Budgeting

• Manual accounts, CSV imports, and scan-assisted transactions
• Custom budget categories with monthly limits
• Spending vs. budget progress by category
• Review workflow for uncategorized transactions
• Narrow merchant-rule workflow planned for a future release
• Shared household budgets via separate logins

How it fits into Nethaven

Start with category limits that answer a real question

A useful budget tells you what a purchase means before the month is over. Create categories that map to decisions you actually make, then give each one a monthly limit. Groceries, housing, transport, subscriptions, debt, and savings are a practical starting set; you can add detail when it changes your next choice.

Nethaven compares category spending with the limit as the month progresses. The sample preview above uses $500 for groceries and $320 for transport, so the remaining amount is visible instead of hidden in a total. The numbers are illustrative, but the workflow is the point: set the boundary, inspect the transactions behind it, and adjust a category when your plan is consistently unrealistic.

Keep a review queue for transactions that need judgment

Budget totals are only as useful as the transactions behind them. Transactions you add manually, import from a CSV, or capture from a receipt or bank screenshot should get a quick review before you rely on a category total. Confirm the date, merchant, amount, category, and whether the row is a transfer, refund, or duplicate.

A visible review queue is more honest than a finished-looking total built from guesses. Categorize a clear grocery charge, leave a mixed-use marketplace purchase undecided, and correct transfers before they inflate spending. This review-first habit takes less time than repairing a month of reports after an over-broad shortcut has hidden the exceptions.

Use narrow transaction rules when the feature is available

Transaction rules are planned around a narrow promise: remove repeated decisions only when the same merchant reliably means the same category. A rule for a streaming service, rent payment, or regular utility is easier to trust than a rule for a warehouse club that could be groceries, household supplies, or a gift.

The interactive preview shows the intended sequence without pretending to run automation today. You choose a category, Nethaven keeps the decision visible, and a rule preview can be scoped to one merchant and one category. Automatic transaction rules and live bank integration are still coming soon, so the current product does not silently categorize a bank feed in the background.

Share the plan without sharing a password

Household organizations let couples and families work from one budget while each person uses their own login. Both members can see the same category limits and progress, and either person can review the transactions that belong in the shared plan. That turns budgeting into a shared routine instead of one person's private spreadsheet.

Separate logins do not mean every account must be shared. Each member can keep the accounts they add attached to the right owner while contributing the agreed categories and limits to the household view. The shared budget shows the plan; the account permissions still matter.

Know what Nethaven supports today

Nethaven budgeting is usable today with manual accounts, CSV transaction imports, and receipt or bank-screenshot scans. Those paths are intentionally visible in the product because they let you bring in the data you need without claiming that a live bank connection is already available. Institution coverage, scan quality, and CSV column formats can vary, so review the imported result before trusting a report.

Live bank integration and automatic transaction rules are on the roadmap. Until they launch, treat the preview's rule step as an explanation of the planned interaction, not as a promise that Nethaven will fetch or categorize bank activity for you. The same dashboard can still connect a careful monthly budget with debt payoff, savings goals, subscriptions, and net worth.