FAQ — Common Questions About Acclo IQ
General
Section titled “General”What is Acclo IQ?
Section titled “What is Acclo IQ?”Acclo IQ is a local-first personal finance app that helps you track spending, categorize transactions, and manage budgets. All your financial data stays on your device. A single privacy-respecting telemetry ping is sent daily (platform, app version, bucketed usage counts) to help us understand product adoption — no financial data, no personal information. You can disable it instantly in Settings > License > Privacy. See the Privacy reference for full details.
Is Acclo IQ free?
Section titled “Is Acclo IQ free?”Yes. The Free tier includes dashboard and transactions (12-month lookback), budget overview, recurring detection (12-month lookback), smart auto-categorization rules, two bank accounts, five tags, CSV import/export, sample bank format profiles, and full data export and backup. The Pro tier unlocks unlimited accounts and tags, budget history and trends, year-over-year analysis, full recurring detection with forecasts, bank sync (SimpleFIN), cloud sync (E2E encrypted), and receipt attachments.
What platforms does Acclo IQ support?
Section titled “What platforms does Acclo IQ support?”Acclo IQ runs as a desktop app (macOS, Windows, Linux) and as a progressive web app (PWA) in any modern browser. All features are available on all platforms.
Data and Privacy
Section titled “Data and Privacy”Where is my data stored?
Section titled “Where is my data stored?”All financial data is stored locally on your device. If you enable Cloud Sync (Pro), encrypted copies are stored in your personal cloud storage (e.g., Google Drive). The Company never has access to your data. See Data Portability for technical details.
Can I export my data?
Section titled “Can I export my data?”Yes. CSV export and full database backup are available on all tiers, including Free. You can export transactions from the Transactions page, or create a full backup in Settings > Backup.
What happens if I uninstall the app?
Section titled “What happens if I uninstall the app?”Your local database file remains on your device (desktop) or in browser storage (PWA). Reinstalling the app will reconnect to the existing database. If you enabled Cloud Sync, you can also restore from your cloud backup.
Cloud Sync
Section titled “Cloud Sync”What happens if my device is offline for a long time?
Section titled “What happens if my device is offline for a long time?”When you reconnect, the device automatically downloads the latest snapshot from cloud storage and catches up on any changes made by other devices. Deletions are included in snapshots, so records deleted while you were offline will not reappear.
My sync data seems large. How do I clean it up?
Section titled “My sync data seems large. How do I clean it up?”Cloud Sync automatically compacts data by creating periodic snapshots and cleaning up old delta files. If you want a fresh start, go to Settings > Backup, click Manage, then Reset next to “Reset Cloud Vault.” This uploads a clean copy of your current data when you re-enable sync.
I see a deleted transaction reappear after syncing
Section titled “I see a deleted transaction reappear after syncing”This is an extremely rare edge case that could occur if you were running an older version of the app. To resolve it, perform a vault reset: on the device with the correct data, go to Settings > Backup, click Manage, and reset the vault, then re-enable sync. On other devices, choose “Set Up Fresh” when prompted. See the Cloud Sync guide for step-by-step instructions.
What if I lose my sync password?
Section titled “What if I lose my sync password?”Your cloud data cannot be recovered without the sync password. The Company does not have access to your encryption key. However, your local data is unaffected — it’s always stored on your device regardless of sync status.
Licensing
Section titled “Licensing”What happens if my Pro subscription expires?
Section titled “What happens if my Pro subscription expires?”Your license reverts to the Free tier. All your data remains on your device and is never deleted. Pro-only features are locked behind an upgrade prompt, but your data is preserved and accessible via CSV export.
Can I use Acclo IQ on multiple devices?
Section titled “Can I use Acclo IQ on multiple devices?”The Free tier works on any device independently — install and use it anywhere, but there is no multi-device sync. Pro supports up to two activated devices with Cloud Sync to keep them in sync.
What happens if I downgrade from Pro to Free?
Section titled “What happens if I downgrade from Pro to Free?”Your data is fully preserved. Pro-only features (Cloud Sync, Bank Sync, Budget History, YoY Analysis, and receipts) are locked behind upgrade prompts, but all your data remains accessible. Backup export and restore remain available on all tiers. You can still view everything and export to CSV.
Does Bank Sync require an additional subscription?
Section titled “Does Bank Sync require an additional subscription?”Yes. Bank Sync uses SimpleFIN Bridge, an independent privacy-focused bank connector. You need an active SimpleFIN subscription ($1.50/mo or $15/yr) in addition to Acclo IQ Pro. SimpleFIN is paid separately — we chose them because they don’t store your bank credentials or sell your data.
Features
Section titled “Features”Does the app work offline?
Section titled “Does the app work offline?”Yes. Acclo IQ is fully offline-capable. Your data is stored locally and all features work without an internet connection. The only features that require internet are Cloud Sync, Bank Sync, and license validation (which has a 30-day grace period).
How do I switch between dark and light mode?
Section titled “How do I switch between dark and light mode?”Click the theme toggle (sun/moon icon) at the bottom of the sidebar. The app remembers your preference.
