Ask Bella about your money

Bella is the assistant built into DuoCents. Ask in plain language and she looks at your accounts, transactions and budgets, then answers with text, charts, lists and cards. She only reads your data. Nothing is added or changed until you tap a button.

Where to find it

Tap the round Ask Bella button in the middle of the bottom bar. You can also open a recent conversation from the chats card on Home.

Steps

1. Tap Ask Bella in the bottom bar to open the chat.
2. Type your question in the box that says Ask about your spending…. You can also tap the microphone and speak.
3. Tap Send.
4. Wait a moment while Bella checks your numbers. The answer can include a chart, a list of transactions or a budget card.
5. If you told Bella about a purchase, she shows a Proposed transaction card. Check it, then tap Save to add it, or Edit to finish it in the full form. Tap Undo right after saving to take it back.
6. To work from a document, tap Attach and choose Take photo, Choose from library or Statement (PDF or CSV).

Prompts to try

Copy any of these, or change the amounts and names to match your life.

Understand your spending

• "What did I spend the most on this month?"
• "Show my spending by category for the last 3 months as a chart."
• "How much did I spend on groceries last week compared with the week before?"
• "List my 10 biggest expenses this year."
• "Find every transaction that mentions coffee."
• "Which accounts hold most of my money right now?"

Check a purchase before you make it

• "Can I afford a $300 purchase?"
• "I want to buy a $1,200 laptop and pay from my checking account. Is that a good idea this month?"
• "If I spend $80 on dinner tonight, will I still stay within my food budget?"

Bella answers with an Affordability score, the reasons behind it under Why and, when it helps, Alternatives.

Tune your budgets

• "How am I doing against my budgets this month?"
• "Which budgets am I most likely to go over?"
• "Suggest budget changes."
• "Raise my dining budget by 10% and lower shopping to pay for it."

Budget suggestions appear on a card. Tap Apply only if you want to save them.

Add transactions by chat

• "I paid $42.50 for groceries with my checking account today."
• "Add $12 lunch yesterday, paid by card."
• "I received my $2,400 salary today."

Review the Proposed transaction card, then tap Save. Bella picks from your own accounts and categories, so name them the way you do in the app.

Use a photo or a statement

• Photograph a receipt and send it. Bella reads the items and proposes a transaction. Switch the card between Single and Receipt to save one total or every line item.
• Attach a bank statement with Statement (PDF or CSV) and say "Audit this statement." Bella compares it with the transactions you recorded and offers to import the ones that are missing.

Tips

• Name an account, a category or a time range ("last month", "since January") to get a precise answer.
• Follow up in the same conversation: "Now only show dining" or "Compare that with last month."
• Open History to return to an old conversation, Rename it, or use Delete conversation. Tap New chat to start fresh. Chats are removed automatically after 30 days.
• Every request spends a few duocoins. The balance is shown in the chat and under Duocoins.
• Treat Bella's advice as a second opinion. Check amounts on a draft before you save it.