Install
During the beta, only invited testers receive a download link. If you already have an invite, open the download page and choose Mac or Windows. If you do not have one yet, join the early testers first.
If you are curious how it runs
GODFIN starts the screen you use and a private helper service on the same computer. It listens only on 127.0.0.1 by default. Leave “Allow network access” off unless you deliberately want another device on your home network to reach it.
First run
- Choose a local PIN. It is not sent to the website.
- Skip or connect Gmail for supported transaction alerts.
- Upload a statement or add a transaction manually.
- Review unfamiliar merchants and confirm their categories.
- Create a backup before making larger changes.
Learn GODFIN is a readable guide you can open at any time. The separate in-app tutorial moves through real screens, can be skipped or paused, and can be restarted later from Settings.
Bank statements
HDFC
Core supports manual HDFC statement import. Select the matching account, preview reconciliation, then import. Password-protected statement passwords are used locally for that operation.
SBI and Kotak
Current tested formats also include selected SBI savings relationship statements and Kotak savings statements. Bank files change over time, so GODFIN stops and explains the problem when it does not recognize a format instead of inventing transactions.
Review and category memory
The Review queue is for transactions that need a human choice. Correct a category only when you recognize the payment. GODFIN can remember a confirmed merchant for later matches and shows the reason it used.
Finalised months do not change silently. You can inspect, undo, export, or reset learned category memory from the app. Automatic sorting is a helper, not a substitute for checking important records.
Budgets, goals, and regular payments
Budgets compare planned limits with classified spending. Goals start with an optional amount already saved, then keep a dated history of deposits and withdrawals. A projection is only an estimate and shows its assumptions and available data.
Regular-payment detection looks for repeated merchant, amount, and timing evidence. Review every suggestion. GODFIN does not cancel a subscription or move money into an FD, RD, or goal for you.
Reports and explanations
Standard reports use verified local calculations for money in, spending, savings, budgets, goals, and regular payments. Information bubbles explain unfamiliar ratios in plain language and show the period and inputs behind them.
Optional AI can help describe those verified figures. It does not produce the authoritative totals. The CA tax pack is a review aid, not a completed income-tax return and not a replacement for AIS, TIS, Form 26AS, Form 16, official records, or professional advice.
Gmail
Gmail is optional and separate from signing in on this website. If you connect it, the desktop app asks for read-only access so it can look for supported bank alerts. It cannot send, edit, or delete email. The exact Google permission ishttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.readonly, which permits message and mailbox-settings viewing. The connection details are protected on your computer, and the website account is not involved.
Optional AI
You can continue without AI, use a supported local model through Ollama, or connect a supported provider with your own key. GODFIN shows the model size and expected computer requirements before a local model download; it should never begin a model download merely because a setting was switched on.
Cloud AI requires separate consent. GODFIN removes exact amounts, dates, payment addresses, phone numbers, account fragments, references, and long number sequences before sending the remaining prompt. This reduces exposure but does not make the prompt anonymous.
Backups
Settings → Backup creates a local safety copy. GODFIN keeps the latest seven daily and four weekly copies. Store another copy on an external drive if losing the records would matter to you.
Exporting or removing your data
The desktop app keeps ordinary statements, transactions, categories, budgets, goals, reports, settings, and backups on your computer. Use the app's export tools before resetting data. A reset cannot remove an original statement stored elsewhere on your computer, and deleting a website account does not delete the local app record.
Activate Pro or Max
Public checkout is closed during the beta. Selected testers receive temporary test access; nobody should pay for a permanent license yet.
- Open the beta email sent to your invited address.
- Copy the temporary test key.
- Open Settings → License in the desktop app.
- Paste the key and activate this device.
License verification sends the key and a random installation ID, plus a generic operating-system/architecture label and app version. The server hashes the installation ID before storage. It does not send transactions, statement files, balances, or merchant history.
For the technically curious
GODFIN's ordinary finance record is stored in a local SQLite database, with schema changes applied through additive, restart-safe migrations. Before a migration, the app creates a local safety backup. The desktop helper listens on 127.0.0.1 by default.
The classification engine starts with deterministic rules and confirmed merchant memory. Embeddings and AI are optional helpers, never the source of authoritative totals. The desktop app does not send product analytics.
OpenDataLoader remains a benchmark-only PDF adapter. It is not bundled into live statement uploads unless a lawful redacted test set proves that the accuracy gain justifies adding its Java runtime.
The source is governed by PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0. The repository remains private during the beta; commercial use and commercial forks require written approval.
FAQ
Is GODFIN cloud software?
No. The desktop app and its money-record file run on your computer. The website handles tester access and, later, purchases and licenses.
Is there a subscription?
No software subscription. Pro and Max are lifetime licenses. GODFIN does not currently sell hosted AI credit packs.
Can I use my own AI key?
Yes. A supported provider key is encrypted on your device. You can also use a supported local model or continue without AI.
Does GODFIN connect directly to my bank?
No. The current workflow uses statement files you choose and optional supported bank-alert email. It does not ask for internet-banking credentials.
Can a report tell me which tax return to file?
No. Transaction data alone is incomplete. Use official tax records and, where needed, a qualified CA or tax professional.