Question 1

What is Westara?

Accepted Answer

Westara is one morning view of household money. On one side you see what you plan to spend and what really went out. On the other you see what you own: cash, stocks and funds, and Bitcoin you hold yourself. It is built for households in Germany and the EU. You can import bank and broker files. On Solo and Family you can also connect a bank for a read-only look at balances and bookings. Your data is stored in the EU (Neon, usually Frankfurt). Westara does not buy or sell anything, and it does not send payments. On Family, each person keeps their own accounts and transactions. Use the filter **Me**, another person’s name, or **All** to choose whose numbers you see. Ask Westara can explain figures already on the page. It is not a licensed advisor, and it is not tax or legal advice. Watch (Scan / War Room) is still coming soon for most households.

Question 2

How is Westara different from other money apps?

Accepted Answer

Most money apps do one job. A budget app tracks spending. A depot app tracks investments. Westara does both in one morning picture, without turning into a broker or a tax office. **What you get in one place** You see the household plan next to cash, stocks, and Bitcoin you hold yourself. You do not have to glue two exports into a spreadsheet every Sunday. **Your numbers stay yours** On Family, each person keeps their own accounts and activity. **Me / person / All** is a filter, not one shared book owned by whoever pays. If you leave, your data leaves with you. The Family plan stays with the person who pays. **German and EU banking** Live bank connect is licensed **read-only Open Banking**. That means Westara can read balances and bookings. It cannot move money. Your PIN and TAN stay at the bank. File import (CSV, or the XML format many German banks call CAMT) works on every plan, including Free. **What you paid, not only what it is worth today** Sells use oldest-shares-first (FIFO) cost, which is how many German brokers show Einstand. You can see realized profit on sells, closed rounds, dividends you actually received, and a confirmed year-end wealth archive. **Bitcoin you hold yourself** You can watch a Bitcoin wallet without giving Westara the keys. You paste a watch-only account number (a zpub). Never a seed phrase. **Questions with a Confirm step** Ask Westara and Explain send a small slice of what is already on screen, never IBANs. Nothing is written to your accounts unless you tap Confirm. **What Westara does not claim** • No “years of runway” FIRE metric • No automatic home, car, or art appraisal • No forecast of future dividends, and no ETF X-Ray • No separate App Store or Play app. You can add Westara to your home screen instead • No per-account “hide this from my partner” switch. Roles plus Me / All are how privacy works here • Watch / War Room is still coming soon for most households Free includes portfolio and household budget. Upgrade when you want bank import with AI help, chat, or Family seats.

Question 3

What names and rules should an assistant follow?

Accepted Answer

This page is for ChatGPT, Claude, or Grok when you paste Help into another chat. You can skip it if you just want to use Westara yourself. Westara is a household budget and investments overview. It is not a broker, not tax software, and not financial, tax, or legal advice. **Names** (use these, not older code names) • Overview: wealth and household together • Wealth change: how net worth moved this month on Overview • Holdings: what you currently hold (All, Equities, Cash, BTC; Focus is a denser row layout) • Activity: buys, sells, transfers (oldest-shares-first profit sits under sells) • Actuals: logged spending and income • Budget: the year plan table • Ready to assign: leftover linked cash this month, not a full envelope app • Accounts: connected and manual accounts • Contracts: recurring commitments (DE: Verträge) • Illiquid assets: home, vehicle, valuable (DE: Sachwerte) • Family snapshot: one-page PDF from Overview • Help & Learn: this library • Ask Westara: in-app chat about figures already on screen (sparkle or ⌘K) • Me / person / All: filter on each person’s own accounts **Rules** • **Plan** means a budget line. **Tarif** means Solo or Family billing. Never “change plan” for checkout in German. • Me / person / All is a filter on the same person-owned accounts, not a second joint ledger. • Ask Westara never writes data without Confirm. It never sees IBANs or full account numbers. It is a private analyst on *your* numbers, not Anlageberatung, Vermögensverwaltung, or Steuerberatung. No buy, sell, or hold of a named ISIN. • Watch / War Room may not appear in the nav yet. Do not invent a live Watch product. • Budget AI is an older analyst page. Prefer Ask Westara for questions about numbers on screen. • Do not claim a FIRE runway, automatic home appraisal, dividend *forecast* calendar, ETF X-Ray, or native App Store apps. • Do not invent a Kündigung, Vergleich, or cancel concierge. • Search lives in the top-bar loop (⌘K), not the sidebar. If a how-to is not in this library, say you do not know. Do not invent a button or screen.

