Resources · Zapier integration

Lunch Money Zapier integrationAutomate Lunch Money with Zapier.

Lunch Money Zapier integration: 1 trigger, 27 actions, 0 searches. One trigger watches for transactions you have not reviewed yet; the 27 actions create, update, delete and read transactions, categories, tags and accounts. Costs, connection, first Zap and pitfalls below.

See the 28 operations

Verified Trustpilot reviews · AI, automation & growth agency

Overview

What the Lunch Money Zapier integration is good for

The Lunch Money Zapier integration connects your personal finance app to the rest of your tools. Lunch Money keeps your accounts, transactions and budget in one place. On Zapier it brings one trigger, for transactions still waiting for review, and 27 actions that write into or read from almost every part of the app.

Three results come up most. First, a review nudge: Poll for Unreviewed Transactions spots transactions you have not checked and posts them to your chat tool, so they do not pile up. Second, spending captured at the source: a form you fill in on your phone feeds Create a New Transaction, which is handy for cash spending that no bank sync will ever see. Third, a budget snapshot on demand: Get Summary pulls the budget activity for a date range and an email step sends it wherever you read it.

Now what Zapier does not do here. There is only one trigger, and it is a polling one: nothing in Lunch Money reports an event to Zapier the moment it happens, and there is no trigger for a new category, a new tag or a changed budget. There is no search step either. The many Get entries look like lookups, but Zapier files them as actions, so each one that succeeds costs a task. Transactions that are grouped or split cannot be updated or deleted through Zapier.

Before settling on Zapier for a finance flow this size, the comparisons n8n vs Zapier and Make vs Zapier are worth a read.

Vocabulary

Zapier words, in plain English

Seven terms come back on this page. Each is explained once, here.

Zap
The automation you build on Zapier: one trigger, then one or more actions that run each time the trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap. For Lunch Money, the only one is a transaction found unreviewed.
Action
What the Zap does once it has started: create a tag, update a transaction, read a budget summary, and so on.
Task
The unit Zapier bills: one action that completes successfully. Your plan counts those, not the checks or the Zaps.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked on a timer for new items. An instant one is reported by the app as soon as the event happens.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap go on only when what arrived meets the condition you set, and stops it otherwise.
Connection
Your Lunch Money account linked to Zapier once, then reused by every step that reads or writes in Lunch Money.
Cost

What Lunch Money Zaps cost

Lunch Money is not a premium app, so it runs on the free plan. The trigger never costs anything, however often Zapier checks for unreviewed transactions.

  • Premium appNo, works on the free plan
  • Free plan100 tasks a month, two-step Zaps
  • BilledEach action that succeeds, Get actions included
  • Not billedThe trigger, the checks, a failed action

Every action that succeeds counts as one task, and that includes every Get action, since they are actions, not search steps. An action that fails is not counted. The free plan gives 100 tasks a month and two-step Zaps only; a filter or a second action makes the Zap multi-step and needs a paid plan. The trigger is a polling one, so the interval below decides how soon a new unreviewed transaction is picked up.

Connect

Connect Lunch Money to Zapier in three steps

  1. 01

    Open the Apps page

    In your Zapier account, open Apps and click + Add connection. A dialog with a search box appears. You need a Lunch Money account already, plus write access to whatever the Zap will change.

  2. 02

    Pick Lunch Money

    Type Lunch Money in the box, select it, then click Add connection. A new tab opens on the Lunch Money side: sign in with the account whose transactions, categories and tags the Zaps should touch.

  3. 03

    Grant access

    Allow Zapier into the account. The connection then appears in your Apps list and every Lunch Money step reuses it, so you do this once, not once per Zap.

First Zap

Your first Lunch Money Zap

GoalGet a chat message each time Lunch Money has a transaction waiting for your review.

  1. 01

    Create the Zap

    Start a new Zap, pick Lunch Money as the trigger app and Poll for Unreviewed Transactions as the event. Select your Lunch Money connection.

  2. 02

    Leave the group options as they are

    The trigger offers group settings. On their defaults, transactions that joined a group are left out; switch Include Group Children on only if you want those too.

  3. 03

    Test the trigger

    Run the test. Zapier brings back the three most recent unreviewed transactions, so you map the message on a real payee and amount rather than placeholders.

  4. 04

    Add the chat step

    Add your chat tool as the action and build the message from the payee, the amount and the date. This is a two-step Zap, so it fits the free plan.

  5. 05

    Test, then publish

    Send one test message, read it, then click Publish. From then on, Zapier checks on your plan's interval and only new unreviewed transactions get a message.

Triggers

The Lunch Money trigger

1 event starts a Zap when something happens in Lunch Money. Zapier checks for them at the interval your plan allows.

