Latest Updates

Your Phone Catches Up With Your Desktop

• The Whole Year, Not Two Months of ItYour desktop has always published twelve months. The phone only ever kept the two most recent, so scrolling back hit a wall that had nothing to do with what your desktop had sent.
• Editing an Old Entry Stopped Making Its Month VanishChanging one line in March moved March's fingerprint, and the phone read that as a month it no longer had — so March disappeared from the phone until the desktop republished.
• "Spent Today" Now Means TodayThat figure was worked out on your desktop the last time it saved, then shown on the phone as though it were current. On a phone opened the next morning it was yesterday's number wearing today's label.
• Your Notes Reach Back Past Twelve MonthsEverything else in Reflections already did. Entry notes stopped at the published window, so the older ones were simply missing from the one screen built to show you what you had written.
• One Phone Stops Filling the Device List With CopiesEvery re-scan registered as a brand-new device. Settings can now retire the ones that have gone a month without opening, all at once.

Goals You Have Finished Stay Finished

• Completed Goals Left the "Counts Toward" ListEvery place you link an entry to a goal offered your closed goals beside your live ones, so new spending could be pointed at something you finished months ago.
• Savings and Debt Are Told Apart AgainTwo of those dropdowns had dropped the "(Savings)" and "(Debt)" labels the others showed — so a savings goal and a debt sharing a name were indistinguishable. One list now feeds all of them.

Buying and Keeping Your License

• A Key That Never Arrived Can Be Found AgainEvery license is now recorded the moment it is issued rather than the first time it is activated. If the email goes astray, support can re-send the very same key instead of minting a different one.
• Restore Purchase, on Microsoft Store InstallsReinstalling used to mean pressing Buy a second time and trusting you would not be charged twice. You never were — but nothing said so. Now there is a button that does.
• The Delivery Address Is Read Back Before You PayThe email your keys are sent to accepted anything that was not blank, so one wrong character sent them somewhere you would never see.
• Activation Waits Out a Sleeping ServerThe license server rests when nobody has used it for a while and takes about a minute to answer the first request. Activating used to hang on that with no explanation.

A Goal You Link Stops Overruling What You Chose

• Unchecking "Transfer" Now SticksLinking a debt or savings goal used to re-check the transfer box and re-add a "Savings" or "Debt Payment" tag on every save, even after you deliberately undid it. Linking a goal now sets what it needs to and leaves the rest — tag and transfer box alike — exactly as you left it.
• An Unrouted Transfer Now Says SoChecking "this is a transfer" with no destination account keeps that entry out of every account balance — that was always true, but it used to happen silently. The entry form now names it inline until you pick an account or uncheck the box.
• Tag Picking Could Scroll the Editor Off ScreenA stylesheet rule reached a hidden internal field it wasn't meant to touch, gave it real width, and focusing it — which picking a tag does — dragged the whole card sideways.

Phone Fixes

• Reflections No Longer Goes Empty Behind a Fresh DesktopThe archive that fills the tab publishes on its own schedule, so for the first few days after any update it could show nothing while Home, right above it, displayed the same notes. It now falls back to what Home already has until the fuller archive catches up.
• The Couple Filter Could Lose Your PartnerIt was built from the list the entry form uses to choose who's capturing, which deliberately excludes your partner. That left a filter chip for you and none for the one person you'd actually want to filter to.

Bringing Your Past Data In, Through One Door

• One Wizard, Not Three Broken PathsDrop a CSV from your bank or a BudgetNote export and you get four steps: BudgetNote guesses what each column holds and you correct it, then you see every transaction in an editable table before anything is saved. Tag rows, set a payment method, flip money in or out, or select a batch and change them all at once.
• It Reads Real Bank FilesSemicolon and tab files, European decimals like 1.234,56, accounting negatives like (45.00), quoted fields with commas inside, and statements with a summary printed above the table.
• Nothing Is Guessed AtAnything the file did not say clearly is flagged rather than invented. A row whose date cannot be read is held back instead of being filed under today.
• Importing Twice Does Not Double Your LedgerEvery row is checked against what you already have, matched on date, amount and description. Duplicates are counted rather than merely spotted, so if you genuinely bought two identical coffees that day, both still land.
• Undo, in One ClickEverything from a single import is stamped together and the confirmation offers Undo. The stamp is written into your journal, so it survives closing the app.
• Your Own Export Comes Back RightA CSV exported from BudgetNote recorded no income/expense column, so on re-import every expense without a payment method came back as income. Exporting also silently gave you only the year you happened to be viewing.

