Finances
AI categorisation
What it's about
On request, patchio uses Claude (Anthropic) to suggest a suitable category for your expenses and contracts – via a button in the dialogue, as a batch for all uncategorised expenses, or automatically during a contract import.
What else runs on this switch
The switch is the consent for all AI features in the household, not just for Finances. Once it's on, this comes with it:
- Shopping list: if the local dictionary doesn't recognise an item, patchio briefly asks Claude. Only the item name goes out for that. You can also turn this off separately under Manage → Shopping list. More on this: Shopping list: automatic categories
- Recipe photos: if you've uploaded a photo for a recipe, you can have the ingredients read from it. Only that one photo goes to Claude – and only when you tap “Read ingredients from the photo”, never on upload and never in the background. More on this: Cookbooks & recipes
- School letters: in the school module, you can photograph a school letter and have patchio suggest dates, deadlines, amounts and a packing list from it. Only that one photo goes to Claude – only when you tap the button. Note: a school letter contains details about your child – class, school, events, sometimes their name. More on this: Scan a school letter
If the switch is off, none of this happens.
Privacy first
The feature is off by default and needs to be turned on by an admin under Manage. Once it's on, only the description and amount (for contracts, also the provider; for shopping items, only the item name) go to Claude per category suggestion, along with the names of your categories. When reading a recipe photo, only the photo itself goes out – no recipe name, no notes, no method, no people. Not transmitted: personal names, IBAN or account details, customer numbers, receipts, notes, or the split.
How to use it
- In a dialogue: tap “Suggest category” – patchio fills in the category field, and you confirm by saving.
- In bulk: under Expenses (in Finances), “Assign uncategorised” sorts all expenses without a category at once.
- On import: contracts without a category column are automatically pre-categorised on import.
The AI always picks one of your existing categories (or leaves the field empty) – it never creates new ones. You can change any suggestion at any time.