Maali

Guide

How to get things done in Maali. Search, or browse the topics below.

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Getting started

Is my data private?Where your transactions live and what touches the network.
  • The app, your numbers, and the AI analyst all run on your own computer.
  • Turn off Wi-Fi and everything still works. Nothing is sent to a cloud service.
  • The only times Maali uses the internet are optional and few: a one-time AI model download, a bank connection you choose to set up, and an update check you can switch off that normally runs no more than once in 24 hours.
  • Want to verify? Run a firewall tool, or just turn off your Wi-Fi and keep using it.
Set up Maali for the first timeStart with a bank connection, an app export, or bank CSVs.
  1. Choose how you want to start: connect banks automatically, bring over existing history, or import CSVs manually.
  2. Automatic sync uses SimpleFIN, an independent read-only service that costs about $15/year. Payment and bank sign-ins stay on SimpleFIN's site.
  3. If you're switching from Monarch, YNAB, Actual Budget, or Rocket Money, start with that app's export. It can bring accounts, categories, and years of history over together.
  4. If you prefer no bank connection or fee, import CSV statements from your bank. Your files and financial data stay on this computer.
  5. One successful source is enough. Maali opens Today right away, then offers the other source only as an optional way to add history or keep things updated.
  6. Optionally set up the AI analyst (recommended, it sorts charges and answers questions).
Open setup →
Add an accountTell Maali which accounts to track.
  1. Open Settings, then the Accounts card.
  2. Type a name, like “Amex Platinum”.
  3. Pick the type: Credit card, Bank account, or Cash.
  4. Tap Add. You can rename or remove it later (removing keeps its past charges, they just stop counting until you add it back).
Open Settings →

Getting your transactions in

Import transactions from a fileUpload a CSV your bank exports.
  1. Open Settings, then the Import transactions card.
  2. Drag in the CSV you downloaded from your bank, or choose the file.
  3. If it looks like an export from a supported budgeting app, Maali offers the guided import so its accounts, categories, and history come over together.
  4. Pick which account it belongs to, then tap Import.
  5. Maali shows how many new charges it added and how many it categorized for you.
  6. For a bank it doesn't recognize, it shows the columns it detected so you can confirm them (or flip which way is spending) before importing.
Open Settings →
Get years of history from your bankBring in as much past data as you can.
  • On your bank's website, export your transactions as a CSV.
  • Pick the widest date range the bank allows, then download each file.
  • Import each one into Maali.
  • Overlapping or re-imported files are safe, Maali skips charges it already has.
Open Settings →
Connect a bank for automatic updatesUse SimpleFIN so new charges arrive on their own.
  1. Open Settings, then Bank connections. Maali walks you through the rest.
  2. SimpleFIN is an independent read-only service that costs about $15/year. Continue to SimpleFIN in your browser, choose its plan, and link your banks there. Payment and bank sign-ins stay on SimpleFIN's site. Maali never sees them.
  3. Copy the one-time setup code SimpleFIN gives you, return to Maali, and use Paste code, then Connect to Maali.
  4. For each account, choose whether its transactions come in and whether its balance counts toward your Wealth.
  5. From then on, new charges sync in on their own and land in Review.
Open Settings →
Auto-import CSVs from a folder (advanced)Point your own export or automation at a folder. Maali imports new CSVs.
  1. Open Settings, then Import transactions, then the Import folder card.
  2. For an account, paste the absolute path to a folder and Save.
  3. Drop CSV exports into that folder (by hand, or with your own script or automation).
  4. Maali imports new files automatically, on open and when you press Sync now. It never logs into your bank.
  5. If the folder was paused while your bank was connected, whatever piled up in it is listed for you to review when you switch it back on, instead of being imported straight away.
Open Settings →
Add a cash expenseRecord spending that never hit a linked account.
  1. Open Cash (under the Spend tab).
  2. Fill in the date, amount, what it was for, and a category, then save.
  3. It counts toward your spending like any other charge.
  4. You can also set up a recurring cash entry (say, a weekly allowance) that posts itself on a schedule.
Open Cash →