A Payment Center That Is Accurate, Not Just Present

• Your Cards Know What They Can HoldGive a card its limit and you get what is left on it, how much of it you are using, and a plain statement when you have gone past it. A card you never gave a limit stays blank rather than rendering as fully used. Free, not Pro.
• Paying a Card Is a Button on the Card"Pay this card" opens the ordinary entry form already filled in: the amount, the account it comes from, tagged as a card payment. Accounts you hold money in get "Move money" the same way.
• Checking and Paying Are One RoutineReconciling leads with your statement figure and treats BudgetNote's own number as the thing being tested. However it ends — it matched, or you corrected it — the payment is offered right there, for the balance you just agreed on.
• Where Money Usually Comes FromSet a default account per kind of spending, or write a rule — anything tagged Groceries comes off the debit card — and the entry form pre-selects it. Income is deliberately left alone, because a blank there means "not tracked".

Six Free Limits, and a Phone That Reads as Pace

• The Free Tier Carries Six LimitsUp from three. Three was enough to try the feature and not enough to live on it — for most people the fixed bills alone fill it. The starter plans were reshaped to match, and now budget housing and utilities.
• Am I On Pace?Sixty percent of a limit is comfortable on the 25th and alarming on the 5th, and the old Budgets screen left you to work that out. Every bar now carries a tick at the share of the month gone and one verdict line — over, heading over, or the gap back to an even pace.
• Triage, Not Eight Identical RowsMeters are grouped by status with counts, and each row says what it means in money and days. A "Not budgeted" section means the screen can no longer show every limit satisfied while the account still emptied.
• Reflections Get Their Own TabEverything you have written now has a place of its own on the phone, with a year band, a month archive and full-screen reading. Settings moved to a gear in the top bar that shows a dot when something needs you.
• Try the Phone App Without BuyingA public demo runs the real app on a fictional vault, so the companion app is something you can hold before it is something you pay for.
• More History, Same BundleThe labels for the phone's own interface were being re-sent on every single save, taking room that months of your actual transactions were competing for. They now travel once and are cached.

Fixes

• Correcting a Balance Invented a TransactionReconciling wrote an income or expense tagged #Adjustment into your ledger — it fixed the one balance and then polluted every total and chart that counted it as real spending. A correction is now recorded against the account, where it belongs.
• CSV Import Failed on Every FileIt called a parsing library that was never installed, so choosing any .csv threw an error immediately. Settings' "Smart CSV Import" opened a window that was not in the app at all.
• JSON Import Replaced Your Whole VaultThere was no merge, no preview and no undo — picking the wrong file erased everything. Imports now add to your vault, and nothing is written until you confirm the review step.
• The Inline Editor Scrambled Long MonthsMonths past a few dozen entries are drawn a screenful at a time, and the editor made one row far taller than the list believed — so scrolling landed on the wrong row and rows could vanish while their space was still reserved.
• Oversized ToolbarsOne missing character in the stylesheet silently threw away the rule sizing the Reflection Center and Journal Calendar toolbars, so every button stood 43px instead of 34 and "New reflection" wrapped onto two lines.
• A Broken Buy Link Needed a New ReleaseWhere the upgrade button sends you was compiled into the app, so a wrong checkout could only be fixed by shipping a version — which on Windows means a Store submission and days of certification.

