❓ Frequently Asked Questions

💰 Pricing & Plans

Is there a free trial?

Eligible accounts can start a one-time 30-day Premium trial without entering payment details. Accounts created from the Android app start a 30-day Premium Family trial automatically, with no card needed; access ends on the trial end date unless you choose a plan on the web. Current eligibility and included features are shown in the application.

Is my bank login shared with Family Budget Tracker?

No. Bank sync uses a provider account you set up yourself (SimpleFIN Bridge, Lunch Flow or Synci). You give FBT a one-time setup token, never your bank password, and you can disconnect at any time. See Bank Sync.

What is your refund policy?

Subscription payments are non-refundable once billed. You can cancel from account settings, and the change applies according to the billing terms shown at checkout. See the current Terms of Service before purchasing.

📱 Android Mobile App

Do you have a native mobile app?

Yes. The native Android app includes an optional biometric app lock, optional bank and Wallet notification capture, voice commands, and interactive charts. The app is available on Google Play, and the earlier direct APK has been retired. See the Mobile App Guide.

How does bank push notification and SMS alert ingestion work?

When you grant permission, the app checks alerts from bank and Wallet packages or SMS sender IDs that you allow. Alerts that qualify for processing are sent securely to Family Budget Tracker and may be processed by Google Gemini for extraction and categorisation. Security-code messages and other non-transaction alerts do not create transactions. SMS capture is optional and stays off until you turn it on in Settings.

🔒 Security & Data Privacy

Do you connect to my bank account via Open Banking?

No bank login is required for statement upload, Magic Drop, or Android alert capture. These workflows use files or alerts that you choose to provide. Family Budget Tracker does not ask for your online-banking password for these features.

How is my financial data protected?

• Encrypted transport: Application traffic uses HTTPS. Passwords are hashed, and statement-vault secrets are encrypted at rest.
• Hosted infrastructure: The application uses Render, Neon PostgreSQL, and Cloudflare R2.
• No advertising sale: Financial data is not sold or used for advertising.
• User controls: The application provides account deletion and data-management controls described in the Privacy Policy.

✉️ Zero-Based Envelope Budgeting

What is Zero-Based Envelope Budgeting?

Zero-based budgeting is a proactive financial methodology where every pound of confirmed cash is assigned a specific job (e.g. Groceries, Car Insurance, Holiday Savings, Buffer) before you spend it. The goal is to reach Ready to Assign = £0.00. It does not mean your bank account balance is zero; it means 100% of your money has an intended purpose so none is lost to impulse spending.

How does it differ from "Safe to Spend" and "Budget Limits"?

Family Budget Tracker supports two distinct modes:

• Track Only Mode: You track transactions against a central Safe to Spend gauge and set passive Category Budget Limits as spending ceilings.
• Active Envelope Budgeting: You actively allocate actual liquid cash into cash-backed envelopes with automated credit-card reservations, multi-cycle target schedules, and cycle carry-over rules.

How does credit card spending work with envelopes?

When you spend £50 on Groceries using a credit card, £50 is deducted from your Groceries envelope and automatically moved to your Credit Card Payment envelope. Your checking cash is preserved until you pay the card bill. Paying the credit card is recorded as an internal transfer between checking and card, which reduces the Card Payment envelope reserve and your card debt simultaneously without recording a duplicate expense.

How do annual expenses (e.g. Car Insurance, Christmas) work?

Instead of facing sudden large lump sums, you create an "Have amount by date" target. The app calculates your remaining pay cycles and suggests a smooth, equal assignment each cycle (e.g. £1,200 Car Insurance due in 6 cycles suggests £200 per cycle).

Can I switch between Track Only and Envelope Budgeting?

Yes. You can pause Envelope Budgeting at any time from Settings or the Budget page. Pausing instantly restores your Category Budget Limits view while securely preserving all envelope balances, targets, and historical allocation records so you can resume whenever you want.

How does family sharing work with envelopes?

Under Premium Family, your household shares a single unified Ready to Assign pool per currency. Multiple family members' personal categories (e.g. Sarah's Groceries and John's Groceries) map into one shared household Groceries envelope. You can use the family filter to view individual member activity breakdowns while total household envelope reserves remain synchronized.

🤖 Vision AI & Deep Document Parsing

What AI technology processes statements?

Supported statements are processed with Google Gemini through a paid API account. Family Budget Tracker requests deletion of uploaded Gemini Files after processing. Google-controlled retention and processing remain governed by the applicable provider terms, so the documentation does not promise immediate deletion from every provider system.

Can it handle multi-account statements?

Yes. If a bank PDF contains multiple accounts (such as a checking account and a linked ISA or savings account), our parser identifies each sub-account and splits transactions cleanly into separate accounts.

🏡 Mortgages & Investments

How does the mortgage interest rate solver work?

When you link an eligible repayment to a mortgage account, the payment remains a normal budgeting expense and can also create provisional mortgage activity. If the payment changes, the amortisation solver can infer an annual rate from the recorded balance, remaining term, and payment. Uploaded mortgage statements remain authoritative, and extracted mortgage facts require review before they are applied.

How are investment and pension returns calculated?

Pensions derive return performance directly from total cumulative net contributions versus current statement valuation truth, avoiding false performance distortions.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family Sharing

Can family members see each other's accounts?

Yes. Family Budget Tracker is built on a complete transparency model designed to foster open family financial discussions. All members share visibility into total household income, expenses, and savings goals, while retaining the ability to filter views by individual member.

🆘 Support & Help

Need help or found an edge case with a supported statement? Email support@getdigraw.com.