Settings

Customize CshFlow to match your financial situation. Configure income patterns, add manual expenses, manage cancelled subscriptions, and control calculation preferences.

Accessing Settings

Click the Settings icon (⚙️) in the navigation bar to open the settings panel.

Settings are organized into tabs:

• General - Balance, spending mode, conservative rounding
• Income Patterns - Configure pay schedule and expected income
• Manual Expenses - Add bills not in your CSV
• Cancelled Vendors - Manage subscription cancellations

General Settings

Current Balance

Your actual bank balance right now.

Why It Matters:

• Foundation for daily spending calculations
• Should reflect your real available money
• Updated whenever you check your banking app

How to Update:

1. Check your current balance in your banking app
2. Enter the exact amount
3. Click "Save"

When to Update:

• After large purchases
• When you get paid
• Weekly check-ins recommended
• Before making financial decisions

Tips:

• Use checking account balance (most liquid)
• Don't include savings unless you plan to use it
• Account for pending transactions if possible

Spending Mode

Choose how to calculate your daily spending limit.

Until Month-End

• Calculate spending for the rest of the current month
• Best for monthly budgeting
• Ideal for salaried employees paid monthly

Until Next Income

• Calculate spending until your next paycheck
• Best for bi-weekly or weekly pay schedules
• Ideal for tight cash flow situations

Switching Modes:

• Changes calculations immediately
• Daily limit updates in real-time
• Setting is saved for future sessions

Learn more: Daily Spending Calculator

Conservative Rounding

Enable or disable safety-first calculations.

Enabled (Recommended):

• Available spending: rounded DOWN
• Expected expenses: rounded UP
• Daily limit: rounded DOWN
• Creates built-in safety buffer

Disabled:

• Exact calculations (no rounding)
• Use precise amounts
• You manage your own buffer

Default: Enabled

When to Disable:

• You prefer exact numbers
• You maintain your own cushion
• You want maximum daily limit

Learn more: Conservative Rounding

Safety Buffer

Extra cushion for unexpected expenses.

Default: $100

What It Does:

• Subtracted from available balance
• Creates emergency fund
• Protects against surprises

Recommended Values:

• $50-100 - Minimum safety net
• $200-300 - Comfortable buffer
• $500+ - Very conservative

When to Increase:

• Irregular expenses common
• Variable bills (utilities)
• Prefer extra safety

When to Decrease:

• Tight budget, need every dollar
• You have separate emergency fund
• Prefer aggressive budgeting

Income Patterns

Configure your expected income sources and pay schedule.

Why Income Patterns Matter

CshFlow uses income patterns to:

• Calculate "Until Next Income" mode
• Project future cash flow
• Estimate next payday
• Plan for recurring deposits

Auto-Detected Income

CshFlow automatically detects income from your transactions:

• Payroll deposits
• Employment insurance
• Government benefits
• Tax refunds

Review Detected Income:

• Check amounts are correct
• Verify frequency is accurate
• Confirm next expected date

Adding Income Manually

If auto-detection doesn't work or you want to add expected income:

1. Go to Income Patterns tab
2. Click "Add Income Pattern"
3. Fill in details:
   • Source Name (e.g., "Salary", "Freelance")
   • Amount (typical deposit amount)
   • Frequency (see below)
   • Next Expected Date
4. Click "Save"

Frequency Options

Bi-Weekly

• Every 2 weeks
• 26 pays per year
• Most common for salaried employees

Semi-Monthly

• Twice per month
• 24 pays per year
• Often 15th and last day of month
• Enter specific days of month

Monthly

• Once per month
• 12 pays per year
• Enter day of month (e.g., 1st, 15th, last day)

Weekly

• Every 7 days
• 52 pays per year
• Enter day of week

One-Time

• Single expected deposit
• Tax refund, bonus, reimbursement
• Only counts once

Managing Income Patterns

Edit:

• Click income pattern row
• Update details
• Save changes

Delete:

• Click "Remove" next to income pattern
• Confirm deletion
• Pattern removed from calculations

Deactivate:

• Mark as "Inactive" to temporarily exclude
• Keeps historical reference
• Can reactivate later

Manual Expenses

Add recurring expenses that don't appear in your CSV files.

Why Manual Expenses?

Some bills don't show up in banking CSVs:

• Paid by check
• Auto-withdrawn before CSV export
• Cash payments
• Through other accounts

Common Manual Expenses

• Rent or Mortgage - Often paid directly
• Student Loans - Auto-pay from different account
• Insurance Premiums - Annual or semi-annual
• HOA Fees - Quarterly or monthly
• Childcare - Cash or check payments
• Subscriptions - Paid from different card

Adding Manual Expense

1. Go to Manual Expenses tab
2. Click "Add Manual Expense"
3. Fill in details:
   • Description (e.g., "Rent", "Car Insurance")
   • Amount (how much you pay)
   • Frequency (how often)
   • Next Due Date (when is it due?)
4. Click "Save"

Frequency Options

Same as income patterns:

• Weekly, Bi-weekly, Semi-monthly, Monthly
• Quarterly (every 3 months)
• Semi-annually (every 6 months)
• Annually (once per year)
• One-time (single upcoming expense)

Expense Projections

Manual expenses are included in:

• Daily spending limit calculations
• Expected expenses totals
• Cash flow projections
• Conservative rounding

Automatic Updates:

• After due date passes, CshFlow projects next occurrence
• Based on frequency setting
• Accounts for calendar irregularities

Managing Manual Expenses

Edit:

• Click expense row
• Update amount, date, or frequency
• Save changes

Delete:

• Click "Remove"
• Expense no longer counted in calculations
• Historical reference removed

Mark as Paid:

• For one-time expenses
• Removes from projections
• Keeps in history

Cancelled Vendors

Track subscriptions and recurring services you've cancelled.