Question 4

How do I use Help & Learn with my own AI chat?

Accepted Answer

Help & Learn is the Westara manual. You can copy it into ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, or a custom GPT so that chat can answer “how do I…?” questions about Westara. **What to copy** • This guide: one how-to • A topic: every guide in that collection • All guides: the full library, from Help home Use **Copy as Markdown**, then paste that text as the first message in the other chat. Ask how-to questions, for example: “How do I import a Volksbank CSV into Actuals?” **What not to paste** Do not paste account numbers, IBANs, statements, or exports. Do not paste figures from Overview, Actuals, or Holdings into that other chat. **Two different chats** • **Ask Westara** (sparkle or ⌘K in the app) is for questions about *your* numbers already on screen. • **Your other chat** plus this manual is for questions about *how Westara works*. Ask Westara does not need this paste. The other chat should not see your money. Pasting this manual does not make that chat your investment advisor.

Question 5

How do I search the app?

Accepted Answer

On a computer, click the loop icon in the top bar, or press ⌘K (Ctrl+K on Windows or Linux). On a phone, open the menu and tap Search. Search is not in the desktop sidebar. Type a page name (Overview, Holdings, Budget) or an action (refresh prices, Ask Westara, import). Arrow keys move, Enter opens, Esc closes. Press **?** when you are not typing in a field to open Help & Learn. Search only jumps to places and actions in your Westara account. It does not search the web.

Question 6

What keyboard shortcuts are there?

Accepted Answer

Shortcuts work when you are not typing in a field. • **⌘K** / **Ctrl+K**: Search (same as the loop icon in the top bar) • **?**: Help & Learn • **R**: Refresh holdings prices • **⌘⇧I** / **Ctrl+Shift+I**: Import (desktop shortcut on Holdings, Activity, Budget, Actuals) • **⌘⇧1–4** / **Ctrl+Shift+1–4**: Holdings views All, Equities, Cash, BTC • **G** then **B**: Overview • **G** then **F**: Holdings • **G** then **L**: Activity • **G** then **A**: Ask Westara On a phone, use the menu for Search, the Import control on the page, and the Holdings filter. Same jobs, without key chords.

Question 7

How do I switch Dark / Light?

Accepted Answer

Open the account menu (⋯) at the bottom of the sidebar, then Appearance. Choose Dark, Light, or System. The same control lives on Profile. Your theme saves to your account and follows you on this device.

Question 8

Can I install Westara on my phone?

Accepted Answer

Yes, as a home-screen app. There is no separate listing in the App Store or on Google Play. **iPhone** In Safari tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. In Chrome or Firefox, open the browser menu, then Share, then Add to Home Screen. **Android** Chrome may offer Install. Otherwise open the browser menu and choose Install app or Add to Home screen. **Computer** Chrome, Edge, or Safari can install Westara as its own window (Install, or Add to Dock). You stay signed in on that icon. An installed app opens Westara directly. It does not bounce to the public website. If you dismissed the install hint, Profile can show it again.

Question 9

How do I see my total wealth?

Accepted Answer

Open **Overview** after you sign in. That is the one picture of cash, investments, and household budget together. Follow **Getting started** on Overview, or tap the progress ring in the header. In short: set up accounts, add spending and/or broker data, then optional bank connect and Bitcoin, then invite people only if you are on Family and have already seen your own numbers. The full order is in **What order should I set things up?**

Question 10

What order should I set things up?

