Sync for Ynab

Developers
1

Hello - I’m following the instructions on the SyncforYnab site to create webhooks for my accounts, but am getting an error on insufficient permissions.

My main account has 8 or 9 pots, four of which are attached to virtual cards.

Does anyone know if there would be a problem creating a webhook for it?

2

Years ago, I sync’d both the Monzo Personal account and the Monzo Joint account with YNAB thanks to @BritishLibrary’s amazing instructions on how to set up the (free) Monzo/Heroku/YNAB configuration. It was solid from set-up - BUT - I’ve since ditched YNAB and didn’t use it with VC’s. It worked for a Bills pot but only ‘one-way’ → a large transaction would leave the main account (when topping up the Bills pot), then amounts would be received into the main account followed closely by the Bill being paid. So you had visibility of the main account, but not the pot.

But like I said, once set-up properly, it was solid.

The Monzo API may be the sticking point - there’s limited access to pots and you get access to a total_balance figure which is the account balance plus the balance of all the pots under it. So it could be that individual pot transactions can’t be accessed.

I believe YNAB has now got things working with a Monzo Flex account, but pots are different.

2 Likes
3

So from memory;

The Webhook / API access only allows the view of your Top Level accounts (e.g Personal, Joint, Loan and Flex)

Back in the day, the way pots worked was you’d always have a Main Feed line item for movement into/out of the pot - so you could get around it by creating (in YNAB) an account for your Pot - and map the movement in YNAB to that account.

So money goes into pot from main - YNAB would recieve through the webhook the Transaction of £X out to Pot ID XYZ - and you could just sync that through YNAB.

Now however, Pots can recieve and spend funds independently. And as @davidwalton said - the API limits what you can see in your pot.

So you can;t really do what you’re after through Webhooks, I think.

That Said - the Open Banking service that Sync for YNAB connects to - DOES let you see pots - so you can map each pot individually to your YNAB account.

So I would go that route tbh.

1 Like
4

All of that said though - I don’t think YNAB and Monzo are truely compatible - you can only really pick the methodology of one.

If you are set on using Pots and Virtual Cards in Monzo - that becomes a nightmare to manage in YNAB - each Pot needs to be its own Account in YNAB - and it just gets convoluted to stay on top of.

If you want to use YNAB the way they intend - effectively having “virtual pots” across all your accounts - then you don’t “need” pots in Monzo - as your budget is effecitvely managing them for you.

I tried for the longest time to force both and it was just messy - I ended up simpifying things down to my Main Account + 1 pot for 1 VCard (for tube travel)

I fell of the YNAB wagon a bit back - but my personal preference is embrace the YNAB methodology over the Monzo way

1 Like
5

Thank you very much for the responses.

I currently have seven pots, four of which are tied to virtual cards with distinct purposes (bills, food, transport, subscriptions).

The default YNAB integration with Monzo (presumably through open banking?) does see the pots, but it doesn’t accurately register money coming into and out of them. As far as I can tell, attaching an expected payment to a pot with a VC doesn’t actually take directly from the pot, it takes from the main account and then Monzo transfers money out of the pot and into the main feed to cover it.

Because that transfer isn’t captured though, the main account balance in YNAB keeps dipping…

I’m waffling, you’re right, they don’t really seem compatible. I’ve only been on YNAB for a month, so I’ll continue evaluating which is best for me.

Thanks again.

6

Thank you very much for your response pal; super helpful.

1 Like