Scheduled Transactions

What Are Scheduled Transactions?

Scheduled transactions are future-dated transactions that appear in your transaction list but don't affect your budget or account balance until they are entered. They give you visibility into upcoming expenses while keeping your current budget numbers accurate.

• Budget-inert: They don't reduce your category's Available balance or change your account balance until entered
• Visible planning: See what's coming up right in your transaction list
• Accurate current numbers: Your budget reflects only what has actually happened
• Different from recurring templates: Recurring templates auto-create transactions behind the scenes, while scheduled transactions are visible entries you can review before they post

Scheduled vs. Recurring Templates

Purpose Budget offers two complementary approaches for handling regular transactions:

Creating a Scheduled Transaction

Creating a scheduled transaction is simple - just create a regular transaction with a future date. Any transaction dated in the future automatically becomes scheduled.

1. Navigate to your account or All Transactions
2. Click "Add Transaction"
3. Fill in all details: payee, amount, account, category
4. Set the date to a future date
5. Save the transaction

The transaction appears in the scheduled section instead of the main transaction list, highlighted in blue to distinguish it from regular transactions.

The Scheduled Section

Scheduled transactions appear in a blue collapsible section at the top of your transaction list. This section keeps upcoming transactions organized and visible without cluttering your main list.

• Transactions are sorted by nearest date first
• Expand or collapse the section to show or hide upcoming transactions
• On the All Transactions page, a blue badge in the compact toolbar shows the count of scheduled transactions
• The section only appears when you have upcoming scheduled transactions

Entering a Scheduled Transaction

Manual Entry with "Enter Now"

You can enter a scheduled transaction before its date by clicking the "Enter Now" button. This is useful when a bill posts early or you want to record it right away.

• Click the "Enter Now" button on any scheduled transaction
• The transaction is materialized: it becomes a regular transaction
• Your account balance and category budget are updated immediately
• If the transaction repeats, the next occurrence is automatically generated

Automatic Materialization

When the scheduled date arrives, the transaction is automatically entered the next time you load the dashboard or transaction list. No manual action is needed - the app handles it for you.

Repeating Scheduled Transactions

Scheduled transactions support repeat frequencies just like regular transactions. After a repeating scheduled transaction is entered (manually or automatically), the next occurrence is generated at the appropriate future date.

• Available frequencies: Weekly, biweekly, monthly, yearly, or custom
• Automatic generation: The new occurrence inherits all details - payee, amount, account, category, and repeat settings
• Visual indicator: A repeat icon appears on repeating transactions in the list
• Stopping repeats: Edit the transaction and remove the repeat frequency before entering it to stop the cycle

Budget Impact

Scheduled transactions are budget-inert. This is a key design decision that keeps your budget numbers accurate to what has actually happened.

• Your category's Available balance is not reduced until the transaction is entered
• Your account balance is not affected until materialization
• You can plan ahead without distorting your current budget numbers
• Once entered, the transaction behaves exactly like any other transaction

Scheduled Transfers

When you schedule a transfer between accounts, both legs of the transfer are pre-generated. This ensures the transfer pair relationship is maintained even before the transactions are entered.

• Both the outgoing and incoming transactions appear in the scheduled section of their respective accounts
• The legs are cross-linked so entering one automatically enters the other
• UUIDs are pre-generated to maintain the transfer pair relationship
• If the transfer repeats, both legs of the next occurrence are generated together

Tips and Best Practices

• Use for variable bills: Schedule transactions for bills where the amount might change - you can edit the amount before entering
• Combine with category targets: Set a category target to accumulate funds, then use a scheduled transaction for the actual payment
• Check regularly: Review the scheduled section to stay aware of upcoming expenses
• Edit before the date: If a scheduled transaction amount changes, edit it before the date arrives
• Pair with recurring templates: Use recurring templates for predictable fixed amounts and scheduled transactions for bills you want to review first