Add expected one-off expenses so they're reflected in budget and daily allowance

Feedback & Ideas Emma Pro
1

Hi all,

I’d love to see a way to add expected one-off expenses for the current month, so they can be accounted for before they actually happen.

The idea is simple: I often know in advance that I’ll need to pay a specific amount for something (a flight or holiday for example). Right now, that spend only hits my budget once the transaction lands, which means my remaining budget and daily allowance look healthier than they really are for most of the month, and then drop suddenly.

What I’d like to be able to do:

  • Add a planned expense with all the details
  • Have that amount reserved from the remaining budget straight away, so the daily allowance reflects it
  • See these planned items clearly separated from actual transactions, so it’s obvious what has happened and what is still expected
  • Match the planned item to the real transaction when it comes through, so it isn’t counted twice, with the option to adjust if the actual amount differs

The benefit is a daily allowance that is realistic for the whole month, rather than one that quietly overstates what I can spend until the big payment arrives.

Would be great to hear if others would find this useful too.

Thanks!

2

Have you tried with an offline account? You can create transactions

3

Hey!

I hadn’t thought of that, and it’s a good hack for getting the amount out of my remaining budget. Where it falls short for me is that the manual transaction is recorded as money already spent, so:

  • When the real transaction comes through from my linked account, I have to remember to go back and delete or merge the manual one, otherwise it’s double counted
  • There’s no visual distinction between what I’ve actually spent and what I’m still expecting to spend

So it solves the daily allowance side, but I lose the ability to see at a glance where I actually stand today. What I’d really like is a separate “planned” state: reserved from the budget and the daily allowance, visibly marked as not yet happened, and automatically reconciled against the real transaction when it lands.

4

This would be the most difficult part since you wouldn’t know the future transaction reference and Emma would have little to no context for this; so I think it still requires manual intervention.

The offline transaction is easy since you can just delete them or mark them as excluded once the transaction settles.