User Guide & Help
Bookkist is designed to be simple.
- Create Books: Think of a 'Book' as a folder (e.g., 'Personal', 'Business', 'Vacation').
- Add Transactions: Record your Income, Expenses, and Transfers.
- Set Budgets: Set monthly limits for categories.
- Live Tracking: See 'Spent' and 'Balance' updates live as you add transactions.
- Manage: Organize your Accounts and Categories.
- Reports: Visualize your financial data.
- Export: Download reports in PDF or CSV format.
Bookkist is Offline-First.
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Offline: You are offline. Changes are saved locally on your device.
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Synced: Data is safe.
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Mismatch: Data drift detected. Try "Sync Book" first. If that fails, try refreshing the page or restarting the app. Only use "Force Re-download" if all else fails.
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Syncing: Uploading changes...
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N
Pending: Changes waiting to upload.
Note: You don't need to do anything! As soon as you come online, the app automatically uploads your changes.
Advanced Controls: Click the Sync Icon to open the menu:
- Sync Now: Manually trigger a sync.
- Force Re-download: Reset local data (fix Mismatch).
- App Updates: Check for the latest version of Bookkist.
Important Data Safety Note
Because Bookkist stores data locally to work offline, clearing your browser's browser data or cache while you have pending changes (yellow 'N' badge) will result in those unsynced changes being permanently lost. Always ensure your app shows the green Synced badge before clearing browser history on your device.
There are two ways to sync your data:
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Home Page Sync (Sync All):
When you click sync on the Dashboard/Home, it checks ALL your books for updates. Use this to ensure your entire app is up to date. -
Book Page Sync (Sync Book):
When you are inside a specific Book (e.g., viewing transactions), clicking sync only updates THAT specific book. This is faster and saves data. Use this when you are actively working on a single book.
For the best experience, install Bookkist as a native app:
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Android (Chrome):
Tap the "Install" button in the app menu if visible.
Or: Open Chrome Menu (⋮) -> tap "Install App" or "Add to Home Screen". -
iOS (Safari):
Tap the Share button (box with arrow) -> scroll down -> tap "Add to Home Screen". -
PC/Mac (Chrome/Edge):
Click the install icon (monitor with down arrow) in your browser address bar.
- Your data is stored locally on your device for maximum speed.
- We never sell your data to advertisers.
- Tip: Do NOT enter sensitive passwords or PINs into transaction notes.