Managing Budgets

A Budget in Zenvilope is your top-level container for managing a set of finances. You can create multiple budgets to keep different aspects of your financial life separate.

What is a Budget?

A budget contains:

• Accounts (bank accounts, credit cards, cash)
• Categories and category groups
• Transactions
• Monthly budget allocations
• Payees
• Members (if shared)

Each budget is completely isolated - accounts, transactions, and categories in one budget don't affect another.

Use Cases for Multiple Budgets

Personal Budget

Track your personal income, expenses, and savings goals.

Business Budget

Keep business income and expenses separate from personal finances.

Household Budget

Share financial management with family members using budget sharing.

Project Budget

Track finances for specific projects or side hustles.

Creating a Budget

1. Navigate to the budgets page
2. Click "Create Budget" or "New Budget"
3. Fill in:
   • Name: Descriptive name (e.g., "Personal 2025", "Business")
   • Description (optional): Notes about this budget
   • Currency: Primary currency for this budget (USD, EUR, GBP, etc.)
4. Click "Save"

WARNING

The currency cannot be changed after creation. Choose carefully!

Switching Between Budgets

If you have multiple budgets:

1. Use the budget selector in the navigation
2. Click on the budget you want to work with
3. All views will now show data for that budget

Budget Settings

Access budget settings to:

• Edit the budget name and description
• View the currency and decimal places
• Manage members and invitations
• See creation and modification dates
• Delete the budget

DANGER

Deleting a budget permanently removes all accounts, categories, transactions, and monthly allocations. This cannot be undone!

Sharing a Budget

You can invite other Zenvilope users to collaborate on your budget. Members see the same data and can create transactions, assign categories, and flag items for review.

See the Sharing guide for full details on inviting members, roles, and notifications.

Best Practices

Keep it Simple

Start with one budget. Only create multiple budgets if you truly need separation (like business vs personal).

Consistent Naming

Use clear, descriptive names that make sense at a glance.

Regular Review

Set aside time each month to review your budget, adjust allocations, and plan ahead.

Next Steps

Once your budget is set up:

• Add accounts to track your money
• Create categories for your spending
• Record transactions as you spend and earn
• Import transactions from your bank