Adding Transactions via Siri

Adding Transactions via Siri

With Pixel Budget, you can quickly record expenses and income using Siri Shortcuts on your iPhone. Instead of opening the app and entering a transaction manually, simply talk to Siri and Pixel Budget will automatically save the transaction.
This feature is currently available only on iPhone, as it uses Apple's Siri Shortcuts.
You can install up to two Siri Shortcuts for each account:
  • one for recording expenses
  • one for recording income


Installing the Siri Shortcut

In the mobile app, tap the menu icon (☰) in the top-left corner, then select Install Siri Shortcut.
Choose whether you want to create a Shortcut for:
  • Expenses
  • Income
Then select the account that the Shortcut should use.
Each Siri Shortcut is associated with one account and one transaction type (expense or income). If you use multiple accounts, simply install the appropriate Shortcut(s) for each account.
The installation page provides step-by-step instructions for installing the Siri Shortcut, adding your account token, and renaming the Shortcut.


Using the Siri Shortcut

Once the Shortcut is installed, simply ask Siri to run it by saying its name.
For example:
You:
Hey Siri, record expense for Amex.
Siri:
Amount slash vendor?
You:
58.40 slash Walmart
Pixel Budget will automatically record the expense transaction in the selected account.
For income, the conversation works the same way:
You:
Hey Siri, record income for Savings.
Siri:
Amount slash payer?
You:
2500 slash Employer
Pixel Budget will automatically record the income transaction in the selected account.


Voice Input Format

When Siri asks for the transaction details, always say:
Amount slash vendor (for expenses)
or
Amount slash payer (for income)
Examples:

Expenses

  • 8.50 slash Starbucks
  • 52 slash Shell
  • 145.99 slash Amazon

Income

  • 2500 slash Employer
  • 120 slash John
Using a single voice input makes the Shortcut much faster than asking separately for the amount and the vendor or payer.


Reviewing and Approving Siri Transactions

Transactions recorded using Siri are not added directly to your transaction list.
Instead, they are first added to the Pending Transactions list, the same place where transactions imported from your bank appear. Before they become part of your budget, you should review and approve them.
During the review process, Pixel Budget automatically tries to recognize the vendor and the category based on your previously approved transactions.
The more transactions you review and approve, the more Pixel Budget learns and the more accurately it recognizes vendors and categories in the future.

Opening Pending Transactions

In the mobile app

Tap the menu icon (☰) in the top-left corner, then select Approve Transactions.

In the web app

Select Tools → Import & Approve.
After reviewing the transactions, approve them to add them to your transaction list.
To learn more about reviewing and approving transactions, see: