Getting started

Welcome. This chapter walks you through everything that happens the first time you open Basis Budget: signing in, choosing how you want to use the app, picking a budgeting mode, connecting a bank (or going fully manual), and what to do right after onboarding wraps up.

Plan for about 10 to 15 minutes. If you want to connect a bank, it helps to have your bank login handy. If you'd rather just try the app with manual entry first, you won't need anything at all.

What you'll need

• An Apple device running a recent iOS
• Your Apple ID (for Sign in with Apple)
• Optional: your bank login, if you want transactions to import automatically
• A rough sense of what you spend monthly (you'll adjust over time, no need to be precise)

Walking through onboarding

When you first open Basis Budget, you land on a short onboarding flow. There's a progress indicator at the top so you can see where you are. You can tap back at any point to change a previous answer.

1Sign in

The welcome screen offers two ways to sign in:

• Continue with Apple. One tap, confirm with Face ID, you're in. No passwords to remember. You can hide your real email and Apple will give us a private relay address instead.
• Continue with email. Type your email, get a 6-digit code, paste it in. Useful if you don't want to use Apple Sign-In or want a sign-in method that'll work later when web access ships.

Either way, signing in again on a new device or after reinstall restores all your data.

2Pick a budgeting mode

Next you'll pick between the two budgeting approaches:

• Zero-Based. Give every dollar a job. Envelope-style. YNAB users feel at home here.
• Spending Limits. Set monthly caps per category. Lighter-weight. Good if you just want guardrails.

For a real comparison and decision aid, see Budgeting modes. Short version: if “every dollar has a job” sounds like you, pick Zero-Based. If you want lower-stakes tracking, pick Spending Limits.

You can switch modes later from Settings › Budget Mode. Your transactions, categories, and accounts all stay in place.

3Start your free trial

The last screen confirms the subscription. One month free, then $4.99/month billed through your Apple ID. Cancel anytime from iOS Settings › Apple ID › Subscriptions. No fees for canceling.

Tap Start Free Trial, confirm with Face ID, and you're into the app. Apple handles all billing, and you'll get a reminder before the trial ends.

You're in. Now what?

After onboarding you land on the Dashboard. The first thing you'll see is an empty state asking you to add an account.

Adding your first account

Tap Add Account. You'll see a picker with two paths:

• Link a bank. Connects through Plaid for automatic transaction import. Your bank login stays between you and Plaid — Basis Budget never sees your credentials. Apple Card and Apple Savings connect through Apple Wallet instead, which is offered as a separate option in the same picker.
• Track Manually. For accounts you'd rather update yourself, or for things Plaid can't see (HSAs at smaller institutions, foreign banks, manual investment positions, asset accounts like a home or vehicle).

You can mix and match. Most people end up with a combination — bank-linked checking and credit cards plus a manual investment account or two for tracking net worth.

Once you've added at least one account, head to the Budget tab and follow the walkthrough for your mode:

Some rough expectations

• The first month is a draft. Whatever numbers you pick for your categories will be too high or too low. That's fine. Adjust next month based on what actually happened.
• You don't need every category set up right now. Add categories as things come up. The app ships with 16 defaults so you have a starting point.
• Review transactions regularly. If you've linked a bank, new transactions arrive a few times a day. Give them a minute in the Transactions tab to confirm categories. It takes less effort than you think.

If something goes wrong

If you run into sync issues, a stuck Plaid connection, or anything else that doesn't feel right, email support@basisbudget.com. It comes straight to the founder. Real humans, usually a response the same day.