Lighten The Load
Google Sheets Add-on

Import your bank data.
Understand your money.

Finance Helper connects directly to your Google Sheet and makes it simple to upload CSV bank files, categorize transactions, and see your full financial picture — without the manual copy-paste.

Get it on Google Workspace See how it works

Works inside Google Sheets  ·  No data leaves your spreadsheet

What it does

Everything you need to take control of your finances

Finance Helper is a lightweight add-on built for use with the Lighten The Load financial spreadsheet system. It saves you hours of manual data entry every month.

CSV Upload

Import transaction exports from any major bank directly into your spreadsheet with a few clicks.

Smart Categorization

Assign transactions to income or expense categories so your monthly totals update automatically.

Monthly Clarity

See at a glance where your money is going — and how your spending aligns with your goals.

Private by design

Your data stays in your own Google Sheet. Finance Helper never transmits data to any external server.

How it works

Up and running in minutes

Finance Helper lives as a sidebar inside your Google Sheet. Here's the workflow:

1

Install from Google Workspace Marketplace

Add Finance Helper to your Google account in one click. It will appear in the Extensions menu of your Lighten The Load spreadsheet.

2

Download your bank's CSV export

Log into your bank, export your transactions as a CSV file, and save it to your computer.

3

Open Finance Helper and upload

Open the sidebar from Extensions → Finance Helper → Start, select your CSV file, and the transactions are mapped to the correct columns automatically.

4

Categorize and review

Use the built-in categorization tools to label income and expenses. Your monthly summary updates in real time.

Permissions & trust

We only ask for what we need

Finance Helper requests two narrow permissions. Here's exactly what each one does — and what it does not do.

View and manage the current spreadsheet Allows Finance Helper to read and write data in the spreadsheet you have open. It cannot access any other file in your Google Drive.
Display a sidebar in Google Sheets Allows the add-on to show its interface panel. This is required for any sidebar-based add-on and grants no access to your data on its own.

Finance Helper does not access Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, or any service outside the active spreadsheet. No data is sent to any external server.

Legal

Privacy policy

Last updated: April 2025  ·  Lighten The Load / Willa Brooks

1. Overview

This Privacy Policy describes how the Finance Helper Google Workspace Add-on ("the Add-on"), developed and operated by Willa Brooks / Lighten The Load ("we", "us"), handles your information. We are committed to protecting your privacy. This Add-on is designed to operate entirely within your own Google Sheets environment.

2. Information we access

The Add-on accesses the following data solely to provide its core functionality:

  • Spreadsheet data: The Add-on reads and writes data in the Google Spreadsheet that you have open and active at the time of use. This includes transaction data you upload from CSV files and category labels you assign.
  • Uploaded CSV files: Bank transaction files you choose to upload are processed locally within the Google Apps Script environment and written directly to your spreadsheet. These files are never transmitted to any external server.

3. Information we do not collect

  • We do not collect, store, or transmit any personal or financial data to our servers or any third party.
  • We do not access any files in your Google Drive other than the active spreadsheet.
  • We do not access your Gmail, Google Calendar, or any other Google service.
  • We do not use cookies, analytics tools, or tracking technologies of any kind.
  • We do not collect account credentials, passwords, or any authentication information.

4. How your data is used

Data accessed by the Add-on is used exclusively to:

  • Parse and map CSV transaction data into your spreadsheet.
  • Display the sidebar user interface within Google Sheets.
  • Enable categorization of transactions within the spreadsheet.

All processing occurs within Google's infrastructure (Google Apps Script). Your financial data remains in your Google account at all times.

5. Google API scopes used

The Add-on uses only the following OAuth scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/spreadsheets.currentonly — Read and write access to the currently active spreadsheet only.
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/script.container.ui — Ability to display a sidebar interface in Google Sheets.

These are the minimum scopes required for the Add-on to function. We do not request broad Drive access, offline access, or access to any other Google service.

6. Data sharing

We do not sell, rent, share, or disclose your data to any third party under any circumstances. Because we do not collect or store your data, there is no data to share.

7. Data retention

Because Finance Helper does not store any user data outside of your own Google Sheets environment, we have no user data to retain or delete. All data remains under your control in your Google account.

8. Children's privacy

Finance Helper is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children.

9. Changes to this policy

If we update this Privacy Policy, the revised version will be posted at this URL with an updated date. We encourage you to review it periodically.

10. Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how Finance Helper works, please contact:

Willa Brooks
Lighten The Load
willarosebrooks@gmail.com