Asking Questions

Chat (/app/query) is where you can ask about household records in everyday English, or record a new transaction in the same thread.

Nobleway turns your question into filters. Totals always come from saved transactions, not from a guessed number.

Your household shares a daily chat allowance for recording and questions. Every member uses the same allowance. Filter-only views on Transactions do not use it. If you use your own key, that work does not use the household allowance. The allowance resets at UTC midnight. Your own key can still be limited by burst protection and by your provider.

Chats are private to your account. Earlier questions stay in the history rail so you can reopen them later.

How It Works: The Five-Step Pipeline

Nobleway does not invent the total. It reads the words, applies filters, and lets the ledger do the arithmetic.

1. You ask, for example: How much did we spend on dining in August?
2. Nobleway translates that into filters (expense, Dining, August dates).
3. The ledger calculates the exact sum from saved transactions.
4. An answer card shows the total plus how many transactions matched.
5. Open matching transactions takes you to the Transactions page with those filters applied.

How to Ask

1. In the sidebar, click Chat (/app/query).
2. Type a question (or pick an Ask starter chip on an empty chat).
3. Press Send (or Enter).
4. Read the answer card in the transcript.
5. Optionally open matching transactions to inspect the rows.

Short follow-ups in the same chat, such as “and last month?”, reuse filters from the previous question when they clearly continue it. Start a new chat when you want a clean slate.

What You Can Ask

Category spending

• "How much did we spend on groceries last month?"
• "What was our total spending on utilities this year?"
• "Show all dining expenses in July."

People

• "How much did Sarah spend on transport this month?"
• "Compare expenses by person for August."
• "What did Alex spend on groceries last week?"

Accounts

• "What came out of Main Checking in the last 30 days?"
• "Show all transfers into Emergency Savings."
• "List expenses paid with Sapphire Card in September."

Amounts

• "Show all expenses greater than 200 this year."
• "List transactions between 50 and 100 on groceries."

Understanding Answer Cards

The primary answer appears as a large amount (for example, $482.50), with a short line of filters (date, type, category, and so on) underneath.

The card says how many saved transactions produced that total. For breakdowns it may list a few top groups. For lists it may show one or two sample rows.

Use Open matching to open Transactions with the same filters. Inspect or correct rows there if a total looks wrong.

Filters on Transactions

If you prefer filters without asking in chat, use the Transactions page. Filter-only views do not use the household chat allowance.

Best Practices & Limitations

• Use the names you already set. Checking is clearer than bank if you have accounts named Checking and Savings.
• Read the filter line and matching count before acting on a big decision. The math is from the ledger. An ambiguous date or category phrase can still miss what you meant.
• Historical totals only. Ask does not forecast markets, estimate tax bills, or run hypothetical budgets.

Next Steps

• Record new activity in everyday language: Natural-Language Capture.
• Review how balances are calculated: Accounts & Opening Balances.