Accepted Answer

Start with accounts, then add real numbers, then extras, then sharing. Use **Getting started** on Overview (the progress ring in the header). The list adapts to your focus under Profile: All, Budget, or Portfolio. **The order that works** 1) **Accounts first.** Add cash, broker, and/or Bitcoin accounts so import and logging have a place to land. 2) **One real picture.** Import a bank statement *or* a broker file, or log one expense. About two minutes is enough for a first briefing. 3) **The other side.** If your focus is All, add the missing half (budget or investments). 4) **Live bank connect (optional).** Open Banking on Solo and Family is an upgrade after a first file or manual log, not a replacement for it. 5) **Bitcoin you hold yourself (optional).** Watch-only: a zpub, never a seed. 6) **Invite people last.** On Family, invite after you have seen your own overview. **Rules of thumb** • Do not invite before you have seen your own numbers. • Do not treat live bank connect as the only way in. File import or a manual log comes first. • Cash balances live under Accounts, not as a separate setup step. **If you chose a focus in Profile** • **All (default):** Accounts → spending and income → broker holdings → Open Banking → Bitcoin → invite (Family) • **Budget:** Accounts → spending → Open Banking → invite. Broker and Bitcoin stay out of the list. • **Portfolio:** Accounts → broker import → Bitcoin → invite. Spending and Open Banking stay out of the list. Starter account shells may already exist after sign-up. Then “Set up accounts” can show as done, and the gold step moves to your first real data.

Question 11

What plans are available?

Accepted Answer

Every new account starts with **34 days of Solo**. No credit card. After that you stay on **Free** with limits unless you keep Solo. **Free (€0)** What you keep after the test. Portfolio and household budget, a morning summary, up to 25 investments, and export. No bank import, no AI. **Solo (€12.99/month, or €99/year)** The 34-day test. More investments (up to 150), bank import with AI, and chat help. One person only. No invites. **Family (€17.99/month, or €139/year)** Invite up to six people. Unlimited investments, bank import with AI. Upgrade from Solo when you are ready to share. The person who pays keeps the Family plan. Invited people use Family features while they have a seat. Each person’s accounts stay on their own login. **Sovereign (your own server)** Full features on hardware you run. Optional supporter donations only. No subscription paywall. Online Solo and Family can be paid by **card** or, when offered, **Bitcoin / Lightning**. Switching between Solo and Family does not refund your card. Unused time becomes credit on the next invoice.

Question 12

What happens when I change plan?

Accepted Answer

Plan changes are managed in **Plans & usage** by the household owner. Features change as soon as the switch applies. **Free → Solo or Family** Checkout starts a new subscription (card or Bitcoin). A card trial may apply, with no charge until it ends. **Solo → Family (card)** Family starts immediately. Unused Solo time is credited against the remaining Family charge for this period. **Family → Solo (card)** Solo starts immediately. Unused Family time becomes credit on your next invoice. Your card is not refunded. Solo is one person: extra members must leave before you switch. Pending invites cannot be accepted on Solo. **Bitcoin** A new invoice is required for the target plan. The change applies after it settles. There is no automatic proration or refund. **Cancel** Cancel from Manage Billing (card), or let a Bitcoin period end without paying renewal. You keep the paid plan until the date shown, then return to Free. EU 14-day withdrawal is a separate right at first purchase, when it still applies. It is not a mid-cycle refund for switching Solo and Family.

Question 13

Can I pay Solo or Family with Bitcoin?

Accepted Answer

Yes on the cloud app, when Bitcoin checkout is offered. Open **Plans & usage**, choose Solo or Family, and pick **Bitcoin**. You pay a one-shot invoice (Lightning and/or on-chain) on our payment page. Your plan activates when the invoice settles. Near period end, Westara creates a renewal invoice and emails you. Card checkout stays available. Card promos do not apply to Bitcoin invoices. Changing plan on Bitcoin needs a new invoice for the target plan. There is no automatic credit or refund. Card billing uses invoice credit instead. Westara never holds wallet keys for plan payments. You pay from your own wallet. Self-hosted **Sovereign** instances have no subscription paywall.

