Type the deposit when it lands
On payday, use the net amount that arrived in the account you will spend from. In Upwardo that screen is Payday stuffing. The button is Record income. Nothing is imported from a bank.
The example deposit is USD 3,240.00 on 1 September 2026. Use the envelope planner if you want to split a number in the browser first.
If two deposits arrive, record two incomes. This guide uses one.
Give the money envelopes before you spend it
Assign the deposit until you know where the remainder sits. Unassigned is income minus the envelope totals. In the app the cash bill is labeled UNASSIGNED. A month can be sealed only when that remainder is zero. You can reopen a sealed month.
Example assignment (same fictional household):
| Envelope | Assigned |
|---|---|
| Rent | USD 1,450.00 |
| Groceries | USD 420.00 |
| Transit | USD 180.00 |
| Eating out | USD 160.00 |
| Utilities | USD 210.00 |
| Savings | USD 400.00 |
| Buffer | USD 220.00 |
| Assigned | USD 3,040.00 |
| Unassigned | USD 200.00 |
USD 200.00 still has no name. Leave it visible or move it into Buffer. If assigned exceeds income, the shortfall stays on screen.
Record each spend yourself
Every payment that should leave an envelope needs a line: amount, envelope, optional merchant and memo. Type is the path this guide uses. Scan and Speak, when those features are available, also start a draft. Nothing is written to the ledger until you confirm.
If a draft helper is off or unreachable, the form stays editable.
A fictional week in one spending account
These conditions are part of the example:
- One spending account, balance USD 0.00 before the paycheck
- The only deposit is USD 3,240.00
- No other inflows or outflows besides the seven lines below
- Every listed payment has settled
- USD 400.00 is transferred to a separate savings account that is not part of this spending pile
The 400.00 leaves the spending account and still belongs to you. It is not a purchase and it does not reduce total assets.
| Date | Payee | Envelope | Kind | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-01 | Landlord | Rent | Payment | USD 1,450.00 |
| 2026-09-02 | Neighborhood Market | Groceries | Payment | USD 88.40 |
| 2026-09-03 | Metro card | Transit | Payment | USD 45.00 |
| 2026-09-04 | Corner Kitchen | Eating out | Payment | USD 23.00 |
| 2026-09-05 | Utility Co. | Utilities | Payment | USD 187.33 |
| 2026-09-06 | Neighborhood Market | Groceries | Payment | USD 76.15 |
| 2026-09-07 | Savings account | Savings | Transfer | USD 400.00 |
Payments from the spending account: USD 1,869.88. Transfer to the savings account: USD 400.00. Together they leave USD 2,269.88. Groceries in this week: USD 164.55 (88.40 + 76.15). Buffer has no payment yet.
Reconcile leftover envelopes with leftover cash
After those lines, money still planned in this spending account is:
| Envelope | Assigned | Left this account | Remaining here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | 1,450.00 | 1,450.00 payment | 0.00 |
| Groceries | 420.00 | 164.55 payment | 255.45 |
| Transit | 180.00 | 45.00 payment | 135.00 |
| Eating out | 160.00 | 23.00 payment | 137.00 |
| Utilities | 210.00 | 187.33 payment | 22.67 |
| Savings | 400.00 | 400.00 transfer | 0.00 |
| Buffer | 220.00 | 0.00 | 220.00 |
| Unassigned | 200.00 | — | 200.00 |
| Still in the spending account | USD 970.12 |
Income 3,240.00 minus payments 1,869.88 minus the 400.00 transfer is also USD 970.12.
Open the spending account in the bank’s own app or on paper — not inside Upwardo — and compare that leftover with 970.12. A match is a reason to keep checking dates, amounts, duplicates, and missing days. Equal leftovers do not prove the list is complete. Two omitted movements that cancel can also match.
Under these same fictional conditions, if a USD 12.50 coffee left the spending account and was never entered, the bank leftover would be USD 957.62 while the list still shows 970.12. That 12.50 gap matches the omitted coffee because the story has no other unrecorded movement. In a live account, a 12.50 gap could be one coffee, several small charges, or a missed deposit that offsets a larger miss. Do not edit an envelope total to force a match.
What still uses a network
Upwardo does not connect to a bank. Typed records are handled on the device. If encrypted sync is enabled, those changes can be synced.
| Action | What happens |
|---|---|
| Typed records | Handled on the device. If encrypted sync is enabled, the changes can be synced. |
| Optional AI draft | Sends the text and envelope labels you confirm. |
| Optional sync | Ciphertext between your devices. |
| Store purchase | The store and its purchase provider. |
Current payload limits, providers, and retention are in the privacy policy.
What the checking costs
At payday you assign envelopes. For each later payment you enter or confirm a line. A weekend of unrecorded cards is a checking session against the account, not a missing bank feed.
This fits someone who will keep that list in exchange for not linking a bank. A spreadsheet can do the same arithmetic. The app adds envelope balances, free CSV, and optional encrypted sync.
If Eating out is USD 23 over its assignment, that is the remainder on that envelope.
Keep a copy
Export stays free in the app: an Upwardo CSV for restore, or a spreadsheet CSV for reading. The website planner’s CSV is an assignment sheet only; it will not restore an app ledger.
Split a paycheck in the envelope budget planner. For payday and capture in the product, see how it works and download for current platform status.