A budget is a spending limit you assign to users. It controls how much they can spend and how often the limit resets.
| Setting | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Name | What the budget is called (e.g. “Marketing Q1”, “Travel”, “Admin Team”) |
| Limit | The maximum amount users can spend per cycle |
| Start date | When the budget becomes active (default: Immediately) |
| Expiry date | When the budget stops (default: Never) |
| Cycle | How often the limit resets (One-time, Daily, Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly) |
| Users | Who can spend from this budget |
| Shared / Individual limits | Whether all users share the budget limit or each gets their own cap |
| Default category / tags | Fallback category and tags AI Bookkeeping applies to spend from this budget (Premium) |
Budget cycles by plan
| Cycle | Essentials | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| One-time | ✓ | ✓ |
| Weekly | ✓ | ✓ |
| Monthly | ✓ | ✓ |
| Daily | — | ✓ |
| Fortnightly | — | ✓ |
| Custom reset date | — | ✓ |
For help choosing the right cycle, see Understanding budget cycles.
How to create a budget
- Click Budgets in the sidebar.
- Select Create New Budget.
- Enter a Name for the budget (e.g. “Marketing Q1”).
- Set the Limit — the maximum amount per cycle.
- Choose a Start date (defaults to Immediately) and Expiry date (defaults to Never).
- Pick the Cycle — One-time, Daily, Weekly, Fortnightly, or Monthly.
- Click + Add in the Users section to add members who will spend from this budget.
- Toggle between Shared limit (all users share the total) or Individual limits (each user gets their own cap).
- Click Create Budget.
Shared vs Individual limits
| Mode | How it works |
|---|---|
| Shared limit | All users share the total budget amount — one person could spend it all |
| Individual limits | Each user gets their own cap within the budget |
Tip: Individual limits are useful for shared budgets with multiple users. For example, a $2,000 monthly budget with 4 users and a $500 individual limit ensures no one person can spend more than their share.
Set a default category and tags (Premium)
A default category and tags tell AI Bookkeeping how to code spend from this budget when it can’t confidently determine a better match on its own. They’re optional.
Note: Default category and tags require the Premium plan. On the Essentials plan, this section doesn’t appear on the budget form.
- Scroll to the Default category and Default tags section, below the Users section.
- Choose a Default category from the dropdown.
- Pick one or more Default tags from the dropdown.
If you use Xero
If your account is connected to Xero, the options in the Default category dropdown come from your Xero Chart of Accounts, and the Default tags come from your Xero Tracking Categories. Edit them in Xero, then refresh the sync. See Editing categories and tags with Xero.