Finance Tracker
User Guide

New here? Follow this path to get started fast.

Finance Tracker runs as a Telegram bot and a web app. Both share the same data in real time.

1. 1Ask the admin for the Telegram bot link and open it in Telegram.
2. 2Find your Telegram ID: message @userinfobot on Telegram. It replies with your numeric ID.
3. 3In the web app, click your username (top right) → User Settings → Connect Telegram and enter your Telegram ID to link both platforms.
4. 4Type /start in the bot to verify it works. Type /help for all commands.

🌐 Web App: Open the web app URL in any browser. Log in with your username or Telegram ID plus your password.

A account is any financial account: bank account, credit card, investment portfolio, or wallet. Every transaction moves money between accounts (or between an account and an external party like a merchant or employer).

Every user belongs to a family. A family is a shared workspace. Members can see and use each other's accounts, record transactions against any account in the family, and view the same reports together.

Create an account for each real-world account before recording transactions. The account starts at zero until you set an opening balance.

/addaccount
Name: NAB Savings
Type: cash
Currency: AUD
Owner*: alex
Initial Balance*: 1500

✅ Added: NAB Savings (cash, AUD, alex)
   Opening balance: AUD 2,000.00

✅ Added: NAB Savings (cash, AUD, alex)

1. 1 Others tab → Accounts section
2. 2 Click Add Account
3. 3 Fill in: Name, Type, Currency, Owner, Initial Balance
4. 4 Toggle Lock if it is a non-liquid investment (super, property)
5. 5 Click Save

Reduces the source account balance. Records what you paid and to whom. Net worth decreases.

When the bot isn't 100% certain, it shows what it understood and asks for confirmation before saving.

🔍 I think I understood:
  Expense AUD 60.00
  From: NAB Savings
  To: Woolworths
  Category: 🛒 Groceries

Is this correct? Reply Y (Yes) to confirm or N (No) to cancel.

✅ Expense AUD 60.00 from NAB Savings → Woolworths
🛒 Groceries
Trx ID: A1B2C3

Send a receipt photo. Add a caption with your account name so the bot knows where to debit. The bot executes immediately when it can read the receipt and identify the account.

✅ Expense AUD 60.00 from NAB Savings → Woolworths
🛒 Groceries
Trx ID: A1B2D4

/transact
Action: expense
Source: NAB Savings
Destination: Woolworths
Currency: AUD
Amount: 60.00
Category: Groceries

✅ Expense AUD 60.00 from NAB Savings → Woolworths
🛒 Groceries
Trx ID: A1B2E5

1. 1 Switch to Chat mode
2. 2 Type: Spent $60 at Woolworths from NAB Savings, Groceries
3. 3 Review parsed details, click Submit

1. 1 Switch to Photo mode
2. 2 Upload a receipt image (or use camera on mobile)
3. 3 Add an optional caption to specify the account
4. 4 Click Parse Photo, review parsed details, click Submit

Increases the destination account balance. Records who paid you. Net worth increases.

✅ Income AUD 5,000.00 → NAB Savings
💼 Salary
Trx ID: B3C4D5

/transact
Action: income
Source: Employer Pty Ltd
Destination: NAB Savings
Currency: AUD
Amount: 5000
Category: Salary

✅ Income AUD 5,000.00 → NAB Savings
💼 Salary
Trx ID: B3C4D5

1. 1 Transactions tab → Form mode
2. 2 Set Action to Income
3. 3 Source = payer name (type anything, e.g. Employer Pty Ltd)
4. 4 Destination = your account
5. 5 Enter Amount, Currency, Category
6. 6 Click Submit

• Salary $5,000 to NAB from Employer
• Got $500 freelance payment to NAB Savings
• Interest $20 into NAB, Interest income

Moves money between two of your own accounts. Total net worth stays the same; money just changes location.

✅ Transfer AUD 1,000.00 from NAB Savings → Amex
🔄 Internal Transfer
Trx ID: C5D6E7

✅ Transfer AUD 500.00 from NAB Savings → USD Account
🔄 Internal Transfer
Trx ID: C5D6E8

1. 1 Transactions tab → Form mode
2. 2 Set Action to Transfer
3. 3 Source = account money leaves
4. 4 Destination = account money arrives
5. 5 For cross-currency: fill in the Custom FX Rate field that appears when currencies differ
6. 6 Click Submit

Sets an account to a specific target balance. The system calculates the difference and records the correction. No counterpart account needed.

✅ Adjust AUD 6,000.00 → Vanguard ETF
   Adj: +AUD 1,000.00
📊 Market Revaluation
Trx ID: F1G2H3

• My NAB account balance is $8,000, adjust it
• Update Vanguard ETF market value to $6,000

1. 1 Form mode → Action: Adjust
2. 2 Destination = account to revalue (no source needed)
3. 3 Amount = new target balance
4. 4 Click Submit

Schedules a transaction to repeat automatically on a regular schedule. Each day at 7 AM AWST (UTC+8), the system checks which rules are due and either executes them, asks for confirmation, or asks for the amount.

The bot prompts you on the due date. Reply with the amount to record the transaction, or NO to skip.

🔔 Recurring Payment Due

Expense from NAB Savings → Power Co
Utilities

Enter payment amount in AUD:
Or type NO to skip.

✅ Expense AUD 150.00 from NAB Savings → Power Co
⚡ Utilities
Trx ID: G2H3I4

✅ Recurring added: Expense AUD 20.00 | Monthly on 15 | OFF (Auto)
ID: R042
Next run: 2026-06-15

1. 1 Others tab → Recurring section
2. 2 Click Add Recurring
3. 3 Fill in Action, Source, Destination, Amount, Currency, Category
4. 4 Set Frequency, Day, and Reminder mode
5. 5 Click Save

Classify spending for reports. Each category has a name, optional aliases, and an emoji icon. Fuzzy matching: type groceries and it finds Groceries.

