An expense tracker bot for Telegram: type "coffee 4.50" and it's logged
CalCash is a free Telegram bot that keeps your budget for you. You type or say an expense in plain words, the bot picks the category and shows how much is left for the month. It also tracks income, accounts, debts and savings goals. No subscription, no limits.
Text it like a friend, the bot keeps the books.
"Coffee 4.50"
The bot logs the expense under Restaurants and cafes and counts it against your budget. Under the entry you get Change amount and Delete buttons in case you got it wrong.
"Budget 2000 a month"
The bot remembers a monthly budget, or a weekly one if you prefer. From then on it knows how much is spent and how much is left after every expense.
"Lent Pete 200 until May 15"
That's a debt, not an expense: the bot records who, how much and by when. When Pete pays back part of it, write "Pete returned 80" and 120 is left.
Expenses and income in one sentence
"Taxi 18", "groceries 64", "spent 50 on a gift for mom" — the bot sorts expenses into categories by itself: groceries, transport, housing, phone and internet, subscriptions, cafes and a dozen more. Income works the same way: "+2400 salary" or "got 300 for a freelance job". You can put several expenses in one message. Voice messages work too, which helps when your hands are full of shopping bags.
A monthly or weekly budget, plus category limits
Set an overall budget: "budget 2000 a month" or "budget 500 a week". If your month starts on payday, say "I get paid on the 15th" and the bot counts the month from that day. You can also cap a single category: "limit groceries at 400". When spending gets close to the limit, the bot warns you.
Accounts in different currencies, and transfers
A card, cash, a bank account abroad, a crypto wallet — each account has its own currency: "add a card in euros", "I also have a USDT wallet". Transfers are a sentence too: "moved 200 euros from the card to cash". If you exchanged money, give both amounts — "changed 200 euros, got 220 dollars" — and the bot works out the rate.
Debts and savings goals
The bot tracks debts both ways: "lent Pete 200 until May 15", "borrowed 100 from Mary". Paid back in part, and the rest stays open; paid back in full, and the debt closes. For saving there are savings goals: "I want to save 3000 for a holiday", then "put 150 towards the holiday". The bot shows how much you've saved and how much is left.
Recurring payments
Rent, internet, subscriptions, instalments: "rent 1400 every month on the 5th". The bot remembers the payment, shows it in the mini app calendar and subtracts it from your budget, so you see how much free money is left for the month. If you want a ping on the day it's due, ask for it: "remind me on the 5th to pay the rent". More on the reminder bot page.
Summaries and CSV export
The /stats command shows today's spending next to your budget, /week and /month cover the week and the month. The mini app inside Telegram has a money screen with every entry. The menu has a CSV export: your finances for a week, a month or all time in one file that opens in Excel and Google Sheets.
Why it's easier than a spreadsheet
- An expense goes in a couple of seconds, right after you pay
- The bot picks the category
- What's left of the budget is worked out for you, no formulas
- Debts, savings goals and multi-currency accounts in one place
- Runs on your phone in Telegram, which is always at hand
- Need a spreadsheet anyway? Export a CSV
- Expenses pile up in your head until evening, half get forgotten
- Every row is typed by hand: date, amount, category
- Formulas break as soon as a row lands in the wrong place
- Debts and savings need sheets of their own
- Filling in a spreadsheet on a phone is a pain
- A month later nobody opens the file
To be clear: the bot doesn't pull in bank statements, you log expenses yourself, just in one sentence. It can read a photo of a receipt and tell you the total, but it's better to log it as a message. About your data — see Data security.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Telegram expense tracker bot free?
Yes. Expense tracking, like everything else in CalCash, is free: no subscription and no daily limit on entries. The only cap is spam protection — no more than 30 messages a minute and 200 an hour.
How do I log an expense in the Telegram bot?
Just write the amount and what it was for: "coffee 4.50" or "spent 60 on groceries". The bot picks the category and counts it against your budget. A voice message works too.
Can I keep a monthly budget in the bot?
Yes. Write "budget 2000 a month" or "budget 500 a week" and the bot shows how much is spent and how much is left. You can also cap a single category: "limit groceries at 400".
Does the bot handle several accounts and currencies?
Yes. You can have several accounts, each in its own currency: euros, dollars, pounds, USDT and others. Transfers between accounts and currency exchanges are logged in a sentence, and the bot works out the rate from the two amounts.
Can I export my expenses to Excel?
Yes, the bot menu has a CSV export: your finances for a week, a month or all time in one file. CSV opens in Excel and Google Sheets.
Can the bot log an expense from a receipt photo?
It doesn't log expenses from a receipt photo on its own. It reads the store and the total and tells you what to write, such as "spent 64 on groceries". That way the amount lands exactly where it should.
Reading on money: expense tracking in Telegram, the 50/30/20 rule, how to budget. Everything the bot does is on the CalCash page.
Reminders
Water and weightLog your first expense
Open the bot and type "coffee 4.50". Free, in Telegram.
Open the bot