First Steps

First steps with HoneyBear Folio.

When you launch HoneyBear Folio for the first time, the Onboarding Wizard will appear to help you customize your experience:

  1. Theme Preference: Toggle between Dark, Light, or System styling.
  2. Base Currency: Select your primary report currency (e.g., USD, EUR, GBP). All foreign currency accounts will be converted to this value for your “Total Net Worth” KPIs.
  3. Number Format: Choose how numbers are formatted (e.g., 1,000.00 vs 1.000,00).
  4. Date Format: Choose your preferred date display format (e.g., YYYY-MM-DD vs DD/MM/YYYY).
  5. First Day of Week: Select the starting day for your calendar weeks (e.g., Monday or Sunday).

Once completed, you will land on the Dashboard. We recommend visiting the Accounts tab first to set up your cash and investment accounts.

Creating an Account

To start tracking your finances, you need to set up accounts (e.g., Checking, Savings, Brokerage).

  1. Navigate to the Accounts tab from the sidebar.
  2. Click the New Account button.
  3. Fill in the following details:
    • Account Name: A descriptive name (e.g., “Main Checking”).
    • Initial Balance: The starting balance of the account (default is 0.00).
    • Currency: The currency for this specific account. If left empty, it defaults to your base currency.
  4. Click Create Account to save.

Creating a Transaction

Once you have an account, you can add transactions to it.

  1. Navigate to the Accounts tab and click on the account card you want to update.
  2. Click the Add Transaction button (or the + icon).
  3. Select the Transaction Type:
    • Cash: For regular income or expenses.
      • Date: When the transaction occurred.
      • Payee: Who paid you or who you paid (e.g., “Employer”, “Supermarket”).
      • Category: Group transactions for reporting (e.g., “Food”, “Salary”).
      • Notes: Optional details.
      • Amount: The value of the transaction. Use positive numbers for income and negative for expenses.
    • Investment: For buying or selling assets (Stocks, ETFs, Crypto).
      • Buy / Sell: Choose the action.
      • Date: Trade date.
      • Ticker: The symbol of the asset (e.g., AAPL, BTC-USD).
      • Shares: Quantity of units.
      • Price: Price per share.
      • Fee: Transaction costs.
      • Notes: Optional details.
  4. Click Save Transaction to record it.