Each time you use CashPad, do these two things:

• Update your balances on the Cash page.
• Assign your funds across the Bills, Expenses, and Savings pages until Unassigned Cash reaches zero.

Most budgeting apps force a standard monthly cycle. CashPad adapts to your payday schedule instead. Each budget period spans from today to the end of your current pay cycle. This matches your spending plan to the money you have right now and will receive in your next paycheck.

Calculate Funds Available

Enter your current cash balances plus any paychecks you normally receive. CashPad combines your current cash and all entered paychecks to determine your total Funds Available.

Divide Funds Across Three Buckets

Allocate your money into three clear categories:

• Bills — fixed obligations due this period (rent, insurance, subscriptions)
• Expenses — variable day-to-day spending (groceries, gas, dining)
• Savings — funds designated for future goals

Assign Every Dollar

The sum of your bucket totals becomes your Planned Spending. Subtracting your planned spending from your Funds Available leaves your Unassigned Cash. Assign every dollar until your Unassigned Cash hits zero.

The Dashboard displays your four key metrics at a glance: Budget Period End, Funds Available, Planned Spending, and Unassigned Cash.

Set Up Your Backup Folder First

CashPad stores your data locally in your browser. Without a designated backup location, clearing your browser data wipes out your records completely.

The Safest Approach

Open Backup / Recovery and select a folder on a cloud-synced drive (such as iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, or another cloud storage service). CashPad automatically saves a fresh copy every time you make a change. If you prefer to wait, select Backup Now under Backup / Recovery to manually save a copy before starting and/or after finishing your CashPad session.

Mobile Limitations (iOS & iPadOS)

iOS and iPadOS block automatic folder backups and background downloads. While the app runs smoothly on Apple mobile devices, you must trigger backups manually. For seamless automatic backups, run CashPad on a Mac or PC using Chrome or Edge.

Keep Your Numbers Current

CashPad operates independently of bank servers and never updates balances automatically. Regularly update your account balances to maintain an accurate financial plan.

Protect Your Privacy

CashPad requires only dollar amounts and broad account names — never enter account numbers, passwords, or personal identifiers.

Control Your Data

Your financial records remain strictly on your local device. CashPad never transmits your data through external links or remote user accounts.

How do I get started?

Start on the Cash page by entering your current account balances. Next, open the Paycheck page to confirm your income sources and anchor date. Finally, populate your Bills, Expenses, and Savings pages to complete your plan. The Dashboard updates automatically as you enter numbers.

Can I add multiple bank accounts or income sources?

Yes. Add multiple accounts on the Cash page and track multiple income streams on the Paycheck page.

What is the Budget Period, and how long does it last?

Your budget period spans from today through the final day of your current pay cycle. The duration matches your pay frequency: 7 days for weekly, 14 days for bi-weekly, 15 days for semi-monthly, or one full month for monthly paychecks.

What's the difference between Bills and Expenses?

• Bills represent fixed obligations with specific due dates (e.g., rent, insurance, car payments).
• Expenses represent flexible, day-to-day spending (e.g., groceries, gas, dining out).

What does "Requires manual scheduling" mean on a bill?

While autopay handles routine bills automatically, non-automated bills require manual payment setups. Check Requires manual scheduling on a bill to apply a Manual flag on its detail panel. CashPad then issues reminders on the Alerts page for upcoming, unscheduled payments. Click Mark Scheduled after initiating payment with your biller to clear the alert until the next cycle.

What does Unassigned Cash mean?

Unassigned Cash measures the gap between your Funds Available and your Planned Spending:

• Positive value: You hold unallocated funds ready for assignment.
• Negative value: Your planned spending exceeds your available cash.

What is Net Worth in CashPad?

Net Worth calculates your total financial position by subtracting liabilities (debt accounts) from total assets (cash, savings funds, and investment/asset accounts). View this report under Reports → Net Worth.

What is Savings Goals?

Located under Reports → Savings Goals, this dashboard tracks every savings fund with a defined target amount and date. Each goal displays as a card with a visual progress bar and an active status badge: On Track, Behind, Met, or Expired.

How does Emergency Fund tracking work?

Select This is my Emergency Fund on any single savings fund to mark it as your dedicated cash reserve (limited to one fund at a time). If you haven't assigned a target yet, CashPad recommends reserving 3 to 6 months of combined bills and expenses. Your Emergency Fund always surfaces on the Savings Goals page regardless of whether you set a formal target.

What is Retirement Target?

A specialized card on the Savings Goals page that lets you set a target net worth, an optional target date, and an expected growth rate. CashPad evaluates your historical progress since setup to determine whether you remain On Track or fall Behind.

What is Financial Health?

Located at Reports → Financial Health, this high-level summary delivers an instant overview of your financial momentum: Net Worth trend, Savings Goals progress, Emergency Fund coverage, and Retirement Target status — with direct links to each detailed report.

What are the Debt Payoff, Card Comparison, and Consolidation tools?

Located under Tools, these calculators analyze your real debt accounts:

• Debt Payoff Planner: Simulates full debt elimination using either the Snowball or Avalanche strategy to project your exact payoff date.
• Compare Card Offers: Compares two hypothetical credit card offers side by side to highlight long-term cost differences before you apply.
• Balance Transfer & Consolidation: Evaluates your current debt trajectory against a new consolidation loan or balance-transfer offer.

What is Scenario Planner?

Located under Tools → Scenario Planner, this sandbox lets you model changes to income, bills, and expenses without modifying live data. Evaluate the impact on your monthly Net Cash Flow, then save named scenarios to review side by side on the Scenario Comparison report.

CashPad keeps all data strictly on your local browser storage—it never transmits your information to external servers or remote cloud databases.

Manual Backup

Navigate to Backup / Recovery and select Backup Now to export a .sqlite data file. If you configured a backup folder, CashPad saves the file directly there; otherwise, your browser saves it to your primary Downloads folder.

Automatic Backup (Recommended)

Designate a backup location under Backup / Recovery, and CashPad will save a fresh file every time you make changes. Select a folder synced to a cloud service (such as iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive) to maintain off-device protection.

Restoring a Backup

Go to Backup / Recovery and select Restore from File, then choose your saved .sqlite file. Restoring overwrites all existing app data—select Backup Now beforehand if you want to preserve your current workspace.

Moving to a New Device

Select Backup Now on your old device, transfer the exported file to your new hardware, and use Restore from File to load your data.

Email questions or comments to support@cashpadapp.com—we would love to hear from you.