover cash to increase those payments when the month has room.
  • Each signed-in user only sees their own months, imports, recurring transactions, and accounts.

Overview dashboard

What the dashboard is for

The overview dashboard is the main landing surface after sign-in. It highlights the current month, next-step guidance, attention items, year cash flow, account summaries, and quick actions so you can restart from context instead of deciding where to click next.

Current month access

Use the continue card, recent month links, or month jump control when you want to reopen the month most likely to need attention, then jump straight into Budget, Plan and Edit, or Calendar.

Account Activity

Use the Account Activity row to compare charged versus paid-to totals by account, then filter it to the last month, last 3, 6, or 12 months, or all saved months.

Quick actions

Use dashboard shortcuts when you want to create a month, clone the latest setup, launch the guided entry wizard, jump to CSV import, or open Accounts & Net Worth.

Accounts & Net Worth

What belongs here

Use Accounts & Net Worth for manual checking, savings, brokerage, retirement, cash, asset, and liability balances. You can record point-in-time snapshots, review the latest balance, and keep account context visible without relying on bank syncing.

Snapshot workflow

Add balance snapshots whenever you want a fresh reference point for an account.

Current balance behavior

Current balance is based on the latest snapshot plus paid linked entry activity after that snapshot date.

Overview tie-in

The overview dashboard uses linked account details to show account activity over time, including which accounts are being charged and which ones are receiving deposits or card payments.

Why add accounts early

Linked accounts make month views, recurring setup, account filters, backup restores, and account rollups more accurate.

Connecting recurring transactions to accounts

How to think about it

  • Add recurring transactions for the repeating monthly activity you expect, such as paychecks, bills, subscriptions, payment plans, and card payments.
  • Link each recurring item to the account it affects so month views are easier to scan and account tracking stays useful.
  • If you prefer, you can still type an account label manually, but linked accounts usually give the cleanest long-term workflow.
  • When months, imports, or restores reuse those items later, the app carries that account context forward where it can.

Credit card payments

  • Link the card payment recurring item to the card account that is being paid down.
  • Also link the checking, cash, or other funding account that will make the payment.
  • This lets the app treat the card itself separately from the account that actually sends the money.

Next step after setup

Move into the month

Once accounts and recurring linkage are ready, the next page to read is Monthly Workflow. That page covers month creation, Plan and Edit, imports, recurring actions, and review.