How budget rollover works, with a 3-month example

Rollover carries what is left of a category’s budget into the next month, and it carries overspending too. In Tally you switch it on or off per category. With it on, “available” is the month’s target, minus what you spent, plus whatever rolled in from last month.

What does Tally show for a budget?

Each category can have a monthly target with a progress bar. For every category, “available” equals the target minus the amount spent, plus the carry-over if rollover is on. Available can go negative, and when it does, the bar shows that the category is over budget.

Rollover is a switch on each category, not a global setting. You can roll over Groceries and not Dining out.

Does it carry overspending as well?

Yes. Rollover carries unspent money and overspent money. If you spent CA$40 over your target last month, next month starts CA$40 behind. The idea is that a budget is a running account, not a series of fresh starts. Some people like that, and some find it harsh, which is why the switch is per category.

What does a 3-month example look like?

Take a Groceries category with a target of CA$600 a month and rollover on.

Month	Target	Spent	Carried in	Available at month end
September	600	540	0	60
October	600	680	60	-20
November	600	520	-20	60

How to read it:

• September. You spent CA$540 of 600. CA$60 is left, and it rolls into October.
• October. You start with 600 plus the 60 carried in, so CA$660 to use. You spend CA$680. That is CA$20 over, so available is minus CA$20, and that rolls into November.
• November. You start with 600 minus 20, so CA$580 to use. You spend CA$520 and finish with CA$60 available.

Without rollover, the same three months would show: September 60 left, October 80 over, November 80 left. Every month starts at 600 and the history is forgotten.

When is rollover a good idea?

Turn it on when the spending is lumpy but the average is steady:

• Groceries or fuel, where a big shop one week balances a small one the next.
• Gifts, clothing or a car-maintenance fund, where you set aside a little each month and spend it in a burst.
• Irregular bills that you want to smooth out, such as a quarterly payment.

When should you turn it off?

Turn it off when you want a fresh start each month:

• Fixed bills like rent or a phone plan. The target is the bill. Carrying a few cents forward helps nobody.
• Categories you are trying to cut. If you overspend on takeout, carrying the overspend forward might feel punishing. A reset can help.
• Months when a one-off blew the category. If you paid for a large repair out of Shopping, a long red tail may not be useful. Turn rollover off, or move the transaction to a better category.

What about spending in more than one currency?

Tally never adds money in different currencies without converting it, and converted totals carry a “≈”. Read how to budget in two currencies before setting targets for categories that mix currencies.

How does rollover relate to safe to spend?

They answer different questions. Rollover is about each category over time. Safe to spend is about your cash balance over the next 60 days. A category going negative does not directly change safe to spend. What changes safe to spend is real money leaving your accounts, which shows up when you import.

A note on the data behind it

Rollover is only as good as your categories. If half of your grocery spending is sitting in “uncategorized”, the Groceries bar looks healthier than it is, and the carried amount is off. After each import, work through the “needs a category” list. Starter rules cover a lot, and rules you add yourself cover the rest.

Closing a month in the web app locks that month’s transactions against edits and bulk re-categorizing, so the numbers you rolled forward do not shift under you. You can reopen the month if you need to.

Tally is in development and has no public sign-up. The numbers in this guide are round examples, not sample screenshots.