FinTrack
Professional Documentation

What FinTrack is

FinTrack is a privacy-focused Android personal-finance application built around one central idea: every financial event should be easy to record, easy to understand, and easy to review later. The application combines day-to-day transaction entry with accounts, categories, tags, budgets, loans, subscriptions, credit-card tracking, notes, statement import, automation, security, backup, local web access, and financial analysis.

How to read this documentation

Every major capability is explained in two layers:

1. Basic concept — what the feature means in normal financial or productivity language.
2. FinTrack implementation — how the user experiences that concept inside the app, including screens, controls, states, validation, and relationships to other features.

Special features then add four practical layers: prerequisites, points to keep in mind, a pro tip, and the best way to use the feature.

First launch and initial setup

Basic concept

A financial application needs a safe starting point. Initial setup establishes where automatic backups should go and, if desired, how backup files are protected. The goal is to make data safety part of onboarding rather than an afterthought.

FinTrack implementation

On first launch, FinTrack presents a welcome/setup experience. The setup flow explains that the app does not depend on a central service for ordinary use and asks the user to choose a backup folder for automatic backups. The screen exposes:

• Backup Location — the folder selected for automatic backups.
• E2EE / Encryption — an option for encrypted backup files.
• Change Backup Folder — lets the user replace the selected location.
• Get Started — completes onboarding.
• Skip and set up later — allows the user to enter the application without finishing backup configuration.

If encryption is enabled, FinTrack asks for a master/backup password and confirmation. The interface explicitly warns that the password is the user's responsibility and that the password must match before continuing.

Prerequisites

• Android must allow the application to use the selected folder.
• For encrypted backups, choose a password you can reliably retain.

Points to keep in mind

• Skipping setup does not mean backup is automatically configured later.
• An encryption password is not something to treat as recoverable from the app.

Pro tip

Complete backup setup before entering a large amount of financial history. It creates a safer baseline for future database changes.

Best use

Use the setup screen to establish your normal backup destination first; then configure accounts, categories, and transactions.

Navigation and the overall app shell

Basic concept

A personal-finance app can become difficult to use when every feature is buried in a menu. FinTrack separates high-frequency work from management functions: the bottom navigation is for everyday views, while the navigation drawer exposes the complete application.

FinTrack implementation

The primary bottom navigation can contain Home, Analysis, Entries, and Budgets. Its order is configurable in Settings. The currently selected item expands to show its label, while the other items remain compact. A persistent search action sits alongside the tabs.

The drawer exposes the wider application: Import, Credit Cards, Subscriptions, Performance, Categories, Templates, Tags, Budgets, Notes, Permissions, Tutorial, Settings, Database, and Contact. It also shows the application version in the drawer.

Front-end navigation behavior

• Opening a drawer destination closes the drawer and moves to the requested screen.
• The bottom navigation remains the fast path for the four primary work areas.
• Several secondary screens use a top-left back action and Android back handling.
• When a transaction is opened from search or a dashboard drill-down, FinTrack can display it in a read-only detail mode.
• The floating action button changes meaning by context: on Budgets it adds a budget; elsewhere it adds a transaction.
• When local web/server access is active, editing from the main floating action button is disabled and the UI explains why.

Pro tip

Put the two or three views you use most often first in Tab Order. Use the drawer for configuration and occasional workflows.

Home dashboard

Basic concept

A dashboard should answer “How am I doing?” before requiring the user to inspect individual entries. The home screen therefore emphasizes a selected date period, totals, trends, alerts, insights, budgets, and shortcuts into deeper analysis.

FinTrack implementation

The Home view starts with a date range covering the current month through today. It also computes a comparable previous-period range. The user can change the period and drill into the resulting numbers.

Key dashboard areas

• Period filter — controls which transactions feed the dashboard.
• Income and expense views — totals can be opened as transaction lists.
• Net position — gives a compact view of the difference between money coming in and going out.
• Discretionary spending — isolates transactions marked as discretionary.
• Negotiated savings — surfaces savings captured through the negotiation tracker.
• Top expenses — highlights major spending items.
• Budget performance — provides a quick view of budget health.
• Insights — surfaces financial-behavior observations.
• Credit-card and subscription alerts — warning cards can be acted on from the dashboard.

