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“Handy Expense Tracker” – User Manual

Handy Expense Tracker 1.46 User Guide

From quick entries to image recognition, category management, chart summaries, and data backups, this manual explains the most common actions on iPhone, iPad, and Mac task by task.

Quickly add an entry

At the bottom of the Records page, tap “Expense” or “Income”, then choose Manual, Camera, or Photo.

Find records

Browse by date, category, label, or payment method, and search merchant and detail keywords.

Protect your data

Data syncs automatically through iCloud; you can also export files regularly to keep an independent backup.

Mac version instructions

The Mac version uses the same record fields as the iPhone and iPad versions, and data can be synced through iCloud. The main difference is that the Mac version uses the app menu at the top of the screen and multiple separate windows to switch between features.

Open feature windows from the app menu

From the “Handy Expense Tracker” menu at the top of the Mac screen, choose “Record”, “Chart”, “Category Management”, “Label Managment”, or “Payment Managment”. Each feature opens in its own separate window, so you can keep several open on the desktop at the same time.

Window layouts

  • RecordShows income and expense records by date. This is the main window for daily adding, viewing, and organizing records.
  • ChartSelect a summary chart on the left and view the chosen statistics on the right. When you go deeper, use the return button in the toolbar to go back.
  • Category ManagementUses a three-column layout: choose a category in the left column, a subcategory in the middle column, and view the records under that subcategory in the right column.
  • Label ManagmentManage and select labels on the left, and view records using that label on the right.
  • Payment ManagmentManage and select payment methods on the left, and view records using that payment method on the right.

Settings and other features

  • “Template Management”, “Purchase”, “Questions”, and “Feedback” open in a helper window; when you choose another item, that window switches to the corresponding content.
  • “Settings” and “About” can be opened from the macOS app menu.
  • When you choose “Import built-in category list”, the app opens the “Category Management” window and lets you import the preset categories and subcategories.
  • From the “Help” menu, choose “Help” to reopen this manual at any time.
Other actions are the same as on mobile

When adding or editing records, viewing charts, or managing categories, labels, and payment methods, the field meanings are the same as in the following sections. If authentication is enabled, each feature window requires verification with Touch ID or your Mac login password.

1. Expense tracking

1.1 Add a record

After entering the app, tap the bottom “Expense” or “Income” button, then choose one of these methods:

  • Add Manually: Fill in the category, amount, and other information in order.
  • Add with Camera: Open the camera to photograph a receipt, bill, or order.
  • Add from Photo: Choose an image from the photo library, or share, drag, and drop an image from another app into Handy Expense Tracker.

Manual entry steps

  1. Category: Choose the category for the record, then continue to “Subcategory”.
  2. Subcategory: Choose an income or expense subcategory. Long press a subcategory to search similar records.
  3. General: Enter the amount, merchant, and date. The amount supports simple calculations using +, -, and *.
  4. Details: Add notes; you can also use voice input, Search past, and Extract information.
  5. Payment: Choose a payment method, or choose “No Payment Method”.
  6. Label: Multiple selection is supported; tap a selected label again to cancel it.
You can save early

Amount and subcategory are required. At any step from “General” to “Label”, you can tap “Add” in the top right to save without going through every page to the end.

1.2 Add records with Camera or Photo

  1. Select: Take a photo, choose an image from the photo library, or share or drag an image from another app.
  2. Image: View and adjust the image. Drag to create a green selection area; “Edit” can cut, rotate, or clear the image.
  3. Analyze: Recognize the selected area; if there is no selection, the entire image is analyzed.
  4. Confirm: Choose the recognized amount, date, merchant, and category, then close the result window and continue filling in the rest.
  5. Save: Check the general information, details, payment method, and label, then tap “Add”.
Improve recognition accuracy

It is recommended to first select the order or bill area in the image, then tap “Analyze”. A merchant is automatically recognized only when it has appeared in past records and also appears in the image text.

When adding a second or later image, choosing “Merge with existing image” appends the new image below the current one; choosing not to merge replaces the existing image. Image Analysis keeps the most recent result, and when you analyze again you can show the previous result or analyze again.

Handy Expense Tracker extracts amount, merchant, date, and category from an order screenshot
Extract information from an order screenshot and confirm each item before writing it to the record.

1.3 Search and extract information

Search by amount

After entering an amount in the “General” step, tap the search button to the right of the amount to find past records with the same or a similar amount. Merchant, label, and payment method are also matched first; when there are no results, the app gradually relaxes the conditions.

Search by subcategory

In the “Subcategory” step when adding or editing a record, long press a subcategory and choose “Search” to find similar records under that subcategory.

Search past and extract information

In the “Details” step, enter keywords and tap “Search past” to reuse the amount, category, merchant, details, payment method, and labels from old records. Paste order, bill, or transaction text into Details, then tap “Extract information” to recognize the amount, date, merchant, and category. Details extraction keeps the most recent result, and when you extract again you can show the previous result or analyze again.

1.4 Edit records and flexible input

Long press a record and choose “Edit” to modify the original category, subcategory, amount, merchant, date, details, payment method, labels, and image. When finished, tap “Update” in the “General”, “Details”, “Payment”, or “Label” step.

