Your first steps
When you finish the initial onboarding, the app shows you a first-steps checklist. This page is its companion: it explains what each step is for and links to the full guide when there is one. None of them are mandatory — but every one you complete makes Finvot work harder for you.
Closed the checklist in the app?
You'll find it again under Profile → Automate. Several steps check themselves off when Finvot detects you already did the action (for example, when your first bank email arrives).
1. Log your first expense
See how easy capturing a transaction is — pick your style:
- Talk instead of typing (~30 s) — tap the mic and say your expense like you'd tell a friend: "Lunch at Chipotle, $12". AI transcribes and picks up the amount, place, and category.
- Take a photo of the receipt (~30 s) — grocery receipts, restaurant bills, bank transfer screens, or WhatsApp screenshots. It doesn't have to look perfect.
- Log it by typing (~30 s) — tap the + button, type "Coffee $4" and send. No forms.
2. Turn on automatic tracking
The heart of Finvot: transactions that arrive on their own.
- Log your expenses automatically (~5 min) — set up your bank's email forwarding once, from a computer. Every notification becomes a transaction. Email forwarding guide →
- Connect Apple Pay (iOS, ~3-5 min) — Apple Pay doesn't email each purchase; it connects through an iPhone shortcut. Apple Pay guide →
- Log expenses via WhatsApp (~2 min) — link your number and log expenses by sending a message: "Lunch today $15". WhatsApp guide →
- SMS shortcut (iOS) — if your bank notifies you by text message. SMS shortcut guide →
You don't need every source
Enable the ones that fit your bank and your habits. Even one automatic source makes a real difference.
3. Make Finvot feel yours
Small tweaks that multiply the value of your data:
- Make a category your own (~1 min) — Finvot's categories are a starting point. Create yours: Pets, Delivery, Kids, Nights out… Each time you classify an expense in your category, the AI learns and starts doing it on its own. Categories guide →
- Tune your budgets (~2-3 min) — Finvot starts with suggested budgets. Tuning them to your reality is what makes "over budget" alerts meaningful.
- Add another account (~1-2 min) — one account is a partial picture. Add the other bank, the credit card, or cash and see the whole thing.
- Rules to auto-assign accounts (~2-3 min) — if you have several cards, tell Finvot "this email always goes to this account". For example: if the email says "Visa Infinite" → assign to "Bancolombia CC". Rules guide →
What's next?
With this set up, Finvot runs on its own. Explore in the app: automatically detected recurring subscriptions, net worth, monthly report, couples finances, and the AI assistant.