How to use this list
Each section below is one everyday money question. You get the prompt to paste, the BankBridge tool your agent calls to answer it, and a few follow-ups. Your agent picks the tool on its own; knowing which one it uses helps when an answer looks off.
| Topic | Prompt | Tool the agent calls |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | How much rent have I paid this year? | get_merchant_history + get_spending_summary |
| Groceries | How much did I spend on groceries this month? | list_transactions + get_spending_summary |
| Subscriptions | List my recurring subscriptions. | get_recurring_charges |
| Monthly cashflow | What's my cashflow this month? | get_monthly_cashflow |
| Savings rate | What's my savings rate this year? | get_monthly_cashflow |
| Bank fees | Any fees I've been charged this year? | list_transactions + get_spending_summary |
| Payroll | How much have I been paid this year? | list_transactions |
| Quarterly taxes | How much should I send for quarterly taxes? | get_monthly_cashflow + list_transactions |
| Investment allocation | What's my current allocation? | list_holdings |
| Dividends | How much have I received in dividends this year? | list_investment_transactions |
| Gas and fuel | How much did I spend on gas this month? | list_transactions + get_merchant_history |
| Amazon spending | How much have I spent on Amazon this year? | get_merchant_history + search_transactions |
| Coffee | How much did I spend on coffee this month? | search_transactions + get_merchant_history |
| Restaurants | How much did I spend at restaurants this month? | list_transactions + get_spending_summary |
| Uber and Lyft | How much have I spent on Uber and Lyft this month? | get_merchant_history |
Ask your agent about your rent
“How much rent have I paid this year?”
Rent usually shows up as a specific merchant name or a transfer to a landlord. Ask your agent about rent and it'll call get_merchant_history on your landlord's name (or get_spending_summary filtered to RENT_AND_UTILITIES) and give you a clean answer.
Tool: get_merchant_history + get_spending_summary. When the merchant string is consistent (property manager, portal like Zillow), merchant history is cleaner. When it varies, use the category filter.
Follow-up prompts
- “How much rent did I pay last month?”
- “Did my rent post this month? When?”
- “Total rent paid this year, and any late-fee charges on top.”
Can the agent catch a late fee?
Yes. Ask it to list any charge from your landlord or property manager that differs from your normal rent amount. Late fees, utility pass-throughs, and pet rent usually show up as separate or larger payments.
Can I get a full-year rent total for a tax form or application?
Yes. Ask for every rent payment in a date range with dates and amounts. BankBridge can return up to 24 months, which covers most rental and loan applications.
Ask your agent about groceries
“How much did I spend on groceries this month?”
Groceries bleed into multiple merchants (Whole Foods, Instacart, Kroger, farmers' markets) and sometimes show up as general merchandise at Walmart-type stores. Your agent uses list_transactions filtered by category FOOD_AND_DRINK, then optionally slices by delivery vs in-person.
Tool: list_transactions + get_spending_summary. Category-filter works well; follow up with a merchant breakdown if you want to see how much went to Instacart specifically.
Follow-up prompts
- “Group my grocery spending by store this month.”
- “How much did I spend on Instacart this month?”
- “Groceries month-over-month for the last 6 months.”
Can the agent split delivery fees and tips from food?
Not from bank data. A delivery order posts as one charge that includes fees and tip. The agent can total delivery-service spending separately from in-store grocery spending.
How many months should I compare?
Six to twelve. Grocery spending moves with holidays, guests, and price changes, so a single month is a weak baseline. The agent can show month over month using get_spending_summary grouped by month.
Ask your agent about subscriptions
“List my recurring subscriptions.”
Your agent calls get_recurring_charges, which pattern-matches merchants and amounts that appear on a regular cadence. Sort by monthly cost and you'll usually find 2-3 you forgot about.
Tool: get_recurring_charges. Detection groups charges by merchant and classifies the cadence from the median interval between them. It needs at least two charges, so a yearly plan in its first year will not show up yet, and the default six-month window is too short for annual charges unless you widen it.
Follow-up prompts
- “Subscriptions over $10/mo, sorted by cost.”
- “Any yearly charges coming up in the next 60 days?”
- “Did Netflix ding me this month?”
Can the agent cancel subscriptions for me?
No. BankBridge is read-only. The agent lists what you pay, when it started, and whether the price went up. You cancel with each merchant.
Will app store subscriptions show individually?
They show as charges from Apple or Google, sometimes several apps under one descriptor. The agent sees amounts and dates; check your app store's subscription list for which app is which.
Ask your agent about monthly cashflow
“What's my cashflow this month?”
get_monthly_cashflow is the dedicated tool. It returns income, expenses, net, top 3 income sources, and top 3 expense categories in a single call. Ask for a specific month (YYYY-MM) or just 'this month' and the agent picks.
Tool: get_monthly_cashflow. Amounts come back in dollars, one month per call. Top lists are top-3 by default.
Follow-up prompts
- “Cashflow for March. What were my top 3 expense categories?”
- “Compare my cashflow this month to last month.”
