Getting started with keel

keel gets you from sign-up to your first imported bank statement as quickly as possible: name your household, choose the month you want to get on top of, and import that statement — your first account is created as you go. There are no long questionnaires to fill in before you see your own data.

Once you've imported a statement, keel categorises your spending and shows you where it goes. Your financial health score comes a little later — it stays hidden until you've imported a full month and marked it complete, so the first number you see is built on real data rather than a day-one guess.

How it works

Step 1: Welcome

A short welcome screen explains what keel does and what happens next: you import a statement, keel categorises your spending, scores your financial health, and shows you where to improve. Tap Continue — nothing is collected on this step.

Step 2: Your name and household name

Enter your first name (last name is optional), then a name for your household (for example, "The Smith Household"). If you signed up with Google, your name is filled in for you; if you signed up with an email and password, you add it here. This creates your household in keel and sets you as the owner. The household name appears on your shared dashboard, and you can change it later in Settings.

Step 3: Who's in your household?

keel asks whether it's just you or you and a partner. If you share your finances, choose "Me and a partner" and enter their first name — that's all keel needs. You can set both of you up from your own device; your partner doesn't need their own login.

Knowing there are two of you lets keel attribute accounts to the right person and, when you add one, expect a credit report for each of you. A partner added here becomes a household member you can invite to log in later from Settings — optional, and they're fully set up either way. You can change this anytime in Settings.

Step 4: Pick your focus month

Right after household setup — and before you import anything — keel asks one question: "Which is the most recent month you'll have all your statements for?" Pick the month you can fully cover — there's an honest reminder that banks sometimes don't release a statement until a few weeks after the month ends, so the latest month isn't always the right answer.

This is the month keel guides you toward completing and closing, and closing it is what unlocks your financial health score. keel asks rather than guessing because it hasn't seen any of your transactions yet — only you know which month you'll have everything for. Picking the month first also means your very first import is purposeful: you upload that month's statement, rather than importing something and later realising it was the wrong month. You can change it later at any time.

Step 5: Your first import (and your first account)

keel takes you straight into importing your first statement for the focus month. There's no separate "add an account" form first — you name and create the account right here, as part of the import: give it a name (for example, "Barclays current"), choose its type, and upload the statement. The header reads "Import your first statement for {month}" so it's clear what to upload. (A "Connect via Open Banking" option is coming, but for now statement upload is how your data gets in.)

keel categorises everything in a couple of minutes, then shows a quick overview — that's the first-import wow. A single Continue then takes you on to tell keel about the rest of your accounts. See Importing your bank statements for what happens during the import itself.

Importing toward your focus month

Once keel knows about all your accounts, a guided screen helps you import each one for your focus month. Every account shows where it stands: imported, awaiting a statement (with the expected date when keel can tell), or skipped. A running "3 of 5 accounts ready" line shows how close you are.

When every account is accounted for, a "Close {month}" button appears — closing the month reveals your score. It stays disabled while accounts are still missing, and keel won't let you close a month with no real data in it.

Before that first month closes, keel checks for any transactions still waiting to be categorised. If there are some, tapping "Close" takes you to a short review screen to sort them — you clear the queue, then close. Your very first score is built on transactions you've actually checked, so keel holds the close until they're done (later monthly closes just nudge you rather than holding). It all stays inside setup — no detour through the full Reports screen.

If your chosen month isn't ready yet but an earlier one is fully covered, keel offers a head-start: unlock your score with the earlier month now, and come back to the later one when its statements arrive. Accounts that only report occasionally — quarterly or annually — never hold you up; keel skips them automatically for months where no statement is due.

Joining an existing household

If someone invited you to join their household, setup looks different. After signing up via the invitation link, you'll see a brief "Joining {household name}..." screen — there's nothing to click. keel links your new account to the household in the background, usually within a second or two, and sends you straight to the dashboard. If it takes longer than a few seconds, keel finishes the link itself — you won't notice anything.

If you signed up with a different email than the one the invitation was sent to, keel notices and shows a brief note: "Looks like the invitation was sent to a different email. We're finishing your setup using {your email}." You're still added to the household with no extra steps, and the household owner sees a matching note on their end.

Tell keel about all your accounts

After your first import, keel asks you to list all your accounts — even ones you haven't imported yet. This matters because keel scores your whole financial picture, so it needs to know how many accounts you have before it can tell you a month is genuinely complete.

Tap Add an account to name an account you have but haven't imported — its name, type, owner and roughly when its statement arrives. Declaring an account is just naming it; you import the statements whenever you're ready, and each one shows as "awaiting first statement" until you do.

If you have a credit report, Have a credit report? is a one-step shortcut: upload it and keel adds every account it finds at once. Those accounts are "parked" — listed but inactive — with an "Activate to import" button for when you want to bring one in. The credit-report step runs on its own focused screen so there's a single clear path through it. (Credit reports are per-person, so if you share finances, each of you uploads your own.)

