Set limits

Set monthly limits by category, see how much of your income is already allocated, watch overspend risk, choose what happens to what is left over, and plan a whole year ahead.

1. 1

   See how much is already allocated

   Once you have limits set, two summaries appear at the top. To Allocate compares the month's income against the total already tied up in limits and tells you how much is left to distribute. The other shows overall progress of everything you have spent against everything you budgeted.

   Tip · If you allocate more than you earn, the summary flags Over-allocated — your limits add up to more than your income, so at least one of them will have to give.

2. 2

   Use budgets on mobile

   On mobile, budgets have their own layout: the amount left to spend at the top, the percentage of the period already used, and the categories as cards you scroll through. The annual plan and income targets stay available on desktop.

   • Set a budget — opens the budget window, pick the category and enter the monthly limit; your average spend is suggested when there is history.
   • Search and filters — find a category by name, or show only those with a limit, without one, or needing attention.
   • Details — tap to see the month's spend, what is available, and the category's rollover.
   • View transactions — open the category's movements straight from the card.

   Tip · When the selected period spans several months, the limit shown is your monthly limit multiplied by those months — so the comparison against spend makes sense.

3. 3

   Create your first limit

   In Budgets, press Add budget — next to Clear all — to open the budget window. Pick a category and enter a monthly limit. If you already have history in that category, iowii suggests the average of the months where you spent something — use it as a starting point. Inside the window, a six-month chart shows how that category has been trending, with a dashed line at the limit you are typing and any month above it in red. You can open the same window from any page, using the New button in the side menu.

4. 4

   See the category's history

   The chart above the list shows the last six months of the category you are setting, with a dashed line at the average. The average counts only months where you actually spent something, so an empty month does not drag it down artificially.

   Tip · While you are creating or editing a limit, the chart follows the category in the form. Once every category has a limit, the chart's own picker becomes independent and you can inspect any category.

5. 5

   Watch overspend risk

   Each category shows spend, limit, and a progress bar, with a status that changes colour:

   • Normal — you are inside the limit, with room to spare.
   • Amber — you are close to the limit.
   • Red — you have gone past the limit.

   Tip · Open a category's details to see the projection through the end of the month and its trend. You can also filter to show only the ones needing attention.

6. 6

   Decide what happens to what is left

   In each category's details, rollover decides what happens to what is left at the end of the month.

   • No rollover — each month starts fresh.
   • Same category — what is left is added to next month's limit in that same category.
   • General pool — what is left joins a shared reserve across all categories.

   Tip · It is especially useful in categories that swing a lot month to month, where an expensive month offsets a cheaper one. Whatever you send to the general pool then shows up in the To Allocate summary.

7. 7

   Find a category in the list

   With many categories, use the search and the four filters to get to what you need quickly:

   • All — every expense category.
   • With limit — only the ones you have budgeted.
   • No limit — those with no limit set yet.
   • Attention — those close to their limit or already past it.

   Tip · The list is paginated and you can show 10, 25, or 50 per page. Your choice is saved and carries across the app's other lists.

8. 8

   Edit or remove limits

   Each card has Edit, which sends that category back to the form, and delete, which removes just that limit. To start over there is Clear all, behind a confirmation — that one cannot be undone.

   Tip · Removing a limit deletes no transactions. It only means that category no longer has a ceiling.

9. 9

   Count or ignore scheduled items

   If you have scheduled expenses inside the period, a Scheduled button appears at the top with their count. Turning it on counts those not-yet-spent expenses toward each category's spend; turning it off shows only what has actually left your account.

   Tip · It is the same setting found in Preferences, applied across the whole app. With it on, a limit can read as exceeded because of something you have not paid yet — that is a warning, not a mistake.

10. 10

    Set income targets

    Beyond expense limits, you can set monthly income targets per source — salary, freelance work, or any other. They let you compare what you expect to receive against what actually came in.

11. 11

    Plan the whole year

    The annual tab shows a table with categories as rows and the twelve months as columns. Your monthly limit is the automatic baseline and each cell is an exception — useful for months with predictable out-of-the-ordinary costs, like holidays or back-to-school. You can also apply the base budget across several months at once.

    Tip · Changes to the annual plan are not saved automatically — save before leaving the tab, and iowii warns you if you try to leave with unsaved edits. The annual tab always shows the whole year, whatever period the filter is set to.

12. 12

    Group related categories

    When several categories serve the same goal, you can put them in a group and track the total in one place. Groups appear as cards on the Budgets page, with their combined spend and limit.

    Tip · Groups are created in Preferences, not on the Budgets page. That is also where you set the day your financial month starts, if it is not the 1st.