Every 6 hours

Get warned when an account balance runs low

If a linked account drops under your floor, you get one Slack message, not a repeat every check.

Runs: Every 6 hours
Apps: Plaid
AI: Not needed
Access: Balance product

Send this to your assistant

Create a ClickRuntime automation: every 6 hours, check the balance of my Plaid-linked business checking account and message me in Slack once if it falls below $5,000.

Paste it into your assistant. It tells you what it will send or change before it runs live.

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First time? Adding ClickRuntime to your assistant takes about two minutes.

Why use it

Why teams use this automation

Running out of money in a checking account is rarely a surprise in hindsight. Rent, payroll or a card payment comes out, the balance dips below what is needed, and an overdraft fee, a bounced payment or a late fee follows. The warning signs were there, but without someone watching, the first alert is often the bank's own notice that the account is already negative.

Every six hours, the balance of your account is fetched from Plaid and compared with the threshold you set. When it falls below, an alert is sent, once per crossing. If the balance stays low, you are not reminded repeatedly, and when it recovers above the line the alert can fire again the next time it drops. It also suits anyone saving toward a minimum cash reserve.

It helps small businesses with irregular income, freelancers between payments and households with a tight buffer.

What you get out of it

Avoid overdraft and bounced payments
A warning while there is still time lets you move money in before a scheduled payment fails. A single transfer is much cheaper than overdraft fees or a returned payment. One small transfer costs far less than an overdraft fee, a returned payment and the apology that follows it.
Stay ahead of payroll
A business that runs payroll from one account can see the balance dip well before payday. That gives time to chase invoices or move funds so staff are paid on time. A warning gives time to collect an invoice or move funds so staff and suppliers are paid as expected.
One alert per crossing
The message is sent when the balance drops below the line, not every six hours it stays there. That keeps it from being ignored and still signals each new dip. A message that arrives only on a new dip stays meaningful. Repeats every six hours would only train people to ignore it.
Reduce stress about money
Knowing that an alert will arrive means you do not have to check the balance repeatedly. The worry fades because the system watches for you. The mental load of remembering to check balances goes away once you trust that a message will arrive when it matters, which frees attention for other work.
Catch unexpected withdrawals
If the balance drops without explanation, the alert prompts a closer look. It can be the first hint of an unauthorized charge or a payment you forgot about. An unexplained fall in balance is a prompt to review recent activity. It can reveal a charge you forgot about or one you never authorized, early.

How it works

What happens, step by step

Every six hours ClickRuntime checks the balance of your linked bank account through Plaid.
It compares the balance with the floor you set.
When the balance first drops below it, you get one Slack message; you won't hear again until it recovers and drops again.

Before it runs live

Connect Plaid

What you get

RunsEvery 6 hours

Get warned when an account balance runs lowtoday, 9:00Succeeded

Slack · #financeBusiness Checking is down to 4,612.30, below 5,000

Build your own

Need it to work differently?

This template is a starting point. Copy the prompt and change it, or describe a different automation from scratch, with your own conditions, more apps or an AI step. Your assistant writes it, tests it and runs it on ClickRuntime.

Your own rules
Conditions, thresholds, filters and exceptions, written the way you'd explain them to a colleague.
Any number of apps
One automation can read from one app and update several others. Over 248 apps are ready, and anything with an API works too.
AI where it helps
Summaries, classification, extraction and drafts use ClickRuntime's built-in AI, with no extra key.
On a schedule or on each event
Runs as often as every 5 minutes, or the moment an app sends an event, and keeps track of what it already handled.

Changes you can ask for

Run it at a different time, more or less often, or only on weekdays
Add an AI step, for example to summarize, sort or draft a reply
Add another app, for example also send it to Slack
Combine it with other Plaid steps into one automation

Under the hood

The code that runs this automation

This is the Python script that runs each time the automation starts. Your AI assistant writes it for you when you send the prompt, and you allow each step in your assistant. To change how the automation works, describe the change to your assistant and it updates the script for you. For every function it can use, see the script reference.

low_balance_alert_plaid.pyexample

from clickruntime import on_trigger, credentials, http, notify, state

PLAID = "https://production.plaid.com"

def plaid(path, **body):
    auth = {"client_id": credentials.secret("PLAID_CLIENT_ID"), "secret": credentials.secret("PLAID_SECRET"),
            "access_token": credentials.secret("PLAID_ACCESS_TOKEN")}
    resp = http.post(f"{PLAID}{path}", json={**auth, **body})
    resp.raise_for_status()
    return resp.json()

THRESHOLD = 5000
ACCOUNT_NAME = "Business Checking"

@on_trigger
def run(event):
    accounts = plaid("/accounts/balance/get")["accounts"]
    acct = next(a for a in accounts if a["name"] == ACCOUNT_NAME)
    balance = acct["balances"]["available"] or acct["balances"]["current"]
    low = balance < THRESHOLD
    if low and not state.get("alerted"):
        notify.slack(f"{ACCOUNT_NAME} is down to {balance:,.2f}, below {THRESHOLD:,}", channel="#finance")
    state.set("alerted", low)
    return {"balance": balance, "low": low}

FAQ

Common questions

Can I set different thresholds for different accounts?

Yes. Each account can have its own threshold, such as $2,000 for a business account and $300 for a personal one. Describe your thresholds to your AI assistant and review the setup before it replaces the current version.

Why every six hours?

Six hours catches most problems within the same business day without checking constantly. Bank balances typically update once or a few times a day, so checking more often rarely finds anything new. Many banks refresh balances only a few times a day, so checking more often rarely finds anything new, and every check uses a call to Plaid.

Is it the available balance or the current balance?

Plaid reports both. The available balance accounts for pending transactions and is usually the better measure of what you can spend, so many people use that, though either can be chosen. Available balance is the safer choice for most people because it already subtracts holds and pending payments.

What permissions does it need?

Balance product. Nothing else in your accounts is used.

Does it need AI?

No. It runs without AI, so it doesn't use your plan's AI allowance.

How many runs does it use?

One run each time it runs (every 6 hours). Checks that find nothing to do and stop right away aren't counted.

Can I change how it works?

Yes. Describe the change to your AI assistant, for example a different schedule, channel or filter. It updates the automation, tests it and tells you what changed.

Daily