Settings, security, and export

Export your data

Download your record as CSV files, restore core data from a TallyFolio export ZIP, or export just the filtered view you're looking at.

Last updated 2026-07-19

Use this page — the Data section of Settings — to download your data whenever you want it. The full export produces a ZIP archive of CSV files covering your whole record: accounts, transactions, categories, subscriptions, budgets, planned expenses, investment accounts, contributions, withdrawals, registered-plan records, labels, assets, and more.

Exports require being signed in, are generated on demand for you alone, and are never stored publicly — the file goes straight to your browser and nowhere else. CSV is a plain, open format that opens in any spreadsheet app.

Restore from export accepts an unmodified TallyFolio export ZIP and adds every record it holds to your signed-in account: accounts, transactions, categories, labels, budgets, subscriptions, planned expenses, investments, registered-plan records, assets, merchant rules, exchange rates, and import history. The ZIP is read in memory for validation and is never stored. Your settings are applied only where this account is still on the defaults.

Before you start

  • Be signed in — exports are refused otherwise, and always contain only the signed-in user's data.
  • Restore only from an unmodified TallyFolio export ZIP. The restore upload limit is 25 MB.
  • Decide what you need: the complete record (Settings export) or one slice (the per-page exports on Transactions, Reports, and Assets).
  • Have a safe place ready for the file — it's your full financial record.

How to use it

  1. For everything: open Settings, find the Data section, and start the export. Your browser downloads one ZIP file of CSVs.
  2. To restore the core data from that ZIP, open Restore from export, upload the ZIP, review the row counts and validation result, confirm that records will be added to your account, then restore.
  3. For a slice: set the filters you want on the Transactions, Reports, or Assets page, then use that page's export action — each produces a single CSV of the current filtered view.
  4. Store the downloaded files somewhere you'd trust with your bank statements: an encrypted disk or a private, secured folder — not email threads or shared drives.
  5. Repeat on a schedule you'd be comfortable restoring from; an export is your backup only if it exists.

What affects this page

  • Your data at the moment you export — the archive is generated fresh, on the spot.
  • Active filters, for the per-page exports — they export exactly the view you're looking at.
  • Duplicate transaction fingerprints during restore — those transactions are skipped and counted instead of inserted again.

What does not affect this page

  • Exporting changes nothing — your records are read, never modified, and nothing is left behind on a server.
  • Restore does not replace your account or erase existing records; it adds the reviewed records and skips duplicate transaction fingerprints.
  • Restore is all-or-nothing. If validation or adding any record fails, none of that restore is added to your account; it never leaves a partial batch behind.
  • The full export is all-or-nothing too: if your record is too large to generate in one request, the export refuses to run and tells you so — it never produces a partial or corrupted archive.
  • Restore v1 does not restore assets, investments, registered-plan records, planned expenses, rates, merchant rules, import batches, or transaction-label assignments.
  • New activity after the export — the file is a snapshot and doesn't update itself.
  • Anyone else's session — an export can only ever contain the data of the user who requested it.

Common mistakes

  • Treating an export as a sync. It's a snapshot from the moment you ran it; new activity isn't in it until you export again.
  • Emailing the ZIP around or leaving it in a shared folder. Store it as carefully as you'd store the app login itself.
  • Exporting a filtered page and thinking it's everything. Per-page exports honor the active filters; the complete record comes from the Settings export.
  • Expecting restore to overwrite settings you have already changed. Settings apply only where this account is still on the shipped defaults.

FAQ

What's in the full export?
A ZIP of CSV files covering your record: accounts, transactions, categories, subscriptions, budgets, planned expenses, investment accounts, contributions, withdrawals, registered-plan records, labels, and assets with their events.
What does restore from export add back?
V1 restore adds accounts, categories, labels, transactions, subscriptions, and budgets from an unmodified TallyFolio export ZIP. It reports duplicate transaction fingerprints that were skipped.
Can someone else download my export?
No. Exports require sign-in and are scoped to the signed-in user — the archive is generated for you and sent only to your browser.
Is the export kept anywhere after I download it?
No. It's built in the moment and returned directly; nothing is stored on a server or in any public location afterward.
How often should I export?
Your call — it's a snapshot, not a sync. A good rule: export as often as you'd want your backup to be fresh if you ever needed it.

Where this lives in the app

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