Welcome to PennyFlux

Welcome! PennyFlux is your private and secure personal finance tracker. This guide will walk you through the essential features to help you manage your finances effectively.

1. Getting Started: Your First Account

PennyFlux runs entirely on your device, so your data is always private. When you first open the app, everything is a blank slate.

To begin, add your first bank account:

• On the main "Accounts" screen, tap the Add Account button.
• Fill in the details:
  • Account Name: A nickname for your account (e.g., "Personal Checking").
  • Type: Select "Checking" or "Savings".
  • Initial Balance: The starting balance of your account.
  • FI Website URL: (Optional) Enter your bank's website (e.g., chase.com). PennyFlux will use this to automatically display your bank's logo next to the account.
• Tap Save.

Your new account card will appear, showing its "Available" and "Projected" balances.

2. Core Concepts: Available vs. Projected Balance

PennyFlux tracks two different balances for each account, which gives you a clear picture of your finances:

• Available Balance: This is your "real" balance. It only includes transactions that have been marked as Cleared.
• Projected Balance: This includes all transactions, both cleared and pending. It shows you what your balance will be once everything has processed.

3. Managing Transactions

To see an account's transaction history, simply tap on its card from the main "Accounts" screen.

Adding a Transaction

1. Tap the Add Transaction button.
2. Fill out the form:
   • Type: Choose "Deposit" or "Withdraw".
   • Date & Time: Defaults to now, but can be changed.
   • Transaction Name: The vendor or description (e.g., "Starbucks").
   • Category & Method: Select from the dropdowns.
   • Amount: The transaction amount.
   • Mark as Cleared: Check this box if the transaction has already posted to your bank account.
3. Tap Save.

Adding a Transfer

Use this to move money between two of your PennyFlux accounts.

1. Tap the Add Transfer button.
2. Select the From Account and the To Account.
3. Enter the Amount and Date.
4. Tap Save. This will create two linked transactions: a withdrawal from the "From" account and a deposit into the "To" account.

Viewing and Editing Transactions

• Simply tap on any transaction in the list to open its details.
• From the details view, tap the pencil icon in the top right to enter edit mode.
• You can also quickly change a transaction's status by tapping the ✓ Cleared or Pending pill directly in the transaction list.

4. Filtering Your Transactions

When viewing an account, you can filter the transaction list to find what you need.

1. Tap the Filter button.
2. Choose a filter option:
   • Last 30 Days (Default): Shows a rolling 30-day history.
   • This Month / Last Month / Year to Date: Common preset ranges.
   • By Specific Month: Use the month picker to select a specific month and year.
   • By Specific Date Range: Use the two date inputs to define a custom start and end date.
3. Tap Apply Filters.

5. Pagination: Navigating Your History

If you have more than 25 transactions in the filtered view, pagination controls will appear at the top and bottom of the list.

• Use the Next > and < Prev buttons to navigate through pages.
• If you use the bottom controls, the screen will automatically scroll you back to the top of the list so you don't have to.

6. Search

Tap the magnifying glass icon in the main header to open the Ledger Search. You can perform a quick search by name or amount, or use the "Advanced Filters" for a more detailed search across all your accounts.

7. Customization

You can tailor PennyFlux to your needs. Tap the menu icon (3 rows and 3 columns of dots) in the top-right corner and select Customizations. From here, you can:

• Add or manage custom spending Categories and payment Methods.
• Change the default status for new transactions (Cleared or Pending).
• Select a new Theme to change the app's appearance.
• Reorder how your accounts are displayed on the main screen.

8. Data Management: Import & Export

Your data lives only on your device. You are in full control.

• From the menu icon, select Export Ledger to save a complete backup of your data as a .json file. It is highly recommended to do this regularly.
• Select Import Ledger to restore your data from a previously exported .json file.