Getting Started

Follow these steps the first time you talk to the bot.

1. Say hi and verify yourself

1. Open the PersonalFinance bot in Telegram (@pfin_bot or your production handle).
2. Send /start.
3. The bot links your Telegram user ID to a PersonalFinance account.
   • If you’re new, it creates one automatically and spins up a Main Wallet in IDR.
   • Returning users are re-attached to their existing data.

2. Grant optional 2FA password (if prompted)

If your Telegram account uses two-factor authentication, integration tests (and some admin flows) rely on a password saved in TELEGRAM_TEST_PASSWORD. End users don’t need to configure anything—just enter the code/password when Telegram asks.

3. Understand the wallet model

Every transaction belongs to a wallet.

Wallet type	Use case	Notes
regular	Cash/bank accounts for daily spending	One of them is your default wallet.
investment	Long-term savings, mutual funds, brokerage	Track contributions via transfers; use /wallet adjust to record manual revaluations.
credit	Credit cards or BNPL accounts	Supports statements, purchases with installments, and repayments. Add kind=paylater for BNPL-style billing, or keep the default cc to align with settlement days.

When you don’t specify a wallet, the bot uses your default.
Prefix commands with @wallet-name (e.g. /add @travel expense 150000 flight) to target another wallet without switching the default.

4. Test a basic command

Try these messages right after /start:

• /help wallet – quick overview of wallet actions.
• /wallet list – shows every wallet, balance, and the default marker.
• e lunch 12000 quick – shorthand for /add expense 12000 quick. The bot will confirm with “Saved expense…”.
• /categories list - review or tweak the auto-classifier. Everyone already has the recommended defaults, and /categories reset restores that list if you experiment.

If those respond, you’re ready for deeper functionality covered in the next sections.