- “Am I net-positive year-to-date?”
Can I see cashflow for a single account?
Yes. get_monthly_cashflow accepts an account id. Ask for your checking account alone, or a business account, by name or last four digits.
How far back can I compare months?
Up to 24 months. The agent calls the tool once per month, so a year-over-year comparison is 12 or 24 quick calls.
Ask your agent about your savings rate
“What's my savings rate this year?”
Savings rate is income minus expenses divided by income. Your agent chains get_monthly_cashflow across months, sums the nets, divides by total income, and returns a clean %. Pair with trend questions to see if it's moving.
Tool: get_monthly_cashflow. Aggregated by the agent across N months you specify. Defaults to 3-month trailing if you don't specify.
Follow-up prompts
- “Savings rate for the last 6 months.”
- “Is my savings rate trending up or down?”
- “What would my rate look like if I cut $300/mo in spending?”
Do transfers to savings count as spending?
They should not. Ask the agent to treat transfers between your own accounts as neither income nor expense. Otherwise moving money to savings looks like spending and lowers your rate.
What time span gives a useful savings rate?
Three months smooths out one-off bills; twelve months captures annual costs and bonuses. Ask for both and compare.
Ask your agent about bank fees
“Any fees I've been charged this year?”
Bank fees show up under the BANK_FEES category. Your agent filters list_transactions by that category and surfaces overdrafts, ATM fees, interest charges, and maintenance fees. Worth reviewing quarterly.
Tool: list_transactions + get_spending_summary. Filter by category = 'BANK_FEES' or search for specific fee-related merchant patterns.
Follow-up prompts
- “Total bank fees this year, broken down by type.”
- “Any overdrafts on my checking?”
- “How much have I paid in credit-card interest?”
Can it tell me how much interest I paid on my cards?
Yes. Interest charges post as separate transactions on each card. Ask for a 12-month total per card.
Can the agent get my fees refunded?
No, BankBridge is read-only. It gives you a dated list of fees to bring to your bank when you ask for a refund.
Ask your agent about payroll
“How much have I been paid this year?”
Employer direct deposits show up as INCOME_WAGES. Your agent aggregates list_transactions filtered to that category and summarizes: YTD total, pay cadence, and any changes in deposit amount (raise, bonus, or missing pay).
Tool: list_transactions. Works best if all paychecks come to the same account. Payroll that runs at the end of a month can make one calendar month look like it had two paychecks and the next like it had none.
Follow-up prompts
- “What's my YTD gross? What was my last pay?”
- “Did I get a raise recently? When did the pay amount change?”
- “Any missing paycheck this month?”
Can it confirm a raise took effect?
Yes. Ask it to compare your deposit amounts before and after the date of the raise. A change in deductions can move the net amount too, so check one pay stub if the numbers look off.
What if I am paid into two accounts?
Connect both. Split direct deposits post as two deposits on the same day; ask the agent to add them together per payday.
Ask your agent about quarterly taxes
“How much should I send for quarterly taxes?”
Your agent pulls YTD business income (get_monthly_cashflow aggregated over Q1-Q3), applies a tax rate you specify (e.g., 22% effective federal + state), subtracts what you've already remitted, and gives you a number for the upcoming 1040-ES deadline.
Tool: get_monthly_cashflow + list_transactions. The agent does the math; you're responsible for the tax rate assumption. Double-check with an accountant before writing the check.
Follow-up prompts
- “Q1 estimated tax at 25% effective rate. What should I send?”
- “Have I sent any IRS payments this year? When?”
- “Project my full-year tax liability at current burn rate.”
Can it check whether I already sent an estimated payment?
Yes. Federal and state estimated payments post as withdrawals with tax-agency descriptors. Ask the agent to search for them this year and list dates and amounts.
What income should the agent include?
Self-employment and business deposits, not transfers between your own accounts or repayments from friends. Give it the senders and platforms that count as business income.
Ask your agent about investment allocation
“What's my current allocation?”
Your agent calls list_holdings, sums by ticker, divides each position's value by the total portfolio value, and returns percentages. Useful for concentration-risk checks: if any single position is more than 10-15% of total, that's worth flagging.
Tool: list_holdings. Returns position value + cost basis + gain/loss per position. The agent computes the percentages.
Follow-up prompts
- “What % of my portfolio is in my top 3 positions?”
- “Am I overweight in tech?”
- “Show me every position, sorted by value, with gain/loss.”
Does it include every brokerage?
Only the ones you connect. Connect each brokerage and retirement account so the allocation reflects your whole portfolio.
Can it rebalance for me?
No. BankBridge is read-only. The agent can show what you would need to buy or sell to reach a target mix; you place the trades.
Ask your agent about dividends
“How much have I received in dividends this year?”
list_investment_transactions filtered to type 'dividend' shows every payment. Sum YTD, compute yield against portfolio value, and see which positions are your income engines.
Tool: list_investment_transactions. Dividends are separate from buys/sells. The tool surfaces all types; the agent filters.
