Evidence-first money workflow · Personal Money
Zero-Based Budget CSV Reconciler
Reconcile income, category jobs, actual spending, savings, transfers, unassigned cash, and overages from a local zero-based budget CSV.
- 1Prepare
- 2Analyze
- 3Review and export
Prepare the evidence
Paste the documented CSV schema or choose a local CSV file. Nothing is sent to Nirmion.
Review the analysis
Summary metrics lead back to the rows that support them.
Method and interpretation
How to use Zero-Based Budget CSV Reconciler
Use this reconciler after drafting a zero-based or envelope-style budget and again after importing actual activity. It answers two separate questions: whether every available unit of planned income has a job, and whether actual spending and saving stayed inside those jobs. Keeping those questions separate prevents a balanced plan from hiding a negative actual cash position.
Prepare the input
Create one row per category and type. Income increases available funds; expense and saving rows use funds; transfer rows are visible evidence but do not change consolidated income or spending. Add opening cash only when it is genuinely available to this planning period. Planned and actual values must use the same currency and sign convention described by the schema.
Check the worked example
The worked example starts with USD 250, adds USD 4,000 planned income, and assigns USD 4,250 across expenses and saving. Groceries finish USD 35 over plan while transport and another category remain under plan. A transfer stays visible but does not double-count saving.
Read the evidence
Start with Unassigned. Zero means the plan is fully allocated, a positive value still needs a job, and a negative value is over-assigned. Then inspect actual net cash and each category’s plan remainder. Duplicate category/type combinations, unplanned activity, and negative remainders remain in the evidence table so they can be corrected in the source budget.
Calculation method
Available funds = opening cash + planned income. Planned jobs = planned expenses + planned saving. Unassigned = available funds − planned jobs. Actual net cash = opening cash + actual income − actual expenses − actual saving. For expense and saving rows, plan remainder = planned − actual. Income uses actual − planned so the direction remains meaningful.
Read YNAB guidance for assigning available money on irregular income
Questions this workflow helps answer
Use these questions to confirm that this tool matches the task you need to complete.
- How can I check a zero-based budget spreadsheet before the month ends?
- Does my zero-based budget assign every unit of income to spending, saving, or another explicit job?
- Which planned-versus-actual categories explain an overage or unassigned balance?
Limits and decision boundary
This is a period reconciliation, not an account ledger. It does not import balances, clear transactions against a statement, forecast future income, convert currencies, or decide which category should absorb an overage. Refunds and reimbursements need a consistent category policy before import.
Common mistake
Do not record the same savings movement as both a saving job and an expense transfer. Assign the saving goal once, keep account-to-account movement as transfer evidence, and check that the source export follows one sign convention.
Your pasted values and selected CSV files are processed in this browser tab. This workflow does not connect to a bank, save a budget, or provide financial, tax, legal, or investment advice.
Questions about this workflow
Does a zero unassigned value prove the budget is affordable?
It proves planned available funds and planned jobs balance under the entered assumptions. Actual cash, due dates, missing transactions, and account balances can still reveal a shortfall.
Why are transfers excluded?
Moving money between accounts does not create household income or spending. The row remains visible so you can verify the movement without counting both sides as economic activity.
Can I use negative expense values for refunds?
The current expense contract expects non-negative actual expense totals by category. Net refunds into the category before import or place reimbursements under a documented income policy.