What is the Family Budget Planner?
The Family Budget Planner is Wevanta' forward-looking financial planning module. Unlike the Accounts module (which tracks what has happened), the Budget Planner lets you define what should happen every month â your expected income, your committed expenses, your EMIs, and your investment targets.
Every item in the planner is automatically compared against your actual transactions from the Accounts module, so you always know whether you are ahead of plan, behind plan, or right on target â without any manual data entry.
Step 1: Creating a Budget Plan
Go to Planning â Budget Planner and click New Budget. You only need two things to start:
- Budget Name: A descriptive title for this plan. Most families create one master plan called "Our Family Budget 2025-26". You can create multiple plans (e.g., one for personal, one for business) and switch between them.
- Currency: The currency for this budget (default INR).
Once created, you are taken immediately to the Budget Dashboard where you start adding your financial commitments.
Step 2: Understanding the Budget Dashboard Layout
The dashboard has three areas:
- Top Header Bar: Shows the budget name, a Month/Year selector for switching the review period, the â Add Commitment button, and a delete button for the entire plan.
- KPI Summary Cards: Four live metrics across the top of the page.
- Two-Column Layout: Main area (left) shows your detailed Income and Outflow tables. Sidebar (right) shows Planning Insights, Pending Commitments, and Category Health.
- Bottom Full-Width: The 12-Month Financial Roadmap chart.
The 4 KPI Summary Cards
| Card | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Monthly Income Forecast | Your total planned income for the selected month. Below it, in green, is the Received / Actual amount â how much income has actually landed in your accounts this month. |
| Planned Expense Outflow | Total of all expense + EMI + investment commitments. Below it, in red, is the Paid / Processed amount â how much has actually been spent. |
| Projected Monthly Surplus | Planned Income minus Planned Outflows. This is your theoretical monthly saving. Below it is the Realized Surplus so far â actual income minus actual spending â shown in green (surplus) or red (deficit). |
| Obligation Ratio | The percentage of your income consumed by Mandatory commitments only. Three health bands: Healthy Buffer (below 50%), Watchlist (50â70%), Critical Risk (above 70%). A high ratio means even a small income disruption could cause defaults. |
Step 3: Adding Financial Commitments
Click â Add Commitment. A form expands inline. Every item you add is a "financial commitment" â a recurring or one-time income or outflow that you are planning for.
Every Field Explained
| Field | What to Enter | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| đ° Type | Income â salary, rent received, dividends. Expense â groceries, utilities, maid salary. Investment / SIP â mutual fund SIP, stock purchases, recurring savings. EMI / Debt â home loan, car loan, personal loan repayments. The type determines how performance is measured (spending below plan is good for expenses; income below plan is bad). | â Required |
| Category | Choose from 7 category groups with 24 sub-categories covering: Primary Income, Household & Maintenance, Lifestyle & Travel, Health & Education, Debt & Dues, Wealth & Protection, and Miscellaneous. See the full list in Step 4 below. | â Required |
| Description / Label | A short name for this item. Examples: "Maid Salary", "Zerodha SIP", "HDFC Home Loan EMI", "Quarterly School Fees". | â Required |
| Estimated Amount | The planned value. For salary, enter your net take-home. For EMIs, enter your exact EMI. For groceries, enter your anticipated monthly spend. | â Required |
| Day of Month (Due) | The expected day on which this item is due or received each month (1â31). Your salary might come on Day 1; your home loan EMI may debit on Day 5. This drives the status engine (see Step 6). | â Required |
| Frequency | Every Month (most items), Every 3 Months (quarterly school fees, insurance), Every 6 Months, Every Year (annual premiums, property tax), Every Week, or One Time (a salary advance, a one-off expense). | â Required |
| Priority | Mandatory (Non-negotiable) â items you cannot skip without consequences: rent, EMIs, insurance premiums, utility bills. Optional (Lifestyle) â dining, shopping, vacations. The Obligation Ratio KPI card is built from Mandatory items only. | â Required |
| Family Member Responsibility | Assign this budgeted item to a specific family member (e.g., assign "Grocery" to your spouse, "Car Loan EMI" to yourself). If left blank, it is treated as Shared / Household. | Optional |
| Plan Starts From | The month from which this commitment begins. You can pre-plan future increases â e.g., a new SIP starting from April. | â Required |
| Plan Ends (Optional) | If this commitment has a known end date (e.g., children school fees until graduation, or a loan closing in March), enter it here. After this date the item disappears from the budget automatically. | Optional |
| Fixed Commitment | Check this if the amount is the same every period and does not vary (e.g., a fixed EMI). Items marked Fixed are displayed with a FIXED badge in the outflow table. | Checkbox |
| Shared Household Expense | Check this if the expense is shared by the whole family (as opposed to personal spending). | Checkbox |
| Enable Notifications | When checked, Wevanta can send you reminders around the due date of this item, so critical payments are never missed. | Checkbox |
Step 4: The 24 Budget Categories
| Group | Categories |
|---|---|
| Primary Income | Fixed Salary / Business • Rental Income • Dividends / Stock Gains • Bonus / Variable Income |
| Household & Maintenance | Groceries & Provisions • Home Rent / Maintenance • Utilities (Electric/Water) • Domestic Help (Maid/Cook) |
