Starting a budget app mid-month: how do you enter opening balances and your main currency?
Last updated: November 3, 2026
In short: Pick your main currency first, then open each account with today's balance and start recording from today. An opening balance is not counted as income; it is the account's starting point, so your monthly report doesn't swell. If you also want the earlier days of the month in your report, there is a second way: open the account with its balance on the first of the month and enter everything from then until today. Pick one of the two. If you open an account with today's balance and also enter the past days' spending, the same spending comes off the balance twice.
First step: your main currency
While your ledger has no records yet, a “Which currency do you keep your money in?” card appears at the top of the pages. A currency is preselected from your region; if it's right, press Use this. Summaries, budgets and new accounts use this currency; foreign currency and gold accounts stay in their own unit.
You can change this in Settings until you add your first record. After that it is locked, because each record's value in the main currency is written when you save it and totals are kept in that currency. If you are paid in dollars and spend in dollars, your main currency is USD; if you live on euros, it is EUR.
Opening accounts with an opening balance
The free plan has 1 account; credit card accounts, foreign currency and gold accounts and transfers between accounts are on Pro. If you start with one account, pick the one you use most.
- On the Accounts page, open Add an account or card.
- Give the account the name your bank uses and type the balance in the Opening balance field. The field can be left empty; then the account starts from zero.
- If you use cash, open a separate account for it and enter the money in your wallet as its opening balance.
- On a credit card the field is the current balance owed; the credit card guide explains how to enter it. For foreign currency and gold, see the savings guide.
Why isn't the opening balance income?
An account's balance is its opening balance plus all of the account's records. The opening balance is not a record, so it doesn't show in the income and expense list or in the monthly report. If your account holds $1,800, you write that in the opening balance instead of entering it as income called “salary”. Enter it as income and that month's income looks $1,800 higher than what you earned, which throws off your savings rate. On the free plan that wrong record also uses one of the month's 30 records.
The past days of the month: two ways
Starting from today is the easiest. You open the accounts with today's balance, records start from today, and the balances are right straight away. What's missing is the first month's report: the spending from the first half of the month isn't there, so don't trust that month's category split or savings rate. The second month is complete.
Starting from the first of the month makes the first month's report complete as well. You open the account with its balance on the 1st (your bank app's transaction history shows it) and enter the spending and income from then until today with their dates. At the end the account's balance should match your bank; if it doesn't, a record is missing or extra.
Count your record allowance when you choose. The free plan has 30 records a month, and what counts is the day you enter a record, not the date written on it. Entering the past fifteen days uses this month's allowance, so if you have few records left, starting from today suits you better.
Checking after the first week
After a week, compare each account's balance with your bank. A difference is usually a forgotten record; look through the account's recent records on the Transactions page to find the missing day. If you typed the opening balance wrong, fix it in the account's details on its page; you don't need to touch the records. The quickest way to record spending on the day is to tell the Assistant “45 on groceries”; the voice entry guide shows how.
Which plan has it?
Pro includes credit card accounts, foreign currency and gold accounts, transfers between accounts and budgets. Every new account gets 14 days of Pro without a card; after that Pro is $12.99 a year or $1.99 a month in Türkiye and $39.99 a year or $6.99 a month elsewhere. The free plan has 1 account and 30 records a month. Details are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
- Does the opening balance show as income in the monthly report?
- No. The opening balance is not a record but the account's starting point. It isn't part of the income or expense totals.
- Can I change my main currency later?
- You can change it in Settings until you add your first record. After that it stays, because totals are kept in that currency.
- Should I enter previous months' spending too?
- You don't have to. If you opened the account with today's balance, the balance is already right. Enter past months only if you want them in your reports; then open the account with its balance on that date.
- I entered the wrong opening balance. What should I do?
- Open the account's page and correct the Opening balance field in its details. The balance is recalculated without changing any records.
- Will a budget work properly in the first month?
- A budget counts the expenses dated in that month. If you started today, the first month counts only expenses from today on, so the budget looks easier than it is; the second month is complete.
Open your ledger today.
All of Pro is on for your first 14 days. No card needed.