Dashboard items are interactive rather than merely decorative. Tapping a total or insight can take the user to a filtered transaction list or a deeper analysis view.

Prerequisites

Useful dashboard results require correctly categorized transactions and meaningful account/category setup.

Points to keep in mind

• A dashboard is only as reliable as the entries behind it.
• Changing the date range changes the meaning of nearly every total on the screen.

Pro tip

Use the current-month dashboard for daily monitoring and Analysis/Performance for longer-term decisions.

Transactions, entries, and search

Basic concept

The transaction is the fundamental financial event: money is received, spent, moved, owed, or associated with a party. Good transaction entry captures enough context to make future analysis possible without making routine entry painful.

FinTrack implementation

The Entries view is the central transaction list. Transactions can be opened for inspection, filtered, exported, and deleted subject to the application's deletion settings. The global search action can search across transaction-related information and opens matching entries for review.

Transaction lists can be presented as a normal list or calendar-oriented history in the shared UI components. Filtering can use dates and financial dimensions, and several analysis views can drill down into the exact transactions behind a number.

Transaction states and behavior

• Normal entry — a saved transaction that contributes to balances and analysis.
• Draft — an unfinished transaction can remain pending and the app can remind the user that a draft exists.
• Read-only detail — transactions opened from search or certain analytical contexts may be shown without editing controls.
• Deletion protection — Settings can require additional confirmation or disable transaction deletion behavior.

Best use

Use consistent notes, categories, accounts, tags, merchant names, and party information. This increases the usefulness of search and every analytical screen downstream.

Add Transaction — the core entry workflow

Basic concept

A transaction-entry form converts a real-world financial event into structured information. The ideal form supports simple entries without preventing advanced users from recording complex events.

FinTrack implementation

FinTrack's Add Transaction screen is intentionally broad. It supports Expense, Income, and Transfer workflows and can capture:

• Date and time
• Primary account and destination account for transfers
• Category
• Amount and currency
• Notes
• Party / payer / recipient information
• Tags
• Merchant name
• Invoice information
• Subscription details
• Loan/on-account relationships
• Negotiation information
• Discretionary-spending status
• Multiple category rows
• Multiple account/amount rows

Validation and save behavior

The form validates required information before saving. Typical validation messages cover missing primary account, missing destination account for a transfer, missing category, missing total amount, and invalid multi-entry rows. The interface can also warn when a multi-entry total does not match the expected transaction total.

Single vs multi entry

Single is the fast path: one category/account context. Multi lets one real-world event be divided across categories or accounts. This is useful for a shopping receipt containing groceries and household items, or a purchase paid from two accounts.

Calculator

The amount area includes an integrated calculator. Expressions can be evaluated directly rather than requiring the user to calculate externally and copy the result.

Templates

A completed transaction can be saved as a template. Existing templates can be selected later and reused as a starting point.

Prerequisites

• Create at least one suitable account.
• Create income/expense categories before recording normal transactions.
• For transfers, have both source and destination accounts.

Points to keep in mind

• Do not use a category when the event is actually an account-to-account transfer.
• For multi-entry transactions, make sure row amounts reconcile with the intended total.
• Foreign-currency entries need a sensible currency/rate context when multi-currency is enabled.

Pro tip

Build templates for repetitive transactions, and use multi-entry only when it genuinely reduces duplicate work.

Best use

Capture the minimum required fields for speed, then add tags, merchant, negotiation, invoice, or party data whenever that information will matter during later review.

Accounts, categories, and the financial hierarchy

Basic concept

Accounts answer where the money is or where the liability lives. Categories answer what the money was for. A hierarchy makes categories easier to organize and analyze.

FinTrack implementation

FinTrack uses accounts with an asset/liability identity and optional opening balance, description, icon, and specialized settings. Credit-card accounts can additionally carry credit limit and billing-cycle information. Categories are separated into income and expense types. Categories are organized beneath major and minor heads.

Manage Categories / Accounts

The management screen lets the user search, edit, disable, and delete categories/accounts. Adding a new item can lead into the Add Category/Account form, where the user can choose the financial type, name, notes, opening balance, and relevant hierarchy.

Major and minor heads

Major heads are top-level groupings; minor heads sit under a selected major head. A minor head requires a parent major head. System-mandatory heads cannot be deleted. Deleting a major head causes its mapped minor heads to fall back to the application's “Others” behavior.