1

Poll for Unreviewed Transactions

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when unreviewed transactions are found.”

This starts a Zap whenever Lunch Money holds a transaction you have not marked as reviewed. It is the only way into a Zap from Lunch Money, so every flow that reacts to your money begins here, whether it alerts you, logs the line elsewhere or tidies it up with a follow-up action.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one
When to use it
you want each fresh bank line surfaced somewhere you look, before it gets lost in the backlog.
Watch out
transactions that joined a group are excluded by default; Include Group Children brings them back, and Is Group Parent returns only the groups themselves.
Actions

The 27 Lunch Money actions

Lunch Money gives you 27 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Create a New Category or Category Group

Action

In Zapier“Creates a new category with the given name. If the is_group attribute is set to true, a category group is created. In this case, up to three child categories may be added to the newly-created category group.”

Adds a category with the name you give, or a whole category group when Is Group is on, with up to three child categories inside it.

When to use it
a new spending area appears and you want it in Lunch Money without opening the app.
Watch out
the name runs from 1 to 100 characters and must not match any existing category or group.
2

Create a Manual Account

Action

In Zapier“Creates a new manually-managed account”

Opens an account that Lunch Money does not sync, one you keep up to date yourself, with a name, a type and a starting balance.

When to use it
you track cash or an asset no bank link covers.
Watch out
Name, Type and Balance are all required, and Type expects a structured value rather than plain text.
3

Create a New Transaction

Action

In Zapier“Creates a new transaction with the given details. Amount, and Date are required. Other attributes may also be provided.”

Writes a transaction into Lunch Money from what an earlier step carried. Only a date and an amount are mandatory; the rest is optional.

When to use it
spending happens outside any synced account and you log it from a form or a sheet.
Watch out
the date goes in the YYYY-MM-DD form of ISO 8601, and a positive amount is a debit, a negative one a credit.
4

Create a New Tag

Action

In Zapier“Creates a new tag with the given name”

Makes a tag with the name you pass, ready to stick on transactions afterwards. It can also be created already archived.

When to use it
a new spending theme appears and you want a label to group it.
Watch out
1 to 100 characters, and a name that already exists as a tag is refused.
5

Delete a Category or Category Group

Action

In Zapier“Deletes a category. By default this will fail if the category has dependencies such as existing transactions or child categories. Set force to true to delete the category even if it has dependencies.”

Removes the category or group whose ID you pass. By default it refuses when transactions or child categories still depend on it.

When to use it
cleaning up categories created by mistake, before anything was filed under them.
Watch out
the Force option deletes despite dependencies; turn it on knowingly.
6

Delete a Manual Account

Action

In Zapier“Deletes a manually-managed account.”

Erases a manual account by ID. Two options go further: Delete Items also wipes its transactions, rules and recurring items, and Delete Balance History clears the past balances.

When to use it
rarely, for a test account you set up and no longer need.
Watch out
Delete Items is irreversible, so leave it off unless you mean it.
7

Delete a Tag

Action

In Zapier“Deletes a tag. By default this will fail if the tag has dependencies such as existing transactions or rules. Set force to true to delete the tag even if it has dependencies.”

Drops the tag behind the ID you supply. Like categories, it stops when the tag is still used by transactions or rules.

When to use it
you merge two labels and want the duplicate gone.
Watch out
Force removes it even when something depends on it, and that cannot be undone from Zapier.
8

Delete a Transaction

Action

In Zapier“Deletes the transaction with the specified ID. Will fail if the transaction is grouped or split.”

Removes a single transaction whose ID an earlier step gave you, and nothing else around it.

When to use it
a flow that logged a line twice and needs to undo the extra one.
Watch out
a grouped or split transaction cannot be deleted this way, and the step fails.
9

Get All Categories

Action

In Zapier“Retrieve a list of all categories associated with the user's account”

Lists the categories of your account. With Is Group set, you get either only the groups or only the categories outside any group.

When to use it
you need a category ID for an update or delete further down the Zap.
Watch out
setting Is Group makes the step ignore the format option.
10

Get All Manual Accounts

Action

In Zapier“Retrieve a list of all manually-managed accounts associated with the user's account.”

Brings back every account you maintain by hand, each with its ID and balance.

When to use it
you report on cash or offline assets next to the synced ones.
Watch out
synced accounts are not in this list; they have their own action.
11

Get All Accounts Synced via Plaid

Action

In Zapier“Retrieve a list of all synced accounts associated with the user's account.”

Lists the accounts Lunch Money syncs through Plaid, the bank-link service, each with its ID.