Your Phone Became a Real Companion

• Everything OpensEvery entry opens a detail sheet. Goals and budgets are tappable, with pace, target date, contribution history and a way through to the entries behind them. Finished goals collapse out of the way, and a swipe duplicates or deletes a row.
• Can I Afford This?Your tracked account balances now reach the phone, with money you hold and money you owe kept apart. Upcoming shows reminders and debt due dates 45 days ahead. A partner's private card never crosses to the other partner's phone.
• Write, Not Just ReadNotes and month reflections can be written and edited on the phone — the first thing other than an entry it can send back to your desktop.
• History Beyond Two MonthsOlder months are fetched one at a time when something asks for them, then cached. The phone used to simply have nothing beyond its window.
• Home, RebuiltHome was stripped of what the Budgets tab already said and given what Home should answer instead: what's coming up, what you actually have, and what you wrote.
• Real PreferencesAppearance override, hide amounts (with a deliberate reveal), which screen it opens on, and vibration. Dictation now understands Spanish numerals and picks up tags and payment methods in any language.

Splits, Finished Goals & Whose Card Is Whose

• Split a Purchase on the DesktopBoth entry editors now take a per-category allocation with a running count of what is left to assign. A purchase carrying three tags used to charge its full amount to all three, so per-category totals added up to more money than actually left your account.
• A Finished Goal Gets a RecordCompleted goals and paid-off debts move into their own section, which opens into the whole story: what it took, how long it ran against what you planned, every contribution that fed it, and a note you can write about it.
• A Card Belongs to Whoever Pays With ItIn a couple vault, entry forms used to offer both people's cards. Now you pick from yours, plus shared, plus anything from before couple mode — and the Payment Center gained the same Mine / Partner / Couple switch the dashboard has.
• A Budget Per Person, Per TagIn Couples Mode a tag can carry a separate budget for each of you, instead of one number the two of you overwrite.

Settings, Rebuilt Panel by Panel

• One Shape, Not a Wall of RowsSettings had become rows that all looked equally important. Every panel now puts what it is and what it does on the left, the control on the right, with colour used only where a state has something to say.
• Pro Activates From a LinkYour purchase email now carries a link that opens BudgetNote and fills in the key, instead of selecting a long token without clipping it and hunting for the right panel. The link can only fill the field — activation runs the same check it always did.
• Conflicts Are Not a Hidden ButtonSync conflicts were one button in a row of seven. They are the only urgent thing on that page, so they are now a card that names what conflicted, which record, and why.
• Descriptions in Your LanguageSettings descriptions had been appearing in English no matter which language you use. Phone Sync now also shows the address you are meant to type on the phone — the instructions referred to it and then never showed it.

Fixes

• Month Reflections Could Be StrandedA month note could come back as a conflict you could not resolve, with the text trapped behind it. Month notes now have one owner, and vaults already carrying the damage repair themselves on open — text recovered first, phantom card removed second.
• A Rename and a Setting Flip Both SurviveRenaming your partner on one computer while flipping a setting on the other lost one of the two, because your household travelled as a single lump. Each field now merges on its own. Switching finance mode also never reached your partner at all.
• Phone Entries Dated YesterdayEntries added from a phone left open overnight were stamped with the previous day, because the date was set once when the app loaded. It is now re-stamped per entry and on a day rollover.
• The Phone Could Freeze on Stale DataThe bundle carrying everything the phone reads has a size limit, and a couple vault filled it at about two months — after which publishing was rejected and the failure was swallowed. It is now trimmed to fit, and the failure is recorded rather than dropped.
• Desktop Edits Reach the PhoneA desktop edit never showed up, because the phone's own copy of an entry shadowed the vault's. The Activity tab also opened filtered to this month without saying so, which could make a full vault look empty.
• One Copy of the App, One VaultTwo copies of BudgetNote could have the same vault open, which was always a way to lose writes. Opening it again now brings the existing window forward.

Money That Arrives Somewhere

• Transfers Have a DestinationA transfer now has a "Moved to" account, so paying your credit card lowers the card and the account you paid it from, in one entry, without counting as spending. A card paid in full reads exactly $0.00.
• Income Lands Somewhere RealIncome has a "Deposited to" account on the desktop, in the inline editor, on your phone and through CSV import. Your paychecks had been quietly piling up in Cash, because entries only ever asked what money was paid with.
• Balances Can Go UpNothing in the app could put money into an account, so a debit card used for two years read as a large negative number and savings never filled up. Money you move now arrives somewhere.
• Paid From an Account You Don't TrackAutopay from a bank you never added, or a partner paying the card, now records as "Somewhere else" instead of forcing you to blame an account that never paid.

