Getting Started
IMPORTANT - THIS APP IS NO LONGER SUPPORTED
Unfortunately I have had to remove this app from the App Store and support as at 12 March 2024. You may continue to use the app if you have already downloaded it but some functionality may become unsupported over time.
-------- left in place for support of current users -------
This is a great place to start if you are new to the app.
Net Worth Summary
When you first start the app you will be shown the 'Net Worth Summary' screen which will look something like the one shown here.
The rest of this guide will provide more information on Assets, Liabilities, Net Worth, Accounts, Collections, Charts, Open and Closed accounts and Trends. But for now just know that this screen provides a quick summary of your current financial position. The app comes with some Sample Data and so the summary shown will be for these made up Accounts. However, once you enter your own data this screen will be a place you will visit often.
Accounts
An ACCOUNT holds a series of real balances over time. These are entered by you whenever it makes sense or is convenient for you. For example, you could have an account for a savings account in a bank, another to hold the changing value of your house over time and another to hold the amount you owe on a mortgage or credit card.
An ACCOUNT holds a series of BALANCES on specific dates.
An account can represent a bank account (e.g. Savings), a loan (e.g. Credit Card), an asset (e.g. Car Value), a liability (e.g. Money I Owe Mom) or anything else that can be represented as a series of balances.
An account can have an optional associated CATEGORY (e.g. the bank name, grouping of accounts like Savings). Accounts are listed in category order (to bring all like categories together) and then by name.
An account can have an optional NOTE. This can be used to provide more detail.
The image shows one of the sample accounts provided when you first start the app "Sample Cash".
This chart shows the change in balances over time for the account.
Tap one of the “Period” labels (“2 W” … “All”) to change the range of dates charted.
The small circles on the chart show dates where you have stored an event.
The red line shows how your balances are trending during the displayed period.
You can change the chart colours used on the “Settings & Support” page.
Choose the Account to Display
Tap the “Accounts” button on the top left to see a list of all available accounts. It will look something like this.
The accounts will be grouped into:
Open Asset accounts - an asset is something you OWN
Open Liability accounts - a liability is something you OWE
Closed Asset accounts
Closed Liability accounts
The category (if provided) is shown below the account name, with the associated note (if provided) below that. Just tap the account you want to display or edit.
Add a New Account
Tap the "+" button on the top left of the Accounts screen.
Enter a name for the account and select whether this is an Asset or a Liability.
Tap “CREATE account”
Add a New Balance to this Account
First select the account that you wish to add the balance to.
Tap the '+' button on the top right above the chart of the account balances.
Today’s date will be chosen by default and the last balance shown.
Overwrite the balance amount (as a positive number), change the balance date if needed and enter an Event description if desired.
Tap “SAVE” when ready.
Change an Existing Balance or Event in this Account
First select the account in which you wish to change the balance or event.
Scroll down the displayed screen with the chart and tap “Show / Edit BALANCES & EVENTS”.
You will be taken to the BALANCES screen. Tap the corresponding balance entry you wish to change.
Change the balance amount (as a positive number), change the balance date if needed and enter an Event description if desired.
Tap “SAVE” when ready.
Delete an Existing Balance in this Account
First select the account in which you wish to change the balance or event.
Scroll down the displayed screen with the chart and tap “Show / Edit BALANCES & EVENTS”.
You will be taken to the BALANCES screen. Tap the “Edit” button at the top-right.
Tap the red “-” icon on the balance entry or entries you wish to delete.
Tap “Done” when ready.
Rename an Existing Account
First select the account that you wish to rename.
Scroll down the displayed screen with the chart and tap “RENAME account”.
Enter the new name.
Tap “RENAME Account”.
Update or Delete the Category
First select the account that you wish to update the category for.
Scroll down the displayed screen with the chart and tap “EDIT category”.
Enter the new category or delete it to remove it entirely.
Tap “UPDATE Category”.
Update or Delete the Note
First select the account that you wish to update the note for.
Scroll down the displayed screen with the chart and tap “EDIT note”.
Enter the new note or delete it to remove it entirely.
Tap “UPDATE Note”.
Delete an Existing Account
Make sure you are on the Accounts list screen.
Next tap the "Edit" button on the top left of the screen.
Tap the red “-” icon on the account name you wish to delete.
Tap “Done” when ready.
NOTE: deleting an account will remove all the existing balances and events associated with that account. You will get a chance to "Cancel" out before the account is deleted.
Export Data for an Account to an External File
NOTE: this exports all balances, dates and events for the account to an external file for use as a backup or to use in another program (like Excel).
First select the account that you wish to export.
Scroll down the displayed screen with the chart and tap “EXPORT account data”.
The EXPORT account screen will be displayed.
Tap the “Start EXPORT” button.
Import Data from a Previous Export
NOTE: this imports all balances and events from an external file previously generated by the Export command. These are added to the currently selected account. You would normally create a new empty account and then import data into it.
First select the account (usually empty) that you wish to import the data into.
Scroll down the displayed screen with the chart and tap “IMPORT account data”.
The IMPORT account screen will be displayed.
A list of available import files will be shown. Tap on the desired file name.
If the file is in the correct format the balances and events will be imported.
Show a Forecast for this Account
First select the account that you wish to display the forecast for.
Select “All” for the period to ensure the TREND LINE is calculated on all available data. You can use any period if desired to limit the data on which the trend is calculated. NOTE: forecasts are only displayed for OPEN accounts. A CLOSED account would not have any balances in the future.
Scroll down and tap "FORECAST future balances".
A new screen will now show balances calculated every 3 months into the future for 25 years. The balances are calculated using the TREND LINE for the real balances in your account. NOTE: a quadratic best fit TREND LINE calculation is used.
Set the Account Status to Open or Closed
First select the account that you wish to change the status of.
An OPEN account is one you are still using. Forecasts are generated for this type of account.
A CLOSED account is one that had balances in the past but it is no longer needed. The last entered balance would normally be 0. Note: forecasts are not generated for closed accounts.
Scroll down to the bottom of the chart screen and select either “Open” or “Closed”.
Collection
A COLLECTION lets you group multiple accounts together. A Collection of all your accounts represents your total Net Worth over time. A default 'Net Worth' collection is created and maintained for you. As you add new accounts, they will automatically be added to this collection. Automatic collections are also created and maintained for all your Assets, Liabilities and any account categories you use (e.g. your stocks). Note: you can rename these special collections but you cannot delete them.
But you can create as many of your own collections as you want. If you had an account of the value of your home and another for the Mortgage balances for that home, you could group them together into a Collection of your Home Equity.
Add or remove accounts in a collection
Use the 'Collections' tab button at the bottom to navigate to the Collections screen.
Select the collection you want to change from the 'Collections' list.
Scroll down the displayed screen with the chart and tap “Show / Edit ACCOUNTS in COLLECTION”.
You will be taken to the 'Accounts in: ...' screen.
Tap an account to toggle its inclusion in and out of the collection. If there is a TICK mark next to the name, it is included.