Money in: income, refunds, transfers

Mark your paychecks as incomeTell Maali which deposits are income so it can track what you earn.
  1. Open Review.
  2. Find a paycheck or other deposit, tap its category, and choose “income”.
  3. Tap the checkmark to confirm.
  4. Maali also spots regular paychecks on its own and pre-files them under “Money in to sort” at the top of Review for you to confirm. Once marked, deposits count as income everywhere.
Open Review →
See money in vs money out this monthYour cash flow for the current month at a glance.
  1. Open Spend for the current month.
  2. Look for the “Cash flow this month” card.
  3. It shows money in so far, money out so far, and the net between them.
  4. The card appears once your usual payday has landed, so it doesn't flash a scary negative before you've been paid.
  5. Money that arrives in the last few days of a month is what you live on next month, so this card counts it toward the next month and says so. Your income totals and reports keep it in the month it arrived.
Open Spend →
How refunds workWhere returns and credits show up.
  • A refund (a return or a credit) lands as money back inside the same category you spent in, so it offsets that category instead of sitting in its own bucket.
  • Your headline spending stays honest: it shows what you charged, and the cash-flow card notes money that came back.
  • Refunds don't count as income, they're just money returned to a category.
Open Spend →
Handle transfers between your own accountsKeep money you move between accounts out of spending and income.
  1. When you move money between your own accounts (say, checking to savings), open Review and set that charge's category to “transfers”.
  2. That keeps it out of both your spending and your income totals.
  3. If both accounts are in Maali, mark both sides as transfers.
  4. See all your transfers anytime under Transfers on the Hidden page. If something landed there by mistake, change its category right on that list to count it as spending.
Open Review →
Ask what your income isGet an honest answer about what you earn.
  1. Open Ask and type “what's my income?”
  2. If you haven't marked income yet, Maali points you at the paycheck it found and asks you to mark it, rather than guessing.
  3. Once income is marked, it answers from your real income and shows a breakdown.
Open Ask →

