Fina

Fina

Back Home

Back Home

How To Connect Accounts

Tutorial Guide: How to Connect Accounts in Fina

In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk you through everything you need to know about connecting your financial accounts in Fina. Aggregating all your accounts in one place is the first crucial step toward gaining complete financial clarity. This tutorial covers the types of accounts you can connect, how to use data aggregators like Plaid and MoneyKit, and how to add manual accounts and transactions.

Intro

Connecting your financial accounts is the foundational step in using Fina effectively. By aggregating all your accounts—banking, investments, loans, and more—you gain a holistic view of your financial landscape. This guide will help you navigate the process of linking both live and manual accounts, ensuring that you can track and manage your finances with ease.

Accounts Tab Overview

Upon logging into Fina, you'll notice two main sections: Profiles and Pages.

  • Profiles: This is where you connect all your live financial accounts, manage transactions, and set up your category schema. It's the hub for all your live data.

  • Pages: This is where you perform financial reporting, create custom metrics, and track your finances using various blocks that pull data from your profiles.

Changing Global Currency Settings

At the bottom of the Accounts tab, you'll see a summary of your total assets, liabilities, and net worth in your system currency. If you need to change the currency:

  1. Click on the Settings icon (usually located at the top right).

  2. Navigate to System Currency.

  3. Select your desired currency.

  4. Fina will automatically convert all your account balances to the new currency, displaying both the original and converted amounts for clarity.

Types of Accounts You Can Connect

Fina allows you to connect a wide range of account types to provide a comprehensive view of your finances:

  • Banks:

    • Checking Accounts

    • Savings Accounts

    • Credit Cards

  • Investments:

    • Brokerage Accounts

    • Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)

    • 401(k) Accounts

  • Loans:

    • Mortgages

    • Student Loans

    • Vehicle Loans

  • Other Assets:

    • Real Estate

    • Cryptocurrency

    • Personal Property

  • Other Liabilities:

    • Personal Loans

    • Other Debts

Using Data Aggregators

Fina utilizes data aggregators to securely connect to your financial institutions and import your account data.

Connecting with Plaid

Plaid is Fina's primary data aggregator and supports over 12,000 financial institutions.

Steps to Connect with Plaid:

  1. Click on Add Account and select Banks, Investments, or Loans depending on your account type.

  2. Choose Link a bank with Plaid.

  3. Click Continue to proceed.

  4. Search for your financial institution using the search bar.

  5. Select your institution and follow the prompts to authenticate.

  6. Grant the necessary permissions to allow Fina to access your account data.

Note: Plaid is widely used and trusted, providing secure connections to many banks and financial institutions.

Connecting with MoneyKit

If you're unable to find your institution through Plaid, you can use MoneyKit as an alternative.

Steps to Connect with MoneyKit:

  1. Click on Add Account and select the account type.

  2. Choose Link a bank with MoneyKit.

  3. Use the search function to find your financial institution.

  4. Follow the authentication steps provided.

About MoneyKit:

  • MoneyKit aggregates data from multiple sources, increasing the chances of finding your financial institution.

  • It can route through various other aggregators like MX, Yodlee, and more.

Adding Manual Accounts

In cases where neither Plaid nor MoneyKit can connect to your financial institution, or for assets like real estate or collectibles, you can add manual accounts.

Steps to Add a Manual Account:

  1. Click on Add Account.

  2. Select the appropriate category under Other Assets or Other Liabilities.

  3. Fill in the account details:

    • Name: e.g., "Crypto Wallet"

    • Institution: e.g., "Coinbase"

    • Balance: Enter the current value.

    • Currency: Select the appropriate currency.

  4. Click Save Account.

Recording Manual Balances

For manual accounts, you can update the balance over time:

  1. Open the manual account from your accounts list.

  2. Click on Record Balance.

  3. Enter the new balance and the date of the update.

  4. Save the changes to keep your account information current.

Account Balance Refresh

Fina automatically updates your live account balances daily. However, you can manually refresh the balances:

  • Click on the Refresh icon (usually found in the top right corner) to update all account balances immediately.

  • The last updated time will be displayed, ensuring you have the most recent data.

Account Card Views (Additional Details)

Each account in Fina has a detailed card view that provides more information and customization options.

Accessing Account Details

  1. From the Accounts tab, locate the account you wish to view.

  2. Click on Open or directly on the account name.

Information Available

  • Current Balance: The latest balance pulled from your institution.

  • Available Balance: For credit accounts, this shows the remaining available credit.

  • Account Name: You can rename the account for easier identification.

  • Institution: The financial institution associated with the account.

  • Account Type: Indicates whether it's a bank, investment, or loan account.

  • Currency: The currency in which the account is held.

  • Status: Indicates if the account is connected or manual.

  • Time Offset: Adjust the time zone if necessary for accurate transaction timing.

Editing Account Information

  • Rename Account: Click on the account name to edit it.

  • Change Account Type: If needed, you can modify the account type (e.g., from "Other Asset" to "Investment").

  • Adjust Time Offset: Use this feature if transactions are not aligning correctly due to time zone differences.

Adding Manual Transactions

For manual accounts or accounts where transactions aren't automatically imported, you can add transactions manually.

Importing Transactions via Google Sheets

Fina allows you to import transactions using a linked Google Sheet.

Steps to Import Transactions:

  1. Open the account where you want to add transactions.

  2. Navigate to the Transactions section.

  3. Click on Import through Google Sheet.

  4. Authorize Fina to access your Google Drive.

  5. Copy the Fina Spreadsheet Template provided.

  6. Enter your transactions into the template:

    • Date

    • Description

    • Amount

    • Category (optional)

  7. Copy the link to your filled-out spreadsheet.

  8. Paste the link back into Fina when prompted.

  9. Fina will import the transactions and keep them synced with any updates you make to the Google Sheet.

Benefits:

  • Live Updates: Any changes made in the Google Sheet are automatically reflected in Fina.

  • Flexibility: Ideal for tracking transactions from sources that can't be connected directly.

Conclusion

Connecting your accounts in Fina is a straightforward process that provides a unified view of your financial landscape. Whether you're linking live accounts through Plaid or MoneyKit or adding manual accounts and transactions, Fina offers the flexibility to accommodate all your financial data.

By following this guide, you can ensure that all your assets and liabilities are accurately represented, paving the way for effective financial tracking and reporting.

For more tutorials and to start managing your finances more effectively, visit fina.money.