Question 1

How do I set up the app for the first time?

Accepted Answer

After installing BudGIT AI, a short setup walks you through entering your name, choosing a currency, and setting an initial budget. There's no sign-up, no login, and no internet connection required. The app works entirely on your device from the moment you open it.

Question 2

How do I set up the AI features?

Accepted Answer

The first time you use an AI feature, the app will download a compact language model to your device. This is a one-time download that requires an internet connection. Once downloaded, all AI features — categorization, insights, receipt parsing, and the financial assistant — work completely offline.

Question 3

What are the minimum device requirements?

Accepted Answer

BudGIT AI requires iPhone 12 or newer on iOS, or an Android device with at least 4 GB of RAM. The on-device AI features need a modern processor to run efficiently. The app itself uses minimal storage, but the AI model download requires approximately 1–2 GB of free space.

Question 4

How do I navigate the app?

Accepted Answer

The app uses a bottom navigation bar with five sections: Dashboard (your financial overview), Accounts (your balances at a glance), a center Add button (for new transactions), Insights (charts and AI analysis), and More (settings, budgets, goals, bills, and data management).

Question 5

How do I add a transaction?

Accepted Answer

Tap the center "+" button on the navigation bar. Enter the amount, select a category, choose the account, and optionally add notes or a photo. You can also use voice input or scan a receipt to fill in the details automatically.

Question 6

Can I edit or delete a transaction?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Tap any transaction to view its details, then use the edit or delete options. Changes take effect immediately and your dashboard, budgets, and insights update automatically.

Question 7

How do I categorize transactions?

Accepted Answer

You can manually choose a category when adding a transaction, or let the AI auto-categorize it based on the description. You can also create and edit custom categories from More → Categories.

Question 8

How do I search and filter transactions?

Accepted Answer

On the Transactions screen, use the search bar to find transactions by name, notes, or amount. You can also filter by date range, category, account, or transaction type (income vs. expense).

Question 9

How does the on-device AI work?

Accepted Answer

BudGIT AI runs a compact language model directly on your phone's processor. It handles transaction categorization, receipt parsing, natural language queries, and financial insights — all without sending any data to the cloud. Your financial data never leaves your device.

Question 10

Why does the AI model need to download first?

Accepted Answer

The language model is too large to bundle with the app download. It's fetched once over the internet and stored on your device. After that initial download, no internet connection is needed for any AI feature. You can delete and re-download the model at any time from settings.

Question 11

How accurate is AI categorization?

Accepted Answer

The AI handles most common transactions accurately based on the description, merchant, and your existing categories. If a suggestion isn't right, you can always correct it before saving — the AI uses your full transaction history as context for future categorizations.

Question 12

Can I use the app without AI features?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. AI features are entirely optional. You can skip the model download and use BudGIT AI as a fully manual budget tracker. All core features — accounts, transactions, budgets, goals, insights charts — work without AI.

Question 13

How do I scan a receipt?

Accepted Answer

When adding a transaction, tap the camera icon to scan a receipt. Point your camera at the receipt, and the app uses on-device text recognition to read it. The AI then extracts the merchant name, total amount, date, and suggests a category — pre-filling the transaction form for you.

Question 14

What types of receipts work best?

Accepted Answer

Printed receipts with clear text work best. The scanner handles most standard retail, restaurant, and grocery receipts. Handwritten receipts, very crumpled paper, or receipts with faded ink may produce less accurate results. Good lighting improves accuracy significantly.

Question 15

Can I scan receipts from my photo library?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Instead of using the camera, you can select an existing photo of a receipt from your device's photo library. This is useful for receipts you've already photographed or received digitally.

Question 16

The scan didn't capture everything — what can I do?

Accepted Answer

After scanning, you can review and edit any of the pre-filled fields before saving the transaction. If the scan missed details, simply correct them manually. Ensuring good lighting, holding the camera steady, and keeping the receipt flat all help improve scan accuracy.

Question 17

How do I use voice input?

Accepted Answer

When adding a transaction, tap the microphone icon and speak naturally. For example, say "Spent forty-five dollars on groceries at the supermarket." The app uses on-device speech recognition to transcribe your words, then the AI parses the details into a transaction.

Question 18

Does voice input work offline?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Speech recognition runs entirely on your device using a locally stored model. No audio is ever recorded, stored, or sent anywhere. The processing happens in real-time as you speak.

Question 19

What phrases does voice input understand?

Accepted Answer

Speak naturally as you would describe a purchase. Include the amount and what it was for — for example, "Coffee at Blue Bottle, twelve dollars" or "Paid rent, fifteen hundred dollars." The AI extracts the amount, merchant, and category from your description.

Question 20

How do I create multiple accounts?

Accepted Answer

Go to More → Accounts and tap the add button. You can create checking, savings, credit card, and cash accounts, each with its own starting balance. Your dashboard shows the total balance across all accounts.

Question 21

How do I record a transfer between accounts?

Accepted Answer

Use the transfer option when adding a new transaction. Select the source and destination accounts and enter the amount. The transfer automatically adjusts both account balances and appears in both accounts' transaction histories.

Question 22

What account types are supported?

Accepted Answer

BudGIT AI supports checking, savings, credit card, and cash accounts. You can create as many accounts as you need and customize their names and colors. Each account tracks its own balance and transaction history independently.

Question 23

How do I create a budget?

