How does TimelyBills use my SMS messages to suggest transactions?

Modified on Fri, 14 Aug at 5:48 PM

TimelyBills can scan eligible banking and financial SMS messages and suggest transactions for you. Nothing is added automatically it is added only after your review, edit, accept, or delete every detected transaction to your TimelyBills account.

Steps to enable SMS Transaction Detection

Open the TimelyBills app on your device
Tap your Profile Picture to open the menu.
Select Settings from menu
Tap Bills & Transactions.
Turn on Auto Detect Your Expenses.
Choose how many days of SMS history you want TimelyBills to scan.
Select number of days from today going back into the past for SMS scan.
TimelyBills can scan SMS messages from past upto 60 days only.
Tap Scan Now to start scanning immediately or select Don't Scan Past SMS if you only want future SMS messages to be detected.

How to review and import detected transactions?

TimelyBills scans the selected SMS messages for eligible banking and financial transactions.
When transactions are detected, a New Transactions Detected Banner appears at the top of your home screen.
Tap Review to see the suggested transactions.
Review each transaction and choose one of the following actions:
- Accept: Add the transaction immediately if all the details are correct.
- Edit: Update details such as the transaction type, amount, category, merchant, account, notes, group sharing and account balance toggle that needs to be updated.
- Delete: Remove the detected SMS transaction if you do not want to add it.
Accepted transactions are added to TimelyBills immediately.

Helpful Tips

Accept all: You can import all detected transactions together by tapping on the Accept All button. TimelyBills will ask for confirmation before adding them.
Automatic detection: Once enabled, TimelyBills will continue detecting eligible financial SMS messages as they arrive.
You stay in control: Detected transactions are only suggestions. They are not added until you accept them.
Disable anytime: You can stop SMS detection by turning off Auto Detect Your Expenses under Settings Bills & Transactions.
Android only: SMS transaction detection is currently available only on Android devices.
Maximum history: TimelyBills can scan SMS messages received within the previous 60 days.

How does TimelyBills protect my privacy?

TimelyBills uses SMS access only to identify banking and financial transaction messages and suggest transactions for your review.
TimelyBills does not identify, collect, store, or use OTPs, verification codes, authentication messages or personal conversations.
Only relevant transaction details such as the amount, merchant, transaction type, and account information are used to create suggestions.
No detected transaction is added without your approval. You can review, edit, accept, or delete every suggestion.
Imported transaction information is stored only in your TimelyBills account and is not sold or shared with advertisers.
You can disable SMS Transaction Detection at any time from Settings > Bills & Transactions > Disable Auto Detect Your Expenses toggle
TimelyBills can never initiate, approve, or complete a banking transaction using your SMS messages.

Need help?

If you experience any issues or have questions about SMS Transaction Detection, please contact us at support@timelybills.app