| Lifestyle & Travel | Dining / Cinema / Fun • Vacation / Weekend Trips • Shopping / Clothing |
| Health & Education | Medical / Doctor / Pharmacy • School Fees / Tuition • Childcare / Kids Activity |
| Debt & Dues | Home Loan EMI • Car Loan EMI • Personal Loan EMI • Credit Card Bills |
| Wealth & Protection | SIP / Mutual Funds • Direct Equity / Investment • Insurance Premiums • Professional Tax / GST |
| Miscellaneous | Pocket Money / Cash • Other Expenses |
Step 5: The Income and Outflow Tables
The main area shows two tables â Planned Inflow (top) and Planned Outflows (bottom). Both have the same columns:
| Column | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Label / Category | The item name and sub-line showing its category, whether it is FIXED, and which day of the month it is expected. |
| Status | A colour-coded badge showing the real-time status of this item (see Step 6). |
| Planned | The amount you budgeted for this item. |
| Actual | The real amount from your transaction history for the selected month. Wevanta automatically matches transactions from accounts in the same category to this budget item. |
| Outcome | The variance: Settled (exactly matched), +âšX (saved more than planned for expenses, or received more than expected for income), -âšX (overspent or underpaid), or a status word like Not received / Unpaid / Awaiting receipt. |
Step 6: The Status Engine â What Every Badge Means
Every budget item gets a status badge that updates automatically based on the current date, your due day, and your actual transactions. Here is exactly how it works:
| Badge | Colour | When You See It |
|---|---|---|
| Paid / Received | Green | Actual amount is equal to or greater than planned. The commitment is fully settled for this month. |
| Partial | Orange | Some money has been received/paid but it has not reached the planned amount yet. |
| Due Today | Orange | Today is exactly the due day and actual is still zero. |
| Due Soon | Blue | The due day is within the next 3 days and actual is still zero. |
| Pending | Grey | The due day is still more than 3 days away. No action needed yet. |
| Overdue | Red | An expense or EMI whose due day has passed and actual is still zero. Needs immediate attention. |
| Delayed | Orange | An income item whose expected receipt day has passed by up to 5 days. The money is late but not yet critical. |
| Awaiting Receipt | Red | An income item that is more than 5 days overdue. Rental income or freelance payment at serious risk of non-receipt. |
| Unpaid / Not Received | Red | When you look at a past month and actual was zero. The payment was missed entirely that month. |
| Planned | Grey | When you look at a future month. This item is scheduled but not yet actionable. |
Step 7: The Right Sidebar â Strategic Planning Insights
Planning Insights (Auto-generated Alerts)
Wevanta automatically scans your budget and generates up to 2 prioritised alerts:
- High Obligation Ratio: Fires when mandatory dues consume over 70% of planned income. Action: Cut optional spends.
- Income Still Pending: Fires after the 15th of the month if your actual income is below planned. Shows exactly how much salary/rent is still outstanding.
- Immediate Dues: Fires when any high-priority payment is due within 48 hours. Action: Verify bank balance.
- Surplus Potential: Fires after mid-month if spending is well below plan and surplus is high. Action: Consider investing the surplus.
Pending & Upcoming Commitments
A real-time list of all expense/EMI/investment items that have not yet been paid this month, split into two sub-sections:
- â Action Required (Overdue): Items past their due day with no payment detected â shown in red with the number of days overdue.
- âŗ Upcoming This Period: Items still ahead of their due day, showing how many days remain (e.g., "Due in 3 days (Day 5)").
Budget Plan vs Last Month
If you had a budget plan for the previous month, Wevanta shows a comparison card: how much your planned income has changed vs last month, and how much your planned expenses have changed. This auto-suppresses if differences are less than âš100 (no noise).
Category Health Check
A compact table showing the top 6 categories by planned spend, each with a health badge (Healthy, On Track, Partial, Delayed, Overdue, Pending, Neutral) and the actual amount spent so far. Lets you spot which areas of spending are on track without reading every row of the main table.
Step 8: The 12-Month Financial Roadmap
At the bottom of the page is a full-width dark chart showing a 12-month forward projection built from your current budget plan:
- Green bars: Planned inflow each month.
- Red bars: Planned outflow each month.
- Blue line: Net Surplus / Deficit each month (the gap between green and red).
Below the chart, Wevanta gives a one-line forecast summary: either "12-month surplus roadmap is healthy. No deficit months projected." or "Cash flow warning: Planning shows negative surplus. Review optional expenses."
Step 9: Editing a Budget Item â The Split Version Feature
Click the âī¸ pencil button on any item to edit it. The edit modal contains all the same fields as creation, plus one powerful extra feature:
Example: Your maid's salary increases from âš3,000 to âš4,000. Check this box when editing â your budget history will show âš3,000 for all past months and âš4,000 from this month forward. Every variance report remains accurate.
If you just fix a typo or correct a date, leave the box unchecked and click Update Entry â the item updates in place.
Step 10: Switching Between Months
The budget plan is time-aware. At the top of the page, use the Month and Year dropdowns to jump to any month. The entire dashboard â every KPI card, every status badge, every table, every chart â recalculates for that month's data. You can review what your budget looked like in any past month and compare planned vs actual retroactively.