The Payment Center

• What You Have, What You OwePayment Methods is now the Payment Center, and it opens with the two numbers you came for — side by side, never subtracted from each other. An overpaid card reads as a credit balance instead of a red negative number.
• Accounts and Methods, SeparatedAccounts carry a balance you can check against your bank. Methods are labels for how you paid, with no balance tracked — which is all they ever were. Accounts are cards now, like your goals and debts.
• One Tracked Account, FreeGive it the balance your bank shows today and BudgetNote keeps it current, the same way the free plan includes one savings goal. Pro tracks as many as you have.
• "Check", Not "Reconcile"Checking a balance asks a plain question — what does your bank app say right now? — and the permanent "Not reconciled" tag is gone from every row.

Fixes

• Both Partners Could Become One PersonJoining a couple vault by code never asked which of the two people this computer is — it silently picked the first, so one partner's phone and entire imported history could be filed under the other's name. Joining now asks, and refuses to run until you answer.
• Your Journal Said You Spent What You Only MovedEvery transfer was written into the journal as an expense, so any other tool reading your ledger counted moving money as spending — one test month showed $1,000 spent where only $200 was.
• Last-Second Changes Could Be LostSaves waited a moment before writing and nothing flushed that queue when the window closed. Anything you change just before quitting now reaches disk.
• "As Of" Dates Now CountThe date on an opening balance was saved and shown, but every transaction was still counted on top of it — including the ones the balance already contained.

Your Reflections Come Back to You

• Commitments Get GradedWhatever you commit to on Sunday is checked against what actually happened the following week and returned as Kept, Partly kept, or Missed. Your own verdict always overrides the app's.
• A Record of RegretThe "was this worth it?" answers add up across weeks: how much you have called not worth it, which category it usually is, and which day it tends to happen on.
• Say How the Week FeltOne optional tap records whether a week was rough, low, ok, good, or great — then tells you whether your harder weeks are also your more expensive ones.
• Insights From Your Own WordsHighlights can now surface a category your reflections keep naming, your regret total, and your commitment record — drawn from what you wrote, not just the numbers.

Cash on Hand & Envelope Carryover

• Per-Account BalancesGive each payment method an opening balance and BudgetNote keeps a running balance, with money you hold and money you owe reported separately so a credit card never flatters your cash.
• Budgets That CarryMoney you don't spend rolls into next month, and an overspent month carries forward against itself. An optional ceiling lets a budget act as a sinking fund.
• Reconciliation HistoryReconciling now keeps a record of what the balance actually was, not just when you last checked.
• Split Purchases Are VisibleA purchase divided across several categories shows each category's share on the entry itself, so the budget figures it produces are explainable at a glance.

A Rebuilt Financial Report

• Measured Against Last PeriodEvery report is now compared to the period before it, and carries the context around the money: your reflection rhythm, what you committed to, your cash position, and who contributed what.
• Your Year in Your Own WordsReports include the reflections you wrote during the period, and everything you have written can be exported as a Markdown file you keep.
• Honest In-Progress PeriodsA report covering a period still under way now stops at today instead of averaging the unlived months as zero — and says so.
• Correct Report BoundariesAnnual reports no longer run a day short at both ends, printed pages no longer clip, and the category breakdown now agrees with the totals exactly.

Fixes

• Splits No Longer Lost Between PartnersOn a Couples vault, a split created on a phone could be silently overwritten by the other person's copy. Splits, purpose, and personal-versus-shared status now merge properly.
• Commitments Now Grade on Couples VaultsThe check for last week's commitment could not find the right person's review, so it silently never ran.
• Seven-Day Weeks EverywhereAnywhere east of the UK, the weekly review window started a day early and covered eight days.
• Editing a Split Tells YouChanging the amount or categories still clears the breakdown, but the app now says so instead of letting your budget figures shift without explanation.