Why Track Cancellations?

Prevents CshFlow from counting cancelled subscriptions in:

• Expected expenses
• Daily limit calculations
• Recurring expense analysis
• Target Optimizer recommendations

The Cancelled List

Shows all vendors you've marked as cancelled:

• Vendor name
• Last charge date
• Cancellation date (if provided)
• Monthly cost before cancellation

Adding to Cancelled List

From Vendor Analysis:

1. Find vendor in Vendor Analysis
2. Click "Mark as Cancelled"
3. Enter cancellation date (optional)
4. Confirm

From Target Optimizer:

1. Click "Mark as Cancelled" on recommendation
2. Service added to list
3. Removed from future calculations

From Settings:

1. Go to Cancelled Vendors tab
2. Click "Add Cancelled Vendor"
3. Enter vendor name
4. Save

Removing from Cancelled List

If you reactivate a service:

1. Find vendor in Cancelled Vendors tab
2. Click "Remove" or "Reactivate"
3. Confirm removal
4. Vendor will be included in calculations again

Note: Reactivating re-enables recurring expense detection and projections.

Advanced Settings

Data & Privacy

Export Your Data:

• Download all your transactions as CSV
• Includes vendor analysis data
• For backup or migration

Factory Reset:

• Start completely fresh with a clean slate
• Removes all your financial data: transactions, income patterns, accounts, and settings
• Perfect for re-uploading your files from scratch
• We'll ask you twice before doing anything — your login stays safe!

Account Settings:

• Change password
• Update email
• Manage connected accounts

Display Preferences

Date Format:

• YYYY-MM-DD (2024-11-15)
• MM/DD/YYYY (11/15/2024)
• DD/MM/YYYY (15/11/2024)

Currency Display:

• Show currency symbols ($)
• Decimal places (2 default)
• Thousand separators

Notifications

Email Notifications:

• Low balance warnings
• Upcoming bills reminders
• Subscription renewal alerts
• Weekly summary reports

In-App Notifications:

• New recurring expense detected
• Unusual spending patterns
• Income deposit detected

Tips for Accurate Settings

Keep Balance Current

Update your balance regularly:

• Set a weekly reminder
• Update after each CSV upload
• Check before making big purchases

Pro Tip: Some users check balance daily for tightest control.

Review Income Patterns

Verify income settings:

• After each pay period
• When changing jobs
• If pay dates shift
• Semi-annual review

Audit Manual Expenses

Check manual expenses monthly:

• Remove paid one-time items
• Update amounts if changed
• Verify due dates
• Delete obsolete expenses

Clean Up Cancelled List

Review cancelled vendors:

• Remove if never actually cancelled
• Re-add if reactivated
• Archive old entries

Common Issues

Daily Limit Seems Wrong

Check:

1. Is current balance accurate?
2. Are manual expenses correct?
3. Are cancelled vendors properly marked?
4. Is spending mode appropriate for your situation?

Solution:

• Update each setting systematically
• Verify income patterns
• Review recurring expenses in Vendor Analysis

Income Not Detected

Problem: CshFlow didn't find your payday

Solutions:

1. Upload more transaction history
2. Manually add income pattern
3. Verify deposit descriptions contain income keywords
4. Check if deposits are from different accounts

Manual Expense Not Counting

Check:

1. Is next due date in the future?
2. Is expense marked as active?
3. Does frequency make sense?
4. Is amount correct?

Solution:

• Edit manual expense
• Verify all fields
• Ensure due date hasn't passed

Settings Best Practices

Start Conservative

When first setting up:

• Higher safety buffer ($150-200)
• Enable conservative rounding
• Add all known manual expenses
• Use "Until Next Income" mode if cash is tight

Adjust Over Time

As you understand your cash flow:

• Decrease safety buffer if comfortable
• Switch to "Until Month-End" if stable
• Fine-tune income patterns
• Remove unnecessary manual expenses

Regular Maintenance

Monthly settings check:

• □ Update current balance
• □ Review income patterns
• □ Audit manual expenses
• □ Clean up cancelled vendors
• □ Verify spending mode
• □ Check safety buffer

Related Features

• Daily Spending - See how settings affect your limit
• Vendor Analysis - Identify expenses to add manually
• Income Detection - How income is found automatically
• Conservative Rounding - Understand the safety mechanism

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Proper settings are key to accurate cash flow forecasting. Take time to configure CshFlow correctly, and it will reward you with reliable daily spending guidance.