4. Bill Subscription Detection & Alert

Automatic Bill/Subscription Detection

The Automatic Subscription Detection feature in smartMoney helps you manage recurring expenses by automatically detecting subscriptions and creating bills in FireFly-III. This feature ensures that your bills are accurately linked to future transactions, improving your financial management.

Overview

This feature detects subscriptions based on various intervals (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) and automatically creates corresponding bills in FireFly-III. It also provides alerts for any increases in subscription amounts, keeping you informed about changes in your recurring expenses.

How It Works

Process Flow:

1. Identify Subscriptions:

   • smartMoney scans your transaction history to identify recurring payments that match common subscription patterns.

2. Determine Intervals:

   • It determines the interval of each subscription (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly) based on the frequency of the detected transactions.

3. Create Bills:

   • Automatically creates bills in FireFly-III for each detected subscription, linking them to future transactions.

4. Monitor Subscription Amounts:

   • Continuously monitors the amounts of your subscriptions for any changes (using Webhook).

5. Alert for Amount Increases:

   • Sends alerts when there is an increase in the amount of any subscription, allowing you to review and take action if necessary.

Setting Up Automatic Subscription Detection

Open .env file and modify the following

# Bill Detector
BILL_DETECTOR_ENABLED=true
BILL_DETECTOR_GO_BACK_DAYS=800
BILL_DETECTOR_MIN_AMOUNT=10
BILL_DETECTOR_TRANSACTIONS_RECURRING_TYPES=daily,weekly,monthly,quarterly,half-year,yearly

Alert Bill Over Amount Percentage, if the bill amount is more than 10% of the bill max amount, alert the user. Use this percentage across all the bills or use the percentage for each bill by adding alertBillOverAmountPercentage:"10" in the bill notes (in FireflyIII) for custom percentage for each bill

ALERT_BILL_OVER_AMOUNT_PERCENTAGE=10

6. User:

Make sure "Alert bill over amount percentage" is enabled for the user

After completing these steps, follow the instructions on the Setup Webhook page.

By following these guidelines and utilizing the Automatic Subscription Detection feature, you can effectively manage your recurring expenses and stay informed about any changes in your subscription amounts.