iCloud Sync

About iCloud Sync

Cloud is a storage and sync service from Apple Inc. The Accounts app utilize the iCloud service to copy and sync data across multiple iPhone and iPad devices.

How does the iCloud sync feature works?

Whenever you make changes to your Accounts or Ace Budget app data on one of your device, the change records are sent to iCloud. The next time you launch the app on your other device, it will look for these change records in iCloud and then apply these changes to the local database on your device. Use the Accounts or Ace Budget app regularly on all your devices, at least once every 2 weeks, to keep your app data in sync.

FAQs

How do I enable iCloud sync?

To enable iCloud sync, you will need to do the following steps:

1. From your primary device, go to the app's Settings screen and select the 'iCloud Sync' option.

2. Select the 'Upload Database to iCloud' to upload your data so that it can be copied to all the iOS devices that you want to sync with.

3. From your secondary device, go to the Settings screen and select the 'iCloud Sync' option.

4. Tap on the 'Download Database from iCloud' option to download the data you previously uploaded to iCloud from your primary device.

5. Select 'Yes' to indicate that you will allow the local database to be replaced with the one from iCloud.

6. Exit and restart the Accounts app after the download has completed.

9. Enter a transaction from each device and verify that it syncs to the other device.

How do I resync all my data again, since I have not been using the Accounts or Ace Budget app on my devices regularly?

To resync data on all of your devices, you will need to launch the Accounts or Ace Budget app from the device with the most current data. Next, select the 'iCloud Sync' option from the Settings screen of the app and turn it OFF. Follow the directions on the screen to upload your database from the device that has the up-to-date data. Finally, download the database from iCloud onto your other device.

Once you have the same set of data on all your devices, enter a test transaction to validate the sync process is working.

What are some of the things to keep in mind when using iCloud?

* You must have an active iCloud account with Apple in order for the app's iCloud sync feature to work. For the app data to be shared, all your devices must be logged on to the SAME iCloud account ID. If you do not already have iCloud setup, then please follow this link to setup up iCloud on all your devices to be synced.

* Ensure that the 'iCloud Sync' option is set to 'Enabled' from the Accounts app on all your devices. This option must be enabled on all your devices in order for the Accounts app to sync data.

* You must have a network connection in order to send and receive data from iCloud. Also, you must periodically run the Accounts app in the foreground for data to be synced.

* iCloud sync can take up to several minutes, depending on the network connection and performance of Apple's iCloud servers.

How do I reorder transactions that occurs on the same day to match my bank statement?

You can reorder transactions occurring on the same date by updating the transaction in the order that they occur in your statement. For this to work, remember to tap on the date field (but do not change the date) for each of the transactions before saving the transaction. Tapping on the date field will indicate that you want to change the time portion of the date for the purpose of reordering.

How do I split a transaction among different categories?

You can create a split transaction by selecting the category button from the transaction entry screen and then selecting the Split button on the bottom of the category selection screen. Finally, enter the split amounts for the various categories and touch on the 'Done' button.

How do I use the reconcile feature of the Accounts app?

Reconciling is done by checking or unchecking the gray square box next to the transaction to mark it as being cleared or outstanding. The Total Cleared balance and Total Outstanding balance will be updated instantly as you check/uncheck each transaction.

To reduce clutter by hiding transactions that are already reconciled, please go to Settings screen and toggle the 'Hide Reconciled Transactions' switch to the off position.

Does the Accounts application support transfer of fund between accounts?

Yes, you can make a transfer by clicking on the meu icon on the bottom right of the Accounts or Transactions screen.

Choose 'Transfer' and then select the 'from' account and 'to' account. Enter the amount to transfer and tap on Save.

How do I schedule a recurring transactions?

Touch on the 'Recurring' tab bar button on the bottom. Next, click on the + button to the add a recurring transaction. Fill in the information and click on the 'Save' button.

Does the Account app supports exporting of data in CSV, QIF, or HTML format?

Yes, the Accounts app supports export of transactions via email. To export, just touch the menu icon on the bottom right of the accounts or transactions screen and then select 'Export Transactions'. Then select the data format (CSV, QIF, or HTML) that you want to export with and tap on the 'Send' button.

Can I change the currency to € as I live in Europe?

Yes, the Accounts app supports the euro currency along with many other currencies. It also supports English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish languages.

To enable the Accounts app to use a different language or a currency, you must set the iPhone's settings to your preferred language and region format.

Settings->General->International

Than set your language and region format accordingly.

Is there a way for me to prevent accidental deletion of an account?

Yes, you can use the Settings Page to lock deletions of accounts. If you then try to delete an account with the lock on, you will get a reminder to first unlock the deletion from the settings screen. Once you are done deleting the desired account, then you can set the delete lock back on to protect your data.

How do I update an account name or other account properties?

To update an account, tap on the Edit button from the main view. Then tap on the circle 'i' button. Tap on Save when you are done.

From the account update screen you can edit properties such as account name, icon, next check #, or the 'include balance in total of all accounts' attribute.

How can I reorder the accounts from the main view?

From the main view, click on the Edit button. Then drag the icon (with 3 horizontal lines) to the right of the account name to reorder the account. Click Done when you are finish reordering.

How do I change the email address for transaction sharing with another iPhone?

To change the email address for transaction sharing, please follow the steps below:

1. From the main screen, select an account to go to a transaction register.

2. Click on the 'Share' button at the bottom of the register screen and click on the flywheel button that shows up to the right of it.

3. Finally, click on 'Set Peer Email' to set the transaction sharing email address.

I forgot my Accounts app's passcode. How do I recover it?

Your passcode is stored locally in the database of the Accounts app on your device. In order to retrieve the passcode, you will have to download the database file on your computer by using the Finder's file sharing feature. Then you can use a database client such as an online one from https://sqliteviewer.app to view the content of the database. The passcode is stored in the Settings table under the column password. Please careful not to update any data directly from the database, as this can corrupt the database and break the application..