No bank sync
No bank connection. On purpose.
Tobsy is a spending tracker without bank sync: it does not ask for a bank login and does not sync an account. You type a purchase in a few taps, or catch up from a screenshot or a statement you choose, and every entry lives in a Google Sheet in your own Google Drive.
· 4 min read
That is a choice, not a missing feature. This page is about how it works day to day: how entry stays fast, what happens when you fall behind, and what you give up. For the privacy side of the argument, read privacy by design.
How entry stays fast
Typing it in is only a chore if it is slow. Tobsy is built so that it is not.
- Quick-entry rules. Anything you enter regularly fills itself in from a single word. One word, one tap, logged.
- It learns your shops. Tobsy remembers your merchants and how you file them, offers the likely entry as a chip, and keeps learning: names, categories, what recurs. It learns your merchant renames too.
- A grid for a desk. Bulk entry is a grid made for a keyboard and a fast typist: categories down the side, a day and an amount box for each.
- Foreign currencies. Spending in another currency is recorded in its own currency, with the rate frozen on the day.
A purchase takes a few taps, and that is the moment you notice it. Entering it yourself is the point.
When you fall behind
Everyone misses a few days. Tobsy has two ways back in, and neither is a bank connection.
- A screenshot. Drop in a screenshot from your banking app. It is read on your own phone, and the image is not sent anywhere.
- A statement. Import a CSV statement, or paste one in.
Either way, the rows are laid out for a quick check, and nothing reaches your ledger until you say so. An import shows in the ledger at once, and if you are offline it waits in the queue like any entry.
Bank sync vs typing it in
| What you weigh | A bank feed | Typing it in, with Tobsy |
|---|---|---|
| Set-up | Link each bank account to the app | About ten minutes, once, on a computer. No bank login |
| What the app can see | Whatever the bank connection is given | Only what you type or import, in your own Google Sheet |
| When a bank changes its login | The link may need connecting again | Nothing to reconnect |
| Cost | Depends on the app | A$59 once, after thirty days free. No subscription |
| When you forget | The feed carries on without you | A screenshot or a statement catches you up, checked before it saves |
| The moment you notice | Whenever you open the app | When you enter the purchase |
What you give up
Honestly: there is no automatic feed. Nothing arrives by itself. You type it, or you import a screenshot or a statement. Tobsy is only as complete as you keep it, and the figures it shows are the figures you entered.
If you want every account to update itself with no effort at all, a bank feed is the better fit, and Tobsy is not trying to be one.
What you get back
- Nobody holds your bank login. Tobsy does not ask for it, so there is nothing to hand over.
- Your data in your own Drive. No Tobsy server stores your entries, your figures or anything about your money.
- Categories that are yours. Down to the emoji and the colour, filed the way you think about your money.
- The noticing. A purchase you entered yourself is one you saw. Over the months, Tobsy shows each category's usual range from your own entries, and says in a sentence when one drifts.
- One payment. A$59 once, after thirty days free, for up to six people on one sheet.
Is it an offline app?
Not in the strict sense. Your entries live in a Google Sheet in your own Google account, so they reach it over the internet, and set-up needs a Google account. What Tobsy does do offline is hold your place: an entry made without a connection waits in the queue, and a small cache on your device lets screens open quickly.
Look around the demo to see the entry screens with sample data, read how tracking works, or start the thirty days free from the set-up guide. In Australia? There is a page for that too.
Sources
- Tracking — quick-entry rules, learned merchants and renames, the bulk grid, screenshot and CSV statement import, categories down to the emoji and the colour; read 2026-10-13
- Tobsy pricing — the bank question, the budgeting-app answer, the price; read 2026-10-13
- Privacy by design — no bank login, no account sync, screenshots read on the device, no Tobsy server for money data; read 2026-10-13
- Privacy policy — the small cache on your device; read 2026-10-13
- Awareness — usual ranges and drift; read 2026-10-13
- Updates — Tobsy 1.1, an import waits in the queue offline like any entry; read 2026-10-13
- Terms — "only as complete as you keep it"; read 2026-10-13
Questions
Why would I avoid linking my bank account?
That is your call to make, and plenty of people link theirs happily. The usual reasons not to are not wanting to hand a bank login to anyone, and wanting your transaction history to stay where you can see it. Tobsy was built by one person who wanted to see where the money went without handing a bank login to anyone.
Is manual expense tracking more accurate than bank sync?
It is as complete as you keep it, which is the honest answer. A typed entry carries what you decided at the time: the category, the shop, a note or a tag. When you miss a few days, a screenshot or a statement fills the gap, and you check every row before it saves.
Is there a budgeting app without bank sync?
Tobsy is one, though it is about awareness rather than a budget. It shows where your money goes and what you kept. If you want a target, you can set an intention for a category, and Tobsy shows where you sit against it without scolding.
What if I forget to enter things for a week?
Drop in a screenshot from your banking app, or paste a statement. The rows are laid out for a quick check, and nothing reaches your ledger until you say so. The screenshot is read on your own phone and the image is not sent anywhere.
Does Tobsy work without an internet connection?
Partly. An entry made offline waits in the queue and goes to your sheet when you are back online. Your data lives in a Google Sheet in your own Google account, so it needs a connection to reach it.
Thirty days free
Try it, or look around first.
The demo is the real app with fourteen months of sample entries. The trial is every screen, for thirty days, with your own.
About ten minutes to set up, once, on a computer. You’ll need a Google account. A$59 after the trial, if you want to keep it.