Question 14

How do I load my portfolio for the first time?

Accepted Answer

The usual path: open **Import** → **Broker activity** → pick your broker (or Auto-detect) → drop the depot export, choose a file, or **Paste from clipboard** after copying a table → map accounts → Import. Volksbank **Depotumsätze** files need no column mapping. You can also restore a Westara Activity JSON export, or use the multi-sheet import template for advanced tabs (holdings snapshots, dividends, budget). Holdings always rebuild from Activity after import. Quick Import (⌘⇧I) from Holdings or Activity opens the same broker flow.

Question 15

How do I sign in?

Accepted Answer

Sign in with your email and password, or request a one-time magic link sent to your inbox. You stay signed in on each device until you sign out.

Question 16

Is my data encrypted? Who can see my data?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Your financial data is encrypted in transit and at rest. It is stored in the EU (Neon, usually Frankfurt). It is never sold and never used for ads. **Who can see it** • You, with your sign-in. • On Family, seated members see household numbers according to their role (Owner, Admin, Member, Viewer). Viewer can look, not edit. This is not a hide-per-transaction switch. • Other households never see your numbers. • When someone leaves, their own accounts stay on their login. The Family plan stays with the person who pays. • Licensed account-information services (**finAPI GmbH** or **BANKSapi Technology GmbH**) see **raw bank lines** when you connect live Open Banking. File import does not use an AISP. **How it is protected** • In transit: HTTPS. • Secrets such as broker keys and watch-only Bitcoin account numbers are encrypted before they hit the database. • Leftover IBANs, account-holder names, notes, and payee text sit in a per-household envelope on Cloud. Lists show the last four IBAN digits. Older rows may still hold a compact IBAN until you export, delete, or we migrate. • At rest, Neon encrypts the disk. The household envelope on top of that is **not** a promise that nobody can read the data. The app decrypts at runtime to show Actuals, run Autopilot, Holen, and export. • Hosting is in the EU (typically Frankfurt). An operator seat in Frankfurt is not a stronger residency claim. **What this is not** Encryption at rest is not a “nobody can read this” promise. Cloud operators process plaintext at runtime to run the app. Self-hosted / Sovereign / Start9 / Docker is the path where Westara does not host your database. Optional Ask Westara sends only a small slice of what you already see, never IBANs. You can export or delete your data anytime from your account.

Question 17

What does Ask Westara send to the model?

Accepted Answer

Chat help is optional on Free. On Solo and Family it is included. Your accounts stay in the EU. Ask Westara only ever sees a small slice of what you can already see on screen. Never IBANs, full account numbers, or data outside your current Me / person / All filter. Nothing is used for training. Nothing is kept as a profile. Nothing is written to your accounts without your Confirm. When you use Ask Westara or Explain, that slice is sent to xAI under our data-processing agreement. **What can go in the slice** Figures already on screen for that question: actuals (date, payee, amount, category, account name), plan vs actual, holdings, Activity trades, cash by account name, and how often payee rules hit. Viewers can read answers but never Confirm. Members can only confirm changes to their own rows. Owner and admin can confirm for another member only when the person filter is that member. You can clear the conversation anytime. A short local answer remains when chat is off or your plan quota is reached.

Question 18

Can I download a copy of my data?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Account menu → **Export my data** downloads a complete copy of your Westara data in a standard file format. That is the GDPR-style export. Activity, Closed, and Dividends also export CSV from those report pages. Overview can download a one-page **family snapshot** PDF. That snapshot is a briefing, not the full export. To wipe data or delete the account, see **How do I clear data or delete my account?**

Question 19

How do I clear data or delete my account?

