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When you first open Bow, tap Get Started. After a few questions about you, setup has four parts: Money, Envelopes, Targets and Assign. You can go back at any step until your budget is saved, and if you leave, Bow picks up where you stopped.
1

Money

Add the accounts you spend from, with today’s balances.
  • For a bank account, use your bank’s Available balance.
  • For a credit card, use the balance including pending charges.
Bow counts these, so don’t log them again.If you added a card that owes money, choose how to handle that debt: pay it in full, a set amount each month, by a date, or decide later.
2

Envelopes

Tap what you spend on and save for. Add your own to any group.
3

Targets

Say what each essential needs this month. This is optional: tap Skip for Now to assign money yourself. See Use targets.
4

Assign

Bow funds your essentials first, in order of importance, from Ready to Assign. If there’s nothing to fund, you choose how much goes where.
Your budget is saved at the Assign step. To open it, start the free trial, subscribe or buy Lifetime. Restore Purchases and Redeem Code are there too. Then choose whether to turn on reminders. After that you can add accounts, envelopes and targets anytime.

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Try it first

Tap Try a Demo on the welcome screen to explore a sample budget. Nothing you do there touches your own budget. When you’re ready, tap Start My Own Budget at the top of Budget, or in Settings if you dismissed that banner.

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Coming from YNAB

Tap Coming from YNAB? on the welcome screen to bring your budget over instead. See Move from YNAB.

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Next steps

How Bow works

Accounts, envelopes and Ready to Assign.

Log a transaction

Add spending, income, transfers and card payments.