iOS Shortcuts — auto-log expenses
The app supports URL parameters so iOS Shortcuts can pre-fill the Add form.
Two recipes below: a voice-triggered one, and a fully automatic one that fires on bank notifications.
URL format:
https://YOUR-SITE/?add=amount¬e=text&cat=category&pm=card name&type=expense
All parameters except add are optional. pm accepts cash, debit, or any of your credit card names (case-insensitive, partial matches work — "tesco" finds "Tesco credit card").
Recipe 1 — "Hey Siri, log expense"
- Open the Shortcuts app on iPhone, tap +.
- Add action "Ask for Input", set Input Type to Number, prompt: "Amount?"
- Add another "Ask for Input", Input Type Text, prompt: "What for?"
- Add a "Text" action and paste this URL, replacing the Provided Input variables (long-press to pick the right one for each blank):
https://YOUR-SITE/?add=[Amount]¬e=[Text]
- Add an "Open URLs" action, pass the Text from the previous step.
- Name it "Log expense", enable "Use with Siri".
Now say "Hey Siri, log expense", speak the amount, then the note, and the Add screen opens pre-filled.
Recipe 2 — Auto-log on bank notifications 🪄
Triggers automatically when your bank app sends a notification (e.g. "£12.50 spent at TESCO"). Parses the text and opens this app pre-filled. You just tap Save.
- Open Shortcuts → Automation tab → + → New Automation.
- Scroll to Notification, tap it.
- Tap Choose under "App", pick your bank app (Monzo, Starling, Tesco Bank, etc.).
- Tap Next. Pick Run Immediately (or "Run After Confirmation" if you want a tap before each save).
- Tap New Blank Automation and add these actions:
- "Get Details of Notification" → Detail: Notification Content
- "Get Text from Input" (passes the notification text forward)
- "Match Text" with pattern
£([0-9]+\\.[0-9]{2}) to find the amount
- "Get Group 1 of Matches" from the previous step → this is the amount
- "Match Text" again on the notification text with pattern
(?:at|to)\\s+([A-Z][A-Z0-9 &'.\\-]+) to grab the merchant
- "Get Group 1 of Matches" → this is the merchant name
- "URL":
https://YOUR-SITE/?add=[amount]¬e=[merchant]&pm=YOUR CARD NAME
Replace "YOUR CARD NAME" with the card you set up in this app (e.g. Monzo, Tesco). Partial matching works.
- "Open URLs" with the URL from above.
- Tap Done. The automation is now armed.
Set up one automation per bank/card you want to track. Different banks have slightly different notification text — if matching fails, open the notification, copy the text, and adjust the regex.
⚠ Privacy note: Notification automations only work when your iPhone is unlocked. iOS will show a banner each time it fires, which is normal.
📷 Scan receipts
On the Add screen there's a "Scan receipt" button below the amount. Snap a photo of any receipt and the app extracts the total automatically. First scan takes a few seconds to download the OCR engine (~10 MB, cached after). Best on clear, flat receipts in good light. UK supermarket and restaurant receipts work well.
Install on your phone
iPhone (Safari): tap the Share button ⬆️, then Add to Home Screen.
Android (Chrome): tap the menu ⋮, then Add to Home screen or Install app.