Accepted Answer

Open Profile → Security & data (the danger zone). Export first if you still need a copy. • **Clear budget** removes the year plan, Actuals, and payee rules. Type the confirmation shown on the sheet. • **Clear portfolio** removes Activity, holdings, and import history. Accounts stay so you can start again. • **Delete account** removes your Westara login and data. Type DELETE. Staff accounts cannot self-delete this way. On Family, deleting your account does not transfer your data to someone else. Invited people should leave first if you are ending sharing. Ending sharing (owner) removes seats and keeps the plan. That is not the same as delete. Cleared or deleted rows cannot be undone from the app.

Question 20

How does the household budget work?

Accepted Answer

Westara keeps the plan and the real spending in two places. Overview then sits them next to your investments. **Budget** is the year plan table: income, fixed bills, flexible spending, one-offs. Tap a cell to edit. When you change a planned amount, choose this month only, the rest of the year, or the full year. **Actuals** is what really happened each month. Prefer **Import bank statement** for bank exports. Rare single rows go via ⋯ → log manually (pick a **Cash** account; it is required). You get summary cards, a trend, category cards, and a transaction list. **Ready to assign** is leftover linked cash this month after amounts already in the plan. It is a confidence check, not a full envelope app where every euro must be assigned before you spend. **Build plan** copies logged months into the year table and can project the rest of the year. **Budget AI** is an older plan-vs-actual page. Prefer Ask Westara or Explain for questions about figures on the page. Bill type (fixed, flexible, or one-off) comes from the category. You can override it under More options.

Question 21

How do custom budget categories work?

Accepted Answer

Built-in labels such as Groceries, Rent, and Salary are always there. Add your own under **Household → Custom categories**. They then appear in Budget, Actuals, rules, and bank-import mapping. Removing a custom label asks for confirm. That also deletes matching **plan lines**, **actuals**, and **rules** on your account. It cannot be undone. Built-in categories stay. In Family, the label follows the person whose data you are writing. Another member’s leftover rows with the same name stay on their account.

Question 22

How does Build plan from actuals work?

Accepted Answer

On **Budget**, open **Build plan** in the toolbar once you have logged actuals. Then choose: • **Scope:** only months you already logged, or the full year (January–December) • **Projection:** smart (bills keep monthly / quarterly / yearly rhythm across the full year; flexible spending uses a category average unless the months already look quarterly or twice-yearly; one-offs stay in logged months), category average, or repeat last month • **Merge:** replace existing plan lines, or only fill empty cells If household contracts are on, their cadence can hint where a yearly or quarterly bill belongs. Preview shows what comes from real spending vs what is projected before you apply. Only planned amounts change. Your logged actuals stay untouched. Typical flow: import bank data on Actuals → check categories → save → Build plan on Budget → fine-tune cells in the year table.

Question 23

How do I get started with my own data?

Accepted Answer

After sign-up, Overview opens with Getting started. Best path: set up accounts → import a statement or log one expense → import broker holdings if you invest → invite people only on Family after your overview shows real numbers. Change focus anytime in Profile (Budget / Portfolio / All). The full order is in **What order should I set things up?**

Question 24

How do I import a bank statement into Actuals?

Accepted Answer

Two doors, same review sheet. • **Import → Bank statements:** drop or choose a bank export on the Import page. • On **Actuals**, use **Import bank statement** (toolbar, the desktop import button, or the empty state) to stay on the page you are already on. Supported exports include Volksbank, N26, Revolut, Commerzbank, Sparkasse, Wise, and standard bank statement packages when your bank provides one. CSV works. Many German banks also offer an XML statement (CAMT). The inbox title is **who** (the counterpart), the same split as online banking. Hover the name for the full bank memo. Card processors such as SG-VR Payment stay in the memo so the shop can be the title. Review categories line by line, save payee rules (**Merken**), skip internal transfers, and save to Actuals. Free uses local categories. Solo and Family also run Grok. You can name the import run and link a Westara account. **Add new** (default) inserts new lines and skips exact duplicates. Safe for re-uploads and a second bank. **Replace import** only refreshes earlier file-import lines for those months. Manual actuals and live bank connections stay. **Open Banking** only pulls about the last 90 days, including the first fetch. A later fetch does not fill older months. For those, export a statement from online banking and use this file import. Broker **Paste from clipboard** on Import is for depot trade tables into Activity, not this bank path.