How do I reset all my data and start over?
Section titled “How do I reset all my data and start over?”Go to Settings > Danger Zone and click Reset Everything. This permanently deletes all local data and returns the app to its initial state. You must type “RESET” to confirm. Create a backup first if you want to keep your data.
How do I switch from the browser version to desktop (or vice versa)?
Section titled “How do I switch from the browser version to desktop (or vice versa)?”Create a backup on the source platform (Settings > Backup > Create Backup), transfer the file, and restore on the target platform. Or enable Cloud Sync (Pro) for automatic cross-device sync.
Is there a mobile app for iOS or Android?
Section titled “Is there a mobile app for iOS or Android?”Not currently. The browser version works well on mobile devices. You can use it on any phone or tablet with a modern browser.
Recurring and Subscriptions
Section titled “Recurring and Subscriptions”How does Acclo IQ detect recurring charges?
Section titled “How does Acclo IQ detect recurring charges?”Acclo IQ analyzes your transaction history by merchant, looking for regular patterns — consistent amounts at consistent intervals. It calculates a confidence score based on interval regularity and amount consistency. Candidates above the threshold appear in the Detected tab for you to confirm or dismiss.
Can I manually add a recurring subscription?
Section titled “Can I manually add a recurring subscription?”Yes. On the Manage tab, click Add Recurring and enter the label, frequency, expected amount, and start date. Manual entries work the same as confirmed auto-detected ones.
What is the difference between Free and Pro for recurring?
Section titled “What is the difference between Free and Pro for recurring?”Free tier detects recurring charges from the last 12 months. Pro unlocks unlimited history analysis, upcoming charges forecast with overdue alerts, and the recurring vs flexible budget split on the Budget page.
How do recurring charges affect my budget?
Section titled “How do recurring charges affect my budget?”Confirmed recurring charges appear as the “committed” portion of each budget category. The Budget Overview shows stacked progress bars splitting each category into recurring (fixed) vs flexible (discretionary) spending, so you can see how much room you have after subscriptions and bills.
Transactions
Section titled “Transactions”Why are some transactions showing as “Uncategorized”?
Section titled “Why are some transactions showing as “Uncategorized”?”Transactions that don’t match any rule in the rule engine are left uncategorized. You can categorize them manually on the Transactions page, then create a rule for the pattern so future imports are auto-categorized.
How do I split a transaction into multiple categories?
Section titled “How do I split a transaction into multiple categories?”Open the transaction on the Transactions page, click the Split button (scissors icon), and divide the amount across multiple categories. See the Transactions guide.
How do I find and merge duplicate transactions?
Section titled “How do I find and merge duplicate transactions?”On the Transactions page, click View > Copies to scan for potential duplicates. The modal shows pairs side by side — you can exclude or delete one side.
Why is a transaction excluded from budgets?
Section titled “Why is a transaction excluded from budgets?”Only transactions with an expense flow type count toward budgets. Income and transfer transactions are excluded by design. Also, transactions you’ve manually marked as “excluded” won’t appear in budget calculations.
How do I attach a receipt to a transaction?
Section titled “How do I attach a receipt to a transaction?”Open the transaction, click the Attach button (paperclip icon), and drag a file or click to browse. Receipts require a Pro license. See the Receipts guide.
Rules and Categories
Section titled “Rules and Categories”What is the difference between categories and tags?
Section titled “What is the difference between categories and tags?”Categories are a two-level hierarchy (category > subcategory) for primary classification — every transaction has exactly one. Tags are flat, optional labels for cross-cutting grouping — a transaction can have multiple tags. Use categories for “what” (groceries, rent) and tags for “context” (vacation, tax-deductible).
How do I create a rule to auto-categorize transactions?
Section titled “How do I create a rule to auto-categorize transactions?”Go to the Rules page and click Add Rule. Enter a regex pattern that matches your bank’s transaction description, assign a merchant and category, and save. You can also create rules directly from a transaction’s detail panel by clicking the rule (magic wand) button.
How do I create a custom CSV format profile?
Section titled “How do I create a custom CSV format profile?”During import, click Create a new format profile, upload a sample CSV, map the columns, and save. See the Format Profiles guide.
What are flow types and why do they matter?
Section titled “What are flow types and why do they matter?”Flow types (expense, income, transfer) determine how transactions appear in budgets, dashboards, and analysis. They’re set on subcategories, not individual transactions. See the Flow Types reference.
Navigation
Section titled “Navigation”What is the Command Palette?
Section titled “What is the Command Palette?”Press Cmd/Ctrl+K to open a quick-access search bar for jumping to any page. Type to filter, then press Enter to navigate.
How do I back up before updating the app?
Section titled “How do I back up before updating the app?”Go to Settings > Backup > Create Backup and save the file. This creates a complete snapshot you can restore if anything goes wrong.
Can I import data from other finance apps?
Section titled “Can I import data from other finance apps?”Acclo IQ imports standard CSV files. If your other app can export transactions as CSV, you can import them. You may need to create a custom format profile to map the columns correctly.