PlatformUpdated 15 Oct 2026

Menu on the side or on top

Choose Side (the default, menu down the left) or Top (a compact, Windows-familiar menu bar) with the switch button beside the side menu, a right-click, Settings → Preferences or your account menu - the pick applies at once, and phones always keep the bottom bar.

Finocket's menu can sit in two places, and you choose which. Side runs it down the left edge, the layout most phone and web apps use and everyone's default. Top moves it into a compact horizontal bar across the top of the screen instead. Neither changes what a feature does or where your data lives, only where the menu that gets you there sits.

Side: the default

A menu down the left, expandable or collapsed to icons, with the Explore panel for modules you haven't switched on yet under Platform. If you've never touched the layout picker, this is what you're using.

On a tablet or computer, the narrow strip of icons on the far left picks which section the menu shows. The section you open is tinted in its own colour, and the menu beside it takes the same tint, so the two join like a folder tab and it is clear which section is loaded. Sections with nothing switched on yet, such as Outreach or Partners when none of their modules are on, join their panel the same way.

Top: built for a Tally, Busy, Marg or Vyapar habit

Top swaps the side rail for a menu bar across the top, grouped by section with a More button holding the rest. It's aimed at anyone arriving from Tally, Busy, Marg or Vyapar: a compact, Windows-familiar strip that behaves like a desktop menu bar, including arrow-key navigation: Left and Right move between tabs, Down or Enter opens one, and Escape closes it. See Keyboard shortcuts for the full list.

Switch it from four places

  • The switch button: on a tablet or computer, the small panel icon beside the collapse arrow at the top of the side menu, and again at the bottom of the narrow strip of icons on the far left. In Top it sits at the right end of the menu bar, so you can always switch back. Hover it to read what it does: Switch to top navigation, or Switch to side navigation when you are on Top.
  • Right-click an empty part of the side menu or the icon strip and pick Side or Top. On the keyboard, press Shift + F10 (or the Menu key); on a touch screen, press and hold an empty part.
  • Settings → Preferences: tap the Layout button next to the theme picker and choose Side or Top.
  • Your account menu: tap your avatar, open Layout, and pick from the same Side/Top choice.

Every place reads and writes the exact same setting, so a pick made in one shows up already selected in the others, and the menu changes at once. Your pick is also saved to your account, so when you sign in on another computer or tablet it follows you there, settling a moment after the page opens.

The Settings panel folds to icons

On a tablet or computer, the panel of settings sections can fold down to a slim strip showing just each section's icon. Hover an icon (or focus it with the keyboard) to read the section's name, and the section you are in stays highlighted. In Top, the first button in the panel folds it, and a small panel button at the top of the strip opens it again. In Side, Back to app still takes you back, and a separate fold button sits beside the Settings heading. Finocket remembers whether you folded it, for your sign-in, the next time you open Settings.

In Top, the menu bar runs the full width of the window and the Settings panel and the icon strip start just below it.

Back arrows and leaving Settings

Every back arrow beside a page's title works the same way: it takes you back to the screen you came from inside Finocket. If you opened the page straight from a link or a bookmark, there is nowhere inside Finocket to go back to, so it takes you to the page one level up instead (an invoice to the invoice list, a setting to Settings). Pressing Escape does the same, and never takes you out of Finocket.

On a phone, Settings opens with a back arrow beside its title: it takes you back to the screen you were on before you opened Settings, or to the dashboard.

Phones keep their own bar

On a phone, the Side/Top choice doesn't apply. The bottom bar is always there, and the Layout menu shows a short note instead of the picker: "Phones always use the bottom bar."

Related: Modules & plans, Keyboard shortcuts.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between Side and Top?

Side puts every section down the left edge, the way most phone and web apps work - it's the default for everyone. Top moves the menu into a horizontal bar across the top, grouped by section with a More button for the rest, closer to the menu bar in Tally, Busy, Marg or Vyapar.

Who is the Top layout for?

Anyone who prefers it, but it's built especially for people coming from Tally, Busy, Marg or Vyapar - a compact, keyboard-navigable strip that feels like the desktop software you already know, arrow keys and all.

Where do I switch it?

The quickest is the small panel button beside the collapse arrow at the top of the side menu (and at the right end of the top bar). You can also right-click an empty part of the side menu, use the Layout button next to the theme picker on Settings → Preferences, or the Layout entry in your account menu. They all write to the same choice.

Does my choice follow me to another device?

Yes. Your pick is saved to your account as well as on the device, so when you sign in on another computer or tablet the menu follows it a moment after the page opens. Phones always keep the bottom bar.

Can I fold the Settings panel to icons?

Yes, on a tablet or computer. In Top, the first button in the Settings panel folds it to a strip of icons and a small panel button at the top of the strip opens it again. In Side, Back to app stays as it is and a separate fold button sits beside the Settings heading. Hover an icon to read the section's name; the section you are in stays highlighted. Finocket remembers your choice for your sign-in.

Why don't I see a Side/Top choice on my phone?

Phones always use the bottom bar - there's no Side/Top choice to make there, and the Layout menu shows a short note instead.

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