Account-specific options

• Opening balance
• Asset or liability type
• Credit limit for applicable accounts
• Credit-card billing-cycle start/end and due-date information
• Emergency-fund marker
• Default due days for applicable on-account behavior
• Enabled/disabled state

Prerequisites

Set up the account/category structure before importing a large statement or building detailed budgets.

Pro tip

Keep categories meaningful and stable. Too many near-duplicate categories make trends harder to interpret.

Analysis dashboard

Basic concept

Analysis turns raw transactions into answers: what was spent, where it happened, what changed, which account or party is involved, and which items remain open or overdue.

FinTrack implementation

The Analysis area supports different analytical perspectives, including spending, source, balance, merchants, net worth, on-account/loan activity, and related transaction drill-downs. Filters can be applied to refine the scope.

Filtering model

• Date range
• Account
• Category
• Tags
• Party
• Status: All / Open / Cleared
• Overdue or due-within-a-period conditions
• Amount range
• Party grouping

Drill-down behavior

Analytical cards and charts are intended as entry points. Selecting a meaningful number or dimension can open the underlying transactions, balances, parties, or categories. This creates a “summary → evidence” workflow instead of leaving the user with unexplained totals.

Pro tip

When a number looks surprising, do not immediately edit data. First narrow the same date range and open the underlying transaction list; this is the fastest way to distinguish a real trend from a classification issue.

Performance dashboard

Basic concept

Performance compares financial behavior over time. Instead of asking only “what is the number?”, it asks “how did the number change?”

FinTrack implementation

The Performance screen provides separate Numbers and Charts tabs. A period can be selected and columns can be grouped as:

• Monthly
• Quarterly
• Half-yearly
• Yearly
• Custom

Custom grouping supports a number plus a unit such as days, weeks, months, or years. The screen surfaces financial metrics, budget performance/variance, budget trends, and category performance trends.

Best use

Use monthly grouping for routine review, quarterly/half-yearly grouping for strategic review, and custom periods when your financial cycle does not match calendar months.

Pro tip

Compare the same metric under two groupings. Monthly detail can expose a short-term spike while quarterly grouping can reveal that the overall trend is stable.

Budgets and budget-vs-actual

Basic concept

A budget is a target against which actual activity can be compared. A useful budgeting system needs a target amount, a period, a scope, and a clear interpretation of whether higher or lower is better.

FinTrack implementation

FinTrack supports budgets over Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Half-yearly, and Yearly durations. A budget can have an optional name, notes, selected categories and/or credit-card accounts, and an interpretation flag for whether higher values are better.

The budget area also exposes Budget vs Actual, where the user can compare planned and observed amounts. Dashboard summaries can show average daily, average monthly, forecast, difference, and available values where applicable.

Set / Remove Budget

Budget management can be reached from the Budgets area and from category/account management contexts. A budget may cover multiple categories/cards rather than being restricted to one category.

Prerequisites

• Create the categories or card accounts you want the budget to measure.
• Decide whether the target represents spending, a positive accumulation, or another measurable behavior.

Points to keep in mind

• “Lower is better” and “Higher is better” change how a variance should be interpreted.
• A budget period must match the behavior you are trying to control.

Pro tip

Use shorter periods for controllable habits and longer periods for structural goals. A monthly grocery budget and a yearly category target serve different purposes.

Tags and tag summaries

Basic concept

Categories answer one primary question about a transaction; tags provide cross-cutting labels. A single transaction can therefore be connected to themes that cut across categories.

FinTrack implementation

Tags have a name, enabled/disabled state, a tracking type (Income, Expense, or Both), and an optional target number. FinTrack can support multi-tag assignment when the corresponding setting is enabled.

The Tags area provides management plus a dedicated Summary by Tags experience. Users can select tags, see transaction counts, filter results, and open transactions associated with selected tags.

Good tag examples

• Trip
• Work
• Family
• Annual
• Investment-related
• Negotiated

Prerequisites

Create tags before trying to build a tag-based analytical habit.

Pro tip

Use tags for dimensions that would otherwise force you to create too many categories. This keeps the category tree cleaner.

Transaction templates

Basic concept

A template is a reusable starting point for a recurring or frequently repeated transaction. It reduces typing while preserving consistency.

