Help / Learn

What it is

A forward-looking planner that starts from today and looks ahead — whether you’re on a regular pay schedule or your income varies.

Why it matters

You see whether you could run low before the money you’re expecting arrives — not just a list of old purchases.

What to do

• Add your income in Income: pay day and take-home if you’re paid regularly, or dated incoming payments (and optional monthly guidance) if your income varies.
• Add the bills that fall in the stretch you’re planning.
• Check Summary for your balance path — lowest before pay when you use a pay cycle, or days covered and next expected income when pay varies.

What it is

A short checklist so the forecast matches your real bank balance.

Why it matters

Wrong balances or wrong pay dates make the whole runway misleading.

What to do

• Enter what you actually have (reconcile pots if you use them).
• Set take-home pay and pay schedule.
• Add bills with the right amounts and due pattern.

What it is

The stretch from after one payday until the next one — that’s what the app plans around.

Why it matters

Bills and spending in that window decide whether you stay in the black.

What to do

• Check Income so pay lands on the right day (including weekend rules if you use them).
• Scan bills that fall before the next pay.
• Use Summary to see the lowest point before that pay arrives.

What it is

The same forward forecast you’re used to — bills, pots, and Timeline — without needing one fixed pay day to make sense of it.

Why it matters

Variable income still has to cover real due dates. The app highlights your next expected income and how many days your balance can stay healthy on the path you’ve entered.

What to do

• Under Income, turn off “Paid on a regular schedule” when a fixed pay day doesn’t describe you.
• Use “Expected income (this month)” for a soft monthly hint on Summary, and add dated incoming payments so Timeline and your forecast know what’s arriving when.
• Read “Managing irregular income” in Help / Learn for the full picture (guidance vs dated payments, mark as received).

What it is

Two lightweight tools: optional monthly guidance, and dated “incoming payments” that behave like income on your Timeline and in your balance forecast.

Why it matters

You don’t need a fake salary. Guidance nudges Summary when you have no dated deposits yet; incoming payments improve runway maths when you know what’s arriving and when.

What to do

• On Income, set “Expected income (this month)” if you want a rough total for prompts — it’s not a pay day and doesn’t create a dated line.
• Add incoming payments (name, amount, date). They appear on Timeline as expected cash in and move your projected balance on that date.
• When money lands, mark the payment as received — it stops shifting the forward forecast (your pots should already include the cash).

What it is

One cycle = from just after you were last paid until just before you’re paid again.

Why it matters

Everything on Summary and Timeline is built around that window.

What to do

• Think in “days until pay,” not just calendar months.
• Put bills in that belong to this stretch.
• If pay moves (early/late), update Income so the cycle stays honest.

What it is

From your planning date up to — but not including — your next payday.

Why it matters

That’s where the app checks if money going out beats money coming in before you’re paid.

What to do

• Pick a planning date on Summary if you want to “pretend” it’s another day.
• List what still has to leave your account before pay.
• Watch the projected balance across that window.

What it is

The bottom of your projected balance on the way to payday.

Why it matters

If this dips below zero, the app is warning you you may not cover everything before pay.

What to do

• If it’s low, trim spending, move money, or move a bill if you can.
• Mark bills paid when they’ve gone so the line isn’t too gloomy.
• Fix wrong bill amounts or dates first — they move this number a lot.

What it is

Pots split your money into buckets (bills, food, savings) while your total stays one real balance.

Why it matters

You can see which bucket might fall short even when the total looks fine.

What it is

Planned is what the schedule expects; actual is what you mark paid or log by hand.

Why it matters

The closer they match, the more you can trust the lowest-before-pay line.

What to do

• Log manual spending when you spend outside bills.
• Mark bills paid when the money has left.
• Adjust balances if reality drifts from the pots.

What it is

A dated list of everything — bills, pay, and manual spending — before your next payday.

Why it matters

You see the order things hit and whether your balance keeps up day by day.

