Tutorials

Welcome to BirdMoney! This tutorial will guide you through the basics of using your personal financial dashboard. BirdMoney helps you track multiple accounts, monitor transactions, analyze your finances, and plan for the future. When you first open BirdMoney, you'll see a welcome screen that introduces the app's key features:

 

- Track Multiple Accounts - Manage bank accounts, stocks, crypto, and more in one place

- Visual Reports - See your financial evolution with beautiful charts and forecasts

- Scheduled Transactions - Automate recurring income and expenses

- Multi-Currency Support - Track assets in different currencies with real-time exchange rates

 

Click "Get Started" to begin. The app will then prompt you to add your first account.

 

Understanding the Interface

BirdMoney uses a split-view interface with a sidebar on the left and a main content area on the right.

 

Sidebar Navigation

The sidebar contains the following sections:

Dashboard - Your main overview showing account summaries and recent transactions

Reports - Financial analysis with charts showing your asset evolution, account distribution, and transaction patterns

Scheduled - View and manage recurring transactions that are scheduled to occur automatically

Forecast - Project your financial future based on current balances and scheduled transactions

Below these sections, you'll see a list of all your accounts. Click any account to view its details and transactions.

 

Adding Your First Account

Accounts are the foundation of BirdMoney. You can track different types of financial accounts:

 

Account Types

Bank Account (Blue icon) - Regular checking or savings accounts

- Set an initial balance

- Track income and expenses

- Supports any currency

Credit Card (Red icon) - Credit card accounts

- Enter the amount you've used (balance will be shown as negative)

- Track payments and charges

- Supports any currency

Stocks (Green icon) - Stock investment accounts

- Balance is calculated automatically from your holdings

- Add stocks with their purchase price and quantity

- Current prices update automatically

- Uses USD as default currency

Crypto (Yellow icon) - Cryptocurrency accounts

- Balance is calculated automatically from your holdings

- Add cryptocurrencies with purchase price and amount

- Current prices update automatically

- Uses USD as default currency

Physical Assets (Orange icon) - Real estate, vehicles, or other physical assets

- Set an estimated value

- Track value changes over time

- Supports any currency

Other (Gray icon) - Any other type of account

- Flexible category for accounts that don't fit other types

- Supports any currency

 

Creating an Account

1. Click the "+" button in the sidebar, or if this is your first account, the welcome screen will prompt you

2. Select an account type from the dropdown menu

3. Enter a name for your account (e.g., "Checking Account", "Main Credit Card")

4. Choose the currency for this account

5. For Bank, Credit Card, Physical Assets, or Other accounts: Enter the initial balance

   - For credit cards, enter the amount you've used (it will be shown as negative)

6. Click "Add" to create the account

 

Note: For Stock and Crypto accounts, you don't set a balance initially. Instead, you'll add holdings after creating the account.

Managing Accounts

Viewing Account Details

Click any account in the sidebar to view its details. You'll see:

- Current balance

- Account currency

- List of all transactions

- For investment accounts: List of holdings with current values

Editing an Account

1. Click on the account in the sidebar to open it

2. Click the "Edit" button (pencil icon)

3. You can modify:

   - Account name

   - Currency (for non-investment accounts)

   - Balance (for non-investment accounts)

Note: Account type cannot be changed after creation. If you need a different type, create a new account.

Adding Transactions

Transactions are the lifeblood of your financial tracking. There are three types:

Transaction Types

Income - Money coming into an account (salary, freelance payment, refunds, etc.)

- Increases the account balance

- Shown in green

Expense - Money going out of an account (purchases, bills, fees, etc.)

- Decreases the account balance

- Shown in red

Transfer - Moving money between your accounts

- Decreases the source account and increases the destination account

- Useful for tracking money movement

Creating a Transaction

1. From the Dashboard, click "Add Transaction"

2. Or from an account's detail view, click "Add Transaction"

3. Fill in the transaction details:

   - Account - Select which account this transaction affects

   - Type - Choose Income, Expense, or Transfer

   - Amount - Enter the transaction amount

   - Date - Set when the transaction occurred (defaults to today)

   - Category - Optional: Assign a category to help organize your transactions

   - Note - Optional: Add a description or memo

   - Destination Account - Required only for Transfer type

4. Click "Add" to save the transaction

The account balance will update automatically based on the transaction type and amount.

Managing Categories

Categories help you organize and analyze your transactions. Common categories include:

- Groceries

- Utilities

- Entertainment

- Transportation

- Healthcare

- And many more…

Creating Categories

1. Go to Preferences (click in sidebar or use menu)

2. Scroll to the "Manage Categories" section

3. Click "Add Category"

4. Enter a name for the category

5. Choose an icon from the available options

6. Select a color for visual organization

7. Click “Add”

Editing Categories

1. In Preferences, find the category you want to edit

2. Click the pencil icon next to the category

3. Modify the name, icon, or color

4. Click “Save”

Reordering Categories

You can drag categories up or down in the list to change their order. The order determines how they appear when selecting a category for transactions.