When you've added everything, That's all my accounts confirms your full set. Later, when you import a statement for an account you already named, keel steers you to that existing account instead of creating a duplicate.

What happens after setup

Upload a CSV or PDF statement and keel handles the rest: it detects the format, maps the columns, categorises every transaction and asks for your input only where it's unsure.

Once your first import is done, you land on the dashboard with real data — your categorised transactions and a partial spending picture. Where your financial health score will eventually sit, you'll see a calm "your score is on its way" message instead of a number: keel holds the score back until you've imported a full month and closed it, so your first score is honest and only climbs from there.

Until that first close, the dashboard becomes your setup home rather than the usual score view. It shows what you've imported so far — so the work you've already done is visible — alongside the clear next step toward unlocking your score. It's also where you pick up again: leave to dig out a statement, come back the next day, and you land right where you left off. A slim "finish setting up" prompt follows you across the app as a second way back. Nothing traps you — transactions, reports, budgets and accounts all work straight away. (If you haven't imported anything at all yet, there's nothing for a home to show, so keel takes you straight to the first step instead.) See After your first import for a walkthrough.

When you close that first month, your score doesn't just quietly appear — keel marks the moment. The first time you open your dashboard with a live score, a brief full-screen view takes over: the score ring counts up from zero, a short line frames it as a starting point, not a grade, and one button takes you through to your normal dashboard, where your coaching, insights and reports live. You only see it once, it reads encouragingly whatever your starting number is, and it works fine with reduced motion, a keyboard, or a screen reader.

Why it works this way

You pick the month before importing so your first import is purposeful — you upload that month's statement rather than importing something and finding it was the wrong month. Your first account is created as part of that import, not in a separate form, so there's one less step before you see your own data.

Setup is deliberately short. Questions about children, pets and savings were removed from setup so you reach your first import faster. Lifestyle category questions appear later as part of your account setup, and keel will prompt you from the dashboard if you'd like to declare a savings balance. You can also upload a credit report to bring in accurate account data automatically.

Good to know

• If you refresh during the welcome or household-name step, you'll start again — nothing is saved until your household is created.
• If you refresh or log out on the "Who's in your household?" question, keel brings you back to it rather than skipping it, so a partner you meant to add is never lost. Once you've moved past setup, keel won't ask again.
• A sign-out link is available on every step, in case you signed in with the wrong account.

FAQ

Can I change my household name later? Yes, in Settings.

Does my partner need their own login? No. When you choose "Me and a partner" and enter their first name, keel adds them as a household member you manage from your own device — no login or email needed. You can invite them to log in later from Settings, but it's optional, and they're fully set up either way.

I chose "just me" — can I add a partner later? Yes, in Settings → Household (and you can remove a partner there too).

Do I add an account before importing? No — your first account is created during the first import itself (you name it and pick its type as you upload the statement). You pick your focus month first, then import. You only declare accounts separately after the first import, when you tell keel about the rest of your accounts.

What happened to the lifestyle questions? They appear later as part of your account setup. We wanted to get you to your first import as quickly as possible.

What about my emergency fund? keel will prompt you from the dashboard if you want to declare your savings balance. Uploading a credit report is another way to get accurate account data automatically.

Why don't I see my financial health score yet? Your score stays hidden until you've imported a full month and marked it complete. keel won't put a number in front of you that it built from guesses — once you close your first month, your real score appears and only climbs from there. Until then, follow the "finish setting up" prompt to get there.

What's a focus month, and what if I pick the wrong one? It's the month keel guides you toward completing and closing — the one you'll have all your statements for. keel asks up front so it doesn't have to guess. If you pick a month you can't fully cover yet, no harm done: keel shows you exactly which accounts are still missing, and you can switch to a different month anytime with "Change month". If an earlier month is already complete, keel will even offer to unlock your score with that one first.

What does it take to close my first month? Every account in your set has to be accounted for that month — imported, or marked "skip for now" or "nothing happened". keel won't let you close on a half-imported picture, because that's how the score used to come out wrong. If an account genuinely can't be imported, removing it from your accounts takes it out of the requirement.

If I undo a close, do I lose my score? No. Once your first close reveals the score, it stays revealed even if you undo that close. Undo reopens the month for editing — it doesn't put the "your score is on its way" message back.

Am I stuck until I finish setting up? No. Only the score is held back. Transactions, reports, budgets and accounts all work straight away, and you can come back to finish setup any time without losing progress.

Do I have to import every account right away? No. You can declare an account — just name it — without importing it. It shows as "awaiting first statement" until you upload one, whenever you're ready.

I uploaded a credit report — why are those accounts greyed out? Accounts added from a credit report are "parked": keel knows they exist but hasn't seen any transactions yet. Tap "Activate to import" on one when you want to bring its statements in.

I came back the next day — will I lose my place? No. Your setup home shows exactly where you left off — what's imported so far and your next step — so you can stop and pick up again across days without losing progress.