Aspire Budgeting

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Using the Aspire add-on

How to install and use the Aspire Budget add-on for Google Sheets — sidebar navigation, reports, and Turbo features.

Published June 11, 2026

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The Aspire Budget add-on extends your spreadsheet with features that aren’t possible in Sheets alone — visual reports, CSV importing, auto-categorization, and diagnostics.

Installing the add-on

  1. Open your Aspire Budget spreadsheet in Google Sheets
  2. Go to Extensions → Add-ons → Get add-ons
  3. Search for “Aspire Budgeting”
  4. Click Install and authorize the permissions it requests

Once installed, access it via Extensions → Aspire Budgeting → Open Sidebar.

The sidebar

The add-on opens as a sidebar on the right side of your spreadsheet. It’s your command center for features that go beyond what the spreadsheet tabs offer.

Budget Snapshot

The main sidebar view shows a real-time snapshot of your budget:

  • Category group summaries with balances
  • Account balances at a glance
  • Quick visual health check without navigating tabs

Reports

Access visual reports from the sidebar:

  • Spending Report — breakdown of spending by category for a selected month, with percentage bars
  • Trend Report — month-over-month spending in a category, visualized as a chart
  • Income vs Expense — compare your income to your total outflows over time

Reports are triggered from the sidebar but open in a separate modal dialog window with interactive date and category selectors. They pull data directly from your spreadsheet — no external servers involved.

CSV Import (Turbo)

Import bank transactions in bulk:

  1. Download a CSV from your bank’s website
  2. Click CSV Import in the sidebar
  3. A separate dialog window opens where you upload the file, map columns, and import

See CSV Import for full details.

Import from YNAB (free)

Bring your YNAB Register CSV into Aspire without a Turbo subscription:

  1. Export your budget from YNAB
  2. Use the Register CSV file
  3. Open Import from YNAB in the sidebar
  4. Review the import summary

See Import from YNAB for full details.

Auto-Categorize (Turbo)

Automatically assign categories to uncategorized transactions based on your past history:

  1. Import transactions via CSV (they’ll arrive uncategorized)
  2. Click Auto-Categorize in the sidebar
  3. The add-on matches descriptions to categories you’ve used before and fills them in — all within the sidebar interface

See Auto-Categorization for full details.

Diagnostics

The diagnostics panel checks your spreadsheet for common issues:

  • Missing starting balances
  • Categories referenced in transactions that don’t exist in Configuration
  • Potential data integrity problems

Run diagnostics if something feels off and you can’t pinpoint the issue.

Free vs. Turbo

Feature Free Turbo ($5/month)
Budget Snapshot ✓ ✓
Spending Report ✓ ✓
Trend Report ✓ ✓
Income vs Expense ✓ ✓
Diagnostics ✓ ✓
CSV Import — ✓
Auto-Categorize — ✓

The core reports and sidebar are completely free. Turbo adds time-saving import and categorization tools.

Tips

  • The sidebar only works on desktop. The Google Sheets mobile app doesn’t support add-on sidebars. For mobile, use the spreadsheet tabs directly.
  • Keep the sidebar open while you work for quick access to reports and budget status.
  • Reports pull live data. If you add a transaction and immediately check a report, it’ll reflect the change.
  • If the sidebar doesn’t load, try closing and reopening it (Extensions → Aspire Budgeting → Open Sidebar). Occasionally Google’s sidebar API needs a refresh.