Here's something true of almost every app you use: you only use part of it. Not because the rest is bad, but because you never came across it. You downloaded the app to solve one problem, solved it in the first ten minutes, and never went looking again.
Pocket Clear has this problem too. Over the past year it gained savings goals, tags, budget rollover, transfers, Travel Mode, trips, refunds, a calendar view, and more. Our support inbox regularly gets requests for features that already exist. So instead of another onboarding carousel that everyone swipes past, we added something that sits quietly on Home and is there when you're curious.
Update, version 2.18: the setup guide is now part of Tips. The ring on Home stays and opens the Tips list, every step the checklist had is a tip with the same done check, and Skip is now Not for me. A Today's Tip card on Home also shows one feature you haven't used yet each day. Details: Today's Tip. The rest of this post describes the checklist as it worked from 2.14 to 2.17.
A ring in the corner
In the top-left of the Home screen there's a small progress ring showing something like 6/31. That's how many of Pocket Clear's features you've set up. Tap it and the Set up Pocket Clear checklist opens. Each row is one feature, with a one-line description, and tapping a row takes you to the screen where you set it up.
As of version 2.14, the list has 31 items on iPhone (15 free, 16 Pro) and 30 on Android (15 free, 15 Pro), grouped under Free and Pro headings. The one difference is Auto-log Apple Pay or bank messages. It covers the iPhone Shortcuts automations, which Android doesn't have. Android auto-logs from bank-app notifications instead.
- It already knows what you use. An item counts as done because the data on your phone says so: you have a budget, Cloud Sync is on, you've linked a partner. You never tick anything yourself, so a long-time user opens it to a ring that's already part-full.
- Skipping counts. Never going to link a partner? Tap Skip. The row greys out, the ring advances, and an Undo button stays. If you later set up a skipped feature, it flips to done.
- It gets out of the way. When every row is done or skipped, the ring disappears from Home. You can reopen the list from Settings → Setup guide. To hide the ring before then, use Settings → Appearance → Hide on Home. Your progress is kept.
- It gates nothing. The free plan works the same however full the ring is. Pro rows carry a PRO badge, and tapping one on the free plan shows the upgrade screen. Capture and auto-logging are free for everyone until 31 December 2026, so those rows open for everyone until then.
What's on the list
Free (15): add your first transaction · create a custom category · add a subcategory · add a payment type · split a transaction · set your reminder time · import transactions · turn on balance carry-over · add the home-screen widget · customize your appearance · decide how savings count · see your Insights · follow Pocket Clear · show account balances on Home · set a tracking goal
Pro (16 on iPhone, 15 on Android): set up a budget · turn on Cloud Sync · link a partner · turn on Tags · set a secondary currency · log a transfer · export your data · try Travel Mode · set up a recurring transaction · create a savings goal · create an expense group · set up a trip · attach a receipt photo · open Pocket Clear on the web · capture your first expense · auto-log Apple Pay or bank messages (iPhone only)
New features are added to the end of the list, so the total grows. A ring you'd completed can come back after an update with one new row on it, marked with a small New badge until you use the feature or skip it. That's deliberate: the checklist is how you find out what's new.
Seven free features people most often miss
These aren't on the checklist as separate rows, but they come up in support emails from people who didn't know they existed:
- Search your whole history. All Transactions searches by note, category, amount or payee name, and filters by month, category, type, amount range and one or more payment methods (All Transactions).
- Calendar view. A List | Calendar toggle in All Transactions turns the list into a month grid with each day's Money Out total and a dot on days money came in. Tap a day to see its entries.
- Refunds that go back where they came from. Under Money In, turn on Refund and pick the Money Out category. That category's total drops by the refund in Reports and budgets (Refunds).
- Smart Suggestions. After around 15 entries, one-tap chips appear for things you buy at the same price, filling in the category, payment type, note and amount. It runs entirely on your phone (Smart Suggestions).
- Catch-up week. Missed a few days? When two or more of the last six days are empty, a Home card opens the last seven days side by side so you can fill them in quickly (Catch-up Week).
- Month projection. From your 25th entry and day 5 of the period, Home shows "On pace for … this month" under your balance (Month Projection).
- Average spend per day. Reports → Monthly shows "Avg … /day" beside Daily Spending, with a dashed line so you can see which days ran high (Reports).
It stays on your device
The checklist reads data that's already on your phone, and opening it sends nothing to a server. Skipped items are stored on the device and aren't synced. Done-state comes from your normal data, so with Cloud Sync on, a feature you set up on your phone shows as done on your tablet too.
(Separately, Pocket Clear sends a once-a-day activity check-in with counts and settings, such as how many entries you have and which features you've used, but never amounts, merchants, notes or category names. The Privacy & Security page and our privacy policy list exactly what's sent.)
One item that works differently
Neither iPhone nor Android lets an app reliably check whether its widget is on your home screen. So Add the home-screen widget is marked done the first time Pocket Clear detects one of its own widgets. Once marked, it stays done, even if you remove the widget later. It's slightly imprecise, but it's the honest option when the phone won't answer the question directly.
Full details are in the help center: Today's Tip and the Tips list, and what changed in Setup Guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the setup guide ring in Pocket Clear?
It is a small progress ring in the top-left of the Home screen showing how many of Pocket Clear's tips you have done, for example 12/50. Since version 2.18 it opens the Tips list, which now holds every step the old Set up Pocket Clear checklist had. Each tip walks you through one feature and takes you straight to it.
Where did the setup guide go?
Since version 2.18 the setup guide is part of the Tips list, and every step it had is a tip. Each tip shows the version its feature arrived in, and after an update the list opens on What's new in that version. New features are added over time.
How does Pocket Clear know which features I have set up?
It reads data already on your phone, such as whether you have a budget, whether Cloud Sync is on, or whether you have linked a partner. You never tick items yourself, and the checklist itself sends nothing to a server.
Can I hide the setup guide ring?
Yes. Mark the tips you do not want as Not for me, and the ring disappears once every tip is done or set aside. You can also hide it any time from Settings → Appearance → Hide on Home. The list reopens from Settings → Tips.
Does the setup guide limit the free plan?
No. The free plan works the same however full the ring is. Pro tips carry a PRO badge; on the free plan the walkthrough is the same, and the button at the end opens the upgrade screen.
What Users Say About Pocket Clear
"Good app. Weekly analysis and charts need improvement. Per day spending over the week, month and year needs to be added. Average Spending per day should also be added."
"Justo lo que buscaba. Lo más fácil y visual de usar. Me encanta! Además, es precio es muy asequible."
See what your expense tracker can actually do
Pocket Clear is a private, offline-first expense tracker with no bank linking and no ads. Free, with an optional Pro subscription.