The Phone App Grew Up

• A Real Companion ViewThe phone app is no longer capture-only. It opens on what you have spent today and this month, with budget meters, goal and debt progress, and recent activity from the whole vault — cached on the device so it still reads offline.
• Faster One-Handed CaptureA built-in amount keypad with quick math, an Add button pinned in the thumb zone, Today/Yesterday chips, rapid-fire entry with a running tally, description autocomplete from your real merchant history, and a 5-second undo.
• Pair by ScanningPoint the phone camera at the desktop QR code instead of typing a code. Home-screen shortcuts for Add expense and Add income, plus sharing text from another app straight into a new entry.
• Delete From Your PhoneA mistaken capture can be removed on the phone, and the deletion now reaches the desktop journal for good.

A Guided Weekly Reflection

• Three Beats, Not a ReportThe weekly review is now Review what happened, Understand why, Decide what to change — with plain-language explanations behind each signal and commitments you can carry into next week.
• Goals & Debt Plan GraphsA new graph group showing savings progress, debt payoff strategies, and monthly commitments in one coordinated plan.
• A Named Household ProfileCouples can turn on a third shared profile and name it whatever fits — Household, Casa, Home — instead of a fixed "Shared" label.
• A Better Journal CalendarJump to any month or year from a picker, return to today in one click, and move through days with the keyboard.

Improved & Fixed

• Real Currency FormattingCurrency is now stored as an ISO code and formatted with your locale, so symbol placement, grouping, and decimals are correct for your region.
• Inline Entry EditingAdding and editing entries happens inline in the dashboard panels, with sensible default dates for the period you are looking at.
• Phone Entries No Longer LostOn a Couples-synced vault, phone captures were acknowledged by both partners' computers without ever being applied, then discarded. They now land in the journal on every linked computer.
• Large Histories Import CleanlyBringing a big existing history into a shared vault no longer fails partway through.

Couple Sync, Built In

• No Shared Cloud FolderLink two computers with a single-use invite. Each partner keeps a complete local vault—Dropbox, iCloud, OneDrive, and shared network folders are no longer required.
• End-to-End Encrypted RelayOnly encrypted operations and snapshots pass through the relay. BudgetNote cannot read your transactions, goals, reminders, or shared notes.
• Conflict-Safe EditingDisjoint changes merge automatically, while same-field and delete-versus-edit collisions become visible conflict cards instead of silent data loss.
• Snapshot Self-RepairIf a relay operation expires or is missed, encrypted snapshots restore continuity without replacing local-only work.

Sync, Recovery & Mobile Capture

• Automatic Conflict RecoveryBudgetNote detects and absorbs conflicted journal/settings copies created by Nextcloud, Dropbox, or Syncthing, then archives them after recovery.
• Near-Instant Phone DeliveryLong-poll delivery, background retry, delivery confirmation, device names, and recent activity make phone quick-add feel immediate and dependable.
• License ReliabilityPro license checks are now more resilient to temporary network issues, and revoked licenses take effect promptly.
• Safer Shared-Vault SetupCouple joining, importing solo history, relocation, and rollback now use atomic snapshots so setup failures do not strand or replace a working vault.

Reflections, Goals & First Run

• Richer Reflections HomeWeekly reflections and saved reports are now filterable history, and completed goals can include a closing reflection.
• Clearer Goals & DebtsCompact cards, balanced layouts, contribution planning, target-date pacing, and cleaner archive states keep active plans focused.
• Honest First-Run SetupOnboarding no longer creates sample transactions. Start empty, choose a lightweight starter plan, or add only real entries.
• More Reliable Entry FlowQuick Entry better preserves dates, purpose, goal links, ownership, keyboard navigation, and explicit marker tags.

Shared Notes, Reflections & Reminders

• Multi-author Shared NotesCouples can now leave separate shared notes on the same entry or month reflection, with author chips and edit/delete controls for your own notes.
• Unified Reflections FeedInsights brings month reflections and Weekly/Sunday Review reflections into one timeline, with person filters in Couples Mode.
• Notification HubSettings now includes permission status, test notifications, bills and subscription alerts, reminder defaults, lead times, and quick snooze actions.
• Smarter AI HighlightsCalm, Balanced, and Curious presets add favorite categories, year-over-year signals, sparklines, click-through navigation, and dismiss controls.

