> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://tribalfs.gitbook.io/accountant/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://tribalfs.gitbook.io/accountant/transactions/bank-alerts.md).

# Drafts from bank alerts

Turn the money alerts your bank sends into drafts, ready for you to check and post.

**What you'll do:** let Accountant read the alerts your bank and e-wallet send, so each payment or deposit becomes a draft you only need to check.

When an alert arrives, such as a text saying you paid ₱250.00 at a restaurant, the app adds a **draft** and shows a quiet notification: *"Draft: ₱250.00 to Jollibee"* (or *"Draft: ₱1,000.00 from Juan"* for money in). Several at once are grouped as *"3 drafts from bank alerts"*. Tap the notification to check the draft and post it. Nothing is posted to your ledger until you do.

## Before you start

Alerts are matched to your accounts by bank, so your accounts must say which bank they belong to:

* **Bank and e-wallet accounts** (in *Cash in bank* or *E-wallet*): set the bank in [Bank details](/accountant/accounts/bank-details.md).
* **Credit cards:** put the bank in the card's name, for example *Metrobank Credit Card*.

Have several accounts or cards at one bank? Give each its last 4 digits so alerts and receipts find the right one:

* a credit card: **Card ending in**, in the card's [Payment settings](/accountant/planning/credit-cards.md)
* a bank account: **Account number** and **Debit card ending in**, in its [Bank details](/accountant/accounts/bank-details.md)

## Turn it on

1. Open **Settings**. Under **Reminders and alerts**, turn on the **Bank alerts** switch (*"Add drafts from bank and e-wallet alerts"*). You can also tap the row to open its screen and turn it on there.
2. Read **Read bank alerts?** and tap **Agree**.
3. Android asks you to **Allow notification access** for Accountant. Turn it on, then go back.

If the row says *"Needs notification access"*, Android isn't passing alerts to the app. Turn the switch on again to open Android's setting.

You may also see a suggestion on Home, **Turn bank alerts into drafts**, with **Set up bank alerts**.

## Choose what's read

* **Accounts:** your bank accounts, e-wallets and credit cards, each with a switch. A row shows how alerts name the account: its bank and last 4 digits, such as *"Harbor Bank · ending 4821 · card ending 5196"*. If the bank is missing, it says *"No bank set"* (tap the row to set it in Bank details) or, for a card, *"No known bank in the card's name"* (tap the row to rename the card, for example "BDO Visa"). Tapping a card's row opens the account editor.
* **Read from:** **Text messages**, **Email** and **Bank and e-wallet apps**. Each lists the apps on your phone it reads. For email: *"Reads only emails that notify you. Set your email app to notify for all mail."*

Only alerts from the banks of the accounts you switched on are read. Texts from people, other emails and other apps' notifications are ignored.

## Recent alerts

The bottom of the screen lists the latest 3 alerts and what happened to each. Tap **View more** for the rest. Tap an alert marked **Draft added** to open its draft.

| Status                                  | Meaning                                                                        |
| --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Draft added**                         | A draft is waiting in **Drafts**                                               |
| **Already recorded**                    | You already have this transaction                                              |
| **Not a transaction**, **Balance only** | Nothing to record, for example a promo                                         |
| **Declined or pending**                 | The payment didn't go through yet                                              |
| **Code, not read**                      | A one-time code                                                                |
| **Couldn't read**                       | The app couldn't understand the alert. Record it yourself                      |
| **Waiting for AI**                      | Your on-device AI will read it when you open the app                           |
| **Premium needed**                      | Drafts from bank alerts need [Premium](/accountant/getting-started/premium.md) |
| **Hidden by Android**                   | Android hid the alert's text, see below                                        |

Find your drafts in **More › Drafts** (or **Transactions › ⋮ › Drafts**). See [Drafts](/accountant/transactions/templates-drafts-trash.md#drafts).

## One draft per transaction

One payment often sends more than one alert. The app joins them so you get a single draft:

* **A transfer between your own accounts.** The bank that sent the money and the bank that received it both send an alert. They become one **Transfer** draft when they're for the same amount, money out of one of your accounts and into another, at most 10 minutes apart (an hour if either came by email).
  * **Between currencies**, for example dollars from PayPal arriving as pesos, the amounts can't match. They're joined when the rate between them is within 5% of the rate on file, and one alert names the other bank or account. The amount that arrived is kept.
  * An alert that says you sent money to another bank, such as *"sent … to GoTyme Bank account \*\*\*\*6615"*, counts as a transfer to your account there when you have only one account at that bank.
  * A "you received a transfer" alert without an amount completes the sending bank's draft if it arrives within 5 minutes.
* **A store's receipt and your bank's alert.** A receipt email, such as a Google Play order paid with an e-wallet, and the e-wallet's own alert make one draft when the amount and direction match, within an hour by email or 3 minutes otherwise.
* **Two identical texts** sent at different times are two transactions, not a copy.

A joined draft is marked unread again.

## Good to know

* **Alerts the app can't read** go to your [AI Accountant](/accountant/ai-accountant/setting-up-ai.md) provider, if you set one up. Everything else stays on your phone.
* **Languages:** the app reads alerts in English (including banks' formats in the Philippines, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam), Tagalog, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Thai, Hindi and Telugu. Alerts in other languages go to your AI provider.
* **The other side:** for a payee you've paid before, the draft uses the same account as last time. For a new payee, it uses the account you usually pair with that bank account, when there is a clear favorite. Otherwise the draft opens with an **Unassigned** amount; add the other side before you post.
* **Foreign currencies:** a draft for an account in another currency uses the account's rate on file.
* **Promos** that mention an amount, such as a sale or a voucher, are marked **Not a transaction**.
* **Time deposits:** when a deposit matures, you get two drafts: the interest earned, and the money moved back to your account.
* **Android 15 and later** can hide the text of a notification it thinks contains a code. The app can't read those, so record them yourself.
* **Turning it off** clears **Recent alerts**. To withdraw notification access too, use Android's settings.

{% hint style="info" %}
*"Drafts are only as accurate as the alert and your Bank details. Some details are inferred, so check each draft before posting."* Bank alerts can be short or unclear, and the app may pick the wrong account or amount.
{% endhint %}