Two ways to budget, one set of numbers

What it does

Budgeters tend to fall into two camps. Some want a plan per category (“$600 for groceries this month”) and a clear view of how much is left. Others want to give every dollar they have a job before they spend it, the envelope method. Most budgeting apps pick one camp, so changing your mind means changing apps.

Kemback does both. Your budget has a mode, envelope or category, and you can switch it in Budget settings at any time. Both modes are calculated from the same budget lines and the same transactions, so switching never rewrites anything.

How it works in Kemback

Open Budget and the page tells you which mode you’re in. The month arrows move backwards and forwards, and each category has one amount you can type into: Assigned in envelope mode, Planned in category mode. Spending shows beside it as Activity.

Category mode is the flexible one. You set a monthly plan per category and see how much of it is left. The month’s summary shows Income, Planned, Spent and Overspent. Each category has a Roll over switch: with it off, the category starts each month fresh at zero; with it on, whatever is left over (or overspent) carries into the next month.

Envelope mode is zero-based. You set your starting funds once, and Kemback shows Ready to Assign: the money you haven’t given a job yet. It’s green while there’s money to assign, amber at zero and red, labelled Over-assigned, if you’ve assigned more than you have. Envelope balances always carry forward. If an envelope goes below zero, the shortfall comes out of next month’s Ready to Assign and the envelope starts the next month at zero. See envelope budgeting for the details.

Switching without losing anything

Before you switch, Kemback explains the other mode in one sentence and asks you to confirm: your plans and transactions stay exactly as they are. Switching writes only the mode. The amount you planned for a category becomes the amount assigned to its envelope, and back again. In envelope mode the Roll over switch is hidden, because envelopes always roll over, but its setting is kept for when you return.

If every category rolls over and nothing is overspent, the two modes show the same balance for every category. Where they differ, it’s because the methods genuinely differ, not because data was lost. Kemback tests both properties, and the envelope rule that every dollar is accounted for, on every change.

All budget arithmetic is done in whole cents, never in floating point, so totals don’t drift by a penny over the years.

Start from your spending

A blank budget is the hardest part. When a month has nothing budgeted yet, Kemback offers Start from your spending: an amount for each category, from the average of your three most recent months with spending, rounded up to whole dollars. Untick anything you don’t want to budget, change any amount, and accept. Until you do, nothing is written. After importing your history, that means a working budget in a minute or two.

Budgets for a household

The budget belongs to the household, so everyone works from the same plan, and the mode is set by editors and owners. Activity comes from the transactions each person can see: spending on an account someone keeps private counts in their view of the budget and nobody else’s. More in households and sharing.

Where it runs

Both budget modes work in any browser at kemback.com and in the iPhone app, which is in beta. They’re on the Free plan. Transactions come in from files you download from your bank (OFX, QFX, QIF or CSV) until automatic bank sync arrives with the Plus plan.

Not sure which camp you’re in? Category vs envelope budgets compares the two, and zero-based budgeting explained covers the envelope side.

Questions

Do I lose anything when I switch modes?

No. Switching changes only the budget's mode. Your budget lines, categories and transactions stay exactly as they are, and switching back gives the same figures you had before.

Which mode is zero-based?

Envelope mode. You assign the money you actually have until Ready to Assign reaches zero. Category mode is the more flexible one: you set a plan per category and compare spending with it.

Can one partner use envelopes and the other categories?

The mode belongs to the household's budget, so everyone sees the same mode at a time. Because switching is lossless, a household can try one and change its mind without any rework.

Can Kemback fill in a first budget for me?

Yes. Start from your spending suggests an amount per category from your recent months, rounded up, and you keep, change or skip each one. Nothing is written until you accept.

Is it free?

Yes. Both modes are on the Free plan, with unlimited accounts and transactions.