northwiseHelp · Getting started
START HERE.
Open Northwise, choose how to keep your records, and let the welcome tour walk you through four short steps. About three minutes in all.
Three ways to open Northwise
Sign in
Your records are kept in your Northwise account, so they are there on any device you sign in on. During the closed test only invited addresses can sign in. New accounts are made with Continue with Google, using the address you were invited with. If you already have a password account, sign in with your email and password.
Continue without account
Local mode. Northwise opens with demo records and keeps everything in this browser on this device. Nothing is sent to an account, and Ask Nova answers on the device. Export a copy before you clear browser data or change devices.
Local records and signed-in records are separate: signing in does not bring your local records with it.
The demo and your own numbers
In local mode Northwise starts with a household of sample records, marked Demo data in the top bar, so you can explore every screen first. When you are ready:
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Choose “Start with my own numbers”
It is on Overview, and as the first step of Getting started.
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Confirm
The demo records are put away and you get an empty workspace. Nothing is deleted: the demo stays in your backup.
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Add your first account
Northwise opens the account form for you.
Changed your mind? Back to the demo appears until you add a record of your own. After that, Settings › Data & Privacy › Reset Demo Data replaces this browser’s records with the sample ones.
The welcome tour
The first time you open Northwise with steps still to do, a short tour opens by itself. It has six slides: a welcome, one for each of the four steps, and a finish.
- Move with Back and Next, the left and right arrow keys, or a sideways swipe on a phone.
- Skip for now moves on without doing a step. You can do it later.
- Each step’s button opens the form that does the job. The tour steps aside while you fill it in.
- Close it with the × or Escape. To see it again, open Settings › Profile › Replay the tour, or choose Show me how on the Getting started list.
The four steps
A step counts as done only when the record it asks for exists. While the demo records show, none of them count: they are not yours yet.
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Bring in your accounts
Signed in, Connect a bank fills in balances and transactions for you, or Add an account by hand. In local mode, add an account by hand. More about accounts
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Know your monthly room
Confirm your take-home pay, what you owe each month and a cushion to keep aside. Northwise works out what is left to plan with. More about monthly room
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Pick one goal
Name something to save for and set a target. More about goals
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Ask Nova a question
Northwise opens with “Am I in the positive this month?” typed in the box. Send it, or ask your own. Nothing is sent until you press send. More about Ask Nova
The Getting started list
On Overview, just below the month outlook, the Getting started list keeps your place. The ring shows how many steps are done, and the step marked Next up is the one to do now. You can do the steps in any order.
- When you finish a step, a short message names the next one.
- On a phone only the next step shows its button. Use Show me how to reach any step.
- Hide the list with its ×. Settings › Profile brings it back with Show the checklist.
- When all four steps are done, the list says so. Close it with its × when you like.
Finding your way around
Northwise has ten screens: Overview, Transactions, Spending, Bills & Calendar, Savings Goals, Accounts, Debt Payoff, Ask Nova, Privacy & Safety and Settings. On a computer they are in the menu on the left. On a phone the tabs along the bottom are Overview, Transactions, Goals and Spending; the rest are under More.
Search, in the top bar, finds transactions, bills and goals. Use the arrow keys to move through the results and Enter to open one.
Your browser may offer to install Northwise as an app (“Install app” or “Add to Home Screen”). Installed, it opens in its own window and keeps its pages for when you are offline.