📖

User Guide

Learn how to get the most out of AI Expense Categorizer

← Back to App

🚀 Quick Start

1

Upload Your CSV File

Drag & drop or click to upload CSV files from your bank.

2

AI Categorizes Instantly

The AI analyzes each transaction and assigns the best category automatically.

3

Review & Export

Check results, make corrections (rules are auto-created!), and export to CSV or Excel.

📚

Learning Rules Engine

Your Competitive Advantage

The app remembers your categorization preferences and creates personal pattern-matching rules. The more you use it, the smarter it gets!

How It Works:

First Upload

Upload CSV → AI categorizes "STARBUCKS #1234" as Shopping → You correct it to "Food & Dining"

→ Rule auto-created: "starbucks" → Food & Dining

Next Upload

Upload new CSV → "STARBUCKS #5678 SEATTLE" → Instantly categorized as "Food & Dining"

→ No AI call needed → Instant & free!

💡 Smart Context Matching

Rules preserve context keywords (fee, payment, subscription) to prevent false matches. For example, "CAPITAL ONE MEMBERSHIP FEE" won't match "CAPITAL ONE PAYMENT".

Managing Your Rules:

  • View all rules: Click the badge showing "X Rules Learned" in the header, or visit /rules
  • Export rules: Download as JSON for backup
  • Import rules: Restore from backup or share across devices
  • Delete rules: Remove individual rules or clear all
🔍

Search & Filter

Quickly find specific transactions using the smart search bar:

1

Search by Description

Type merchant names like "starbucks" or "amazon"

2

Search by Category

Filter by "food", "groceries", "shopping", etc.

3

Search by Amount

Find specific amounts like "25.00" or "99"

4

Search by Date

Type dates like "11/10/2025" or "nov 10"

💡 Performance: Search uses 300ms debouncing for smooth, lag-free filtering even with 1,000+ transactions.

🔒

Privacy & Data Storage

Your Financial Data is Safe

  • Transaction data is processed in real-time and never stored on servers
  • Learning rules are stored locally in your browser (localStorage)
  • No database, no tracking, no analytics on your transactions
  • GDPR & CCPA compliant - privacy-first architecture

Your rules are saved in your browser's local storage. To back them up or transfer to another device, export them from the /rules page.

💡

Tips for Best Results

1.

Correct Categories on First Upload

The more corrections you make initially, the smarter future uploads become.

2.

Look for the 📚 Rule Indicator

Transactions showing "📚 Rule" were auto-categorized by your personal rules (100% confidence).

3.

Export Your Rules Regularly

Back up your rules from /rules page in case you clear browser data.

4.

Use Search to Verify Corrections

Search for merchant names to ensure all similar transactions are categorized consistently.

5.

Start with Your Bank's Categorized CSVs

Chase and Capital One CSVs include category columns, which gives higher initial accuracy.

Ready to Get Started?

Upload your first file and watch the Learning Rules Engine work its magic!

Start Categorizing →