Fintech applications have given people more control over their personal finances in a myriad of ways, whether it’s paying bills, sending money abroad, or growing their savings.

One of the earliest forms of “fintech” is a budgeting spreadsheet. For years, people have relied on Microsoft Excel to budget and track expenses for their personal finances or businesses, typically copying data over from multiple sources.

Money in Excel features a Plaid integration and the new capabilities essentially turn the spreadsheet software into a fintech app. It allows users to securely connect their financial accounts, import the data within them, sync balances and transactions over time, and, ultimately, gain greater insights into their financial health.

How it works: Plaid provides the permissioned connection to financial accounts via Plaid Link from directly within the Microsoft Money in Excel experience. (article continues below)

After linking their account(s), the individual will have access to their balance and transaction history, providing an up-to-date and holistic financial picture. Plaid connects to 11,000 institutions across the US, Canada, and Europe. In the US, Plaid supports nearly every institution from the major retail banks to community credit unions. (article continues below)

A “Monthly Snapshot” sheet features personalized charts and graphs based on your data to help you better understand your spending behaviors. (article continues below)

Money in Excel gives you options to further customize by adding templates that are relevant to you – with options like recurring expenses, net worth, and more. (article continues below)

Since the beginning, Plaid’s mission has been to make money easier for everyone, and that mission isn’t reserved for just financial services. Money in Excel is a really interesting example of the type of experience we can expect to see more of in the future. Money in Excel will start to become available in the U.S. in the coming months.

This article first appeared on fintechnews.ch