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Budget Management

Budget Bee’s budgeting feature helps you set spending limits and track your progress against financial goals.
The budgets feature appears to be in development. Some functionality may be incomplete or unavailable in the current version.

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Overview

Budgets in Budget Bee allow you to:
  • Set spending limits for specific categories
  • Track actual spending vs. budgeted amounts
  • Receive alerts when approaching budget limits
  • View budget performance over time
  • Create monthly, quarterly, or annual budgets

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Accessing Budgets

Navigate to the budgets page from the sidebar: 
// From apps/web/app/(app)/budgets/page.tsx
export default function BudgetsPage() {
  // Budget management interface
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Budgets</h1>
      {/* Budget creation and management UI */}
    </div>
  );
}

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Creating Budgets

1

Navigate to Budgets

Click Budgets in the sidebar navigation.
2

Create New Budget

Click Create Budget to start setting up a new budget.
3

Configure Budget

Set your budget parameters:
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name
string
required
Budget name (e.g., “Monthly Grocery Budget”, “Q1 Marketing Budget”)
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amount
number
required
Total budget amount
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period
enum
required
Budget period:
  • monthly: Resets each month
  • quarterly: Resets every 3 months
  • yearly: Annual budget
  • custom: Define custom date range
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category_id
uuid
Link budget to a specific category to automatically track spending
4

Set Alerts

Configure budget alerts:
  • Warning threshold (e.g., 75% of budget)
  • Critical threshold (e.g., 90% of budget)
  • Exceeded budget notification
5

Save Budget

Click Save to activate your budget.

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Budget Types

Set spending limits for specific categories like:
  • Food & Dining
  • Entertainment
  • Transportation
  • Utilities
Category budgets automatically track all transactions in that category.
Set total spending limits across all categories:
  • Monthly spending limit
  • Discretionary spending budget
  • Total business expenses
Track spending for specific projects or goals:
  • Home renovation
  • Vacation planning
  • Event budgets

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Tracking Budget Performance

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Budget Overview

View your budget status at a glance:

Spent vs. Budgeted

Visual representation of how much you’ve spent compared to your budget.

Remaining Balance

Amount remaining in each budget category.

Daily Average

Average daily spending to stay within budget.

Projected Spending

Estimated total spending based on current pace.

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Budget Alerts

Budget Bee can notify you when:
  • You reach warning thresholds (e.g., 75% spent)
  • You’re close to exceeding your budget (e.g., 90% spent)
  • You exceed your budget
  • A new budget period begins
Configure alert thresholds based on your spending patterns to avoid surprises.

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Budget Periods

Budgets can be configured for different time periods:

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Monthly Budgets

Most common for ongoing expense categories:
  • Resets on the 1st of each month
  • Track month-over-month spending trends
  • Easy to compare against monthly income

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Quarterly Budgets

Useful for business planning:
  • Aligns with business quarters (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4)
  • Good for seasonal spending patterns
  • Helps with quarterly financial reviews

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Annual Budgets

For long-term planning:
  • Yearly spending limits
  • Track progress throughout the year
  • Compare year-over-year spending

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Custom Periods

Define your own budget timeframes:
  • Project-specific budgets
  • Event budgets (weddings, conferences)
  • Academic year budgets
  • Fiscal year budgets

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Integration with Transactions

Budgets automatically track spending from transactions: 
// Pseudo-code for budget tracking
const calculateBudgetUsage = (budget, transactions) => {
  const relevantTransactions = transactions.filter(t => 
    t.category_id === budget.category_id &&
    t.transaction_date >= budget.period_start &&
    t.transaction_date <= budget.period_end
  );
  
  const spent = relevantTransactions.reduce((sum, t) => 
    sum + Math.abs(t.amount), 0
  );
  
  return {
    budgeted: budget.amount,
    spent,
    remaining: budget.amount - spent,
    percentage: (spent / budget.amount) * 100
  };
};

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Budget Reports

Generate reports to analyze budget performance:

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Available Reports

  • Budget vs. Actual: Compare planned vs. actual spending
  • Variance Report: Identify over/under budget categories
  • Trend Analysis: Track budget performance over time
  • Category Breakdown: See which categories exceed budgets most often

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Best Practices

Start Realistic

Base initial budgets on past spending patterns, not aspirational goals.

Review Regularly

Check budget status weekly to stay on track.

Adjust as Needed

Update budgets when circumstances change (income changes, new expenses).

Use Categories

Link budgets to categories for automatic tracking.

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Budget Categories

Common budget categories to consider:
  • Housing (rent/mortgage)
  • Utilities (electricity, water, internet)
  • Groceries
  • Transportation
  • Insurance
  • Minimum debt payments
  • Dining out
  • Entertainment
  • Shopping
  • Hobbies
  • Travel
  • Subscriptions
  • Emergency fund
  • Retirement contributions
  • Investment account
  • Vacation fund
  • Large purchase savings

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Budget Strategies

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50/30/20 Rule

Allocate your income:
  • 50% to needs (housing, food, utilities)
  • 30% to wants (entertainment, dining out)
  • 20% to savings and debt repayment

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Zero-Based Budget

Assign every dollar a job:
  • All income is allocated to specific budget categories
  • Income minus expenses equals zero
  • Ensures intentional spending

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Envelope Method

Digital version of cash envelopes:
  • Set fixed amounts for each category
  • Once spent, no more spending in that category
  • Great for discretionary categories

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Troubleshooting

Verify:
  • Transactions are in the correct category
  • Transaction dates fall within the budget period
  • Budget is active (not paused or deleted)
  • Category is correctly linked to the budget
Check:
  • All transactions are properly categorized
  • No duplicate transactions
  • Budget period dates are correct
  • Currency conversions if using multiple currencies
Ensure:
  • Email notifications are enabled
  • Alert thresholds are configured
  • Email address is verified
  • Check spam folder for notifications

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Future Enhancements

The budgets feature is under active development. Planned enhancements include:
  • Automatic budget suggestions based on spending history
  • Budget templates for common scenarios
  • Rollover budgets (unused amount carries to next period)
  • Budget sharing within organizations
  • Mobile app budget notifications
  • Integration with bank accounts for real-time tracking
Check the Budget Bee release notes for updates on budget feature availability.

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