What it is

A way to say “this bill has left my account for this time.”

Why it matters

Paid items stop acting like money still owed in the forecast.

What to do

• Mark paid when the payment actually went out.
• The timeline date becomes the day you mark it: bills when you mark paid, and irregular incoming (Income tab) when you mark fully received — not the original scheduled date.
• Use undo if you tapped early or the payment failed.
• Leave unpaid if it hasn’t gone yet — the app stays cautious.

What it is

Quick entries for spending that isn’t a regular bill.

Why it matters

Coffee, cash, and one-offs change your balance too — logging them keeps the picture honest.

What to do

• Use Add spending from Timeline when you buy something.
• Pick the pot that paid.
• Turn on spare change if you want small round-ups to a savings pot.

What it is

A way to pull rows from a bank-export CSV into the app after you map columns and explicitly choose what to add — not a live bank link, and nothing in your account is replaced in bulk.

Why it matters

You can catch up the timeline without typing every card payment, while staying in control of which rows become manual entries, which only mark existing bills paid, and which are left out.

What it is

A weekly budget pot lets you pace spending from a funded pot across the week. You still fund the pot on payday (a real move); the weekly figure is a target so you can see spent and left for the current week.

Why it matters

It helps you avoid spending too much too early in the pay cycle without inventing fake transactions on one day.

What to do

• Fund the pot on payday (or move money in) so the balance is real.
• Turn on “Weekly budget pot” for that pot and set a weekly target and week start day.
• Log manual spending against that pot — it reduces the real balance and counts toward “spent this week.”
• Check the pot screen and Timeline markers for how much is left this week.
• Plan your outgoings includes weekly budget allowance for the range (even daily pace from your weekly target) in Left after outgoings and Pot funding needs, and pre-fills Allocate from Main with your Recurring from Main payday top-up when pay falls in the range.

What it is

Where you define what repeats — rent, subscriptions, salary, and pay dates.

Why it matters

The app turns those rules into dated lines on the Timeline and into the forecast.

What to do

• Income: set amount, frequency, and payday.
• Bills: set amount, due pattern, and which pot pays.
• For a finite payment plan (holiday instalments, trip deposits) — not a monthly repeat — use More → Instalment plans instead of a bill.
• Use “Only schedule payments from a start date” on a bill so new entries don’t fill in past months.
• Use a one-off override for a month if pay or amount is different.
• For a fixed payday top-up that isn’t a bill (e.g. sweep to Food every pay), set Recurring from Main on that pot — it adds to Allocate payday only.

What it is

Moves money between pots without changing your overall total.

Why it matters

It mirrors when you shift money between real accounts or envelopes.

What to do

• Open Move money from Pots.
• Move from the pot that’s too full to the one that needs it.
• Each move appears on Timeline so you can see when money shifted between pots.
• Tap Move (Undo) on a pot move row on Timeline to reverse it if you moved money by mistake.
• Fund pots used for instalment plans (e.g. Holidays) before each due date — see Payment & instalment plans in Help.
• Check bills still point at the right pot after a big move.

What it is

A screen where you set each pot’s balance so the app’s total matches what you really hold — usually after checking your bank or a CSV statement balance.

Why it matters

Forecasts and Timeline use the balances you keep here. Reconciling fixes drift without deleting bills, income rules, or manual history.

What to do

• Open Reconcile balances from Pots, or from the prompt after a CSV import when you want pots to match a closing balance from the file.
• Enter the amount each pot should represent (or follow one real bank total if you mirror it with pots).
• Save when you are sure — this updates pot balances only, not your bill schedule or the rows you imported.

What it is

Optional: round a manual Timeline card spend up and tuck the difference into a savings pot on this account — including boosted savings pots. The round-up is debited from the same pocket you selected for that spend, not from Main unless that spend was from Main.

Why it matters

Small amounts add up without you thinking about them each time.