FinTrack implementation

The Templates screen separates management and customization. Templates can represent income, expense, or transfer transactions and may include account, destination account, category, amount, note, tags, and multi-entry information. Subscription-related fields can also be associated with a template.

During transaction entry, the user can add a template, use an existing template, edit a template, or save the current transaction as a template. The template-selection interface can also control which fields are included.

Best use

Create templates only for patterns that are genuinely stable. If an amount or category changes frequently, a template should be a starting point rather than treated as a final record.

Pro tip

Templates are particularly effective for rent, salary, recurring transfers, standard subscriptions, and repeated business expenses.

Loans — borrowing and lending

Basic concept

Loans are different from ordinary transactions because they have a principal, interest, repayment schedule, outstanding balance, and future obligations. A useful loan tracker therefore needs both calculation and history.

FinTrack implementation

FinTrack supports both Borrowing and Lending. The Add Loan experience captures the loan name/reference, principal, annual interest rate, repayment frequency, installment, issue/disbursement date, first repayment date, account mapping, party/counterparty, and repayment behavior.

Loan calculator

The interface can calculate periodic EMI from principal, tenure, and rate, or calculate the rate from principal, tenure, and EMI. A recalculation flow can compare computed and actual repayment behavior. The screen also exposes estimated gap interest and a choice of gap-interest method, including day-based or month/odd-day handling.

Account mapping

Users can choose the loan category and the account receiving or paying the loan. There is also an option to create a loan account and an option to update the bank balance. A tracking-only loan can be used when the user wants loan monitoring without automatically recording financial transactions.

Repayment schedule and catch-up

The loan experience exposes total repayment, total interest, outstanding balance, repayment schedule, and current position. If scheduled entries have fallen behind, a catch-up flow can identify pending payment periods and offer to record them.

Creation warning

Before final creation, FinTrack asks the user to review the parameters and warns that the loan configuration cannot subsequently be changed or removed in the same way as an ordinary editable record. This makes the confirmation step important.

Prerequisites

• Decide whether the loan is borrowing or lending.
• Have the relevant account and party ready.
• Know the principal, rate, frequency, and repayment timing.

Points to keep in mind

• Existing-loan tracking is distinct from creating a brand-new loan schedule.
• Actual repayment amounts can differ from calculated EMI; review the resulting schedule.
• A tracking-only loan intentionally avoids automated transaction recording.

Pro tip

For an existing loan already in progress, use the existing-loan path rather than pretending the loan started today.

Subscriptions and recurring payments

Basic concept

Subscriptions are predictable recurring financial events. Tracking them separately makes it easier to see upcoming commitments and pause or resume recurring behavior.

FinTrack implementation

The subscription dashboard shows recurring payment items and supports adding a subscription. Subscription information can include name, frequency in months, notes, and whether the recurring item behaves like a transfer. Subscription status can be stopped or resumed and may expose automatic recording.

The Add Transaction form can mark a transaction as a subscription and connect it with recurring behavior. Loan-related recurring items can also appear in the subscription-oriented dashboard because both represent scheduled financial activity.

Prerequisites

Record a representative transaction and give the recurring item a stable name/frequency.

Pro tip

Use clear names such as “Cloud storage” or “Gym membership” rather than generic names. This makes the recurring dashboard immediately understandable.

Credit-card dashboard

Basic concept

Credit-card spending needs a different view from ordinary cash spending because billed, unbilled, available credit, total due, billing dates, and payment dates are all relevant.

FinTrack implementation

A credit-card account can carry a credit limit, billing-cycle dates, and payment due information. The Credit Card dashboard can summarize available credit and totals, distinguish Billed from Unbilled transactions, show last billing/payment context, and provide an expense-analysis view.

Where multiple cards are configured, the application can use card timing information to provide usage suggestions intended to optimize the credit period.

Prerequisites

• Create each card as an appropriate account.
• Enter credit limit and billing-cycle information accurately.

Points to keep in mind

A credit-card dashboard is only useful when billing and due-date settings reflect the real card agreement.

Pro tip

Use the billed/unbilled distinction to answer two different questions: “what has reached the bill?” and “what have I already spent that may become payable later?”