Categorizing and tidying up

Review new chargesTriage charges as they come in.
  1. Open Review. New charges are grouped by merchant, with anything unusual under “Worth a look”.
  2. Tap the category on the merchant row to set or change it for all that merchant's charges. Expand the group to adjust a single charge on its own.
  3. Tap the checkmark to confirm a merchant (or use “All look right” for the rest).
  4. To hide a charge from your totals, pick “Hide from totals” in its category menu. It stays struck through so you can bring it back by picking a real category.
Open Review →
Fix one charge's categoryChange a single charge without affecting others.
  1. Open the charge from Review, or from a merchant or category list.
  2. Tap its category and pick the right one.
  3. This changes only that charge, and keeps it set even if a rule would say otherwise.
Open Review →
Categorize a whole merchant at onceSet a merchant's category for every charge, past and future.
  1. Open the merchant (or tap a merchant's category on any list).
  2. Choose the category.
  3. Maali writes a rule so every past and future charge from that merchant files there automatically.
Open Merchants →
Automatically tag a merchantAdd a cross-cutting label to this merchant's past and future charges.
  1. Open a charge's tag picker and choose a tag, then choose the merchant option. Or open the merchant page and use the Tag button.
  2. Keep the history checkbox selected if you want the tag added to past charges too.
  3. For a one-off exception, remove the automatic tag from that charge only. On the merchant page each automatic tag is a chip: the x next to it stops the tag for that merchant.
Open Merchants →
Add a note to any chargeJot a private reminder on any transaction, not just hidden ones.
  1. Find the charge on any list (Review, a category, a merchant, Spend or Search).
  2. Tap the note icon at the end of its row. The icon looks filled once a charge has a note, so you can spot annotated charges at a glance.
  3. Type your note and tap Save. Tap the icon again anytime to edit it, or clear the text and Save to remove the note.
  4. Notes stay on your device and are never sent to the AI or anywhere else.
Open Review →
Why something is “uncategorized”How Maali sorts charges, and how to fix the leftovers.
  • Maali sorts each charge in this order: anything you set by hand, then your rules, then its built-in starter rules, then your bank's own label, and finally “uncategorized” if none of those knew the merchant.
  • “Uncategorized” just means none of those recognized it yet.
  • Fix it by setting the category once for that merchant, Maali remembers it from then on.
Open Review →
Organize the category menuGroup and reorder categories so they are easier to find.
  1. When you create a category, choose its menu group in the New category dialog.
  2. Open Categories and expand “Organize category menu” below the category list.
  3. Drag categories and groups into place, or use the arrow and “Move to” controls.
  4. Add, rename, or remove groups. Changes save automatically. Groups only change how category menus are arranged. They do not change charges, totals, budgets, or rules.
Organize category menu →
Make charges categorize themselvesRules so a merchant always lands in the right category.
  1. The quickest way to add a rule is to categorize a merchant, that writes one for you.
  2. Open Categories and expand Rules & checks at the bottom to see how charges are being sorted and spot any conflicts.
  3. Rules apply to a merchant's past and future charges.
  4. Rules & checks also flags cleanup work: redundant rules, split or drifting categories. Merchant aliases (unifying spellings of one merchant) live on the Merchants page.
Open Rules & checks →
Merge two names for the same merchantUnify spellings like “AMAZON.COM” and “Amazon”.
  1. Open one of the two merchant names.
  2. Tap Rename, type the name you want to keep, and Preview which charges it affects.
  3. Confirm. Now both names are one merchant, so a single rule covers them.
Open Merchants →
Record only my share of a chargeCount just your part of a split bill.
  1. Open the charge on a merchant or category list.
  2. Set your share, for example $50 of a $100 dinner.
  3. Maali uses your share everywhere it adds up spending. Clear it anytime to restore the full amount.
Open Merchants →
Hide a charge from your totalsRemove a transfer, mistake, or private item without deleting it.
  1. Pick “Hide from totals” in the charge's category menu: on Review, in any transaction list, or on the merchant page. (It's the same option everywhere.)
  2. It moves to the Hidden page and stops counting toward your totals.
  3. Open Hidden to bring it back whenever you want.
Open Hidden →
Where did a transaction come from?See what a bank refresh sent and what Maali stored.
  • Open Import history beside a transaction to see the imports and bank refreshes Maali has recorded for it. Exact provider IDs and request details are inside Details.
  • The history separates what SimpleFIN sent from what Maali stored. A changed description or amount from the bank does not mean Maali overwrote the transaction. Receiving two records does not prove they are duplicates.
  • Detailed history starts with this version. It cannot reconstruct older bank responses. CSV and budgeting-app history records inputs that reached storage, not every row in the original file.
  • This history stays on your computer and is included in Maali's warehouse backups, including encrypted backups when encryption is enabled. It is not included in CSV exports or phone sync.
Open Duplicates →
Duplicate chargesReview overlapping imports without deleting your records.
  • Budgeting-app history, bank CSVs and SimpleFIN can overlap. Import transactions offers a review before adding possible extra copies from a CSV.
  • For history already imported, open Review, then Duplicates. You can also use the Review duplicates button on Import transactions. Click Find duplicates to check all accounts and all dates. Filter by account or date is optional.
  • Check the source, date, amount and description. Different descriptions can still be the same purchase. Maali looks for the same category and amount, nearby dates, and a matching merchant. When a merchant is missing, matching descriptions can help. Matches across different accounts always need individual review.
  • Results show 10 groups per page, newest first by the latest transaction in each group. Transactions inside each card also run newest first, in both To review and Reviewed. Previous and Next keep each comparison together. Scan details shows how many transactions were checked.
  • Everything stays by default. Check Hide extra copy only on transactions you want to hide. Leave all valid purchases unchecked, including both rows when both are real. Select likely duplicates is an optional shortcut for stronger matches. On this page and Across all pages show how many additional copies they can select. Groups marked Needs review require individual selection. If every match needs review, the shortcuts are not shown.
  • When every charge in a group is real, choose Not duplicates. Clear that group's hide selections first. The card changes to Kept as separate charges with an Undo button. All charges stay in your totals. Maali remembers only those exact transactions, so a new extra copy can still appear for review.
  • Use the To review and Reviewed filters to switch views. To review shows remaining groups and your progress on the current page. Moving between pages does not mark anything reviewed. Reviewed lists groups you explicitly kept as separate charges. Choose Review again there, or Undo on the original card, to reopen that decision without changing any transaction amounts or visibility.
  • Selections stay checked as you change pages. The selected count and Hide button appear after you select a copy and include all pages. Clear removes every selection, including selections on other pages. Nothing is hidden until you confirm.
  • For a split transaction, the main amount is what stays in spending totals. The original amount is shown separately to help compare copies.
  • Confirm the selection. No transaction records are deleted. Undo is available briefly. You can also restore individual copies later from Hidden.
  • After hiding copies, your filters and page stay in place. Any remaining possible duplicates still need review. If a saved change cannot refresh the list, use Retry refresh. The change has already been saved.
  • Maali remembers your cleanup so later imports cannot automatically fold away those records. Cleanup does not change goal progress.
Open Duplicates →

