How to use Zero-Based Budgeting (Beta)

Reviewed against Cashflow Pilot B.10.280 release notes · 11 Oct 2026

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Availability: Zero-Based Budgeting is Beta. Screens and results may vary by release; verify assigned balances before relying on them.

Budgeting tutorial

Give the money you already have a purpose

Zero-Based Budgeting is an optional budgeting method in Cashflow Pilot. Instead of planning spending against next month's expected income, you start with cash you've confirmed is in your selected accounts. You give that available money a job—rent, groceries, savings, and other needs—before spending it.

Beta feature: Zero-Based Budgeting is still being tested against real-world situations. It supports one currency per budget. Check statements carefully and keep a full backup before changing an established starting point.

Set up your starting money

Zero-Based Budgeting (Beta)The Beta allocation view only if confirmed in the target deployed version.

1. Open Personal → Budgets → Zero-Based

Choose the Zero-Based budgeting option. Flexible Spending Targets remains available if you prefer a simpler monthly spending plan.

2. Choose a starting date and accounts

Pick the date you're starting from and the cash accounts and credit cards you want included. Select accounts in the same currency. If you don't have a confirmed opening balance, review your statement first.

3. Confirm your balances

Enter the cash you have and any credit-card debt or money you've already reserved to pay those cards. If Cashflow Pilot shows a matching statement balance for your chosen date, you can choose to use it. Nothing should be assumed to be correct without your review.

If you see a warning for a negative cash balance, missing statement, an unreviewed transaction, or a mismatched account, resolve it before relying on the amount available to assign.

Example: assigning $2,200

Imagine you've confirmed $1,800 in chequing and $400 in savings, giving you $2,200 in cash. You also owe $200 on a credit card from earlier purchases, with nothing yet set aside for its payment.

That $200 of card debt is not extra money. In Cashflow Pilot's Zero-Based method, you can choose to reserve $200 of the cash you already have for the card payment. Here's one example of assigning all $2,200:

What the money is for	Assigned
Rent	$950
Groceries	$350
Utilities	$170
Transport	$150
Other bills	$230
Savings goal	$150
Existing card debt payment	$200
Total assigned	$2,200

Ready to Assign is $0 in this simplified example: every dollar of the confirmed cash has a purpose. Assigning money is not the same as transferring it between bank accounts or actually paying your credit card.

When transactions happen

4. Review your transactions

As spending is entered or imported, check dates, categories, transfers, duplicates and credit-card purchases. Only reviewed, trustworthy activity should inform your funding decisions.

5. Cover overspending

Suppose groceries had $350 available, but you spent $390 in cash. You'll see a $40 shortfall. Move $40 from another category, such as the $150 savings goal, to groceries. Savings would then have $110 assigned. The money move changes your budget plan, not the bank transaction.

Helpful distinction: Overspending does not magically create cash or make your account balance larger. Cashflow Pilot warns when a category needs more funding and checks whether changes would cause trouble in a later funded month.

Credit cards and upcoming months

6. Keep credit-card payments funded

A card purchase increases what you owe. Paying the card later is a payment of that debt—not a second grocery or shopping expense. Cashflow Pilot shows card debt, payment reserves and any shortfall. You can explicitly set aside available cash for earlier card debt or an unfunded purchase. If the app reports a card shortfall, review it before assuming the payment is covered.

7. Move through the months

Unused positive category amounts can continue into a later month. Choose a new budget month to review what's carried forward and assign new income once it has actually arrived. If you change an older month, Cashflow Pilot may stop the change when it would leave an already funded future month short of money.

8. Back up before major changes

Before changing your starting date, opening balances or imported budget history, make a full backup and check your statements. If you use Cloud Sync, give your devices time to finish syncing and resolve any conflicting changes before continuing.

Common questions

Do I have to assign every dollar at once?

No. Start with the most important bills. The amount left to assign shows what you haven't allocated yet, as long as your account information is reliable.

Can I budget a paycheque I expect next week?

Not as available cash today. Assign the money after it arrives and you've reviewed the transaction.

Does money in a category equal money in one bank account?

Not necessarily. Categories are purposes for your money, and selected cash accounts supply the available funds.

Can I combine Canadian and US dollars?

No. Zero-Based Budgeting currently works with one currency at a time.

Is Zero-Based as mature as YNAB or Actual Budget?

Not yet. This is a Beta option with important checks and limitations. You can keep using Flexible Spending Targets if it better suits your needs.

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