Getting started

Dimewell plans your primary account — the one you pay bills from — paycheck by paycheck. It only knows what you tell it, and it never guesses an amount. Set it up in this order. The dashboard's "Get set up" checklist links to each step. Profile and Settings are in the menu under your avatar, at the top right.

Rather do it your own way? Choose I'll set it up myself at the bottom of the checklist and it goes away. Anything Dimewell still needs (like your opening balance) keeps showing under Needs attention. To bring the checklist back, choose Show the setup checklist at the top of Settings.

Signing in

On a computer, Dimewell is at app.dimewell.io (or choose Log in on dimewell.io). On a phone, use the Dimewell app. Sign in with your email and password. The first time, choose Create an account: enter your first and last name, email and a password (at least 8 characters), tick that you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, then enter the 6-digit code emailed to you to confirm the address. If either of those documents changes, Dimewell asks you to read and agree to the new version the next time you open it. Forgot your password? Choose Forgot password? and Dimewell emails a code to set a new one. Tick Keep me signed in for 7 days on a phone or computer only you use; otherwise you're signed out when you close the browser. Sign out is in the menu under your avatar.

If you're signed in but see Your sign-in wasn't accepted, choose Try again, or Sign out and sign back in. If it keeps happening, the server's sign-in settings need a look (the small print on that screen says why). Your Dimewell is yours alone: anyone else who signs up gets their own, and can never see yours.

Two-step verification

Not available yet. It'll appear under Profile once it's switched on.

For extra protection, add a second step to signing in: avatar menu → Profile → Two-step verification → Set up.

Scan the QR code with an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, 1Password, Authy, …), or type the key shown under it.
Enter the 6-digit code the app shows.
Save the backup codes: copy them or download them to a password manager or somewhere safe. Each one lets you sign in once if you don't have your phone. They're only shown once.

After that, signing in asks for your password and then a code from the app. Choose Use a backup code if you can't get to it. From Profile you can also make New backup codes (the old ones stop working) or Turn off two-step verification. If Dimewell asks you to sign out and back in first, that's a security check, so do that and try again.

The Privacy Policy, Terms of Service and Accessibility pages are linked at the bottom of every page, including the sign-in screens — you can read them before creating an account.

Your first and last name come from creating your account, and your email is the one you sign in with (it can't be changed here). You can change your name any time. Dimewell uses your first name to greet you on the dashboard ("Good morning, Alex"), and your initials appear on the avatar.

Under Appearance, choose Light, Dark or Match system (the default, which follows your phone or computer). It's saved to your profile, so every device you sign in on uses it.

Under Notifications on the same page, choose what Dimewell sends you (product updates and tips, in Dimewell or by email). Messages about your account always come through.

Settings opens on a short list: Accounts, Planning, Pay schedule, Categories and Data, each with one line saying what's set up (for example Cash cushion · $200). Select one to see and change it. On a wide screen the list stays on the left and the section opens beside it.

1. Your account and its opening balance (Settings → Accounts)

Add the account you pay bills from (Add account). Your first account becomes your primary account — the one Dimewell plans. Enter your bank's posted balance (not the "available" balance, which can include pending items) and the date it applies to. Dimewell adds every posted transaction from that date on to calculate your balance. You can add savings or cash accounts too, and switch which one is primary later.

Then, under Settings → Planning:

Cash cushion: a buffer that's always kept back from what's remaining after bills, in case a bill comes in higher than expected or a charge you didn't plan for turns up. Leave it blank and Dimewell recommends one from your bills: 10% of your monthly bills plus a quarter of any estimated ones, rounded up to the next $25. It updates as your bills change. Type your own amount (even $0) to use that instead.
Weekly everyday spending (optional): roughly what groceries, gas and other day-to-day costs take in a week. It gives Dimewell a starting point for recommending how much of what's remaining to spend and save. Once you've moved money to spending for a full paycheck period, Dimewell learns from that instead.
Time zone: decides what "today" is. The default is America/New_York.
Reserve payday drafts (also reserve bills scheduled on payday): leave it off to plan through the day before payday. Bills due on payday are then covered by that day's paycheck. Turn it on if you'd rather hold them back from today's balance too.

2. How you're paid (Settings → Pay schedule)

Dimewell doesn't assume a payday. Choose Set up next to How you're paid in the dashboard checklist (or Set up pay schedule in Settings → Pay schedule) and answer two questions:

How often: Twice a month, Once a month, Every two weeks or Every week.
When: for twice or once a month, the day(s) of the month you're paid (say the 1st and 15th). For every two weeks or every week, the date of a recent or upcoming payday. Dimewell counts every 14 or 7 days from it, so the dates never drift.

You can also enter your usual take-home pay now, or leave it for later. Dimewell then sets up your paychecks (twice a month makes two, one for each day) and sums them up at the top of Settings → Pay schedule ("You're paid twice a month, on the 1st and the 15th"). Until you've done this, your periods simply follow calendar months.

Afterwards, each paycheck is one line (for example 5th paycheck — Monthly on the 5th · $2,000.00 expected). Select it to change its name, how often, its day or payday, or turn it off. Use Add paycheck for a second job or income. Then enter each paycheck's expected net amount. These amounts are only used to project future periods. A paycheck isn't counted as cash until you record it. Once it's in your account — early, or still pending — record it (Record paycheck in its ⋯ on the dashboard) and it counts right away, like your bank's available balance.

Each paycheck's form shows its next paycheck, so you can check the day and amount are right. Dimewell works out every paycheck from the schedule, so there's nothing to create ahead of time.

