Budgeting

Budgeting basics

Allot is zero-based: every dollar you have gets assigned to a category until nothing is left unassigned. Here's how Ready to Assign, funding, and moving money work on the Plan tab.

Ready to Assign

At the top of the Plan tab is the Ready to Assign banner - the money you have but haven't given a job yet.

• Positive (green): you have money to hand out. The banner reads tap to assign.
• Zero: every dollar is assigned. The banner turns into a green check - Every dollar assigned. This is the goal.
• Negative (red): you assigned more than you have. The banner reads over-assigned - pull from a category, and you need to take money back out of a category.

Assign money to a category

A category is an envelope. Put money into it, and that's your plan for it this month.

On your phone

1. On the Plan tab, tap the category you want to fund.
2. A number pad slides up showing the category name and its current Available.
3. Type the amount to assign. You can even type math like 25+15.
4. Tap Auto-Assign in that sheet to prefill the amount its target needs, or just tap Done to save what you typed.

On desktop

1. Tap the Ready to Assign banner to open the Assign from Ready to Assign sheet.
2. Search for a category, or pick one from the list - the amount field prefills with what it still needs.
3. Adjust the amount if you like and tap Assign. The footer shows how much is left to assign.

Fund everything at once

Rather than fund categories one by one, let Allot do it in priority order (Bills → Spending → Subs by default - reorder it under Settings › Budget › Auto-Assign priority):

• ⚡ Auto-Assign - funds every underfunded category up to its target, in priority order, capped by what's in Ready to Assign.
• Assign Half - funds 50% of each underfunded category's need. Handy mid-month or on a tight paycheck.

You'll find both in the month inspector, next to the Underfunded total. Selecting specific rows on desktop also gives you Fund half and Fund full for just those categories.

Move money between categories

Overspent in one place and flush in another? Move money without touching Ready to Assign.

1. On a category row, tap the ⇄ (Move money) button, or open the category and choose ⇄ Move money.
2. Choose the direction: Move out of this or Move into this.
3. Pick the other end from the dropdown - you can also move to or from ⇧ Ready to Assign.
4. Enter the Amount and tap Move money.

The category list

Categories live inside groups (like Bills or Spending). Each row shows its Assigned and Available amounts, with the Available pill colored by state:

• Green - funded and on track.
• Amber - underfunded (below its target).
• Red - overspent (Available is negative).
• Grey - nothing assigned yet.

Add a group with + New category, and add a category inside a group with its Add field. See Categories & icons.

Troubleshooting