Getting Started

Welcome to Finolio, your family finance management app.

First Steps

  1. Create an account and confirm your email
  2. Create a new family or join an existing one via invitation
  3. Add your bank accounts and cards
  4. Start tracking transactions

Family & Members

Finolio organizes finances by family. All members share access to accounts, transactions, and budgets.

Inviting Members

Go to Family Settings and click Invite Member. Enter their email and they'll receive an invitation link.

Tip: Family owners can manage members and settings. Regular members can view and edit all financial data.

Bank Accounts

Add your checking, savings, and other bank accounts to track balances and transactions.

Adding an Account

  1. Go to Bank Accounts
  2. Click New Account
  3. Enter account name, bank, and optionally an initial balance with date
Tip: Set an initial balance and date to have accurate running balances calculated from that reference point.

Cards

Track credit and debit cards separately from bank accounts.

Adding a Card

  1. Go to Cards
  2. Click New Card
  3. Enter card name, type (credit/debit), and last 4 digits
  4. Optionally link to a bank account

Transactions

Transactions are the core of your financial tracking - every income and expense.

Adding Transactions

Click New Transaction and enter:

  • Amount - in euros
  • Type - income or expense
  • Date
  • Description
  • Source - bank account or card
  • Category - optional, for tracking

Filtering

Use the filter bar to search by date range, category, type, or description.

Importing Data

Import transactions from Excel (.xlsx) or CSV files exported from your bank.

How to Import

  1. Go to Import
  2. Select the source account/card
  3. Upload your file
  4. Map the columns (date, description, amount)
  5. Preview and confirm
Tip: Save your column mapping as a template to speed up future imports from the same bank.

Categories

Organize transactions into categories like Food, Transport, Entertainment, etc.

System vs Custom Categories

  • System categories - pre-defined, available to all families
  • Custom categories - create your own for specific needs

Each category can have subcategories for more detail (e.g., Food → Groceries, Restaurants).

Auto-Categorization Rules

Create rules to automatically categorize transactions based on patterns.

Creating a Rule

  1. Go to Rules
  2. Click New Rule
  3. Set the match condition (description contains, equals, or regex)
  4. Choose the target category
  5. Set priority (higher = runs first)
Example: Description contains "MERCADONA" → Category: Food, Subcategory: Groceries

Budgets

Set spending limits for categories on a monthly or annual basis.

Creating a Budget

  1. Go to Budgets
  2. Click New Budget
  3. Select category, amount, and period (monthly/annual)

The dashboard shows your spending vs budget with progress bars and alerts when over budget.

Envelope Budgeting

Allocate your income to spending categories each month - the "envelope" method. This powerful technique helps you give every euro a purpose and stop living paycheck to paycheck.

How It Works

  1. Go to Envelopes
  2. Your income appears as "Ready to Assign"
  3. Assign amounts to each category
  4. As you spend, the assigned amount decreases
Tip: Use "Copy Prior Month" to quickly replicate last month's assignments.

Read the complete Envelope Budgeting Guide →

Savings Goals

Track progress toward financial goals like vacations, emergency funds, or big purchases.

Creating a Goal

  1. Go to Savings Goals
  2. Click New Goal
  3. Enter name, target amount, and optional deadline

Add contributions over time to track your progress with visual progress bars.

Debts

Track money owed between family members.

Creating a Debt

  1. Go to Debts
  2. Click New Debt
  3. Select creditor (who lent), debtor (who owes), and amount

Recording Payments

When the debtor pays back:

  1. Open the debt
  2. Click Record Payment
  3. Enter amount and optionally link to an existing transaction
Tip: Linking a payment to a transaction automatically categorizes it as "Debt Payment".