Troubleshooting

Common issues when using Alto, along with quick checks and fixes.

I can’t sign in / I keep getting sent to the login page

  • Refresh the page and try again.
  • Confirm you’re using the correct email/password (or Google account).
  • Try signing out and signing back in.
  • If you’re using an in-app browser (from another app), try opening Alto in Safari/Chrome instead (some in-app browsers block cookies).

My Budget page is empty (no categories)

  • Go to Categories and confirm you have expense and income categories.
  • If you recently created your account, refresh once—initial setup may take a moment.
  • Check your expense filters. If you're filtering to Due This Period, try switching to All Expenses to see categories without due dates.
  • Check if you have status or available filters active that might be hiding all your categories.

Transactions are missing or not showing up

  • If you’re on an account detail page, confirm you’re viewing the correct account.
  • Clear search/filters in the Transactions page.
  • If you just linked a bank, give it a minute and refresh—banks can post transactions in bursts.
  • If you imported a CSV, confirm you selected the correct destination account.

A transaction didn’t change my category’s Available amount

  • Confirm the transaction has a category selected (and that it’s the category you’re looking at).
  • Confirm the transaction is not a transfer. Transfers move money between accounts and don’t affect category spending.
  • Confirm the transaction date falls within the viewing window you’re looking at (pay period vs month).

I have duplicate transactions (manual + bank sync)

  • Look for a “pending match” review prompt and choose Link if they are the same transaction.
  • If they are not the same, choose Skip so both remain.
  • If you already have true duplicates, delete the extra one (prefer keeping the bank-synced record).

My pay period window looks wrong

  • Go to Settings and confirm your pay frequency and next pay date are correct.
  • In the Budget page, confirm whether you’re viewing Pay Period or Month.
  • If you changed pay period settings recently, refresh the Budget page.

Ready to Assign is lower than expected

  • Confirm your paychecks are categorized to an income category.
  • Check if you assigned money to savings or credit card payments (those are legitimate uses of Ready to Assign).
  • If a category has extra money (refunds), consider "collecting" it back and reassigning it.

I see items in "Needs Attention" that I don't recognize

  • Needs Attention shows expenses with negative available amounts that might be hidden by your current filters or are from past periods.
  • Check the period label under the category name—it might be from a previous pay period where you overspent.
  • To resolve an item, either assign more money (click the negative Available amount for a quick-assign option) or adjust the Due amount if it was set incorrectly.
  • Once the available amount reaches zero or above, the item will disappear from the list.