Automating Finance Tracking with Notion and Relay

Introduction

• Notion can be a powerful tool for tracking personal and professional finances.
• Automating data entry into Notion is crucial to save time.
• The lecture provides a guide to building a fully automated finance tracker in Notion.

Setting Up Databases in Notion

1. Create Three Databases

   • Cash Flow Items:
     • Properties: Amount (Number), Date, Type (Inflow/Outflow, Select), Category (Optional, Select).
   • Months:
     • Relation to Cash Flow Items.
     • Icon: Calendar.
   • Years:
     • Relation to Months.
     • Track spend year over year.

2. Cash Flow Items Database Setup

   • Use properties to visualize inflow vs outflow.
   • Add complexity with additional categories (e.g., groceries, travel).

3. Months Database Setup

   • Create relations with cash flow items.
   • Icon: Calendar.
   • Example items with amounts and categories.

4. Years Database Setup

   • Name and relation to months.
   • Calculate total spend for the year.

Automation with Google Drive

1. Folders Setup

   • Income: For recurring or variable income.
   • Expenses: To extract outflows automatically.

2. Recurring Income in Notion

   • Use templates for recurring entries.
   • Automate with recurring templates.

Automation Tools: Relay.app

• Overview
  • Easy-to-use interface.
  • Strong AI integration.
  • Lower learning curve.

Steps to Build Automation

1. Define Trigger

   • Trigger: File added to Google Drive folder.

2. AI Extraction

   • Use AI to extract details from documents (invoice, amount, date).
   • Customize prompt and define output fields.

3. Add Entry to Notion

   • Map fields from AI output to Notion database.
   • Automate month association.

4. Iterate for Line Items

   • Use iterator for multiple entries (e.g., credit card statements).
   • Map each item individually.

5. Update Categories with AI

   • Trigger on new page added.
   • Use AI to categorize expenses.

Building a Finance Dashboard in Notion

1. Dashboard Setup

   • Turn databases into pages.
   • Create a full-width layout for the dashboard.

2. Components of the Dashboard

   • Last Expenses: Display last 10 expenses.
   • Current Financial Status: Monthly overview, total spend, and income.
   • Analytics: Breakdown of expenses by category and month.

3. Automate Month Updates

   • Use helper properties for month duration.
   • Set filters for dynamic updates.

Conclusion

• Demonstrated a fully automated finance tracker with Notion and Relay.
• Highlighted the use of Notion charts for visualizing data.
• Encouraged further exploration of Notion's visualization capabilities.

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• For more tutorials and templates, visit the website linked in the lecture description.