Dashboard, Sync & Data Controls

• Portable Data ControlsSettings now exposes JSON vault export/import and CSV entry import actions in one place.
• Cleaner Goals & DebtsGoal cards are simpler, owner colors are theme-aware, and savings goals now focus on lifetime progress and target-date pace.
• More Flexible DashboardThe focused-month dashboard can feature Net, Income, Expenses, or Savings, with separate Home View and Default Dashboard Period settings.
• Safer Shared SyncShared vault sync now preserves device-local preferences such as notifications, highlights, themes, dashboard defaults, and hero-stat settings.

Pro Mobile Quick Add

• BudgetNote on Your PhonePro users can pair an installable companion app with a one-time code and add expenses or income away from the desktop.
• End-to-End Encrypted RelayPhone entries sync back through a zero-knowledge relay, so the relay cannot read your financial data.
• Desktop Catalog SyncThe phone form uses the same tags, payment methods, goals, templates, and theme styling from the desktop app.
• Timezone FixThe companion phone app now defaults new entries to the device's local date instead of UTC.

Dashboard Graphs

• New Graph PickerAdded Income Sources, Payment Methods, Net Position, Debt Payoff, Goal Progress, Goal Forecast, and Category Movers.
• Transfer ControlDashboard graphs can include or exclude transfers, so internal money movement does not distort spending analysis.
• Focused Month PaceSee how current spending compares with last month and where money is going by category.
• macOS Build FixResolved app builds that could fail to open on some Mac machines.

Entry, Budget & Dashboard Polish

• Better Date PickerAdd/Edit Entry now shows the full date, clearer day stepping, and a distinct month-end shortcut.
• Cleaner Transaction DetailsDuplicate Goal, Duplicate, and Notes controls were removed so detail panels are easier to scan.
• Budget Center RefreshSavings, debt goals, tag budgets, scope tabs, and summary controls now read cleaner and avoid duplicated progress meters.
• Year Heatmap ReworkThe logging streak has a clearer full-width row, compact mode hides advanced controls, and hover previews are more readable.

Fixes

• Couples Entry RepairDashboard entries no longer disappear in Combined or person-specific views, and existing shared vaults repair lost owners when opened.
• Transfer ToggleThe Transfer toggle in New Entry is clickable again.
• Scaled Tag BudgetsQuarter and full-year views now scale monthly tag limits automatically while keeping the limit read-only for that period.
• Tag Center ShortcutBudget Center now includes a direct Tag Center shortcut in Tag Budgets.

Linux Updates & Shared Vault Reliability

• Linux Auto UpdatesLinux now installs automatic updates, matching the macOS direct-build experience.
• Safer Couples ModeCreating, joining, or leaving a shared vault now preserves each partner's original solo history.
• Private Notes Stay PrivatePrivate notes always stay on your own device and are never written to the shared vault.
• Atomic Data SavesInterrupted saves recover more safely, including when your vault lives in Dropbox, iCloud, or OneDrive.

Packaging & Reliability Fixes

• Windows Store Package FixFixed the Windows Store package so Pro modal styling, financial reports, and Sunday Review features are included in the installed app.
• Store Update IntegrityImproved Windows Store packaging so future updates keep all UI and reporting features intact.

A Full Visual Refresh

• Refined Design SystemRebuilt color, spacing, and typography tokens for a more polished, consistent feel on every screen.
• Premium Light ModeA crisp, redesigned white theme that finally feels as considered as dark mode.
• Calmer DashboardEmpty months read “Not started” instead of an alarming red — readable at a glance.
• Consistent ThemingStatus colors are now theme-aware everywhere, so dark and light stay in sync.

Smarter Streaks, Focus & Insights

• Simpler Streak WidgetOne clear, informative streak/heatmap card — no more duplicate streak bar.
• Focus Mode, UpgradedJump to any month, plus richer detail: savings rate, top category, and net vs last month.
• Sharper InsightsHighlight cards are now direction- and sentiment-aware instead of looking identical.
• Friendlier Empty StatesGraphs and idle panels invite action instead of showing a blank void.

Budget, Reports & Couples

• Clearer Debt AnalyzerPlainly explains a growing balance and shows a real payoff date as you adjust payments.
• Reports, SurfacedWeekly Review and Generate Report are easy to find, with refined buttons and icons.
• Polished Budget CenterCalmer labels, and unconfigured budgets step back so real budgets stand out.
• Themed Couples DashboardAnchored to its pill, with each partner shown in their own color.