/addcategory
Name: Groceries
Aliases*: food, supermarket, woolies
Icon*: 🛒

✅ Category added: 🛒 Groceries

✅ Category added: 🍽️ Dining Out

1. 1 Others tab → Categories
2. 2 Click Add Category or edit any field inline

Used when a transaction involves two different currencies. Rates are stored per currency pair and refreshed daily automatically.

💱 FX Rates
────────────
AUDIDR: 12628.01651745
↳ updated 23/05/2026 04:33 PM
AUDUSD: 0.71275825
↳ updated 23/05/2026 04:33 PM
USDAUD: 1.40300024
↳ updated 23/05/2026 04:33 PM

💱 FX Rates — AUDIDR (current)
────────────
AUDIDR: 12628.01651745
↳ updated 23/05/2026 04:33 PM

✅ FX: AUDUSD = 0.645
   USDAUD = 1.550388

💱 FX Rates — AUDIDR (2026-05 (end of month))
────────────
AUDIDR: 12511.40200000

✅ Transfer AUD 500.00 from NAB Savings → USD Account
🔄 Internal Transfer
Trx ID: H5I6J7

1. 1 Others tab → FX Rates
2. 2 View all stored rates or click Update FX Rates to auto-fetch the latest from the market
3. 3 Pick a year-month next to the filter to switch the table to historical end-of-month rates for that month — the same rates backdated reports use for display conversion
4. 4 To override for one transaction: fill in the Custom FX Rate field in the form (appears when source and destination currencies differ)

Financial snapshot for any month. Open the Report tab, pick a month and display currency, then click Get Report. All amounts convert to your chosen display currency using stored FX rates.

Revenue and expenses for the selected month, grouped by category. Within each category, transactions are split by currency, so AUD and IDR income show as separate lines. The summary totals are all converted to your display currency.

📊 Income Statement — alex (2026-05) [AUD]

Income
────────────
• 💼 Salary: AUD 5,000.00

Expenses
────────────
• 🛒 Groceries: AUD 300.00
• 🍽️ Dining: AUD 100.00
• ⚡ Utilities: AUD 150.00

Other
────────────
• Adjustments: AUD 20.00
• Unrealised P&L: +AUD 1,000.00

Total Income: AUD 5,000.00
Total Expense: AUD 550.00
Net Income: AUD 4,450.00

Snapshot of all account balances at month-end. Each account is shown in its original currency and converted to your display currency.

🏦 Balance Sheet — 2026-05 [AUD]

Assets
────────────
💵 Cash
• NAB Savings: AUD 8,000.00

💎 Investments (Cost / Market)
• Vanguard ETF: AUD 5,000.00 / AUD 6,000.00

Liabilities
────────────
💳 Credit
• Amex: AUD 500.00

Total Assets: AUD 14,000.00
Total Liabilities: AUD 500.00
Net Worth: AUD 13,500.00
Net Worth + Locked: AUD 13,500.00

Additional metrics shown alongside the report in the web app.

Set monthly budget targets per category, then track how actual spending compares. Available on the web app only.

Click your username (top right) → Budgeting Tool.

1. 1 Select a Month
2. 2 Click + Add row for each budget item
3. 3 Fill in: Type (income or expense), Category, Currency, Budget amount, and an optional Note
4. 4 Click Save Budget

Below Manage Budget on the same page. Select a month to see Budget, Actuals, and Remainder side by side for each item.

1. 1 Open the Report tab, pick a month, and click Get Report
2. 2 Tick Compare with Budget below the Income Statement heading
3. 3 A Budget column appears alongside your actuals

Browse all past transactions and reverse any of them. Undo is non-destructive — the original entry stays in the ledger and a matching reversal entry cancels it out.

↩️ Reversed: expense AUD 60.00
   Original: A1B2C3 → Reversal: X9Y0Z1

1. 1 History tab
2. 2 Filter by date range, action type, originator, or account
3. 3 Click Search
4. 4 Click Undo on any row to reverse it

Send a voice note to the Telegram bot instead of typing. The bot transcribes your speech and runs it through the same pipeline as a typed message — all transaction types work.

1. 1 In the Finance Tracker bot chat, hold the microphone button and record your message
2. 2 Release to send the voice note
3. 3 The bot echoes back 🎙️ Heard: … so you can verify the transcription
4. 4 The transaction is processed exactly as if you had typed the same words

🎙️ Heard: spent 45 dollars on groceries from NAB

✅ Expense AUD 45.00 from NAB Savings → Grocery Store
🛒 Groceries
Trx ID: V1W2X3

If you have multiple accounts and want to disambiguate, add a caption to the voice note before sending:

🎙️ Heard: paid 120 for electricity bill

✅ Expense AUD 120.00 from NAB Savings → Electricity Provider
🏠 Utilities
Trx ID: V2W3X4

• Currency: $ defaults to AUD. Use US$500 or 500 SGD for others.
• Dates: yesterday, last Friday, on the 3rd, 2026-01-05
• Account aliases: Type NAB if you configured aliases for that account
• Category shortcut: Add in brackets — paid $80 dentist on NAB (Health)

✅ Expense AUD 60.00 from NAB Savings → Grocery Store
🛒 Groceries
Trx ID: H4I5J6

✅ Expense AUD 20.00 from Amex → Coffee Shop
☕ Dining
Trx ID: H4I5J7

When the AI is uncertain (ambiguous account name, missing field), it shows what it understood and asks for confirmation. Reply YES or NO, or correct the details and send again.