CSV bank-statement import

Basic concept

Bank statements rarely use a universal CSV format. A robust importer therefore needs to let the user describe the meaning of each input column rather than assuming one fixed layout.

FinTrack implementation

The Import Statement screen uses a guided workflow:

1. Select the bank account.
2. Select/upload the CSV file.
3. Let FinTrack parse the file.
4. Review and assign column roles.
5. Confirm extraction.
6. Review the resulting transactions.
7. Record individual entries or select multiple entries for bulk recording.

The column-mapping screen explicitly tells the user to ensure that Date, Description, and Amount are correct. For statements with one signed Amount column, the sign can distinguish deposits and withdrawals. For statements with one positive Amount plus a separate debit/credit indicator, the DR/CR information can be used to determine direction.

De-duplication

FinTrack is designed to avoid recording an already-known transaction again when the same statement is imported repeatedly.

Bulk recording

After extraction, the user can select multiple pending transactions, choose Income or Expense, select a category, and confirm bulk recording. The interface reports how many transactions were booked.

Prerequisites

• Have a CSV statement file.
• Know which account the statement belongs to.
• Understand whether the statement uses signed amounts or a DR/CR indicator.

Points to keep in mind

• Always inspect column mapping before extraction.
• Review a sample of imported entries before bulk recording.
• Importing is not the same as categorizing; category assignment still matters.

Pro tip

When importing a new bank format for the first time, record a small sample manually before bulk recording the rest. This catches mapping mistakes early.

Automation rules and automatic transaction detection

Basic concept

Automation rules turn predictable incoming messages into repeatable data-entry decisions. The user defines what a message should look like and what financial action should follow.

FinTrack implementation

The Automation Rules screen lets the user create a rule with a name, optional sender condition, exact text-containing condition, action type, and action details. Actions can represent income, expense, or transfer behavior and can be associated with accounts, categories, parties, notes, and tags. Rules can be enabled or disabled.

Settings expose automatic-read controls and SMS matching criteria. The application can also configure currencies and SMS keywords used by the automatic-read experience.

Rule lifecycle

• Create the rule.
• Define sender/text criteria.
• Define the financial action.
• Save and keep it enabled only when the expected messages are understood.
• Disable a rule temporarily when it should stop acting without deleting its definition.

Prerequisites

• Relevant system permissions must be granted.
• The sender/text pattern must be understood.
• Destination account/category/party choices should already exist.

Points to keep in mind

Automation is only as safe as the matching condition. A broad text match can affect more messages than intended.

Pro tip

Start with a narrow sender + distinctive text condition. Expand the rule only after confirming that it behaves correctly.

Built-in Notes workspace

Basic concept

Financial management often requires context that does not belong inside a transaction: a checklist, a calculation, a hand-drawn idea, or a structured statement. An integrated notes workspace keeps that context close to the financial application.

FinTrack implementation

The Notes experience supports notebooks and multiple note types:

• Text notes — normal written content.
• Checklists — items with text and quantity.
• Drawing notes — a canvas for freehand and shape-based work.
• Statements — structured rows with headers, line items, subtotals, and totals.

Notebook management

Users can create, rename, delete, move, and copy notes between notebooks, including a general/no-notebook destination. Deleting a notebook warns that all pages inside it will be deleted.

Note organization

Notes can be pinned, colored with an RGB picker, tagged, searched, duplicated, moved, and deleted. The list preview adapts to the note type, including checklist summaries and statement descriptions.

Drawing tools

The drawing workspace provides pen, highlighter, eraser, line, arrow, rectangle, square, and circle tools, with size control, undo, clear-all, canvas-theme switching, and workspace toggling.

Statement tools

Statement notes support headers and line items and calculate subtotals/grand totals from their structured rows.

Prerequisites

No financial setup is required for ordinary notes. Tags are useful if you want cross-note filtering.

Pro tip

Use notebooks for broad context (for example, “Trips” or “Business”) and tags for cross-notebook themes.

On-account transactions and invoice ageing

Basic concept

When money and goods/services change hands before final settlement, the transaction is not simply “paid” or “unpaid.” Invoice numbers, due periods, open amounts, and clearance history matter.

FinTrack implementation

The transaction form can represent on-account loan/party relationships and capture invoice numbers and due-day information. The application can track unpaid invoice age and can associate clearing transactions with invoice transactions.