Fixes & Accessibility

• White-Mode FixesResolved light-on-light rendering in the analyzers and the onboarding wizard.
• Reduced-Motion SupportHonors your system “reduce motion” setting across the app.
• Add Entry PolishClearer labels and better rhythm in the most-used form.
• Dependency UpdatesRefreshed build tooling to clear security advisories.

Reliability & Polish

• Safer UpdatesUpdates can no longer accidentally move you to an older version.
• In-App RepairIf a required component goes missing, the app can now repair itself without reinstalling.

Dashboard & UX Polish

• Heatmap Calendar UpgradeRebuilt with Activity, Volume, and Savings modes plus compact and expanded states.
• Streak Widget ReworkSmaller status control with visible consistency percent and integrated progress bar.
• Smarter Goals & TagsConnected savings and debt goals to transaction purpose for consistent calculations.
• Transaction Form PolishCleaner create/edit layout with predictable footer actions and improved detail views.

Improved UX & Bug Fixes

• Quarter Navigation FixFixed quarter selection reliability across dashboard, graphs, budget, and insights views.
• Filter CleanupRemoved duplicate heatmap filter button — the transaction toolbar filter is now the single source.
• Toolbar RefinementsImproved lower toolbar filter, sort, slider, and expand/collapse button consistency.
• Stability ImprovementsResolved edge-case data loading issues and improved background sync reliability.

New — Couples Mode & Advanced Streaks

• Shared Vaults & ProfilesCreate shared vaults on synced folders, with dual profiles and a joint 'Household' view.
• Mixed & Combined ModesKeep individual expenses private, or merge fully. Your choice.
• The Streak PulseMonitor logging, savings goals, debt repayment, and mindfulness notes.
• Pro Device PortalManage your Pro devices with a secure magic link, no passwords required.

Data Safety & Reliability

• Automatic RecoveryIf your journal is corrupted, the app detects it and prevents accidental overwrites until it can be repaired.
• Self-Contained InstallEverything the app needs to run is included — no separate downloads required.

Onboarding

• Reliable First LaunchThe setup wizard now opens reliably on every fresh install.

The "Big Refactor" Release

• Hledger PowerFully migrated to the Hledger accounting engine for professional-grade, plain-text journals.
• Faster & LighterFaster launches and lower memory usage across the board.
• Dynamic Headers & UICompact vs Expanded views, frosted-glass splash screen, and centralized Global Search.
• Pro Power ToolsStreak Heatmap visualization, advanced forecasts, and new animation/theme presets.

New — Hledger Integration

• Plain-Text Accounting EngineBudgetNote now uses Hledger under the hood — your finances are stored in a human-readable journal file you own forever.

Fixed & Improved

• Payment MethodsFixed dropdowns showing garbled text instead of method names.
• Transaction AmountsFixed amounts occasionally displaying as invalid numbers after saving.
• Data RepairAdded automatic detection and repair for corrupted entries.
• Seamless SyncData updates now happen silently in the background — no more disruptive popups or screen flashes.

Fixed

• Onboarding LoopResolved an issue where new users could get stuck in an infinite onboarding loop.
• Data StorageImproved data storage reliability.

Fixed & Improved

• App IconUpdated to the new transparent logo design with correct dimensions for all platforms.
• Installation reliabilityAdded robust error handling and dialogs to prevent silent failures on startup (Windows/Mac).
• StartupFixed an issue where the app window could appear blank on first launch.

Performance Optimizations

• Smaller InstallerSignificantly reduced download size.
• Faster StartupThe app launches noticeably faster, and the setup wizard no longer freezes on first run.
• Smoother SavingRapid edits no longer cause save errors.

Fixed & Improved

• Windows UIFixed issue with non-resizable windows and sharp corners by disabling transparency (Windows limitation).
• InstallerEnhanced Windows installer with a proper setup wizard, license agreement (EULA), and destination folder selection.
• LayoutFixed header overlap issues with native window controls.
• StabilityImproved native window management reliability on Windows.