Understanding your spending

See where your money went this monthBreak this month down by category and merchant.
  1. Open Spend. The headline is what you've spent this month.
  2. “Where it went” breaks it down by category.
  3. Tap a category to see the merchants behind it, and a merchant to see its charges.
Open Spend →
Am I overspending this month?How to tell, without one big bill throwing it off.
  • On Spend, watch the “vs usual” chips on each category. They compare your pace by today's date against a typical month, so a single one-off bill doesn't read as overspending.
  • Open Compare to see this month against last month or against a typical month.
  • “Occasional” bills (taxes, a car repair) are paced over the year, not the month, so they don't make one month look alarming.
Open Compare →
Compare this month to last month or usualSee how this month stacks up.
  1. Open Compare.
  2. Switch between “vs last month” and “vs typical”.
  3. Part-way through a month, it compares the same span of days so it's a fair match.
Open Compare →

Bills and planning

Set a monthly budgetPut a limit on a category and track against it.
  1. Open Budgets.
  2. Pick a category and enter a monthly limit. Maali shows your typical spend to help you choose a number.
  3. Each month you'll see your spend against the limit, with a progress bar and status.
  4. Where there's enough history, a budget also shows your typical month in that category, so you can tell when a limit is set below what you normally spend.
Open Budgets →
See your subscriptions and recurring chargesEverything that bills you on a schedule.
  1. Open Recurring.
  2. Maali lists charges that repeat (found automatically) plus any you add yourself.
  3. It flags price increases and subscriptions that haven't charged in a while (“maybe gone”), so you can spot what to cancel.
Open Recurring →
Find ways to cut backSee what-if savings from dropping charges.
  1. Open Cost cutter. It opens on the spending you can realistically cut. Turn off “Hide essentials” to also see fixed bills like rent, groceries, and taxes.
  2. Check the merchants or individual charges you'd consider dropping.
  3. The bar shows how much you'd save over a year. Your picks are saved, so you can tick them off as you actually cancel.
Open Cost cutter →
Understand your month-end projectionSee what your on-track number includes and adjust what will not happen.
  1. Tap the “on track for” amount on Today to open The rest of your month.
  2. The page breaks the projection into what you've spent so far and what you typically still spend, category by category.
  3. Annual or seasonal bills like taxes and insurance are added in for the months they usually fall. Already paid one, or know it isn't coming this month? Tap that row and mark it done. Your pace drops to match.
Open the rest of your month →
See what's coming up this monthThe recurring charges likely to land before month-end.
  1. On Today, the “Coming up” card shows the next few recurring charges likely to hit before month-end, with rough dates and amounts.
  2. Tap “See everything coming up” for the complete list in expected-date order.
  3. To review or edit the full recurring inventory, tap “Manage all recurring charges” at the bottom of that page.
Open Coming up this month →
Project the rest of the yearA realistic full-year estimate with a likely range.
  1. Open Forecast.
  2. It shows what you've spent so far, a projected full-year total, and a likely range.
  3. You can pin an annual target on any category (the “Pin” button on its row) to plan against it.
Open Forecast →

