Accounts and balances

Add an account

Add checking, savings, cash, credit-card, or loan accounts as appropriate. You can enter accounts manually or connect supported institutions through Plaid with Pro. Free includes unlimited accounts.

Use the amount available for cash accounts and the amount owed for credit cards and loans. Debt does not become available income.

Start from the right balance

A manual account starts with the balance you enter. A new account created through bank linking uses the bank’s current balance as the starting amount, which you can review in the link form.

Posted activity already represented by a new linked account’s starting balance is not imported again as new spending. Linking a bank to an existing manual account preserves its history and starting balance.

What sync changes

Sync imports bank activity into Alto. It does not silently rewrite your starting balance or add automatic balance adjustments to force a match with your bank.

After setup, recorded transactions determine the account balance. Pending activity and posting timing can make the bank and Alto look different temporarily.

Reconcile a difference

Compare the same posted activity and dates in Alto and at your bank. Look for missing or duplicate transactions, the wrong opening amount, and transfers recorded only once.

Use Reconcile on the account after reviewing the difference. A reconciliation is an explicit action you take; it is not an automatic bank-sync correction.

Disconnecting and deleting

Disconnecting stops future sync for that account while keeping recorded history. Deleting an account removes data and has different consequences. Read the confirmation carefully and export anything you need before deleting.