Accepted Answer

Go to More → Budgets and tap the add button. Select one or more categories, set a monthly spending limit, and the app tracks your progress throughout the month with a visual progress bar on your dashboard.

Question 24

How do budget alerts work?

Accepted Answer

The app sends you a local notification when your spending approaches your budget limit and again when you exceed it. These notifications are scheduled locally on your device — no internet required. You can enable or disable budget alerts in settings.

Question 25

Can I set budgets for specific categories?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each budget can target one or more spending categories. For example, you can create separate budgets for "Food & Dining," "Entertainment," or "Transportation," each with its own monthly limit and progress tracking.

Question 26

How do I set up a savings goal?

Accepted Answer

Go to More → Savings Goals and create a new goal with a name, target amount, and optional target date. The app tracks your progress with a visual progress bar and calculates how much you need to save each month to reach your target.

Question 27

How do I track contributions to a goal?

Accepted Answer

Add contributions to your savings goal directly from the goal's detail screen. Each contribution is recorded with a date and amount, and your progress bar updates automatically. You can also edit or remove past contributions.

Question 28

Can I have multiple savings goals?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Create as many savings goals as you need — for example, an emergency fund, a vacation, or a new device. Each goal has its own progress bar, contribution history, and optional deadline.

Question 29

How do I set up a recurring transaction?

Accepted Answer

When adding a transaction, enable the "Recurring" option and choose a frequency. The app will automatically create the transaction at the specified interval. This is ideal for rent, subscriptions, salary, and other regular transactions.

Question 30

What frequencies are available?

Accepted Answer

You can set transactions to repeat daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, or yearly. Each recurring rule runs on your device and creates transactions automatically — no internet or background sync needed.

Question 31

How do I stop a recurring transaction?

Accepted Answer

Go to More → Bills & Recurring, find the rule you want to stop, and delete or pause it. Previously created transactions remain in your history; only future automatic entries are affected.

Question 32

How do I back up my data?

Accepted Answer

Go to More → Backup and tap "Create Backup." You can choose to create an encrypted backup (protected with a password you set) or an unencrypted backup. The backup file is saved to a location you choose on your device. You can also enable automatic backups on a schedule.

Question 33

What's the difference between encrypted and unencrypted backups?

Accepted Answer

Encrypted backups are protected with a password you choose and use industry-standard encryption. You'll need the password to restore them. Unencrypted backups can be restored without a password but aren't protected if someone else accesses the file. We recommend encrypted backups for sensitive financial data.

Question 34

How do I restore from a backup?

Accepted Answer

Go to More → Backup and tap "Restore." Select your backup file and enter the password if it's encrypted. The app creates a safety snapshot of your current data before restoring, with automatic rollback if anything goes wrong.

Question 35

How do I export data as CSV or PDF?

Accepted Answer

Go to More → Export. Select the date range and data types you want to export. You can export as CSV (for spreadsheets) or PDF (for printable reports). The exported file is saved to your device and can be shared via any app.

Question 36

What happens to my data if I uninstall the app?

Accepted Answer

Uninstalling the app permanently deletes all data stored on your device. Since BudGIT AI stores everything locally and has no cloud backup, we strongly recommend creating a backup before uninstalling. We cannot recover lost data.

Question 37

How do I set up app lock?

Accepted Answer

Go to More → Settings → Security. You can enable app lock with your device's biometric authentication (Face ID or fingerprint) or set a PIN code. When enabled, the app requires authentication every time you open it.

Question 38

Does the app send any data to the cloud?

Accepted Answer

No. All your financial data — transactions, accounts, budgets, goals, and images — stays on your device. The only network connections the app makes are the one-time AI model download and optional crash reports (which never include financial data or personal information). See our Privacy Policy for full details.

Question 39

How does tamper detection work?

Accepted Answer

The app continuously verifies its own integrity while running. If it detects that the app has been modified, is running on a compromised device, or was installed from an unofficial source, it will alert you. This helps protect your financial data from unauthorized access.

Question 40

The AI model isn't downloading — what should I do?

Accepted Answer

Ensure you have a stable internet connection and sufficient free storage (approximately 1–2 GB). Try connecting to Wi-Fi if you're on mobile data. If the download fails, the app will resume from where it left off on the next attempt. You can also restart the app and try again.

Question 41

The app is running slowly — how can I improve performance?

Accepted Answer

Close other apps to free up memory, especially during AI operations. Ensure your device meets the minimum requirements (iPhone 12+ or 4 GB RAM Android). If the AI features are slow, the app is still fully functional without them — you can disable AI in settings.

Question 42

How do I report a bug?

Accepted Answer

Email us at support-budgit@xenonlabs.dev with a description of the issue, your device model, OS version, and app version (found in More → Settings → About). Screenshots are helpful. We read every report and typically respond within 24–48 hours.

Question 43

I lost my data — can it be recovered?

Accepted Answer

If you have a backup file, you can restore it from More → Backup → Restore. If you don't have a backup and have uninstalled the app or reset your device, the data cannot be recovered. BudGIT AI stores all data locally and has no cloud copy. We strongly recommend enabling automatic backups to prevent data loss.

Support Center

Getting Started

Transactions

AI Features

Receipt Scanning

Voice Input

Accounts and Transfers

Budgets

Savings Goals

Recurring Transactions

Data, Backup, and Export

Security and Privacy

Troubleshooting

Still need help?