  • The amount supports simple formulas, which makes it easy to combine multiple expenses.
  • Payment methods can use different currencies; foreign-currency records show the converted local-currency amount.
  • Labels support multiple selection, which is useful for cross-organizing by travel, projects, or reimbursement status.
Handy Expense Tracker amount formulas, multi-currency payment methods, and custom labels
Amount formulas, payment methods, and labels can be used together.

2. Browse and search records

2.1 View records

  • Choose “Record” from the top-right menu to view all records.
  • Enter “Category Management” and choose a subcategory to view records in that subcategory.
  • Enter “Label Managment” or “Payment Managment” to view records for the corresponding label or payment method.
  • In chart summaries, choose conditions step by step and finally view the records that match.

The Records page shows income and expense summaries within the selected date range. Tap the date to switch to the full year, full month, or a single day; tap a record to expand its details, and long press a record to edit or delete it.

Tap “Edit” in the top left to enter batch mode, where you can delete records, add labels, or move multiple records to another subcategory. Records can also be sorted by amount or time.

Tap the search button at the bottom and enter a merchant or detail keyword. If you enter search from the category, label, or payment method page, the results are automatically limited to the current scope.

Handy Expense Tracker shows income and expense summaries and a record list by day
View income and expense summaries and each record by date.

3. Charts and Quick access

On the “Chart” home screen, choose total income or total expense to summarize step by step by year, month, category, subcategory, label, payment method, and other fields. Tap “Edit” next to “Summarization method and order” to change the statistical dimensions and order.

  • Use the switch button at the top to switch between a bar chart and a pie chart.
  • Tap the star to add the current summary page to Quick access; tap again to remove it.
  • If the year, month, or date in the path matches the current time, you can choose “Always keep the date as latest” when saving. For example, “July 2026 shopping expense” will automatically become “This month shopping expense” next month.
Handy Expense Tracker uses bar charts and pie charts to summarize expenses
Use bar charts or pie charts to view income and expense composition from multiple angles.

4. Categories, labels, and payment methods

4.1 Categories and subcategories

In “Category Management”, you can add, edit, and adjust income or expense categories. When using the app for the first time, you can also choose the categories you need from the built-in category list, then continue adjusting them to fit your own bookkeeping habits.

4.2 Labels

Labels are useful for expressing information that cannot be shown by categories alone, such as travel, projects, family members, or reimbursement status. A record can use multiple labels at the same time.

4.3 Payment methods

Payment methods can be assigned a currency. When using a foreign-currency payment method, the app converts the amount into local currency according to the current exchange rate; changing the amount or payment method will automatically recalculate it.

Handy Expense Tracker built-in category and subcategory list
Quickly create categories from the built-in list, then adjust them as needed.

5. Settings, sync, and backup

  • iCloud automatic syncUse the same iCloud account to automatically sync data across multiple devices.
  • AuthenticateWhen enabled, Face ID, Touch ID, or the device passcode is used to verify your identity each time you enter the app.
  • Export to FileExport categories, subcategories, labels, payment methods, and records as a CSV file. Images in records are not exported.
  • Import from FileRestore data from a CSV file; records that already exist locally are ignored.
Keep an independent backup

iCloud sync is for keeping devices consistent, not for historical backups. Important data should be exported regularly and stored safely.

Handy Expense Tracker iCloud sync, file backup, and authentication in settings
Manage sync, file backups, and authentication in Settings.

6. Template management

Go to “Template Management” from the top-right menu to create recurring records that are generated automatically each month, such as a monthly cloud service fee. If a month has no specified date, the record is generated on the last day of that month; for example, if it is set to the 31st each month, February will generate it on the 28th or 29th.

7. Questions and feedback

Go to “Feedback” from the top-right menu. If app notification permission is not enabled, a prompt will appear when you enter the Questions page; follow the prompt to open system settings and enable notifications so replies can arrive in time.

8. Import/export file format

Each line in the CSV file represents a category, subcategory, record, label, or payment method, with fields separated by English commas. English commas within field content are represented by the full-width comma ，, and line breaks are represented by the character n.

Back up before importing

Please do not change IDs or field order arbitrarily. Before batch editing the file, it is recommended to save the original exported file and verify with a small amount of test data.

8.1 Category

  1. Type: 0
  2. Category ID: a string that uniquely identifies the category
  3. Category name

8.2 Subcategory

  1. Type: 1
  2. Subcategory ID: a string that uniquely identifies the subcategory
  3. Subcategory name
  4. Parent category ID
  5. true means income, false means expense

8.3 Record

  1. Type: 2
  2. Record ID: a string that uniquely identifies the record
  3. Parent subcategory ID
  4. Record date: Year-Month-Day Hour:Minute, for example 2026-07-29 14:20
  5. Amount, for example 100.00
  6. Reserved field: 0
  7. Merchant
  8. Details
  9. Label ID
  10. Payment method ID
  11. Foreign-currency amount

8.4 Label

  1. Type: 3
  2. Label ID: a string that uniquely identifies the label
  3. Label name
  4. Label color: RGB values range from 0 to 1, separated by |, for example 0.5|0|0.5

8.5 Payment method

  1. Type: 4
  2. Payment method ID: a string that uniquely identifies the payment method
  3. Payment method name
  4. Currency code, for example CNY

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