Budget

Budget Directives

Zhang Accounting’s budget system is inspired by the YNAB (You Need A Budget) model, implementing a zero-based budgeting approach. This guide covers all budget-related directives and their usage.

Basic Concepts

The budget system allows you to:

• Create budget accounts for different spending categories
• Allocate funds to these accounts
• Track spending against budgets
• Transfer funds between budget accounts

Available Directives

Creating a Budget Account

{DATE} budget {BUDGET_NAME} {CURRENCY}

Meta Configurations

• alias: Provides a more descriptive name for display purposes
• category: Groups budget accounts on the frontend

2023-01-01 budget Food CNY
  alias: "Monthly Food Budget"
  category: "Daily Expenses"

Adding Funds to a Budget

{DATE} budget-add {BUDGET_NAME} {AMOUNT} {CURRENCY}

Example:

2023-01-01 budget-add Food 2000 CNY

Transferring Budget Funds

{DATE} budget-transfer {FROM_BUDGET_NAME} {TO_BUDGET_NAME} {AMOUNT} {CURRENCY}

Example:

2023-01-15 budget-transfer Food Entertainment 200 CNY

Closing a Budget Account

{DATE} budget-close {BUDGET_NAME}

Example:

2023-12-31 budget-close Vacation

Linking Expense Accounts

Link an expense account to a budget for tracking:

{DATE} open {ACCOUNT_NAME} {COMMODITY}
  budget: {BUDGET_NAME}

Example:

2023-01-01 open Expenses:Food:Rent CNY
  budget: Food

Common Use Cases

Monthly Budget Setup

; Create budget accounts
2023-01-01 budget Food CNY
  alias: "Monthly Food Budget"
  category: "Daily Expenses"

2023-01-01 budget Transportation CNY
  alias: "Monthly Transport Budget"
  category: "Daily Expenses"

2023-01-01 budget Entertainment CNY
  alias: "Monthly Entertainment Budget"
  category: "Discretionary"

; Allocate initial funds
2023-01-01 budget-add Food 2000 CNY
2023-01-01 budget-add Transportation 1000 CNY
2023-01-01 budget-add Entertainment 500 CNY

; Link expense accounts
2023-01-01 open Expenses:Food:Rent CNY
  budget: Food
2023-01-01 open Expenses:Transportation:Gas CNY
  budget: Transportation
2023-01-01 open Expenses:Entertainment:Movies CNY
  budget: Entertainment

Budget Adjustments

; Transfer funds between budgets
2023-01-15 budget-transfer Food Entertainment 200 CNY

; Add more funds to a budget
2023-01-20 budget-add Food 500 CNY

Best Practices

1. Budget Organization

   • Use clear, descriptive names for budget accounts
   • Group related budgets using categories
   • Use aliases for better readability

2. Fund Allocation

   • Allocate funds at the start of each period
   • Keep track of transfers between budgets
   • Document any significant changes

3. Account Linking

   • Link all relevant expense accounts to budgets
   • Use consistent naming between budgets and accounts
   • Review linked accounts periodically

Beancount Compatibility

Zhang Accounting is fully compatible with Beancount’s budget directives. Here’s the syntax comparison:

Zhang	Beancount
{DATE} budget {NAME} {CURRENCY}	{DATE} custom budget {NAME} {CURRENCY}
{DATE} budget-add {NAME} {AMOUNT} {CURRENCY}	{DATE} custom budget-add {NAME} {AMOUNT} {CURRENCY}
{DATE} budget-transfer {FROM} {TO} {AMOUNT} {CURRENCY}	{DATE} custom budget-transfer {FROM} {TO} {AMOUNT} {CURRENCY}
{DATE} budget-close {NAME}	{DATE} custom budget-close {NAME}

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I adjust my budget mid-month?

Use the budget-transfer directive to reallocate funds between budget accounts:

2023-01-15 budget-transfer Food Entertainment 200 CNY

What happens if I overspend in a category?

Overspending will be tracked but won’t affect your actual account balances. You can:

1. Transfer more funds to the budget
2. Adjust future allocations
3. Review spending patterns

Can I have multiple currencies in my budget?

Each budget account is tied to a single currency. For multiple currencies:

1. Create separate budget accounts for each currency
2. Track them independently
3. Consider exchange rates when planning

How do I close a budget account?

Use the budget-close directive:

2023-12-31 budget-close Vacation

This prevents further transactions to that budget account.