TL;DR: I built a budget tracker in Notion that imports transactions via BankSync and uses AI to categorize them, based on how I tagged them previously. It cut my monthly budget review from ~2 hours to about 5 minutes.
Why I Did This
Every month, I was spending 2+ hours sorting and categorizing transactions. I tried apps like Mint or YNAB, but I always felt constrained by their rigid setups. Meanwhile, I manage nearly everything in Notion—so why not my finances, too?
Plus, there’s a Notion template to help you get started: the Cash Flow Tracker (with Live Banking Data) from BankSync. It gives you a structure and database where your transactions can automatically flow in and feed into dashboards.
View the template
How I Imported My Bank Data via BankSync (And Yes, You Can Too)
This was the crucial “glue” step that made all the automation possible. I’ll walk you through how I set it up, with links to the official BankSync guides so you can follow along exactly.
1. Connect Your Banks to BankSync
In BankSync, I added my bank accounts (checking, credit cards, etc.) using their secure connection flow.
Official guide: Connecting Your Banks
2. Authorize Notion Integration
After connecting banks, I went to the “Destinations / Integrations” section in BankSync and added Notion. This lets BankSync push transaction data to a Notion database of my choice.
Official guide: Setting Up Notion Integration
In Notion, you’ll also sometimes need to “Add connection” on the specific page where you want the data to land (so the integration has permission).
See Notion’s guide on managing connections: Add & Manage Integrations (Notion Help Center)
3. Create Your First Sync & Field Mapping
With banks and Notion connected, it's time to create your first “sync” — mapping which bank → which Notion database, and connecting the fields (merchant, amount, date, etc.).
Official guide: Creating Your First Sync
You’ll also use BankSync’s field mapping guide to precisely map how each piece of data should land in your Notion columns.
Official guide: Field Mapping Configuration
4. Configure Scheduled Syncs (Optional but Handy)
Once the sync is working, you can set BankSync to update periodically (e.g. hourly or daily), so you don’t have to manually push data.
Official guide: Scheduling Syncs
5. Manage & Monitor Sync Jobs
As your data flows, you'll want to keep an eye on sync jobs — checking for failures, duplicates, or mismatches.
Official guide: Managing Sync Jobs
6. Initial Cleanup & Ongoing Monitoring
After the first import, I cleaned up formatting (dates, decimals), removed any duplicates, and confirmed all fields showed up correctly in Notion. From then on, new transactions flowed in automatically, and I mostly just monitor “edge cases.”
The Setup in Notion
With BankSync feeding data in, here’s what I built next:
- A Transactions database (imported fields: description, date, amount, account)
- A Category field (type: Select)
- An AI Category field (Formula / Notion AI)
- Views like Auto-Tagged, Needs Review, New Transactions
- Dashboard pages that roll up spending by category, month, etc.
AI Categorization: The “Magic” Formula
I crafted a formula prompt that asks Notion AI:
Based on similar transactions I've already categorized in this database, what category should this be?
Look at patterns:
- Exact merchant names
- Slight name variants (e.g. “Starbucks #1234”)
- Amount ranges at a given merchant
- Timing (weekend vs weekday)
Return a single category name matching my past tags.
If confidence < 80%, return "NEEDS REVIEW" so I can double-check manually.
Over time, it learns the rules I implicitly apply:
- Starbucks → Coffee
- Target under $50 → Groceries; over $100 → Shopping
- $15.99 recurring → Netflix
- Gas stations → Transportation
In Real Life: Accuracy & Workflow
- Week 1: ~70–80% correct. I reviewed all suggestions.
- Month 1: It starts understanding my amount & merchant patterns.
- Month 3: ~95% accuracy. Now, I spend ~5 minutes on the “Needs Review” items.
Dashboard Views
-
Auto-Tagged —
AI Category = Category -
Needs Review —
AI returned “NEEDS REVIEW” -
New Transactions —
Category is still unassigned
When AI Gets It Wrong (and What I Do About It)
Problem: AI labels my grocery store as “Shopping”
Fix: Manually tag ~5–10 transactions from that store as “Groceries” to teach it correct context
Problem: Everything shows “NEEDS REVIEW”
Fix: Start with broad categories (e.g. “Food” instead of “Organic Groceries”) so AI doesn’t overthink
Problem: AI is overly confident but wrong
Fix: Add more examples (including negative cases) and occasionally force “NEEDS REVIEW” to keep it honest
What I’ve Gained
- 5 minutes each Sunday to review (vs ~90 minutes before)
- 87% auto-tagged correctly after first month
- 3 “that’s clever” moments per week
- Zero dread on budget review day
My Sunday Routine Now
- Open the Needs Review view
- Quickly accept good AI suggestions
- Manually tag weird or ambiguous transactions
- Done — done ✅
Then: coffee, walk, or whatever feels fun.
Lessons Learned
- Start broad (you can split categories later)
- Your own past data is the best teacher
- Don’t be shy to correct mistakes — that’s how the model refines
- Simplicity wins — you can add nuance later
The Bottom Line
This setup won’t fix all financial stress, but it will eliminate the part I hated the most: categorizing transaction after transaction. Swapping ~2 hours of busy work for a 5-minute habit is absolutely worth it to me.
What’s your biggest budgeting pain point? Has anyone else tried automating transaction categorization? I’d love to compare workflows!
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