Getting Started
This guide walks you through setting up Alto inside the app: pay period settings, accounts, categories, and your first budget.
1) Create your account
- Go to Register and create your account, then sign in.
- Alto starts you with a default set of categories so you can begin immediately.
2) Set your pay period
Your pay period tells Alto what “this period” means. It affects what expenses show up and how you move forward/backward through time.
- Open Settings.
- Choose your pay frequency (weekly, biweekly, 1st & 15th, monthly).
- Set your next pay date so Alto can determine the current pay period.
- Save changes.
3) Add accounts (where money lives)
- Go to Accounts and add your checking/savings accounts.
- Add credit cards as Credit Card accounts so Alto can track payments and “available to pay”.
- You can start manual and link later, or link accounts up front (see Plaid Sync guide).
4) Add transactions (what actually happened)
- Go to Transactions and add inflows (paychecks) and outflows (spending).
- Categorize transactions as you go—categorization is what makes the budget accurate.
- For transfers between accounts, use the transfer workflow so money movement doesn’t distort category spending.
5) Assign money in the Budget page
- Open Budget and start assigning money to upcoming expenses.
- A common goal is to get Ready to Assign to 0 (every dollar has a job).
- If you spend before you assign, that’s okay—assign later to bring the category back in line.
A simple weekly routine
- Sync or enter new transactions.
- Categorize anything uncategorized.
- Check categories that are low/negative and re-assign money.
- Plan upcoming bills in the current pay period.