Getting started

Invite link to connected ledger in about ten minutes.

Ember is a personal finance ledger that pulls your accounts (checking, savings, credit cards, brokerages, mortgages) into one keyboard-first workspace.

What you need

• An invite. Ember is in private beta and invite-only, so there is no self-service signup yet. If you've been sent an invite link, opening it takes you straight to registration. If you do not have one, join the waitlist on the home page; Ember is available in the United States.
• A browser. Ember runs entirely in the browser, with nothing to install. It is built for the desktop web first: the ledger is keyboard-first and assumes a large screen. A phone browser gets a purpose-built mobile view automatically, for reviewing and entering transactions. Apps for iPhone and Android come after that, and no date is set.

First steps

1. Open your invite link and register. Pick a strong password. It's hashed with Argon2id and never stored in readable form.
2. Connect a bank. From Accounts, choose Add institution. Ember uses Plaid to link 12,000+ banks, card issuers, and brokerages. You authenticate directly with your bank through Plaid's window, so Ember never sees your banking password.
3. Or add accounts manually. Cash accounts, accounts at unsupported institutions, or anything you'd rather type in yourself work as plain manual accounts with the full ledger feature set.
4. Watch transactions arrive. Connected accounts sync automatically. New transactions land in your ledger already de-duplicated, with merchant names cleaned up and categories suggested.
5. Review and approve. Ember keeps a clear line between what the bank says and what you've confirmed. Skim the new arrivals, fix a payee or category where needed, and approve. On your phone, this is a card-swipe queue you can clear from the couch.

Migrating from YNAB or a spreadsheet

You do not have to start from zero:

• YNAB users can import their transaction history in one pass (every account, transfer, split, and starting balance) from a single register export. Envelope balances and targets are set up in Ember. See Bank sync & import.
• CSV imports work per-account for bank exports, with automatic layout detection and duplicate protection, so importing a year of history and then connecting the same account through Plaid does not double-count anything.

Where to go next

• Bank sync & import: how syncing, deduplication, and migration work.
• The ledger: editing, search, splits, tags, and reconciliation.
• Investments: holdings, tax lots, and the sell planner.
• Automation: recurring transactions, rules, and the browser extension.
• Security & privacy: how your data is protected.

Ember is a personal finance ledger: every account in one place, reconciled against your statements. It is in private, invite-only beta in the US. Join the waitlist.