Everything you need to set up Cash Flow Tool and start projecting your finances. This guide covers the basics of each feature so you can get the most out of the app from day one.
First things first: Open the Months view and tap the first week of January. Enter your current checking account balance in the Starting Balance field. This is the foundation for all projections. Every future week cascades from this number, so getting it right matters.
On the Bills and Income page, tap "Add Income" to create an Income Source. Enter the amount per paycheck, select a cadence (Monthly, Bi-Weekly, or Weekly), and set the anchor date to any recent payday. The app calculates all future paydays from that anchor. You can add multiple income sources.
Income Sources are recurring: your regular paycheck, scheduled every pay period. Additional Income is a one-time entry on a specific week for things like tax refunds, bonuses, or side gig payments. Income Sources drive projections automatically. Additional Income is entered manually on individual weeks.
On the Bills and Income page, tap "Add Bill" to create a recurring bill with a name, amount, due day (1-31), and category. The app places each bill in whichever week contains its due day. Bills due on days that don't exist in a given month (like the 31st in a 30-day month) roll into the last week of that month.
Categories (House, Utilities, Subscriptions, etc.) organize your bills for the Expenses chart, which shows a breakdown of spending by category. They don't affect calculations. They are purely for visualization.
In the Months view, tap the week where the expense will hit. Enter the amount in the One-Timers field. You can also add a note to remember what it was for.
The projected balance is what the app calculates based on your bills, income, and previous balance. The actual balance is what you enter manually from your real bank account. When you record an actual balance for a week, all future projections recalculate forward from that confirmed number.
Update your actual balance at least on the last week of each month. The more often you enter it, the tighter the projection stays. If your projection drifts from your bank balance, common causes are one-time expenses you didn't enter, bills that differed from expected amounts, or savings transfers. Entering your actual balance resets the chain and the app self-corrects from there.
You can create up to 3 savings buckets, each with a name, a strategy, and an optional start month. The app calculates how much you should save each month and draws a visual chart showing the path to your target.
No. The app calculates recommended amounts, but you transfer the money yourself. Enter your actual bank balance at the end of the month and projections self-correct from there.
A warning icon means your surplus wasn't enough to fully fund a bucket that month. Each bucket has a Start Month if you want to begin partway through the year. The "% of Income" strategy only counts recurring Income Sources, not one-off Additional Income entries.
In the Months view, tap a week and scroll to Credit Card Payments. Enter what you plan to pay each card that week. Each card also has a Due Day field (1-31) so you can see when payments are due on the months sheet. You can sort cards by Manual order, APR, Balance, or Due Day using the sort menu in the section header.
Each loan has an "Add to Bills" toggle. When enabled, the loan's monthly payment is automatically included in your bills and weekly projections. If a bill matches a loan obligation (same name, due day, and amount), a yellow warning icon appears to flag the duplicate.
"Int. Rem." on the Credit Cards and Loans page shows projected interest through year-end. "Sim. Int. to Payoff" on the Debt Payoff page shows total interest through full payoff. Both use monthly compounding. They match if the debt is paid off within the current year.
Simulates paying off all credit cards and loans together. Shows a balance-over-time chart, per-account breakdown with payoff dates, a Payment Guide with recommended monthly amounts, and summary cards (total debt, debt-free date, total interest). Choose a strategy:
All three strategies simulate interest with monthly compounding. The Payment Guide shows recommended allocations for Avalanche or Snowball. Use the Custom Amount field to cap how much of your budget goes toward debt each month.
Credit card rows change color based on planned payments vs. balance:
No color means you are paying it down but won't fully pay it off this month. Hide paid-off cards in Settings with "Hide Zero Balance Cards."
The colored line on the Cash Flow chart represents your Low Balance Warning threshold. Any week where your projected balance drops below this amount is flagged. You can adjust the threshold and its color in Settings.
Pinch to zoom on the chart to focus on a specific range of weeks. A "Reset Zoom" button appears when you are zoomed in. Tap any point on the chart to see that week's details.
Changes sync automatically across all your devices via iCloud. If an update isn't appearing on another device yet, switch the app to the background on the device that made the change. This triggers the upload. Sync typically happens within seconds to a few minutes.
Through the Settings page, you can invite someone via iCloud sharing. Once they accept, both of you see and edit the same data in real time, across Mac, iPhone, and iPad on both accounts. All financial data (bills, income, week entries, credit cards, loans, and savings buckets) is shared. App settings (like theme and display preferences) remain private to each device.
Accessible via the gear icon. You can enable biometric lock (Face ID/Touch ID), require edit confirmation to prevent accidental changes, customize your color scheme, accent color, font style, and low balance warning threshold. Settings also includes data reset options -- use with caution, as these affect synced devices too.