What to do

• Choose a destination in Account settings → Round-up goes to (any pot, including boosted savings).
• Round-ups run only when you add card spending from the Timeline (not from the Bills tab, and not for bank transfers or other payment types).
• Only works if the pocket you spent from can cover the round-up after this spend.
• Whole-pound spends (e.g. £144.00) still save at least £1 (× your multiplier — e.g. 2× → £2), like Revolut-style round-ups.
• Turn off anytime if you prefer simpler entries.

What it is

Boosted savings are pots on your main account — for example a bank “boosted” or savings pocket — not a separate workspace. Each pot has its own balance, optional AER interest, and can receive spare change.

Why it matters

You move money with normal Move money (Main ↔ pot), see interest estimates on that pot, and keep everything in one account view.

What to do

• From Accounts → Add account → Boosted savings pot, pick the parent account and name the pot.
• Open Pots on that account → Move money to shift cash between Main and the boosted pot.
• Open the pot → turn on Earns interest and set AER; pick the pot under Account settings → Spare change for round-ups.

What it is

Turn on Earns interest on a boosted savings pot (or on the whole account in Account settings). Pot interest uses that pot’s balance only; account-level interest uses the full account total.

Why it matters

You can model round-ups into a savings pot and see rough month-end interest on Timeline and Summary without turning the app into a tax or investment calculator.

What to do

• Add a boosted savings pot from Accounts, or open an existing savings pot on Pots.
• In the pot editor, turn on Earns interest and set AER %; check Timeline for month-end interest lines.
• Use Move money to fund the pot from Main when you save.

What it is

A payment plan (instalment plan) models a big purchase or goal with a total cost, optional money already paid (e.g. a deposit), and one or more future payments on specific dates — holidays, school trips, festivals, wedding deposits, car insurance split payments, and similar.

The app keeps three separate ideas clear:

1. Payment schedule (vendor) — what you still owe the provider and when. Drives Timeline, forecasts, and mark-paid. Example: deposit + three £700 instalments to the travel company.

2. Group split (shared plan) — who should pay what share of the total cost. Example: holiday £3,821 split 50/50 → Donna expected £1,910.84, Mark expected £1,910.84. This is the agreed overall split — not the same as what has gone into the pot yet.

3. Pot funding — actual money recorded as put into the assigned pot. Example: Donna £1,630, Mark £1,150 into the Greece Holiday pot. These rows do not move the pot — update them when someone transfers money in.

Left to pay — (on Group split and Pot funding cards) = expected share minus recorded pot funding, plus each person’s share of money moved out for other uses. Record the total under Pot moves out when editing the plan (or leave blank to sum Timeline pot moves). Example: Donna expected £1,910.84, funded £1,630, and her 50% share of £80 moved out adds £40 → £320.84 left to pay.

Status (RAG) — on shared-plan cards: On track (green) when left to pay is zero; Behind (amber) when some is still owed but under 25% of expected share; Well behind (red) when more than 25% of their share is still unfunded. The card stripe uses the worst status in the group.

Pot balance vs recorded funding: — the current pot balance can differ from total recorded funding — vendor instalments marked paid, spending from this pot, or money moved to another pot. Only marked instalments count as paid to the vendor. For left to pay, record moves out under Pot moves out (or use the Timeline sum). Pot balance alone is not used to infer who owes what.

Each plan is tied to a pot (e.g. Holidays). The pot is where money sits; the plan tracks vendor dates, group shares, and who funded the pot.

Why it matters

You can see whether you are on track before each vendor payment is due — in Overview, Timeline, Plan your outgoings, and Pot coverage. With a shared plan you can also see who has funded the pot, who still has left to pay toward their share, and whether contributions are uneven — without mixing that up with what is owed to the provider.

Unlike a normal bill (rent every month), a plan is for a finite schedule tied to one goal. Unlike Money owed (money coming in to you), instalment plans are money going out from your pot.