For a one-off difference (a different amount, a different expected date, or no paycheck this time), use ⋯ next to that paycheck on the dashboard, or Change an upcoming paycheck here. Any changes are listed under Changes to upcoming paychecks, where you can edit or undo them. The schedule itself stays the same.

3. Bills

Add each one with Add bill. Loan and card payments are bills too. The form asks four things, top to bottom:

What is it? Choose Bill or Debt payment (loans, cards and payment plans), then give it a name and a category.
- Every bill needs a category. Pick one like Utilities or Housing, or choose ＋ New category… to add your own right there.
- The Bills page groups bills into a card per category, with what that category's monthly bills add up to. Bills saved before categories were required appear under Uncategorized until you give them one. Categories don't change any numbers.
- For a debt payment, you can also say which debt it pays down and who it's paid to. Not on the list yet? Choose ＋ New debt… in that list. You fill in the debt right there, starting from the bill's name. Back to bill returns you to the bill with everything you'd entered still there, and Add debt brings you back with the new debt already picked.
How much? Leave it blank if you don't know it yet. It shows as "Amount missing", and nothing is held back for it until you add it. Tick It changes month to month for amounts that vary.
When is it due? Choose Every month (then the day of the month, 1–31) or Just once (then the date).
- Dimewell plans for the money to leave on that day.
- If you pick a date that has already passed, Dimewell warns you: the bill will show as overdue and be held back until you record it paid. If you've already paid a one-off, record it as a transaction instead.
- If one month is different, use Adjust / skip on that month.
- A Just once bill tidies itself away: once its payment has posted (not while it's still pending), it's archived automatically and a message says so, with Undo. Its payment history stays, and you can find it under Show archived.
How is it paid? Choose Automatic draft or I pay it myself. Either way it stays held back until you record the payment.

Optional details at the bottom holds what most bills don't need: an end date (or, for a debt, a final payment date or the number of payments left), a payment that's moving to a different day, and notes. It opens by itself if any of them are filled in. When a payment plan is paid off, archive it.

Manage the category list under Settings → Categories. Dimewell's built-in categories are Housing, Utilities, Insurance, Transportation, Subscriptions, Loans & cards, Health, Childcare and Other. They're always there and can't be renamed or removed. Add your own, and rename them whenever you like (every bill in one follows). Removing one of your own:

if no bill uses it, it's deleted;
if bills use it, it's archived instead. Those bills keep it, but it isn't offered for new bills. To bring it back, add a category with the same name.

Each bill needs its own name — no two bills (archived ones included) can share one.

To add a bill that's like one you already have, open the bill's ⋯ menu on the Bills page and choose Duplicate. The usual form opens with its details filled in and the name selected. Give the copy a new name, change anything else you need, then Add bill. The copy starts from today. Its payments and history stay with the original.

Tips for common situations:

A bill that must be paid by a certain day (rent due by the 5th, say): set the due day to that day and mark it Manual. You'll get a reminder on the day.
Something due on a payday (the 5th or 20th): Dimewell counts that day's paycheck toward it. You'll only see a warning if the paycheck and your balance together aren't enough.
A payment you've asked to move to a new day: edit it, tick This payment is moving to a different day, and enter the new day. Until you tick The change is confirmed, Dimewell keeps planning for the current day and shows a warning.
Several debts that together make up a total you know: enter each debt separately with its own amount. Don't also enter the combined total, or it will be counted twice.
A one-off windfall (like money from selling something): record it once as an Other deposit transaction. It's never treated as recurring income.

Select a bill's name (with the › arrow in front of it) to open it. You'll see:

Payments · last 6 months: every payment you've recorded and linked to that bill in the last six months, from any of your accounts, newest first. Payments that aren't linked to the bill don't appear here. Link them when you record or edit them.
Due dates: its recent and upcoming due dates and what's been paid toward each.

To change just one month (a higher bill, a moved date, or a skip), choose Adjust / skip next to that due date (or use the ⋯ menu on the dashboard). The recurring bill stays the same.

Each bill's row has Edit and a ⋯ menu with Duplicate, Pause (or Resume), Archive and Delete. To bring back an archived bill, turn on Show archived and choose Resume (on the phone, open the bill and tap Resume).

Each category card on the Bills page can be collapsed. Select its name to fold it away, or use Collapse all / Expand all. Dimewell remembers which cards you've collapsed on this browser.

4. Transactions

Record what actually happens: paychecks when they post, bill and debt payments, and transfers to spending or savings. See everyday-use.md.

Trying it out first

On an empty Dimewell, Load fictional demo data (dashboard or Settings) adds clearly fake sample bills. Clear it in Settings → Data → Demo data before you enter your own. Clearing removes everything.

Starting over

To begin again with an empty Dimewell, go to Settings → Data → Reset all data. Type delete to confirm. The button stays locked until you do, so it can't happen by accident.

A reset clears:

every bill, transaction, reconciliation, account and debt, and the categories you added
your paycheck amounts, cushion and spending estimate

You're taken back to the dashboard to set things up as on your first visit, with the built-in categories and an empty Bills account. Your profile, sign-in and time zone stay. You can't bring the cleared data back yourself.

Deleting your account

To leave Dimewell for good, go to Profile → Delete account and type delete to confirm. Everything is deleted permanently — your bills, transactions, accounts, debts, settings, messages and your sign-in — and you're signed out. Nobody can bring it back. If you sign up again later, you start with a new, empty Dimewell.

To start over but keep your account, use Reset all data (above) instead.