When to use it
you want an overview of linked bank accounts sent to another tool.
Watch out
manual accounts are not included here, so pair it with Get All Manual Accounts for a full picture.
12

Get All Recurring Items

Action

In Zapier“Get info about the recurring items for a specified time frame”

Gives the recurring items, the transactions Lunch Money sees coming back, for the time frame you set.

When to use it
you want your recurring charges copied into a sheet you share.
Watch out
items the system only suggested, not yet reviewed, appear only if Include Suggested is on.
13

Get All Tags

Action

In Zapier“Retrieve a list of all tags associated with the user's account.”

Pulls the full list of tags on your account, each with its ID.

When to use it
as the step that finds the tag ID a later update or delete will need.
Watch out
one run returns the whole list, so map only the item you actually need.
14

Get All Transactions

Action

In Zapier“Retrieve a list of all transactions associated with a user's account. If called with no parameters, this endpoint will return the most recent transactions up to limit number of transactions.”

Returns a list of your transactions, the most recent ones when no option is set. Options add pending lines, metadata, split parents, group children or attached files.

When to use it
a later step needs a batch of recent transactions, say to copy into a sheet.
Watch out
pending ones are left out unless you ask, and they are always unreviewed.
15

Get Summary

Action

In Zapier“Returns a summary of the budget activity for the specified date range”

Produces a summary of budget activity between a start date and an end date, with options for totals, past occurrences and the rollover pool.

When to use it
you want a budget recap sent by email or chat.
Watch out
both dates are required, in the YYYY-MM-DD form.
16

Get a Single Category

Action

In Zapier“Retrieve details of a specific category or category group by its ID”

Reads one category or category group from its ID and hands its settings to the next steps.

When to use it
you want to check whether a category counts as income before acting on a transaction.
Watch out
the ID is required; a name will not do.
17

Get a Single Manual Account

Action

In Zapier“Retrieves the details of the manually-managed account with the specified ID.”

Reads one manual account by its ID and returns its current details.

When to use it
just before an update, to see what the account looks like now.
Watch out
it counts as a task like any other successful action.
18

Get Current User

Action

In Zapier“Get details about the user associated with the supplied authorization token.”

Returns details about the Lunch Money user behind the connection.

When to use it
when several people connect their own accounts and a step must know whose Zap is running.
Watch out
it reads the connected account only, never another user.
19

Get a Single Account That Is Synced via Plaid

Action

In Zapier“Retrieves the details of the Plaid account with the specified ID.”

Returns the details of one Plaid-synced account from its ID.

When to use it
a Zap needs the state of one specific bank account, not the whole list.
Watch out
the ID comes from the list action above; keep that step in the Zap or store the ID.
20

Get a Single Recurring Item

Action

In Zapier“Retrieves the details of the recurring transaction with the specified ID.”

Reads one recurring item by ID and returns its details.

When to use it
a follow-up step needs the amount of one particular recurring item.
Watch out
the ID is mandatory and usually comes from Get All Recurring Items, run earlier in the same Zap.
21

Get a Single Tag

Action

In Zapier“Retrieves the details of the tag with the specified ID.”

Looks up one tag by ID and returns its details, including whether it is archived.

When to use it
a Zap should behave differently depending on the tag a transaction carries.
Watch out
without a prior step supplying the ID, there is nothing to look up.
22

Get a Single Transaction

Action

In Zapier“Retrieves the details of the transaction with the specified ID.”

Fetches every detail of one transaction from its ID, so the steps after it can use the payee, amount or date.

When to use it
an earlier step only carried the ID and you need the rest of the line.
Watch out
it is an action, so it costs a task even though it changes nothing.
23

Trigger Fetch From Plaid

Action

In Zapier“Triggers a fetch for the latest data from all synced Plaid accounts. This will queue a background job to fetch the data. Please use sparingly! Will fail if called more than once every minute.”

Asks Lunch Money to pull the latest data from all your Plaid-synced accounts. The fetch runs in the background.

When to use it
right before a step that reads transactions, so it sees fresh bank data.
Watch out
Lunch Money asks for sparing use, and the action fails if it runs more than once a minute.
24

Update an Existing Category or Category Group

Action

In Zapier“Updates the properties of an existing category or category group. You may only update the child categories for a category group.”

Changes the settings of a category or group you point to by ID: counted as income, kept out of the budget, kept out of totals, archived.

When to use it
you stop using a category and want it archived rather than deleted.
Watch out
child categories can only be changed on a category group.
25

Update an Existing Manual Account

Action

In Zapier“Updates the properties of an existing manually-managed account.”

Changes a manual account found by its ID, for instance to stop transactions from being assigned to it.

When to use it
an account you used to fill by hand is closed and should stay visible but receive nothing new.
Watch out
it only works on manual accounts, never on those synced through Plaid.
26

Update an Existing Tag

Action

In Zapier“Updates the properties of an existing tag.”

