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Onboarding

The first time you use a data file — and whenever you create a new one — Big Picture Money guides you through a short sequence so you are not dropped into empty charts and reports.

The sequence​

  1. Create or unlock your encrypted data file (passphrase).
  2. Activate a license for that file (import license.bp and complete the online step when prompted).
  3. Add your first account from Getting started on Home (SimpleFIN, create manually, or import).

Until those steps are done, most finance sections stay unavailable so the app does not look broken on an empty file.

License for each data file​

Your purchase is a machine license — you can use as many data files as you want. Each new data file still asks you to import your license file and complete the online activation for that file. You do not buy again; you re-use the same license.bp.

After a successful activation, Big Picture Money remembers license details for that file on this computer. Later unlocks of the same file on the same computer do not contact the license server again.

If you open the file on a different computer (or the stored machine no longer matches), you are prompted to import the license and activate again for that file.

If you do not have a license yet, choose Buy Big Picture Money on the license prompt to open purchase on the website.

After unlock, before accounts​

When the file is licensed but has no accounts yet:

AvailableUnavailable until you add an account
Home (Getting started), Accounts, Import, Settings, Help, LockTransactions, Spending, Budgets, Goals, Reports, Chat, Views, Categories & Rules, and similar

Import stays available because you can create an account as part of importing a file.

See First steps on Home and Navigating the app.

Unlock helpers​

On the Unlock screen you can:

  • Pick a recent data file from a dropdown (up to the last 10 you opened).
  • Use Open existing… or Create new… as usual.
  • See a clear error if you pick a file that is not a Big Picture Money data file (for example a merchants database), then choose again.

See Unlock the app.