Sync & Backup

Sign both devices into the same Apple ID, then turn on iCloud Sync in Settings on EACH one — it is off until you turn it on, and it takes effect after the app restarts.

Accounts, transactions, budgets, goals, investments and your plan all mirror through your own private iCloud. The first sync after switching it on is the slow one; after that changes usually land within seconds of the other device opening the app.

One thing that surprises people: nothing syncs to an app that isn't running. A device you haven't opened in a week shows last week's numbers until you open it.

Two ways, and they do different jobs.

A JSON backup (Settings → Data & Backup) writes everything to a single file you own and can put anywhere — it is your escape hatch, and the thing to take before any big change. There is also a weekly automatic backup to your iCloud Drive if you turn it on.

iCloud Sync is NOT a backup. It mirrors your current state, so deleting something on one device deletes it everywhere. That is what sync is for; it is not what protects you from a mistake.

Restores are additive — they add what's missing rather than wiping what's there — so restoring an old file will never empty your app.

Your iCloud-synced copy and any JSON/iCloud-Drive backups survive a delete. Reinstall, sign into the same Apple ID, and your data flows back. Keep a JSON backup before big changes just in case.

Settings → Data & Backup → restore, then pick the file.

Afterwards, run Settings → Data & Backup → Repair Duplicated Records. A restore on top of existing data is the single most common way to end up with the same record twice, and that screen is built for exactly this.

It can — automatic backups to your own iCloud Drive, on a schedule, in a folder you can open in the Files app.

That is a different thing from iCloud Sync. Sync keeps your devices matching; a backup is a file you can restore from if something goes wrong on all of them at once. Having sync on is not a reason to skip backups.