Plain-Language Budgeting Workflow Glossary
Definitions focus on what a person or system does, without turning terminology into personal financial guidance.
These definitions describe workflow concepts in plain language. Individual products may use the same words differently.
Category
A named purpose used to group planned money, completed activity, or both.
Assigned amount
An amount deliberately directed to a category during a planning period.
Available amount
What a category currently shows as remaining for its purpose after applicable assignments and recorded activity.
Rollover
The way an amount or category state carries from one period into the next under a system’s rules.
Reconciliation
Comparing a budgeting record with a reliable account record and resolving differences so the two agree at a chosen point.
Scheduled transaction
A future or recurring item entered in advance so the workflow can anticipate or later confirm it.
Manual entry
Typing or selecting transaction details directly rather than receiving them through an automated data connection.
Account sync
An automated connection that brings account activity into a tool. Imported activity still needs review for timing, accuracy, and categories.
Expense tracking
Recording and classifying spending that has already occurred so it can be reviewed.
Zero-based planning
A process in which all money available for planning is given a stated purpose, leaving no amount unassigned within that plan. It does not mean spending every dollar.
A definition is not a recommendation
The glossary explains how workflow terms are commonly used. It does not tell a visitor which method to choose or how to allocate money.