Edits a tag identified by its ID, mainly to archive it or bring it back, so old labels stop cluttering your lists.

When to use it
a project is over and its tag should disappear from the pickers.
Watch out
without the tag ID, the step has nothing to edit; get it from Get All Tags first.
27

Update an Existing Transaction

Action

In Zapier“Updates the properties of an existing transaction. Will fail if the transaction is grouped or split, or if it belongs to a Plaid account that is not configured to allow transaction modifications.”

Rewrites the details of one transaction you name by ID, and by default adjusts the linked account balance too, unless you set Update Balance to false.

When to use it
a rule elsewhere decides the payee and you want Lunch Money to match.
Watch out
it fails on grouped or split transactions, and on Plaid accounts that do not allow edits.
When it breaks

When a Lunch Money Zap breaks

Zapier attaches no help article to Lunch Money and lists no limit of its own for it. The breakdowns come from general Zapier behavior and from what the actions themselves refuse.

With one polling trigger and many write actions, a few situations come back often. These four are the ones to check before you publish. For anything else, see Zapier troubleshooting.

  • A Zap that feeds its own trigger

    A Zap on unreviewed transactions that runs Create a New Transaction writes where its own trigger is watching, so it can set itself off again and keep burning tasks.

  • Past transactions are not picked up

    The Zap only reacts to unreviewed transactions found after it is switched on. Older ones stay where they are; moving that backlog is a separate job.

  • A bulk import can be held back

    When a sync or import suddenly produces a huge batch of unreviewed transactions, Zapier's flood protection can hold the run back instead of processing every line.

  • Grouped or split lines refuse edits

    Update an Existing Transaction and Delete a Transaction fail on grouped or split transactions, and updates also fail on Plaid accounts that do not allow changes.
Need help

Need help automating Lunch Money with Zapier?

A person reads every message.

FAQ

Lunch Money and Zapier: common questions

01Is the Lunch Money Zapier integration free?
Yes, it runs on the free plan. Lunch Money is not a premium app, so a Zap that starts on unreviewed transactions and sends a message works without paying. The free plan caps you at 100 tasks a month and two-step Zaps: one trigger, one action. That is enough for a review alert. Pair Trigger Fetch From Plaid with Get Summary, or add a filter, and the Zap becomes multi-step, which needs a paid plan.
02How many Zapier tasks does Lunch Money use?
One per action that succeeds. The unreviewed-transaction trigger costs nothing, however often Zapier checks. Each action after it counts, and that includes the Get actions: Get All Tags or Get Summary are actions on Zapier, not free lookups. So a Zap that reads a transaction, then updates it, uses two tasks per run. An action that fails, such as an update on a split transaction, is not counted, but the Zap stops at that step.
03Does Lunch Money send transactions to Zapier in real time?
No. Poll for Unreviewed Transactions is a polling trigger: Zapier asks Lunch Money for new unreviewed transactions on a timer. On the free plan it checks every 15 minutes, every 2 on Professional, every minute on Team and Enterprise. Paid plans can also run a check by hand from the editor. And Lunch Money only sees a bank transaction once it has synced, which Trigger Fetch From Plaid can request.
04What does it take to connect Lunch Money?
A Lunch Money account you can sign in to, with write access to anything the Zap will change. In Zapier, open Apps, click + Add connection, pick Lunch Money, then Add connection, and sign in on the tab that opens. Once access is granted, every Lunch Money step reuses that connection. Most update, delete and single-read actions then ask for an ID, so plan which earlier step will supply it, often the trigger itself.
05Why does a Lunch Money update fail on some transactions?
Because grouped and split transactions are locked for Zapier. Update an Existing Transaction and Delete a Transaction both fail when the line is part of a group or was split. An update also fails on a Plaid-synced account that is not set to allow changes. A failed action is not billed, but the Zap stops there. So point the update step only at the lines that are neither grouped nor split.
06What if the Lunch Money operation you need is missing?
Then Zapier does not offer it today, and no setting will add it. The catalog holds one trigger and 27 actions, with no search step and no trigger for new categories, tags or budget changes. You can often get close with a Get action plus a filter, rethink the flow around the unreviewed-transaction trigger, or check whether another automation tool covers that part. The Zapier app page is the reference, since it mirrors the editor.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for Lunch Money?
Choose on what the flow needs, not on a general ranking. On Zapier, Lunch Money offers one polling trigger and 27 actions on the free plan, and every Get action costs a task. If you only need review alerts or a few writes, that is a short path. If you plan heavy reading of transactions, compare how Make and n8n count their runs, and check which Lunch Money operations each one lists before building.
Same platform

Other docs you might need on this stack.

Browse all integrations