Net worth and retirement

Track your net worthAdd what you own and owe to see the full picture.
  1. Open Manage (under the Wealth tab).
  2. Add your holdings and debts to create the list behind your net worth.
  3. Use Record balances for regular check-ins. Enter amounts that changed and leave the rest blank.
  4. Use Actions beside a holding or debt when you need to correct its current saved entry, rename it, or remove it from current balances.
Open Manage →
See your net worth and runway at a glanceThe big picture: trend, allocation, and breathing room.
  • Wealth shows your net worth and how it's changed.
  • “Asset mix” shows how it's split across cash, stocks, your home, and so on.
  • “Breathing room” shows how many months of spending you have banked and how far your investable assets get you toward financial independence.
Open Wealth →
Check if you're on track to retireA long-range projection from your savings.
  1. Make sure your balances are current under Manage.
  2. Open Retirement and pick a safe-withdrawal rate (3.5 / 4 / 4.5%).
  3. It shows the nest egg you'd need, what you've got invested, and how far along you are. Try the Lean or Aggressive scenario to see how spending less in retirement lowers the target.
Open Retirement →

The AI analyst

Ask a question about your moneyPlain-English questions, answered from your own data.
  1. Open Ask.
  2. Type a question like “where can I cut back?” or “am I on track to retire?”
  3. The AI answers from your own numbers, on your machine. The first question after opening can take around 30 seconds while the model warms up.
  4. Ask needs the AI analyst set up (see “Set up the local AI analyst”).
Open Ask →
See what changed (Noticed)The analyst's running list of things worth your attention.
  1. Open Noticed (under the Today tab).
  2. It surfaces things like spending running hot or cold, price changes, and unusual charges.
  3. Tap an item to see what's behind it, and dismiss ones you've handled.
Open Noticed →
Set up the local AI analystGet the on-device model running (it's optional).
  1. Open Settings, then the AI analyst card.
  2. Choose Download model to get Gemma 4 E4B. Maali starts it for you when needed.
  3. If Gemma 4 E4B is already running on this computer, choose Find running model.
  4. Everything else in Maali works without it.
Open Settings →
Reuse a running Gemma 4 E4B modelUse the supported model you already run on this computer.
  1. Start your Gemma 4 E4B model server on this computer.
  2. Open Settings, then AI analyst, and choose Find running model.
  3. Maali checks for the supported Gemma 4 E4B model before connecting.
  4. If it cannot find a supported running model, choose Download model so Maali can manage it for you.
Open AI settings →
Turn the AI commentary on or offSilence (or restore) everything the AI writes.
  1. Open Settings, then the AI analyst card.
  2. Use “Turn on the AI analyst” to turn all AI-written text on or off.
  3. Turning it off doesn't remove the model, it just hides the commentary, Ask, and Noticed.
Open Settings →