Analysis filters include open/cleared status, overdue state, and due-in-next-X-days or was-due-in-last-Y-days conditions. Invoice-selection interfaces can therefore be used when recording settlement.

Prerequisites

• Enable Invoice Ageing in Settings when this behavior is needed.
• Use party/on-account information consistently.

Pro tip

Always record the invoice number at the original transaction. Reconstructing invoice identity later is much harder.

Advanced spending trackers

Basic concept

Two purchases with the same final price can have very different financial stories. One may have been negotiated down, while another may be optional/discretionary. Capturing these dimensions makes spending analysis more actionable.

FinTrack implementation

Settings can enable three advanced trackers:

• Negotiation — records the amount before negotiation and the resulting savings.
• Merchant — records who the transaction was with, enabling merchant-oriented analysis.
• Discretionary — marks a transaction as discretionary spending and makes it available in dedicated dashboard analysis.

When enabled, the Add Transaction screen exposes the corresponding fields/controls. The Home dashboard can show negotiated savings and discretionary-spending views.

Prerequisites

Enable the tracker in Settings before expecting its field to be part of transaction entry.

Pro tip

Use negotiation tracking for purchases where bargaining is meaningful; use discretionary marking consistently so the resulting “optional spending” trend remains useful.

Multi-currency support and exchange rates

Basic concept

People may earn, spend, or hold money in more than one currency. A useful multi-currency system stores the transaction's original currency while also making it possible to compare values in a chosen home/base currency.

FinTrack implementation

Settings provide a Multi-Currency switch, a selectable base currency, currency search, and exchange-rate refresh. The Add Transaction form can record a foreign amount and currency and can display the corresponding base/local value when conversion information is available.

The currency picker presents currency codes and localized display names. The interface can also surface stale-rate messaging where a rate is old or needs attention.

Prerequisites

• Enable Multi-Currency.
• Choose a base currency.
• Refresh or otherwise provide appropriate rates before relying on converted totals.

Points to keep in mind

A converted value is only meaningful when the rate and date context make sense for the transaction.

Pro tip

Keep the base currency aligned with the currency you use for your primary financial decisions; this makes dashboards and comparisons easier to interpret.

Security, privacy, and app locking

Basic concept

Financial information deserves protection both while stored and while the application is being used. A practical security model combines device authentication, lock timing, screenshot controls, and protected backups.

FinTrack implementation

Settings include App Lock, auto-lock timeout, and screenshot-disabling behavior. Secure unlock uses Android device security such as biometric authentication or the system's secure credential flow. If secure unlock is unavailable, the UI explains that the device security settings need attention.

When the app is locked, FinTrack presents a dedicated locked screen asking the user to confirm identity before continuing. During protected database access, the interface can display secure-decryption progress and errors such as incorrect password or failed authentication.

Ultra Secure Mode / encryption at rest

The application supports a stronger encrypted-data mode. The user-facing experience treats this as protection of the application data while the app is closed, rather than merely encrypting a backup export.

Prerequisites

• Configure a secure device lock for biometric/system authentication.
• For encrypted data/backups, establish a master password and keep it safe.

Points to keep in mind

• Encryption passwords are security credentials; losing them can prevent access to protected data.
• Screenshot disabling can affect the ability to capture the application's screens for support or documentation.

Pro tip

Use both app locking and encrypted backups. They protect different moments: one protects active access, the other protects exported copies.

Database management, backup, restore, and configuration export

Basic concept

Backup is a safety copy. Restore/import is a recovery or migration operation. Configuration export is useful when settings and reusable setup need to be carried between environments.

FinTrack implementation

The Database screen provides manual database backup, scheduled backup configuration, database import/opening, configuration export/import, and remote-sync-related controls.

Backup options

When exporting the current database, the user can choose between encrypted (E2EE) and plaintext output where permitted. In stronger secure modes, the UI explicitly describes backups as encrypted with the master password.

Import/open another database

FinTrack warns that opening a different database permanently replaces the database currently used by the app. It therefore asks the user to make sure the current database has been backed up first.

If an encrypted backup is detected, the app asks for the password, shows decryption progress, and reports success or failure. Invalid database structure is also detected rather than silently accepted.

