> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.commander.finance/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Setting up your workspace

> A guided wizard walks you through your budgeting cycle, mode, accounts, and budget lines the first time you open Commander Finance on a free trial.

The first time you open Commander Finance on a free trial, a setup wizard walks you through the choices your budget needs before the dashboard is useful. It opens automatically and stays open until you finish—there is no close button, because a budget without a cycle can't compute anything.

If you leave partway through, the wizard reopens at the first step you haven't finished. Work you already saved is kept.

## What the wizard asks

<Steps>
  <Step title="Review what's coming">
    The opening screen lists the choices ahead and shows the date your free
    trial runs through. Tap **Start setup**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set your budgeting cycle">
    Pick how long each budget cycle runs, when the current cycle started,
    and your timezone. Starting a new cycle never deletes anything—your
    accounts, budget lines, and past transactions all persist. This is the
    one required step—**Next** stays disabled until the form is valid.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose a budgeting mode">
    Pick Tracking, Targets, or Envelope. Envelope is preselected as the
    recommended starting point.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add your accounts">
    Enter the checking, savings, and credit accounts you want to track, one
    at a time with **Add account**. Starting balances can be estimates.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick your budget lines">
    Tap any of the common lines offered—Rent, Groceries, Utilities, and so
    on—or create your own with **Add custom line**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

A closing screen confirms your workspace is ready. Tap **Go to my dashboard** to start using Commander.

## What you can skip

Only the budgeting cycle is required. Every step after it advances on **Next** whether or not you entered anything, so you can move past accounts and budget lines and add them later.

Nothing you choose here is permanent. Cycle and mode both live in **Budget Settings** afterward, and accounts and budget lines can be added, edited, or removed at any time.

## Linking a bank during setup

The wizard takes manually entered accounts only—there is no bank-linking step. Automatic transaction syncing comes with the Sync plan, and you set it up after the wizard closes. See [Choosing a subscription](/getting-started/purchasing-subscription) for what each plan covers, and [Setting up a new synced account](/how-to/create-synced-accounts) for linking a bank once you're on Sync.

## Related

* [Getting started with Core](/getting-started/getting-started-core)
* [Budget modes](/core-concepts/budget-modes)
* [Changing your budget cycle](/how-to/change-cycle)


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