What it is

A light layer on top of incoming payments. Flag a row as money owed, add a contact, and it behaves like any other dated incoming payment on Timeline and in forecasts — not a separate loan product. For several instalments, use More → Money owed → + → Repayment plan: the app creates one incoming payment per instalment (all marked owed, same contact, optionally linked by a small plan id). One-off entries work too.

Why it matters

Informal loans stay visible beside the rest of your cashflow. Outstanding per contact is simply the sum of what’s still not marked received on those rows. Marking a payment received reduces the total automatically; no parallel “debt calculator”.

What to do

• One-off: on Income, add an incoming payment, turn on Money owed to me, enter who owes you and the amount and date.
• Repayment plan: More → Money owed → + → Repayment plan — enter total, first payment and date, then a monthly repeat amount. The app adds separate rows for each part; the last one may be smaller so the amounts add up to the total.
• Mark each instalment received when it lands (Income, Money owed detail, or Timeline). Use Received so far for partials on a single row.

What it is

Lovely Finance is free for one top-level account and up to ten active bills per account. Plus is an optional subscription that removes those limits.

Why it matters

You can use the full app on the free tier without losing data. Plus is only needed when you want another household budget or more than ten scheduled bills on one account.

What to do

• Free tier: one top-level account and ten active bills per account (archived bills do not count toward the limit).
• Existing accounts and bills are kept if you downgrade or stay on free — limits only apply when adding new ones.
• Upgrade from Accounts (banner or Add account), Bills (Add bill), or App settings → Lovely Finance Plus.
• Restore purchases in App settings if you changed devices or reinstalled. Manage or cancel in the App Store subscriptions page.

What it is

A backup is a single file with your accounts, bills, balances, paid marks, and related settings — everything the app stores on this device.

Why it matters

Your data does not sync automatically to the cloud. A backup is the reliable way to recover after a lost phone, a reinstall, or if something goes wrong with an update.

What to do

• Open App settings (gear) → Data management → Create backup, then save the file to Files or iCloud Drive (or AirDrop it somewhere safe).
• Before installing a big app update, make a fresh backup.
• To put a backup back on this device, use Restore from backup in the same section — it replaces current data with that snapshot.

What it is

A line that shows how your total balance is expected to move toward payday.

Why it matters

You spot dips from bills and lifts from pay in one glance.

What it is

Groups manual spending so you can see where money went in the reporting window.

Why it matters

Helps you notice habits — groceries vs eating out — without judging you.

What to do

• Check the cycle dates shown on the report.
• Use categories on manual spends for cleaner bars.
• Treat it as a guide, not a tax return.

What it is

Optional plain-language text built on top of the same numbers you already see.

Why it matters

Sometimes a short paragraph is easier than scanning charts.

What to do

• Turn AI on in Settings if you want it.
• Still trust the charts for exact figures.
• Don’t paste secrets you wouldn’t email to support.

What it is

Usually a mismatch between what’s in the app and what’s in the bank.

Why it matters

The forecast starts from the balance you said you have.

What to do

• Reconcile pots to match your bank.
• Check you didn’t leave planning stuck on an old date.
• Look for bills with wrong amounts or dates.

What it is

It follows how much is still due before payday and what you’ve already marked paid.

Why it matters

A packed week of bills pulls it down; a quiet week keeps it high.

What to do

• Review bills clustered on the same day.
• Mark paid items that already left.
• Check pot shortfalls if you use pots — they can flag stress even when total cash looks OK.

What it is

The app may be showing that after fixed costs, little is left before pay.

Why it matters

That’s a projection from your entries — it’s a warning, not a locked balance.

What to do

• Check for duplicate bills or wrong amounts.
• Confirm pay lands when you think it does.
• Trim or postpone optional spends if the line is truthful.

What it is

The bill stays “still to go” in the forecast.

Why it matters

The app keeps assuming that money is needed until you say it left.

What to do

• Mark paid when it’s really gone.
• Or change the bill if the schedule is wrong.