Scheduled backups

The user can choose whether scheduled backup is enabled and configure timing. The interface exposes backup status and last-attempt/last-success information.

Remote sync / WebDAV-oriented backup

The database area can configure remote synchronization to a compatible cloud destination. The front-end exposes URL, username/password-style fields, test connection, sync now, status, and options concerning encryption of remote backups. When E2EE is not enabled, the UI warns about the privacy implications of remote storage.

Prerequisites

• For local backup, choose an accessible folder.
• For encrypted backup, know the encryption password.
• For remote sync, have valid credentials and a supported remote destination.

Pro tip

Keep at least one independently accessible backup before replacing or importing a database. Test restoration rather than assuming that a successful backup message proves recoverability.

Local web access

Basic concept

Sometimes entering data on a larger screen is faster than using a phone. Local web access lets another device on the same network interact with FinTrack through a browser.

FinTrack implementation

Settings provide a Web Access / Server Mode section. The user can enable web access, see a connection URL, copy that URL, scan/authorize clients through a QR-oriented flow, and review active clients. The interface also allows clients to be disconnected.

Because the local web mode changes how the application is being used, the mobile UI warns that editing from the phone is disabled while the local server is active and that performance may be affected.

Security behavior

The UI explicitly warns that enabling web access permits devices on the network to view data. It also recommends HTTPS where possible.

Prerequisites

• The phone and browser device should be able to reach the local service over the same network.
• Clients may need authorization before they can access the application.

Points to keep in mind

Local-network access is still access to financial information. Only enable it on networks and devices you trust.

Pro tip

Use local web access for short data-entry sessions on a trusted network, then disable it when you no longer need it.

Notifications, reminders, and alerts

Basic concept

Notifications are useful when the application needs to bring future obligations or unusual conditions to the user's attention without requiring the dashboard to be open.

FinTrack implementation

Settings include expense reminders and credit-card alerts. Expense reminders have an enabled state, configurable frequency, and notification message. Credit-card alerts can be enabled separately.

Loan and subscription dashboards also expose due dates, progress, and recurring status so the user can understand why an alert matters.

Prerequisites

• Allow the relevant Android notification/permission prompts.
• Configure a frequency and message when required.

Pro tip

Use reminders for items that are easy to forget, not every transaction. Too many notifications reduce the value of the important ones.

App permissions

Basic concept

Some Android features require explicit permission. A good permissions screen explains why access matters and distinguishes granted from not-granted states.

FinTrack implementation

The Permissions screen lists the application's relevant permissions with a Granted / Not Granted state and an enable action where possible. It can open Android system settings when the operating system requires the user to grant access there.

The interface also handles Android's restricted-settings situation and tells the user to open App Info, use the system menu, and allow restricted settings when that specific restriction applies.

Prerequisites

Grant only the permissions needed for the features you intend to use, such as automatic SMS processing or notifications.

Pro tip

If a feature appears inactive, check Permissions before troubleshooting the feature itself.

Settings — complete user-facing control surface

Basic concept

Settings should let users adapt the application to their language, visual preference, workflow, security posture, and financial model without changing the underlying purpose of the app.

FinTrack implementation

FinTrack's Settings screen groups a large set of controls:

Language and regional display

The project includes localized string resources for multiple languages. The number-system setting lets users choose international Millions/Billions formatting instead of the Indian Lakhs/Crores style.

Pro tip

Configure Settings in this order: language/number format → base currency → dashboard scope → entry helpers → security → notifications → optional web access.

Built-in tutorial and help

Basic concept

An advanced finance application should explain its own vocabulary and workflows instead of assuming that every user already understands them.

FinTrack implementation

The in-app Tutorial is organized around Getting Started, Basic Terms, Advanced Loans, Advanced Credit Cards, and Best Practices. It is intended as a user-facing orientation layer and complements this full documentation.

The Contact screen provides developer contact information, website/GitHub/YouTube destinations, and a log-export action for troubleshooting. Exported logs can be shared with support when a problem needs investigation.

Pro tip

Use the built-in tutorial for quick orientation and this documentation as the reference manual when you need exact feature behavior.

Contact and troubleshooting support

Basic concept

Support is easier when a reproducible description and useful diagnostic information can be provided without asking the user to manually reconstruct what happened.

