User Guide & Help
Last Modified: January 2026
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.
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.
Found a bug? Email us at [email protected].