You set how much it does
Out of the box, every transaction waits in a review list. Turn it up when you trust it: get a text listing what it would add, or let it add the confident ones for you. Anything uncertain still waits.
Optional · Pro
Bank sync, on your terms
Connect a bank and BudgeFlow lines up posted transactions with what you already texted. Out of the box everything waits for you in review — and if you'd rather it handled the obvious ones, that's a setting you turn on, not a default you have to catch.
Text it, or let your bank fill it in.Bank sync is optional — your budget, your call.
No more double entries
Texted "48 home depot" on Tuesday? When the charge posts, BudgeFlow matches it to what you already logged and links the two, instead of adding it twice.
Your password never reaches us
You sign in through Plaid's own window, so your bank password goes to Plaid and never to BudgeFlow. What we hold is an encrypted read-only token, behind two-factor authentication, that you can revoke whenever you want.
Text it Tuesday. Let the bank catch up Thursday.
The delay is the honest part of this feature, so the walkthrough shows it rather than hiding it. Texting stays the fastest way to record a purchase; the bank's copy arrives later and gets matched to what you already logged.
- TuesdayYou text it48 home depot
- ThursdayThe charge postsYour bank sends it on its own schedule
- ThursdayBudgeFlow lines them upMatched against what you already texted
- Your callConfirmedLinked, never duplicated
Banks post transactions on their own schedule — usually once or twice a day, not the second you swipe. Text it if you want it tracked now.
How much it does is your call
The setting people actually meet, in the words the picker on /settings/bank/automation uses — read from that module, not retyped, so this section cannot drift from the control it describes. It starts switched off.
01Review everythingDefault
Every new transaction waits for your decision in Transactions. Nothing is added automatically.
02Assisted
Texts you one message listing what it would add, and waits. Reply OK to take them all, NO to skip, or EDIT 2 cat Groceries to change one.
03Automatic
Adds confident, categorized transactions on their own. Anything uncertain — no category, a possible duplicate, a bill it might be paying — still waits for you.
Transfers and card payments are their own switch, also off to begin with. Records the transfer when two rows can only be the same movement — same amount, opposite directions, within four days, and nothing else either one could be paired with. Your bank doesn't tell us the two sides belong together, so anything less certain waits for you in review.
What connecting a bank does — and does not — do
Does
- Shows posted transactions in a review list, with your category rules already applied.
- Suggests matches to expenses you already texted, and links them instead of duplicating.
- Flags likely bills, subscriptions, and which project a charge belongs to.
- Texts you when something needs a decision — or once a day, if you'd rather.
- Adds the confident ones for you, if you switch that on.
Does not
- Move money, pay a bill, or change anything at your bank.
- Import a pending charge — the amount and date still move.
- Act unattended on anything you haven't switched on.
- Do anything you can't see afterwards and undo.
Read-only. Optional. Two-factor required. Disconnect whenever you want.
Where it sits in the plans
| Feature | Plan |
|---|---|
| Bank sync (optional) | Pro |
Included in Pro at no extra cost. There is no separate bank-sync tier, and Basic is unaffected.
Questions this raises
Do I have to connect a bank?
No. BudgeFlow works entirely by text, and always will. Bank sync is an optional Pro feature for people who want posted transactions matched for them.
Does BudgeFlow see my bank password?
No. You sign in through Plaid's own window, so your password is entered into Plaid and never into BudgeFlow. What we hold is an encrypted, read-only token — never your password, never your card numbers — and you can revoke it whenever you want.
Will transactions be added to my budget automatically?
Only if you ask for that. Out of the box every transaction waits in a review list. You can switch it to text you a list of what it would add and wait for your reply, or to add the confident, categorized ones on its own — and even then anything uncertain, anything that might be a duplicate, and anything that might be paying a bill still waits for you.
Why does it keep asking me for a code?
Bank data sits behind two-factor authentication — viewing a connection as well as changing one. A password on its own is never enough to reach it. If you're asked on a page you were already looking at, your sign-in has lapsed rather than anything being wrong.
How fast do transactions show up?
On your bank's schedule, which is usually once or twice a day. It is not instant, and pending charges aren't offered at all until they settle, because their amount and date still change. If you want something tracked right now, text it — that is still the fastest way, and BudgeFlow will match the bank's copy to it later.
What happens to what I already texted in?
Nothing is lost or duplicated. When a bank transaction matches an expense you logged by text, BudgeFlow links them instead of adding a second entry.
Does it change my balances?
Only where you ask it to. If you create a BudgeFlow account from a bank account, we use the balance your bank reports as its starting point — which means anything older than that moment is already counted in it and won't be imported on top. If you link a bank account to one you have been tracking by hand, we can offer to true the balance up, and show you the arithmetic before you accept it.
Can I disconnect?
Yes, whenever you want, and it takes effect immediately — it revokes our access at your bank and deletes the token we hold. Expenses you already imported stay in your budget, because they are your records. Anything still sitting in review goes with the connection.
Included in Pro at no extra cost. Connect from Settings → Bank, and switch how much automation does on your behalf any time.
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