FinTrack implementation

The Contact screen provides developer contact information plus links/entries for email, GitHub issues, website, and YouTube. It also includes Export Logs. The UI reports whether log export succeeded or failed.

Best practice

When reporting an issue, include the exact screen, the action immediately before the problem, the visible error message, and—when appropriate—the exported logs. Avoid sharing sensitive financial data unnecessarily.

Quick Entry and Android shortcuts

Basic concept

Not every transaction needs the full power of the detailed transaction form. A quick-entry workflow reduces the number of decisions required for routine entries.

FinTrack implementation

Quick Entry focuses on account, category, amount, note, and transfer destination where applicable. It supports Expense, Income, and Transfer, validates required fields, and offers Save and Save & New behavior.

The project also defines an Android shortcut for quick entry, providing a direct launch path from the launcher on supported devices.

Pro tip

Use Quick Entry for straightforward transactions and the full Add Transaction screen when you need tags, multi-entry, currency, invoices, merchant information, subscriptions, or negotiation tracking.

Visual design and interaction patterns

Basic concept

A finance application presents dense information. Consistent hierarchy, readable labels, clear selected states, and safe destructive actions reduce mistakes.

FinTrack implementation

• Material-style top bars, cards, dialogs, menus, tabs, chips, switches, sliders, and floating action buttons are used consistently.
• Selected bottom-navigation tabs expand their labels and use a highlighted container.
• Destructive actions such as delete are placed behind confirmation flows where appropriate.
• Progress indicators communicate parsing, extraction, decryption, and other longer operations.
• Empty states distinguish “no data” from “no matches” in several screens.
• Read-only transaction screens prevent accidental edits when the context is analytical or search-driven.
• Theme configuration supports light/dark-oriented presentation and a configurable primary color.

Points to keep in mind

Dense analytical screens can require horizontal scrolling. When reviewing a wide table or chart, use the grouping/filter controls rather than trying to interpret every dimension at once.

Recommended end-to-end workflows

Basic concept

The strongest finance experience is not a collection of isolated features. It is a repeatable cycle: configure → record → review → analyze → correct → back up.

FinTrack implementation

New user workflow

1. Complete setup and backup location.
2. Configure security.
3. Create major/minor heads where needed.
4. Create accounts and categories.
5. Choose base currency and regional number format.
6. Configure dashboard scope.
7. Record a few transactions manually.
8. Create templates for recurring entries.
9. Configure budgets/tags.
10. Enable advanced trackers only when useful.
11. Set up notifications and backups.

Daily workflow

1. Use Quick Entry or Add Transaction.
2. Review Home alerts and dashboard totals.
3. Resolve drafts or uncategorized entries.
4. Use search when looking for a specific record.

Monthly workflow

1. Review Budgets and Budget vs Actual.
2. Inspect Analysis by category/account/merchant.
3. Review credit-card billed/unbilled status.
4. Check subscriptions and upcoming loan obligations.
5. Review Performance trends.
6. Verify backup status.

Statement-import workflow

1. Back up first.
2. Import a small statement/sample.
3. Confirm column mapping.
4. Review pending transactions.
5. Record individually or in bulk.
6. Run a balance/category review afterward.

360° feature matrix

User-facing troubleshooting

Plain-English glossary

Account

A place or instrument where money or a liability is tracked, such as cash, bank, or credit card.

Category

The primary purpose classification of an income or expense.

Major Head

A top-level organizational group for minor heads.

Minor Head

A child grouping beneath a major head.

Tag

A cross-cutting label that can be attached to transactions without changing their main category.

Party

A person or organization associated with an on-account transaction or loan relationship.

On Account

A transaction where settlement is not immediate and a party/invoice relationship matters.

Discretionary

Spending marked as optional rather than necessary.

Negotiated Savings

The difference between the original amount and the amount finally paid after negotiation.

Template

A reusable transaction starting point.

Budget

A target amount for a selected period and financial scope.

EMI

Periodic installment amount used in loan repayment calculations.

Gap Interest

Interest associated with timing differences between expected and actual repayment periods in loan calculations.

Billed / Unbilled

Credit-card transaction states indicating whether spending has reached the billing cycle.

E2EE

End-to-end encryption as presented by the application for protected backup/data handling.

Base Currency

The currency used as the reference for converted multi-currency values.

Other Notes

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