Tiller Money
Automated spreadsheet-based personal finance tool.
About Tiller Money
Tiller Money pulls your bank, credit card, and investment account transactions into Google Sheets or Excel every day, automatically. You connect your accounts once, and each morning a new row appears for every transaction from the prior day. From there, you work inside spreadsheets you own and control, using Tiller's pre-built budget templates or your own custom setup. Automated categorization labels transactions based on rules you define, which cuts manual entry but still requires periodic review and correction. Tiller fits individuals and freelancers who already live in spreadsheets and want bank-feed automation without paying for QuickBooks or Xero. A sole proprietor tracking business and personal accounts in one place will find it useful. It is not a fit for firms with employees, payroll, accounts payable workflows, or multi-entity reporting. The hard ceiling is the spreadsheet itself. Pivot tables and custom formulas go only so far before you're rebuilding reconciliation logic that purpose-built bookkeeping software handles natively. There is no audit trail, no chart of accounts in the accounting sense, no invoicing, and no accountant collaboration features. If a client shows up with a year of Tiller sheets at tax time, expect to export to CSV and reprocess elsewhere.
Best for
Individuals and small businesses wanting automated financial tracking in spreadsheets they control
Key Features
- Automated daily bank transaction feeds
- Customizable Google Sheets budgeting templates
- Automated transaction categorization
- Excel-based financial tracking
- Real-time account balance syncing
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Daily automated transaction feeds from US banks, credit cards, and investment accounts eliminate manual CSV imports.
- You own the spreadsheet entirely — no vendor lock-in on your data format, no proprietary export step.
- Works inside Google Sheets and Excel, so anyone comfortable with formulas can build custom reports without learning new software.
- Rule-based auto-categorization handles recurring vendors consistently once you train it.
- Pre-built budget and net-worth templates are ready to use on day one without building from scratch.
- Single subscription covers both Google Sheets and Excel workflows, not separate products.
- Connects investment accounts alongside bank and credit accounts, giving a full balance-sheet view in one sheet.
Cons
- No free tier and no trial period — $79 per year is pay-before-you-test, which is a real barrier for evaluation.
- Spreadsheet architecture means no double-entry bookkeeping, no formal chart of accounts, and no reconciliation workflow that matches bank statement totals the way QuickBooks does.
- Automated categorization requires ongoing correction; it does not learn from corrections the way Xero's bank rules improve over time.
- No invoicing, accounts payable, payroll, or multi-user collaboration — disqualifies it immediately for any business with employees or clients to bill.
- US-only bank connections. Non-US accounts cannot be connected.
- If Tiller shuts down or changes its data feed provider, your live connection breaks and you are left with static historical data.
Ledger Brief Take
Bridges the gap between basic spreadsheet budgeting and full accounting software by automating bank feeds into customizable Google Sheets or Excel templates. Built for users who want the flexibility of spreadsheets without manual transaction entry, though it's primarily designed for personal finance rather than business accounting workflows. The automated categorization helps, but you're still working within spreadsheet limitations for complex business needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions accountants ask about Tiller Money.
How much does Tiller Money cost and is there a free trial?
Tiller costs $79 per year. There is a 30-day free trial, which contradicts the vendor's own checkout flow at times — confirm trial terms on the pricing page before entering card details. No free tier exists after the trial ends.
Does Tiller Money integrate with QuickBooks or Xero?
No. Tiller has no direct integration with QuickBooks, Xero, or any accounting platform. Data lives in your Google Sheet or Excel file. If you need to move transactions into accounting software, you export a CSV and import it manually.
How does Tiller compare to Mint or YNAB?
Mint and YNAB are closed apps with fixed interfaces. Tiller feeds raw transaction data into a spreadsheet you control, so you can build any report or budget structure you want. The tradeoff is that Tiller requires more spreadsheet competence and more setup time than either alternative.
Is Tiller Money secure enough for financial data?
Tiller uses Yodlee or similar aggregators to connect bank accounts, the same infrastructure behind many personal finance apps. Your credentials go to the aggregator, not to Tiller directly. That said, you are granting read access to all linked accounts, which is a real risk to evaluate against your own security posture.
Can a small business use Tiller Money for bookkeeping?
A sole proprietor with straightforward income and expenses can use it to track cash flow. The moment you need to separate business entities, track accounts payable, produce a proper P&L for a lender, or give an accountant collaborative access, Tiller is the wrong tool. Use QuickBooks Simple Start or Wave instead.
What happens to my data if I cancel my Tiller subscription?
Your Google Sheet or Excel file stays in your Google Drive or local storage. The historical transaction data remains intact. The automated daily feed stops. You keep everything already imported, but no new transactions will arrive.