Your data and settings

Review settings after Maali repairs themCheck the few choices Maali cannot safely recover from a damaged settings file.
  1. Open Settings when Maali says it repaired its settings.
  2. Open Your data and confirm the folder Maali should use.
  3. Open AI analyst and reconnect your model if you use one.
  4. The earlier settings are kept beside the repaired copy in case support needs them.
Open Settings →
Move back and forward in the appStep back to the page you were just on without leaving the app window.
  • In the desktop app, Back and Forward buttons sit at the top left, right next to the Maali coin. Use them to return to the page you were just on and forward again.
  • On a Mac you can also swipe left or right with two fingers on the trackpad, or press Cmd-[ to go back and Cmd-] to go forward.
  • On Windows, Alt with the left or right arrow key does the same.
  • This is for the desktop app. In a web browser, use the browser's own Back and Forward buttons.
Change the app's appearanceChoose System, Light, or Dark, then pick an accent color.
  1. Open Settings, then the Appearance card.
  2. Choose System to follow your device, or keep Maali in Light or Dark mode.
  3. Pick an accent color: Daylight, Teal, Clay, Plum, or Ink.
  4. Text fields, date fields, and dropdowns share the same lighter background in Dark mode. Suggested categories keep their amber tint.
Open Settings →
Change the port Maali usesMove Maali to a different port when another program already uses its usual one.
  1. Open Settings and choose Phone and devices.
  2. In the Browser access card, open Advanced connection settings and find the Port field.
  3. Type a port number between 1024 and 65535, then choose Save.
  4. Maali moves to the new port now and opens the new address for you.
Open Settings →
Choose where Maali is availableKeep browser access on this computer or use private Tailscale access.
  1. Open Settings and choose Phone and devices.
  2. In the Browser access card, choose Allow now to use Tailscale or Switch back to computer only to turn it off.
  3. Confirm your choice. Maali moves now and opens its new address for you.
  4. Tailscale access has no separate Maali password. Only use a private Tailscale network you trust.
Open Phone and devices →
Back up your dataSave a full snapshot you can restore later.
  1. Open Settings, then the Your data card.
  2. Tap to download a backup, one file with every transaction, plus your categories, budgets, accounts, and net worth.
  3. Keep it somewhere safe. This is the file Maali can restore from Settings.
Open Settings →
Move where Maali keeps its dataCopy Maali's local data to a new folder without deleting the original.
  1. Open Settings, then choose Your data.
  2. Under Data location, open Move data folder.
  3. Enter a full location for a new or empty folder, then choose Move data.
  4. Maali copies and verifies the data before switching. The original stays where it is.
Open Your data →
Restore from a backupBring your data back, or move it to a new computer.
  1. Open Settings, then the Your data card.
  2. Under Restore, choose your backup file and confirm.
  3. Maali replaces its current data with that backup. Changes made after the backup was created are not kept. Maali opens the restored data when it can. If a restart is needed, it tells you.
Open Settings →
Export your transactions to a spreadsheetGet all your charges as a CSV.
  1. Open Settings, then the Your data card.
  2. Tap to download a CSV, all your transactions in a spreadsheet-ready file.
Open Settings →
Delete all your dataPermanently erase everything on this computer.
  1. Open Settings, then Your data.
  2. Tap Delete everything and confirm.
  3. This permanently erases every transaction and all local backups on this computer. Your license stays active. It can't be undone.
Open Settings →

Jump to a page · Today

Todayyour day at a glance→Askquestions in plain English→Noticedwhat changed→

Jump to a page · Spend

Monththis month's spending→Comparehow this month stacks up→Year12-month deep dive→Patternswhere it goes & how it moves→Manualmanual expenses→

Jump to a page · Plan

Recurringsubscriptions & charges→Budgetsset monthly limits→Forecastrest-of-year projection→Cost cutterwhat-if savings→

Jump to a page · Wealth

Overviewnet worth at a glance→Retirementare you on track→Goalssavings goals & progress→Incomemoney coming in→Manageholdings, liabilities & balances→

Jump to a page · Review

Inboxnew charges to check→Categoriesthe category ledger, rules & checks→Merchantsthe merchant directory & aliases→Tagslabels that cut across categories→Duplicatesreview extra copies from imports→Hiddennot counted in your totals→