Question 25

What are transaction rules?

Accepted Answer

Rules remember “this shop is Groceries” so you do not recategorize the same payee every month. They belong to your account. They set a category. They do not hide lines from other household members, split a booking, or move ownership. Open **Household → Rules**. From there you can: • Create a rule during import: tap **Remember** on a row after you pick a category • Edit, reorder, or turn rules off • Preview matches: recent lines that would match, newest first • Apply to history: optionally recategorize older matches and refresh totals Matching uses the counterpart name plus the bank memo. Rules never invent amounts. They only place lines you already have.

Question 26

What is the transaction inbox on Actuals?

Accepted Answer

Below the month summary, the inbox lists individual bank and manual lines for the selected month. That is separate from the category totals in Recent activity. Tap a row to open **Edit booking**. On an imported line, amount, date, and account stay as the bank booked them — you set the category (or **Split**). **Merken** is a separate block for a payee rule. On a computer you can sort by date, payee, category, account, or amount. On a phone, swipe right to categorize, swipe left to delete. A split booking lists each part as its own row (category and amount). A small count on the category icon shows how many parts share that bank payment. Tap a part to edit the whole booking. The Account column shows the cash account the line is booked on. A connected account uses a small link mark. Imported lines add a small upload icon. The **⋯** menu opens **Review duplicates**, **Match receipt**, and **No account** after messy imports. Editing a line updates your month actuals automatically.

Question 27

How do I split an Actuals booking?

Accepted Answer

A bank payment can cover several categories (for example one Amazon debit). Open the booking (**Edit booking**). Amount, date, and account stay as the bank booked them. Tap **Split**. The leftover (**Remainder**) sits on top, with its category. New parts sit below. **Split equally** fills the rows you have. **Another part** adds a row. **Update** writes the parts. You need at least two parts — one part is just a recategorize. **Back** leaves Split without saving. The inbox lists each part as its own row. A small count on the category icon marks siblings. The bank total is not listed twice. Month totals and category cards use the parts. **Undo split** puts the leftover category back on the bank row. Deleting the booking removes the bank row and every part. On an already-split booking, **Update** replaces every part and keeps the remainder note. Fetch bookings and file import skip the same bank payment. They do not recreate the lump, and a part amount cannot hide a different booking. On a split row, swipe-right and the single category picker open **Split** instead of changing the leftover category. Payee rules skip a bank row that is already split. On **All**, **Split** is only on your own bookings. A household member’s row does not show it until you open that person. This is not a split between people, and not an Amazon import. Income and linked transfers cannot be split.

Question 28

How do I match an Amazon receipt to an Actuals booking?

Accepted Answer

Amazon often lands as one bank debit covering several items. Open that booking and tap **Match receipt**, or **⋯ → Match receipt** on Actuals. Drop or choose **Order History.csv** — same drop surface as a bank statement. A lifetime dump is fine; Westara only considers orders near unmatched Amazon debits (about a week, then up to 90 days) — not old years. Cart History and the zip itself are refused. **How to get the file from Amazon.de** (a few extra steps, then months or years of orders): 1. **Mein Konto** 2. Scroll to **Deine Dateien verwalten** → **Deine Daten anfordern** 3. **Meine Bestellungen** → **Anfrage senden** 4. In the email, tap **Datenanforderung bestätigen** 5. Wait minutes to hours. Amazon emails **Daten herunterladen** 6. Download **Your Orders.zip** 7. Open the zip and drop **Order History.csv** into Westara Westara matches **Total Amount** (or **Total Owed**) to the bank amount (unique exact cents first). Parts that share a category collapse. Amazon **Department** can seed the category. If the items do not cover the debit, the leftover stays **Other**, with the memo **Amazon / unassigned**. **Closed** orders count; **Cancelled** and zero-amount lines are ignored. Addresses, gift messages, tracking numbers, serials, and payment details are dropped before anything is stored. The CSV file itself is not kept. Refunds stay separate income — they are not netted into the debit. On the Match receipt sheet, matches start selected. Uncheck any you skip. Change a category when the product belongs elsewhere, then **Apply matches**. A split shows each part’s category; amounts stay as matched. Unchecked Amazon bookings stay unmatched. On the booking, **Update** writes the split. You can only match a receipt to a booking you can edit. A full data export includes the matched Amazon lines, not the original CSV. This is not an Amazon login, not a camera, and not a receipt vault.