Follow-up prompts
- “Total dividends YTD across all my brokerage accounts.”
- “Which positions pay the most dividends?”
- “Dividend income month-over-month for the last 12 months.”
Can the agent separate qualified from ordinary dividends?
Not reliably from transaction data. Use your brokerage's 1099-DIV for the tax split; use the agent for totals, timing, and which positions pay.
Can I see dividends across several brokerages?
Yes. Connect each one, and list_investment_transactions returns dividend activity from all of them in one call.
Ask your agent about gas and fuel
“How much did I spend on gas this month?”
Gas shows up under TRANSPORTATION or as specific merchants (Shell, Chevron, BP). Your agent filters list_transactions by those patterns and totals.
Tool: list_transactions + get_merchant_history. Category filter is fastest; merchant history catches the long-tail stations.
Follow-up prompts
- “Monthly gas spend for the last 6 months.”
- “Am I spending more on gas than last year?”
- “Total gas across Shell, Chevron, and the other stations I visit.”
Are convenience store purchases counted as gas?
If they ring up at a gas station, they post as one charge with the fuel. The agent can list charges at gas stations that are unusually large for you to check.
Can I compare gas with EV charging?
Yes. Ask the agent to search for your charging network names and total them alongside gas stations by month.
Ask your agent about Amazon spending
“How much have I spent on Amazon this year?”
Amazon shows up as multiple merchants: AMZN Mktp, Amazon Prime, Whole Foods, Amazon Digital, AWS. get_merchant_history on 'Amazon' or 'AMZN' catches most; search_transactions catches the rest.
Tool: get_merchant_history + search_transactions. Amazon is one of the most-aliased merchants on credit cards. Expect 3-5 variants per account.
Follow-up prompts
- “Total Amazon spending YTD, across all variants.”
- “My biggest Amazon month this year.”
- “Split Amazon into Prime, Whole Foods, digital, and retail.”
Can the agent see what I bought?
No. Banks only show the merchant, amount, and date, and Amazon often splits one order into several charges. Your Amazon order history shows the items.
Can it find my Prime renewal date?
Yes. Prime posts with its own descriptor. Ask for Prime charges over the last 24 months to see whether you pay monthly or yearly and when the next renewal is due.
Ask your agent about coffee
“How much did I spend on coffee this month?”
Coffee is a merchant-pattern question. Your agent searches for Starbucks, Blue Bottle, local cafes, Dunkin', etc. and totals. The classic 'do I really spend $200/mo on coffee?' question, answered.
Tool: search_transactions + get_merchant_history. Substring match on 'coffee', 'cafe', and brand names. Your favorite local spot might not get caught the first pass; tell the agent its name.
Follow-up prompts
- “Coffee + cafe spending this month across every merchant.”
- “What's my average daily coffee cost?”
- “How much have I spent at Starbucks this year?”
Can the agent find my local cafe?
Tell it the name as it appears on your statement. Independent shops often bill under a payment processor name, so search for part of the name if the first try misses.
How do I see the trend over time?
Ask for coffee spending grouped by month for the last 12 months. The agent combines search results by month and can flag the highest ones.
Ask your agent about restaurants
“How much did I spend at restaurants this month?”
Categories separate RESTAURANTS from GROCERY_STORES, so your agent filters list_transactions by RESTAURANTS. Optionally split by delivery (DoorDash, UberEats) vs dine-in.
Tool: list_transactions + get_spending_summary. Restaurant category is clean. Delivery services show up under the same category but are identifiable by merchant.
Follow-up prompts
- “Restaurants this month, split dine-in vs delivery.”
- “My most-visited restaurant this year. How much have I spent there?”
- “Restaurant spending month-over-month for the last 12 months.”
Why doesn't a restaurant total match my receipts?
Tips are often added after the card is first authorized, so a pending charge can be lower than the final one. Ask the agent to use posted transactions only.
Can I set a monthly restaurant limit?
BankBridge does not store budgets. Give the agent your limit, or keep it in a project or file, and ask mid-month how much is left.
Ask your agent about Uber and Lyft
“How much have I spent on Uber and Lyft this month?”
get_merchant_history on 'Uber' plus 'Lyft' plus taxi merchants gives you a clean rideshare total. Good for tracking commuting costs or deciding if it's time for a transit pass.
Tool: get_merchant_history. Run twice, once per merchant, and the agent sums.
Follow-up prompts
- “Uber + Lyft combined this month.”
- “Average cost per ride over the last 90 days.”
- “Rideshare spending month-over-month this year.”
Can the agent find work rides I should expense?
It can list rides in a date range or on travel days you name. Match them to receipts in the app for your expense report. See our guide on expense reports with an agent.
Are tips included?
Tips added in the app after a ride may post as a separate small charge or be folded into the fare. Either way the agent's totals include them once posted.
Setup
Sign in at bankbridge.money, connect your bank, and add BankBridge to your agent (see the setup guide). Then paste any prompt above. For tips on phrasing, read prompt patterns for financial questions.