This is the first live release of BudgetNote, a local-first budgeting app designed for mindful money management. Everything below it shipped together here, built over the two and a half months of pre-release work that follow.

Core Features

• Local-First ArchitectureAll your financial data stays on your device in a structured vault
• Transaction TrackingLog income and expenses with sources, amounts, dates, and tags
• Smart TaggingOrganize transactions with customizable color-coded tags
• Multi-Year SupportTrack finances across multiple years with easy year switching

Budgeting & Goals

• Budget LimitsSet spending limits for expense categories
• Savings GoalsCreate and track progress towards financial goals
• Limit AlertsVisual indicators when approaching or exceeding budgets

Insights & Analytics

• Interactive Charts15+ chart types including Category breakdown, Income vs Expenses, Net trends, and more.
• AI HighlightsSmart detection of spending patterns and anomalies
• Monthly NotesAdd reflections and context to your financial months

User Experience

• Beautiful Themes14 curated color palettes including Miami Nights, Aurora
• Custom AccentsPersonalize your experience
• Smooth AnimationsMultiple animation styles
• Keyboard ShortcutsPower user shortcuts for common actions
• Multi-LanguageSupport for 10 languages

Desktop App

• Cross-PlatformAvailable for macOS and Windows
• Auto-UpdatesAutomatic update checking and installation
• Native IntegrationCustom window controls and system integration

Packaged and tagged, but replaced by 0.1.2 the next day and never published.

Ready to Hand to Someone Else

• Auto-UpdatesThe desktop app can check for and install its own updates.
• CSV Import, RebuiltBring in an existing history, with a preview listing the entries and any new tags before anything is written.
• Long Lists ScrollTransaction lists draw only the rows on screen, so a full year of history no longer stalls.
• Real InstallersPackaged for macOS and Windows.

Looking Back at the Week

• The Weekly ReviewA guided end-of-week look at what you spent and what you want to do differently, kept as a history you can go back to.
• Debt TrackingDebts sit alongside savings goals, with payoff progress and a monthly commitment.
• One Activity ViewStreaks and the year heatmap became a single view covering logging, goals and debt repayment, rather than three separate widgets.
• An ArchiveA finished goal leaves the active list without being deleted. The journal calendar was finished in the same stretch.
• First-Run SetupNew users get a setup flow instead of an empty app.
• Highlights, RewordedThey read as observations about your month rather than a list of statistics.

It Became a Product

• Pro You Could BuyCheckout, signed licence keys, and delivery to your inbox.
• Payment MethodsAn entry records how you paid, not only what it was for.
• The Financial ReportA summary of any period you choose, generated and kept.
• Ten LanguagesEnglish, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Chinese and Japanese.
• A Real Visual SystemSpacing, typography, cards and dialogs rebuilt from the ground up, with theme presets and an accent colour you pick.
• Keyboard ShortcutsFor the actions you repeat.

The App Got Its Name

• BudgetNoteIt started as "Finance Tracker" and spent a week as "Budget.ly" before landing on the name it kept.
• Savings GoalsProgress tracked against a target you set.
• Quick EntryA whole entry typed on one line.
• TemplatesFor the purchases you log over and over.
• Backups & RemindersAutomatic local backups of your data file, and reminders that notify you.
• Free and ProThe split was introduced, along with the licensing groundwork underneath it.

It Left the Browser

• A Desktop AppBudgetNote stopped being a page in a browser tab. Your data moved out of browser storage and into a file on your own machine, where it has stayed ever since.
• Logging StreaksThe first version of the habit tracking that later grew into the activity view.

The first working version. The project itself began on 2 November 2025.

Where It Started

• Entries and TagsIncome and expenses with a source, amount, date, tags and comments — plus a Tag Center for renaming, merging, hiding and recolouring them.
• Monthly LimitsA spending limit per tag, with progress bars and alerts when you approach one.
• GraphsCategory spending and monthly net, with filters by tag, type, amount and date.
• Insights and NotesEarly insights, reminders, and a note you can leave on any month.
• Search and StyleSearch across your transactions from anywhere, several animation styles, and a dark theme with a transparent-glass variant.
• Local From Day OneEverything stored on your machine. No account, no server, no telemetry — the one rule the project never broke.