First ten minutes
Getting started with 2Fin Desktop
Install, bring your first statement in, and link a paid plan only if you want one — in the order it actually happens, once.
Install and open it
Run the installer — no admin rights needed, it installs for your user only. First launch creates a folder for your records and asks nothing else: no account, no email, no password. Four short screens follow, each skippable: where your data lives, bringing your first records in, and how much thinking a model should do for you.
Bring your first statement in
A CSV or PDF export from your bank is enough to start — drop it on the "Add a statement" card and columns are matched for you; you check them once. Prefer not to export a file by hand? Point 2Fin at a Google Sheet a sync service already fills, or connect a bank you hold the key to directly. All three are free — no plan required for any of them.
Let Fin categorise and total
Once records are in, the free plan already does the real work: categorising, patterns and recurring bills, travel tracking, budgets, and Fin chat answering from your actual figures. This is a complete product on its own — nothing below is required to keep using it.
Link a plan, only if you want one
Paid plans add tax reporting, filing exports and deeper analysis. Click "Sign in & link this device" and a browser opens where you sign in and pay — never inside the app itself, so your card details are never something 2Fin's window could see. The desktop mints a short code, the browser confirms it, and the licence lands back on your machine, offline-capable from then on.
Know what is leaving, always
The "On this PC" chip in the top bar shows the real folder your records live in and a log of every outbound request the app has made — counts and destinations, never contents. Turn any connection off, or all of them, from the same panel.
Questions people ask
Do I need to pick a plan before I can use it?
No. The free plan works fully with no account and no time limit — categorising, patterns, budgets and Fin chat all included. A plan only adds tax reporting, filing exports and deeper analysis, and only if you choose to link one.
What if I do not have a CSV to hand?
Connect a bank you hold the key to directly (Up, Akahu, Starling, Monzo and others), or point 2Fin at a Google Sheet a sync service keeps filled — both are read-only from 2Fin's side and free on any plan.
Where does payment happen?
In your browser, on the AI2Fin account page — never inside the desktop window. That is deliberate: a payment form inside a frameless app window is exactly the pattern people are right to distrust, and this way your password manager and the browser's own address bar are both available.
What happens if I stop paying?
The app returns to the free plan and keeps running. Nothing is deleted, nothing locks, and export keeps working — that guarantee is in the licence, not just this page.
Can I move to a different computer later?
Yes — export your records (a plain, documented bundle you can open with any SQLite tool) and import them on the new machine, or link the same account there; see /sync for keeping more than one device current at once.