Answers for your money

Ask Westara is useful when the books are complete enough to brief you — not when they are a screenshot dump. This is a read-only briefing pack: fields, first reports, and questions that stay on the analysis side of the BaFin line. It is not a licensed household CFO, and it is not a product that tells you what to buy.

1. Actuals (household bookings) — minimum fields Each row needs:

• Date
• Payee (who)
• Amount and flow (income, expense, or transfer)
• Category (same names month to month)
• Cash account

Transfers should be linked as a pair so they do not look like spend. Notes are optional. Credit cards and extra cash accounts count only if they are in Accounts and land in Actuals.

2. Activity (equity log) — minimum fields Each trade needs:

• Depot account
• Symbol (your nickname) plus date and type (buy, sell, transfer, dividend, split)
• Quantity and price
• Currency, fee, and tax on the booking

FIFO Einstand and realized P/L need full history on that depot (first purchase → today). Corporate actions belong in Activity as splits, not as a note. Incomplete Activity means incomplete FIFO.

3. What to have in the picture Cash, credit, depot, self-custody BTC if you track it, and any employer plan you choose to log. Open Banking and file import both count. IBANs never go to Ask Westara.

4. Reports worth generating first (in the app, then ask about *those* figures)

• Overview — net worth, cash vs equities vs BTC
• Actuals + Budget — plan vs actual, leftover to assign, category leaks
• Holdings — weights and concentration
• Reports → Realized — FIFO sell P/L (fees and taxes on the exit, no dividends)
• Reports → Closed — full flat rounds, including dividends while open
• Reports → Dividends — received history, not a forecast
• Reports → Year-end total wealth — confirmed Dec 31 archive, not live Overview

Westara does not ship a named “savings rate” or “cash runway” KPI. You can still ask, from visible Actuals and cash accounts: “If this month’s spend continues, how many months of cash do I already see?” or “How do income categories compare to expense categories this year?” Treat the answer as arithmetic on the slice, not a certified ratio.

5. Prompt contract (stay on the analysis side) Ask for calculations and reasons. Do not ask for orders.

Use:

• “Which five holdings have the largest weight — and what share is that of the book I can see?”
• “Where did Actuals diverge from the plan this month, by category?”
• “What drove realized P/L in Activity last calendar year?”
• “Which payees or categories look far from typical this month?”
• “If spending stays at this month’s rate, how many months of cash are on the cash accounts already on screen?”

Do not use:

• “Should I sell AAPL / buy this ISIN / refinance into product X?”
• “What allocation is suitable for me?”
• “Apply Vorabpauschale and tell me what I owe.”

If you want an opinion on allocation, ask for *options and trade-offs*, then decide — or take the briefing to a Honorarberater. Re-check tax and legal claims against primary sources. Details: Is Ask Westara investment or tax advice?

Operating model Westara and Ask Westara prepare the briefing. A human owns the decision.

• Is Ask Westara investment or tax advice? →
• How do I open Ask Westara? →
• How does the household budget work? →
• Where are buy and sell transactions? →
• Where are closed trades and dividends? →
• How do I load my portfolio? →
• What order should I set things up? →