Frequently asked questions
Short answers about how Tally imports your statements, handles money and data, and where it runs today.
Getting your data in
Does Tally connect to my bank?
No. Tally never asks for your bank login and never connects to your bank, directly or through a service such as Plaid. You download a statement file from your bank and import it yourself. See How importing works.
Which banks work?
Any bank that lets you download CSV, OFX, QFX, QBO or QIF files, or a text-based PDF. Tally has built-in readers for Wise and TD Canada Trust CSV files, and reads the other formats by their standard structure, not by bank. See Import.
What if I import the same file twice?
Nothing is counted twice. Every row gets a fingerprint, and rows already in your budget are skipped as duplicates. Two identical rows inside the same file are both kept. See the duplicates guide.
Can I import a scanned PDF?
No. Only PDFs with real text work. A scanned or image-only PDF finds no transactions, and a PDF row whose amount does not show money in or out is skipped and reported, not guessed.
How do I add a cash purchase?
In the web app, use Quick add: a date, description, amount and currency. On Android you can edit or delete a manual row but not create one yet. See net worth and reports.
Budgets
What does safe to spend mean?
It is the lowest balance your cash accounts are projected to reach over the next 60 days. Spend down to that line and no further, and the projection never goes below zero. It is a projection, not a guarantee. See Budgets.
What does rollover do?
It carries unspent and overspent money from one month into the next, as a switch you set per category. See Budgets.
How does Tally decide a category?
Rules run lowest number first and the first match wins. If no rule matches, it copies the category you gave the same merchant before. There is no AI. See the rules guide.
Can I use it outside Canada?
Yes for the converter and for the file formats, which are not tied to a country. The starter category rules are mostly Canadian and Mexican merchants, so elsewhere you will add your own rules.
Currency
Do I need an account to use the converter?
No. The converter is the first screen in the Android app and needs no account and no Tally server. See Currency.
Can I budget in more than one currency?
Yes. Each currency has its own account, and totals are either exact by currency or converted and marked with ≈. A row with no rate is left out and counted in a notice. See Multi-currency.
Does the converter work offline?
Yes, with the last saved rates. A failed refresh changes nothing.
Privacy and security
Does Tally use AI?
No. Categories come from rules you can read, plus copying your earlier choice for the same merchant. Tally has no AI, no analytics and no ads.
Where is my data kept?
Your budget data syncs to the Tally server over HTTPS, and each user's data is kept apart. It is not end-to-end encrypted, because the server reads transactions to sort them and do the maths. See Privacy.
How do I sign in, and what is a pairing code?
With a passkey or a username and password of at least 12 characters. A phone is paired with a one-time code that works once and expires in 5 minutes. See Security.
Availability
Is Tally free?
Pricing has not been decided. There is no sign-up and no price yet.
Is there an iPhone app?
No. There is no iOS app. The Android app is in testing and not on Google Play yet. See Platforms.
Is there a Windows app?
Only an early demo window with sample numbers. It is not usable yet.
Did not find your question?
Tally is in development, and there is no support address yet. The guides go deeper on the topics people ask about most.