Most money tools ask you to inspect the past. Payday Audit is for the moment before the money gets spent: the income deposit is here, bills are real, goals are competing, and every dollar needs a job.
Monthly budgets can get fuzzy when money arrives in chunks. Payday Audit plans one income deposit at a time so the plan matches the cash you actually have.
Debt payoff, emergency savings, investing, and lifestyle all compete for the same dollar. The wizard makes those tradeoffs visible instead of hiding them in a category list.
Each step explains why it exists: protect minimums, cover essentials, choose the focus, build the safety net, grow wealth, then close the plan at $0.
Zero-sum budgeting means your income minus your allocations equals exactly zero. It doesn't mean you have zero dollars. It means every dollar has been assigned a purpose, whether that's rent, debt payoff, savings, or fun money.
Enter take-home pay, payday timing, and the minimum debt payments that need protection before anything extra happens.
Turn recurring living costs and checking cash into a realistic per-deposit plan.
Choose whether this deposit should lean toward debt attack, balance, or breathing room.
Build a starter or full safety net and account for retirement matching that is already handled through payroll.
Send extra dollars toward the next best use, then include side income without forgetting tax holdback.
Use Smart Allocate, savings goals, and manual adjustments until there is nothing left floating.
Review the allocation, monthly translation, health analysis, and exports when your plan includes Pro reporting.