Scheduled Transactions

Scheduled transactions automate recurring income and expenses. This is perfect for:

- Monthly salary

- Rent or mortgage payments

- Utility bills

- Subscription services

- Loan payments

Creating a Scheduled Transaction

1. Go to the "Scheduled" section in the sidebar

2. Click "Add Scheduled Transaction"

3. Fill in the details:

   - Name - Description of the transaction

   - Account - Which account it affects

   - Type - Income, Expense, or Transfer

   - Amount - Transaction amount

   - Start Date - When the schedule begins

   - End Date - Optional: When the schedule should stop

   - Repeat - How often it occurs (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly)

   - Day of Month - For monthly repeats, which day

4. Toggle "Active" to enable the schedule

5. Click "Add"

Scheduled Transaction Behavior

- Scheduled transactions automatically create actual transactions on their due dates

- You can see upcoming transactions in the Scheduled view

- Transactions are created in the background, so you don't need to manually trigger them

- You can pause a schedule by toggling "Active" off

Viewing Reports

The Reports section provides powerful insights into your financial situation.

Total Assets

Shows your total net worth across all accounts, converted to your default currency.

Transaction Analysis

Analyzes your income and expenses over different time periods:

- Week

- Month

- Quarter

- Year

Shows totals, averages, and trends.

Asset Evolution Chart

A visual chart showing how your total assets change over time. Use the time range selector to view different periods.

Account Distribution

A pie chart showing how your assets are distributed across different accounts.

Category Analysis

See how much you spend in each category, helping you identify spending patterns.

Financial Forecast

The Forecast feature projects your financial future based on:

- Current account balances

- Scheduled transactions

Using Forecast

1. Go to the "Forecast" section in the sidebar

2. Adjust the number of months to project (default is 12 months)

3. Optionally configure which accounts to include in the forecast

4. The chart will show projected balances over time

This helps you plan for the future and see how recurring transactions will affect your finances.

Investment Accounts (Stocks and Crypto)

Investment accounts work differently from regular accounts.

Adding Stock Holdings

1. Create a Stocks account

2. Click on the account to view its details

3. Click "Add Stock Holding"

4. Enter:

   - Symbol - Stock ticker symbol (e.g., AAPL, MSFT)

   - Country - Stock exchange country

   - Quantity - Number of shares

   - Purchase Price - Price per share when purchased

   - Purchase Date - When you bought the shares

5. Click "Add"

The account balance is calculated automatically from your holdings. Current stock prices update automatically.

Adding Crypto Holdings

1. Create a Crypto account

2. Click on the account to view its details

3. Click "Add Crypto Holding"

4. Enter:

   - Symbol - Cryptocurrency symbol (e.g., BTC, ETH)

   - Amount - Quantity of cryptocurrency

   - Purchase Price - Price per unit when purchased

   - Purchase Date - When you acquired the cryptocurrency

5. Click "Add"

The account balance is calculated automatically from your holdings. Current crypto prices update automatically.

Editing Holdings

You can edit holdings to update quantities or purchase prices. Click the pencil icon next to any holding.

 

Multi-Currency Support

BirdMoney supports multiple currencies and automatically converts between them.

 

Setting Default Currency

1. Go to Preferences

2. In "Currency Settings," select your default currency

3. All totals and reports will be displayed in this currency

 

Adding Custom Currencies

1. Go to Preferences

2. Scroll to "Manage Currencies"

3. Click "Add Currency"

4. Enter:

   - Code - Currency code (e.g., EUR, GBP, JPY)

   - Name - Full name (e.g., Euro, British Pound, Japanese Yen)

   - Symbol - Currency symbol (e.g., EUR, GBP, JPY symbols)

5. Click "Add"

 

Exchange Rates

- Exchange rates update automatically from the internet

- You can enable auto-refresh in Preferences

- Set the refresh interval (30 minutes to 24 hours)

- Exchange rates are used to convert between currencies in reports and totals

 

Password Protection

You can protect BirdMoney with a password:

1. Go to Preferences

2. In the "Security" section, toggle "Require password"

3. Enter and confirm your password

4. Click "Set Password"

 

Now, whenever you open BirdMoney, you'll need to enter your password.

To change your password, go to Preferences and click "Change password..."

 

iCloud Sync

BirdMoney can sync your data across multiple devices using iCloud.

 

Sync Status

In Preferences, you can see:

- Whether iCloud sync is enabled

- Last sync time

- Any sync errors

 

What Syncs

The following data syncs across your devices:

- All accounts and their balances

- All transactions

- Categories

- Scheduled transactions

- Stock and crypto holdings

 

What Doesn't Sync

These are fetched locally on each device:

- Current stock prices

- Current cryptocurrency prices

- Currency exchange rates

 

Backup and Restore

It's important to back up your financial data regularly.

 

Creating a Backup

1. Go to Preferences

2. Scroll to the bottom

3. Click "Backup Database"

4. Choose where to save the backup file

5. The backup will be saved as a ZIP file

Store your backup in a safe location, such as an external drive or cloud storage.

 

Restoring from Backup

1. Go to Preferences

2. Click "Restore Backup"

3. Select your backup ZIP file

4. Confirm the restore

5. Important: You'll need to restart the app for the restore to take effect

Warning: Restoring a backup will overwrite your current data. Make sure you have a recent backup before restoring.

 

 

Conclusion

You're now ready to start using BirdMoney! Start by adding your accounts, then begin tracking your transactions. As you use the app, you'll discover how the reports and forecast features help you understand and plan your finances better. Remember: The key to effective financial tracking is consistency. Regular updates will give you the most accurate picture of your financial situation.

Happy tracking!