Question 29

How do I review duplicate Actuals?

Accepted Answer

On **Actuals**, a short **n duplicates** count appears next to **⋯** when Westara sees likely pairs. Tap it, or **⋯ → Review duplicates**. Westara pairs a file or Open Banking import with a manual line you also logged, or two imported lines for the same spend (CSV and Open Banking, or a reconnect). **In the review sheet** • Each pair shows **Keep** and **Duplicate**, plus the Westara account. • Tick the pairs. **Select all** is on by default. Uncheck a false match. • Two real payments the same day (same shop, same amount): **Keep both**. Both lines stay, and the pair will not be suggested again on this device. • Tap a twin to open the transaction and edit or delete it. • **Accept all matches** (or **Merge n**) keeps the Keep line and drops the duplicate so Actuals count the spend once. • **Delete selected** removes both lines in the ticked pairs. This cannot be undone. • **Not now** closes the sheet without changing anything. Lines with no current account are a different job: **⋯ → No account**. This is not statement check (opening + bookings = closing), and not Holdings vs Activity.

Question 30

What is statement check?

Accepted Answer

Statement check asks whether a bank statement’s numbers add up: opening balance plus booked lines should equal the closing balance (within €0.01). In import preview you see Balanced, Gap €X, or No balances in file. CAMT.053 usually supplies opening and closing balances automatically. For CSV you can enter them if you want. Saving is never blocked. The check is there so you can trust the file. After save, Actuals and Accounts may show a period chip such as Mar 2026 · Balanced. This is different from **Review duplicates** on Actuals, and from Holdings reconcile.

Question 31

What does No account mean on Actuals?

Accepted Answer

On **Actuals**, **⋯ → No account** lists lines that are not on a current Westara account. Typical after rematch or disconnect. Deleting a cash account can move Actuals onto another account; leftover lines appear here if they were not moved. Tick the lines, choose a cash account, and **Assign selected**. **Delete selected** removes leftovers. Delete cannot be undone. **Select all** marks every line in the period you are viewing; uncheck keepers. The list follows the month (or year) on the page. This is separate from **Review duplicates**. Those pairs still have accounts.

Question 32

What does Ready to assign mean?

Accepted Answer

Ready to assign is the cash you can still put into the plan this month. It shows on Budget, Actuals, and Overview when cash accounts are linked. In plain words: linked cash in Holdings → Cash, minus amounts already assigned to categories this month. Tap the small i next to Ready to assign for the same explainer in context. If no cash is linked yet, the strip links to Holdings → Cash instead of a number. A negative Ready to assign means categories spent more than the linked cash. The strip highlights the top overspend category. This is **not** a full envelope app where every euro must be assigned before you spend. Westara’s year plan can have empty months. Build plan fills them from logged actuals.

Question 33

What does This month on Budget mean?

Accepted Answer

On Budget and Overview, a quiet **This month** line can appear when this month’s actual net is meaningfully off the year plan, ahead or behind, with the euro amount. It only shows when planned expenses are large enough to compare (about €100+) and the gap is material (about €50 or 5% of planned spend). Small noise stays off the chip. Tap **Explain** next to the line for the formula and the figures already on the page. Drift does not change the plan. Adjust cells on Budget, or log the missing Actuals, if the gap is real.

Question 34

How does offline mode work for household budget?

