Record spending and income¶

Record account activity so your balances and envelope spending reflect what actually happened. Have the account, date, amount, and purpose of the transaction ready before you start.

Choose where to begin¶

First check whether the transaction is already in the account. If it is, review or edit that entry instead of adding another.

If the payment corresponds to a planned expense, use Reconcile expense. That records the spending and resolves the plan together.

For other spending, select the envelope name on the timeline and choose Spend from, or open Envelope Details and select Spend. You can also open an account from the bottom Accounts pane and select Add. Use Record Income on a bank or cash account for income.

The amount signs depend on the form:

Form	Enter a $40 purchase as	Enter its envelope split as
Spend or Reconcile expense	`40.00`	`40.00`
Account Add or Edit	`-40.00`	`-40.00`

Spend and reconciliation convert the positive amounts into negative ledger entries when saved. When editing those entries later in the account, use the negative amounts shown there.

Record a purchase¶

Select the envelope name and choose Spend from, or open its details and select Spend.
Check From Account. Choose the bank account or credit card actually used.
Set Date to the transaction date.
Enter a positive Account amount: for a $40 purchase, enter 40.00.
Fill in Payee and Memo if useful.
Under Transaction splits, check the Envelope and enter 40.00 in its Amount.
Review Reduce next target, then select Spend.

The spending form may remember an account used for an earlier expense. Check From Account each time; an envelope is not tied to one account.

When using Add from an account, the account is already selected, spending amounts and splits are negative, and the save button is Add entry. Check the split's envelope: the initial choice may not be the purpose of this purchase.

After saving, check the account entry and envelope balance. Spending from a bank account reduces its balance. A card purchase increases the amount owed and affects the cash reserved for payment; see Use credit cards.

Split a purchase¶

Use splits when one payment covers several purposes. For a $70 purchase that includes $50 of groceries and $20 of household supplies, enter these amounts in the Spend form:

Field	Amount
Account amount	`70.00`
Groceries split	`50.00`
Household split	`20.00`

Select Add split for the second envelope. Each envelope can appear only once, and the split amounts must add up to the full account amount. Check that the displayed split total matches before saving.

For the same purchase in the account's Add or Edit form, use -70.00, -50.00, and -20.00 instead.

In the account-entry form, removing all splits leaves the entry Unassigned. That updates the account without assigning activity to an envelope. For spending, choose the relevant envelope whenever possible so its balance stays meaningful.

Reduce next target¶

Select Reduce next target when a purchase uses part of an envelope's remaining allowance. A $40 purchase against a $300 grocery target leaves $260 still planned.

The option:

Applies to new spending assigned to an envelope with a target due today or later, and on or after the transaction date. Past targets stay unchanged, even when recording an older purchase.
Starts with the earliest eligible target and removes it if its remaining amount is used up. Any excess reduces the next target in date order, continuing until the spending is covered or no eligible targets remain.
Remembers your last eligible choice for that envelope.

For example, a $75 purchase uses up a $50 target and reduces the next target by $25. If all eligible targets are used up, the full purchase is still recorded.

Leave it off when the purchase is separate from the allowance. For example, a separately planned $100 grocery order should not reduce a $200 target intended for other groceries.

This is a one-time planning adjustment. Editing or deleting the transaction later does not restore or recalculate the target. Review the target manually after a correction.

Record income¶

Open the bank or cash account that received the money and select Record Income.
Enter the actual Date and a positive Account amount, such as 1500.00.
Add a useful Source or Memo, such as your employer's name.
Select Record Income.

This form saves the full income without envelope splits, making it available for planning. Check that the account balance increased by the recorded amount. Use Move Funds to assign money now, or let enabled plans receive nightly funding.

If you deliberately want to assign an inflow directly to envelopes, use the account's Add form instead. Use a positive account amount and positive splits that total it. Remove all splits for an unassigned inflow; do not leave an unrelated default envelope selected. Record Income is not available on cards.

Record income when it has happened. Use planned expenses and targets for future spending needs; a future-dated account entry is still a recorded entry and can affect current balances.

Transfer between bank or cash accounts¶

Open the account the money came from and select Transfer. Choose the receiving asset account, enter a positive amount and the transfer date, and select Transfer to save. You can add a memo such as "ATM withdrawal".

For a $100 ATM withdrawal, transfer $100 from Chequing to a tracked Cash account. Chequing decreases by $100 and Cash increases by $100. Envelope balances and total budget cash stay unchanged. Record any ATM fee separately as spending.

Both accounts show the transfer with a link to the other account. Edit transfer lets you correct the date, amount, or memo from either side; both entries update together. Delete asks for confirmation and removes the transfer from both accounts. To change the accounts, delete the transfer and record it again.

Only asset accounts appear as destinations. Use Pay Card for a payment from an asset account to a credit card.

Correct an entry¶

Open the account, find the transaction, and select Edit. Update the date, amount, payee, memo, or splits, then select Save changes. Use Load older entries if the transaction is not in the first group shown.

Delete removes an editable entry and its envelope assignments after confirmation. Recheck related targets and planned expenses afterward; deleting spending is not a complete undo of earlier planning decisions.

Some entries have no Edit action. Card payments, linked refunds, and charges already involved in those settlements are protected from ordinary editing. The browser also does not accept positive card entries through this form.

If saving gives an uncertain result, refresh and look for the entry before trying again. See When numbers look wrong.