> ## Knowledge Base Index
> Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://help.booksgpt.ai/sitemap.xml
> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
> Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash).

# Add a personal workspace and your accounts

A personal workspace is for your own money: bank accounts, a house, a car, loans, a budget, and savings goals. It stays separate from the business books.

|| Personal is in beta. Your first personal workspace is free on a paid plan.

## Add the workspace

1. In the **top bar**, click the workspace name.
2. Click **Add workspace**.
3. Choose **Personal**. It is marked **Beta**.
4. Name it, then create it.

![Add workspace in the top-bar switcher](https://booksgpt.ai/help/personal/add-workspace.png)

![Choose Personal, marked Beta](https://booksgpt.ai/help/personal/workspace-type.png)

You switch between business and personal from that same menu.

## Add your accounts

Open **All pages** in the left sidebar, then under **Money** click [**Accounts**](https://app.booksgpt.ai/go/personal-accounts). There are two ways to add an account:

- **Connect bank** links an account at your bank. Its balance and transactions come in on their own.
- **Add manually** is for anything you track yourself. You type the balance.

![The Accounts page with Connect bank, Add manually, and the all, solo, joint switch](https://booksgpt.ai/help/personal/accounts-header.png)

- **Net worth**, under the title, is the total of the accounts shown.
- **solo** hides accounts another household member owns. **joint** shows only jointly owned ones. **all** shows everything.

| Connect your bank first. Add manually is for things no bank reports, like your home.

### Add an account manually

1. Click **Add manually**.
2. Pick a kind:

   - **Cash** (checking, savings)
   - **Investment** (brokerage, IRA, 401k)
   - **Real Estate** (home or property)
   - **Vehicle**
   - **Crypto**
   - **Loan** (mortgage, student, auto, personal)
   - **Other**

3. Enter a name and the balance. For a loan, enter the **Amount owed**.
4. Click **Add account**.

![Add an account: Cash, Investment, Real Estate, Vehicle, Crypto, Loan, Other](https://booksgpt.ai/help/personal/add-account.png)

## Loans you connect

- A loan you connect shows under **Loans** as what you owe, in red.
- Its balance shows once your bank reports it, usually right after you connect. Banks do not share loan transactions, so there are none to wait for.
- Auto loans, credit lines and home equity lines show under **Loans**, not **Credit Cards**.

![Loans: an auto loan owed, in red, and a credit line whose bank has not reported a balance yet](https://booksgpt.ai/help/personal/accounts-loans.png)

## When you see "Balance unavailable"

When your bank has not sent a balance, BooksGPT says **Balance unavailable**. It does not mean the balance is zero.

- You see it on **Accounts**, in **Settings** on the **Institutions** tab, and on the dashboard.
- On the dashboard, a group with some balances missing says so, like **(1 not reported)**.
- The account is left out of net worth until your bank reports a balance.
- Ask the Copilot about net worth and it says how many accounts it left out.

## Is my bank up to date?

Open **Settings** in the left sidebar, then the **Institutions** tab. Each bank shows a status, and under it when it was last checked.

![Institutions: a bank that is Synced, one that is Delayed, and one that needs attention with Reconnect this account](https://booksgpt.ai/help/personal/institutions-status.png)

- **Synced** (green): all good, like **Checked 5h ago**. A quiet account with no new charges still reads Synced.
- **Delayed** (amber): BooksGPT has not checked the feed lately (**Last checked Aug 1**), or the bank connection has not reached your bank lately (**No bank update since Sep 22**). BooksGPT keeps trying on its own.
- **Needs attention** (red): your bank stopped sharing data, and the bank shows **Issues**. Click **Reconnect this account** beside the account and sign in to your bank again.
- **Not syncing**: the connection was replaced or closed, so nothing new comes in through it.
- **Importing**: the first import is still arriving, so there is no time line yet. A bank you just reconnected reads Importing until its first import lands.

Needs attention and Not syncing show the last check, like **Last checked Sep 18**.

**Latest bank update didn't get through** (or **Checked 5h ago · latest bank update failed**) means one try to reach your bank did not get through. The next try usually fixes it, and a short outage at your bank does not turn it red. Still Delayed after a few days? Message us from the chat bubble.

|| "Checked" means BooksGPT has everything your bank connection had the last time it reached your bank. A charge still pending at your bank comes in once the bank posts it.

## Good to know

- Do not mix client books into a personal workspace. Add a **Business** workspace for each client instead.
- To merge a duplicate or archive a closed account, click the **⋮** beside it. Its history is kept.
- Review of personal transactions is not in All pages. See "Review personal transactions".