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Smart Capture

Smart Capture watches notifications from apps you choose, like your banking app or a payment app, and turns them into ready-to-review transaction suggestions. Instead of typing every purchase by hand, you get a head start: the amount, payee, and date are already filled in. You just check the details and save.

TL;DR​

Smart Capture is an opt-in Android feature that reads notifications from apps you pick and turns them into transaction suggestions. When a watched app posts a notification, like a payment confirmation or a transfer alert, CentBase parses it into a suggestion with the amount, date, and payee. You review it in the Notifications Hub, tap to open Add Transaction with everything pre-filled, and save. Nothing is posted automatically. It is local-only, default off, and works entirely on your device.

Smart Capture settings

Where to find it: More then Smart Capture

How it works​

The idea is simple. You tell CentBase which apps to watch. When one of those apps sends a notification, like a "You spent $45 at Coffee Shop" alert, CentBase reads it and tries to pull out the important bits: how much, when, and who you paid. If it finds enough, a suggestion appears in your Notifications Hub. From there, one tap opens the Add Transaction form with everything filled in. You review it, adjust if needed, and save.

Smart Capture never posts a transaction on its own. It only creates suggestions. You are always the one who decides to save.

Setting it up​

Step 1: Enable Smart Capture​

Open More then Smart Capture. You will see a toggle at the top. Turn it on.

The first time you enable it, CentBase asks for Notification access. This is an Android permission that lets the app read notifications from your other apps. Tap Enable to grant it, or Not now to skip. If you skip, Smart Capture stays off until you grant the permission.

Step 2: Choose which apps to watch​

After enabling, tap Choose apps. You will see two sections:

  • Recently seen shows apps that have already sent a notification. This section only appears once notifications start coming in.
  • All apps lists every launchable app on your device. Scroll or search to find the ones you want.

Tap an app to select or deselect it. A checkmark shows which apps are currently watched. Pick the apps that send payment or transaction notifications, like your bank, a mobile wallet, or a payment app.

Your selection is saved. You can change it anytime.

Step 3: Watch for suggestions​

Once enabled and configured, Smart Capture works in the background. It does not matter if CentBase is open or closed. When a watched app sends a notification, CentBase processes it and, if it finds a valid transaction, creates a suggestion.

The Notifications Hub​

Suggestions appear in the Notifications Hub. Open More then Notifications to see them.

Each Smart Capture suggestion shows:

  • The app name and notification text (redacted for privacy)
  • The parsed amount and direction (income or expense)
  • The predicted envelope and account, when CentBase can guess them

At the top of the hub you will see filter chips. Tap Smart Capture to see only Smart Capture suggestions, or All to see everything together.

Tapping a suggestion​

Tap any suggestion to open Add Transaction with the details already filled in:

  • Amount and type (income or expense) from the notification
  • Date and time when the notification arrived
  • Name from the payee CentBase extracted
  • Account and envelope, when CentBase predicted them from a previous transaction with the same payee

Review the form, make any changes you need, and tap Save. The suggestion disappears from the hub once you save.

If you close the form without saving, the suggestion stays in the hub for later.

Dismissing a suggestion​

Swipe a suggestion left to dismiss it. Dismissed suggestions are removed from the hub and will not appear again.

How prediction works​

When CentBase sees a notification from an app you have transacted with before, it tries to predict which account and envelope to use. For example, if you always pay for coffee from your checking account and assign it to "Dining Out", CentBase will pre-fill those fields next time a coffee shop notification comes in.

This prediction is best-effort. If CentBase has never seen a transaction from that payee before, the account and envelope fields will be empty and you will pick them yourself.

What gets stored​

Smart Capture stores only what it needs:

  • The parsed suggestion: amount, date, payee, direction, and predicted account/envelope
  • A short redacted snippet of the original notification text (URLs, card numbers, and other sensitive data are removed)
  • Your enabled toggle and app selection

Raw notification bodies are dropped after parsing. Parsing happens on your device.

The Smart Capture badge​

When you save a transaction from a Smart Capture suggestion, it carries a small sparkle badge in transaction lists. Open the transaction and you will see a note at the bottom: "This transaction is from Smart Capture." This helps you spot which transactions came from suggestions versus manual entry.

Expiry​

Suggestions you do not act on disappear after 7 days.

Things to know​

  • Android only. Smart Capture uses Android's notification system. On iOS the feature is not available because Apple does not allow reading other apps' notifications. The settings screen shows "Available on Android only" on other platforms.
  • Opt-in and private. Smart Capture is off by default. You choose which apps to watch, and only those apps are monitored. No notification content leaves your device.
  • You stay in control. Smart Capture creates suggestions, never transactions. Every suggestion requires your review and confirmation before anything is saved.
  • Buffered while closed. If CentBase is not open when a notification arrives, the notification is buffered and processed the next time you open the app. You will not miss anything.

Summary​

What you seeWhat it means
Smart Capture toggleTurns the feature on or off. Requires Notification access.
Choose appsPick which apps CentBase watches for notifications
Recently seenApps that have already sent a notification
All appsEvery launchable app on your device
Suggestion in Notifications HubA parsed transaction ready for your review
Amount / Envelope / AccountThe parsed details shown in the hub footer
Sparkle badge on a transactionThat transaction came from Smart Capture
"This transaction is from Smart Capture"Banner at the bottom of the transaction form
Suggestions expire after 7 daysOld suggestions are cleaned up automatically
Available on Android onlyiOS does not support notification reading

Sample use cases​

  • Your bank app sends a payment alert. You buy groceries for $65.20 and your banking app posts a notification. Smart Capture picks it up, creates a suggestion, and you see it in the Notifications Hub. Tap it, the form opens with $65.20, the date, and the payee already filled in. Assign it to your Groceries envelope and save.

  • A money transfer comes in. Your friend sends you $50 through a payment app. The notification says "You received $50.00 from Alex." Smart Capture creates an income suggestion. Tap it, confirm the envelope, and save. The sparkle badge marks it as Smart Capture-sourced.

  • You want to watch only two apps. Open Smart Capture settings, tap Choose apps, and pick your banking app and your payment app. Ignore everything else. Only notifications from those two apps become suggestions.