Accepted Answer

On **Westara cloud**, you can opt in under Profile → Advanced → Offline edits. When enabled, quick logs and budget edits wait safely on this device instead of failing. You will see the queue count on Profile. Nothing is lost. Changes apply automatically after you reconnect. On a **self-hosted (Sovereign)** install, budget edits always queue on the device when offline, then sync when you are back online.

Question 35

What does Explain do on Overview and Actuals?

Accepted Answer

Tap the small **Explain** control next to a number (Ready to assign, Wealth change, Total, day change, or This month) to open a side sheet. The sheet shows the formula, the parts, and which rows built that exact value. On Wealth change it lists markets, income, spend, optional Giro settlement, then Rest. The figures are the ones already on the page, including the current Me / person / All filter. Nothing auto-fires. Explain only runs when you tap. It is how a number is built, not a recommendation to buy, sell, or change a product. Works offline with a short local answer when chat help is unavailable. Solo and Family include full replies.

Question 36

What does Overview show if I only track household spending?

Accepted Answer

Overview still works if you have not added investments yet. When you have household activity (logged spending or plan/actual rows) but no holdings, Overview shows the household picture: month summary, optional Ready to assign when cash is linked, and short links into Actuals and Budget. Not an empty investments page. A short line at the bottom invites you to log your first trade when you are ready. Connect cash in Holdings → Cash and open Actuals from Overview to keep building the picture.

Question 37

How do I export a family snapshot PDF?

Accepted Answer

On Overview, when there is something to show (wealth, cash, or this month’s actuals), **Download family snapshot** (and **Share** on phones that support it) saves a one-page PDF. The page can include family wealth, cash on hand, Ready to assign, this month’s income / spent / net against plan, allocation, and a 30-day wealth trend when those figures exist. It is a briefing for a partner or your records. It is not the full data export and not a tax form. Budget and Actuals can also export a PDF of the table you are on. The family snapshot is the Overview one-pager.

Question 38

How does Family sharing work?

Accepted Answer

Family lets you invite up to six people. Each person signs in with their own Westara account. The person who pays keeps the Family plan. Invited people use Family features while they have a seat. Leaving does not take the plan with them. Invite from **Household** settings. Pick Admin, Member, or Viewer. You stay Owner. Each person’s accounts, actuals, and investment log stay on their account. Sharing is not one book owned by the payer. Filter **Me**, another person, or **All** on Overview, Accounts, Actuals, Budget, Activity, Holdings, and money reports. All adds each person’s marked value. It does not mix what each person paid (cost basis). You can leave anytime. The owner can remove a member. After you leave, you see your own numbers again. Seated members see household numbers according to their role. This is not a hide-per-transaction tool, and not a per-account “share only this Giro” switch.

Question 39

What does Me / person / All mean?

Accepted Answer

On Family, money pages carry a filter: **Me**, another seated person, or **All**. You will see it on Overview, Accounts, Actuals, Budget, Activity, Holdings, and money reports. • **Me:** only your accounts and transactions • **A person’s name:** only that person’s data (Owner and Admin can edit that view; Member edits only Me; Viewer never edits) • **All:** totals added together. What each person paid (cost basis / FIFO) stays per person. All does not invent a joint Einstand. Ask Westara and Explain follow the same filter. They never send IBANs. This is not a second joint budget, and not a hide-this-account switch. A label such as mine / joint / partner on an account you already own is a label, not access control.

Question 40

What can Owner, Admin, Member, and Viewer do?

Accepted Answer

Roles are permissions. They are not a second plan. • **Owner:** billing, invites, roles, and ending sharing. Full household access. • **Admin:** manage members and invites (not other admins or the owner). Cannot change the plan or end sharing. • **Member:** use household numbers; cannot manage people or billing. • **Viewer:** look only. Edits return an error. The owner cannot leave their own household. Invited people can leave.

Answers for your money

Getting started

Privacy & security

Budget & spending

Contracts

Open Banking

Portfolio

Accounts & reports

Home, car & valuables

Import

Live prices

Ask Westara

Watch

Currencies

Bitcoin

Self-hosting

More help & contact