Bank messages with Shortcuts

Set up a Personal Automation in the Shortcuts app that passes bank messages to SampattiTrack, then approve or auto-add the results.

Two ways to use Shortcuts

Shortcuts is the iPhone app that runs automations. SampattiTrack works with it in two ways: an automation that reads bank messages for you, and Siri phrases you can say or add as shortcuts. Everything is worked out on your device.

Turn bank messages into transactions

Banks send a text whenever money moves, such as "Rs 450.00 spent on your card at SWIGGY". An automation can pass that text to SampattiTrack, which reads the amount, the merchant and the account.

1. In SampattiTrack, open More and choose Rules & Shortcuts. The Shortcuts Guide screen has the setup steps.
2. Open the iOS Shortcuts app, go to the Automation tab and tap + to create a Personal Automation.
3. Choose When I receive a Message and add words that appear in bank texts, such as "debited", "spent", "credited" or "bill". You can limit it to your bank's sender.
4. Add an action. Either search for SampattiTrack and add Process Transaction Message, passing the message as its text, or use the Open URLs action with the address shown in the guide.
5. Turn off Ask Before Running so it runs without a tap, and save.

When a message arrives, SampattiTrack matches it to an account and a category. Items it is confident about can be added directly. Others wait for you in the review screen: tap Review on Home, check the amount, accounts and category, and approve.

Choose between automatic and reviewed

In Settings, the switch Add Shortcut transactions without review lets a Shortcut add a transaction straight to the ledger when it can work out the amount and both accounts. Anything it cannot resolve is still queued. Leave it off while you are learning how your messages read, then turn it on once the matches look right.

Teach it your merchants and banks

Matching uses rules you can see and edit. On the Shortcuts Guide screen:

• Category rules map a merchant in the message to an expense account. Add one such as "Swiggy|Zomato" for food.
• Bank and card rules map a sender or card name to the account the money came from, such as a bank account, wallet or credit card.
• The tester lets you paste a message under Paste an SMS to test rule matching and see how it resolves, so you can fix a rule before it matters.
• Restore built-in rules brings back the shipped set if you delete one by mistake.

Siri, Shortcuts and Spotlight

SampattiTrack registers phrases with Siri. Try "Log expense in SampattiTrack", "Check net worth in SampattiTrack", "How much have I spent this month in SampattiTrack", "Safe to spend in SampattiTrack" or "Account balance in SampattiTrack". Each also appears as an action in the Shortcuts app, so you can add them to your Home Screen or other automations. Questions that read your balances need your device to be unlocked.

Your transactions and accounts can also be found from iOS Spotlight search; tap a result to open it in the app.

Troubleshooting

Still stuck? Email [email protected] and include your iOS version and the app version.