Is WealthWise a replacement for QuickBooks Self-Employed?

No. QuickBooks does bookkeeping (P&L, balance sheets, invoicing, mileage logs in GAAP-style ledgers). WealthWise does planning, advisory, and personal-finance integration — the layer that sits above your books and ties business and personal money to your long-term wealth goals. Most self-employed people use both: QuickBooks for the books, WealthWise for the strategy.

Can WealthWise file my taxes?

No. WealthWise calculates and tracks your estimated quarterly taxes, organizes your deductions and 1099s, and exports a CPA-ready package to your tax preparer or filing software (TurboTax, H&R Block, FreeTaxUSA). We get you to filing-ready in a fraction of the time — but we do not file. Filing is a regulated activity we deliberately stay out of.

How does the AI Advisor work? Is it just ChatGPT?

It runs on Google Gemini 3, which is in the same league as Claude and ChatGPT. The difference: it sees your real numbers (when you connect your bank). It knows you are self-employed. It remembers your goals, prior decisions, and tax situation across sessions. ChatGPT does none of that — every chat starts from zero, and it cannot see a single one of your accounts.

Is my financial data safe?

Yes. Bank connections run through Teller — the same direct-integration platform several major fintechs use — over a mutually-authenticated TLS (mTLS) connection. Teller's Connect flow handles your bank login inside their secure iframe; your password never reaches us. Access is read-only and revocable any time from /banking. Data at rest is encrypted (AES-256) on SOC 2 Type II infrastructure. We do not sell or share your data — ever; export or delete anything you have entered, any time.

What banks does WealthWise connect to?

Through Teller, we connect to 7,000+ US institutions including all major banks (Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Capital One, Citi, US Bank), all major brokerages (Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard, Robinhood, E*Trade), and most regional banks and credit unions. CSV import and manual entry are still supported — useful for credit unions or international accounts outside Teller's coverage.

What if I have an LLC, S-corp, or sole proprietorship?

All three work. Tell us your business structure during onboarding and the AI advisor and quarterly tax math adjust accordingly — pass-through SE-tax math for sole props and single-member LLCs, payroll + distribution math for S-corps, partnership splits for multi-member LLCs. The Studio plan handles multiple businesses simultaneously.

Can my CPA see my data?

Yes. Generate a CPA Export Package any time — a clean zip of your YTD income, deductions categorized to IRS schema, 1099s, mileage logs, and prior-year comparisons. Most CPAs will tell you it is the most organized year-end package they have ever received. Your CPA does not need a WealthWise login.

Why does WealthWise cost $99 a year?

Because the moment we monetize through ads or data, we stop being on your side. $99/year is what it costs to deliver this value sustainably. We are not subsidizing through ads, data sales, lead generation, or pushing you toward financial products. You pay for the tool. We build the tool. Simple.

What if I am not self-employed?

WealthWise still works as a general AI financial OS — budget, debt, investments, FIRE, advisor, vault. We just will not be the best tool for you specifically. If you have a single W-2 income with a normal household structure, try Monarch Money or Copilot Money — they are optimized for that life. We are optimized for yours.

Can I export my data if I leave?

Always. Full CSV and JSON export for everything you have ever entered or imported. No export wall, no friction, no 'sorry we couldn't make this work' surveys. Your data is yours — that is a foundational principle, not a marketing line.

Guide·Updated May 25, 2026

Cryptocurrency, Explained Without the Hype

What crypto actually is, the handful of terms that matter, how to keep your coins safe, and a conservative way to make your first purchase.

What Is Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is digital money that does not rely on a central bank or government to issue or verify it. Instead, it uses a blockchain—a public, shared ledger—to record every transaction in a way that is extremely difficult to alter. Bitcoin (BTC) was the first cryptocurrency and is often described as "digital gold": a scarce, fixed-supply asset people hold as a long-term store of value. Ethereum (ETH) extends the model with programmable smart contracts, which let developers build applications—lending, trading, digital collectibles—directly on top of the network. Thousands of other coins exist, but the vast majority of the market’s value sits in these two.

Key Terminology You Need to Know

Three terms unlock most beginner conversations. Blockchain is the public ledger that records all transactions—anyone can inspect it, which is what makes the system trustworthy without a central authority. A wallet is the software or hardware that stores your private keys, the secret codes that prove you own your coins; your wallet does not actually "hold" coins so much as hold the keys that control them. An altcoin is any cryptocurrency that is not Bitcoin—Ethereum, Solana, and the rest all fall under this umbrella. Get comfortable with these three and the rest of the jargon becomes far easier to decode.

Security First: Protecting Your Coins

Crypto puts you in charge, which means security is your responsibility. First rule: not your keys, not your coins. If you leave money on an exchange like Coinbase, you do not truly own it—the exchange controls the keys, and if it fails or freezes withdrawals, your funds are at risk. Move long-term holdings to a self-custody wallet you control. Second: use a hardware wallet for meaningful amounts. For anything over about $1,000, buy a Ledger or Trezor; these devices keep your keys offline and out of reach of malware. Third: guard your seed phrase. Your 12–24 word recovery phrase is the master key to your wallet—never type it into a website or share it online. Write it on paper and store it physically, ideally in more than one secure location.

Your First Investment Plan

A conservative way to start keeps the stakes low while you learn. Step one: register with a reputable exchange such as Coinbase or Kraken and complete identity verification. Step two: buy a small amount—$50 is plenty—and split it 50% Bitcoin and 50% Ethereum to get exposure to the two largest networks without trying to pick winners. Step three: HODL. Crypto is famously volatile, so decide up front that you will not panic-sell on sharp drops. Treat this first purchase as tuition: the goal is to learn how buying, storing, and holding works before you ever consider larger amounts. Never invest money you cannot afford to lose.

Put This Into Practice

Apply what you've learned using the WealthWise tool built for this exact purpose.

Track Your Crypto in Portfolio

Frequently Asked Questions

Is cryptocurrency a safe investment for beginners?

Crypto is high-risk and highly volatile, so it should only ever be a small part of a diversified plan and never money you can’t afford to lose. Beginners can lower their risk by starting small, sticking to established assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, and securing their coins properly with a hardware wallet and a protected seed phrase.

What is the difference between a wallet and an exchange?

An exchange (like Coinbase or Kraken) is where you buy and sell crypto, and it controls the keys to any coins you leave there. A self-custody wallet puts you in control of your own private keys—"not your keys, not your coins." For long-term holdings, moving funds off the exchange into a wallet you control is the safer choice.

What is a seed phrase and why does it matter?

A seed phrase is the 12–24 word recovery phrase that can restore full access to your wallet. Anyone who has it controls your coins, so you should never share it online or enter it on a website. Write it on paper and store it physically—losing it can mean losing access to your funds permanently.