Support

Help and support

Start with the manual; if that does not answer it, get in touch.

Frequently asked

Can I move my GnuCash book across?

Yes, on a Mac. File ▸ Import GnuCash… reads your .gnucash file — accounts, transactions, prices, scheduled transactions and business records — and the book it makes opens on your iPhone and iPad too. You can export back to GnuCash XML at any time, and the round trip is verified byte-identical.

Where is my data stored?

In one .finvestlens file wherever you put it — local disk, iCloud Drive, a NAS or your own Box account. There is no FinvestLens account and no server of ours. Back it up like any other document.

Can two people use the same book?

Not simultaneously. A book on a shared drive is locked by whichever device has it open, with a heartbeat so a crashed session does not lock you out permanently. If the lock is stale you can break it and open anyway.

Does it work offline?

Yes. The app goes online only when you ask it to: for price quotes, the consumer price index, your own Box account or, if you allow it, Apple’s Private Cloud Compute. The privacy policy lists each.

Should I use the App Store or the disk image on a Mac?

Either: they are the same version from the same source. The App Store version updates itself and can use Apple’s Private Cloud Compute if you allow it. The disk image cannot, because Apple does not offer that to apps distributed outside the App Store, and you download new versions yourself. The download page sets out the difference.

Why does macOS not warn me when I open it?

Because Apple has checked it: through App Review on the App Store, and by notarization for the disk image, which is also signed with a Developer ID. You can verify the disk image yourself — the commands are on the download page.

Is there an iPhone or iPad version?

Yes, on the App Store: one free download for Mac, iPhone and iPad. On iPhone, FinvestLens opens, creates and edits books. Bank files are imported on iPad or Mac, and a GnuCash file or Ledger journal on a Mac.

Reporting a problem

The most useful report says what you did, what happened, and what you expected instead. Please include the app version and your system version. The current release is 1.2.

Please do not attach your book file — it contains your finances. If a specific transaction or account is involved, describe its shape rather than sending the data.

Something wrong with a number?

Correctness reports are taken seriously. FinvestLens is checked against GnuCash on a real 46,000-transaction book, so if a balance or report disagrees with what you expect, that is worth telling us about — say which report, which account and which period, and what figure you expected.