How Ember works
Connections & import
There are three ways to get real numbers into Ember, and you can mix all three across different assets: connect an account for automatic refresh, import a CSV in one shot, or hand it a PDF statement and let Ember pull the numbers out. Nothing requires you to type balances by hand unless you want to.
Live connections
A connection links one external account to one asset row in Ember. Once it's set up, Ember refreshes that asset's value automatically — you don't need to touch it again unless the credential expires. Set connections up from Settings → Integrations.
Each guide above covers that provider's exact setup steps — the credential type, what permissions Ember asks for (always read-only), and how to link the connection to an asset.
Multi-broker sync (SnapTrade): one read-only connection that covers hundreds of brokerages through a single secure portal — link several brokers and it still counts as one connection. No API keys or setup: see the SnapTrade guide. Avoid linking a broker there that you already sync through its own connection above, or its balance would count twice.
Which plan a connection needs
Broker and crypto-exchange connections (IBKR, Trading 212, Binance, Coinbase, Kraken) require the Ember plan, with a cap on how many can be active at once — see Settings → Integrations for the current limit. Bank sync via Open Banking (TrueLayer) is planned for the Blaze plan and is not yet live for hosted accounts — the CSV bank-statement import below works today regardless of plan.
Full plan-by-plan detail is on Plans & billing.
How often connections refresh
Active connections sync automatically once a day in the background, and you can trigger an immediate sync from the Integrations page at any time. The connection row shows the last time it synced and flags anything that needs your attention, such as an expired credential.
CSV import
CSV import loads a whole spreadsheet in one pass, on any plan. It covers every headline entity — assets, liabilities, pensions, contributions, and planned events — with a downloadable template and a plain-English description of each column for that entity, right on the import page. It's the fastest way to bring in a plan you've already built elsewhere (including a Google Sheet — export it as CSV first; see the Google Sheets guide).
The free Spark plan applies a per-entity cap on new rows — CSV import respects the same limits as adding things by hand. See Plans & billing for the current caps.
PDF statement extraction
On the bank statement import page, you can upload a PDF statement directly instead of a CSV. Ember first tries to pull the transaction table out of the PDF text locally in your browser; if the statement's layout defeats that pass, it falls back to Ember's hosted AI to read the PDF, which draws on your AI allowance or credits the same way chat and insights do (see AI features). Either way you review every transaction — and its suggested category — before anything is saved.
Manual entry always works
Every entity can also be added and edited by hand from its own page — connections and import are shortcuts, never a requirement.