Available vs Activity

These two numbers are related, but they are not interchangeable. One tells you what happened. The other tells you what is still ready to use.

Activity #

Activity shows what happened in the category during the month you are viewing. It is the history column.

On the Budget page, Activity becomes most useful when it is clickable. If a category has drilldown entries available, clicking the Activity amount opens a bottom sheet titled with the category name, such as Groceries Activity.

That drilldown sheet helps you inspect the history behind the number:

• each row shows the date, context details such as account, payee, category, label, or transaction type, and the amount
• notes appear inline when a transaction has one
• each transaction row has a Related Actions menu so you can Edit it or start a refund when that action is allowed

If you need to change one of those rows after inspecting it, continue with Add, Edit, and Delete Transactions.

If a budget number looks wrong, Activity is usually the first place to check.

Available #

Available shows what the category still has ready to use after Common Cents combines the month’s budgeting and transaction history.

Depending on the month, the label changes slightly:

• Available for the current month
• Ending Available for past months
• Expected Available for future months

When Income Planning is enabled, the Available cell can also show a smaller inline Planned amount. That gives you a preview of where the category is expected to land after planned money is committed.

If a category has a target and that target has been fully met by assigned funds the available amount will show green. If the category has a target and that target has been fully met by planned funds the available amount will show yellow.

Why this matters #

If you use Activity when you really mean Available, you will misread the budget.

• Use Activity when you want to understand what already happened in that category.
• Use Available when you want to know whether the category can still cover something.

The grid gives you other clues too. Future views can show Expected Starting before the budget reaches Expected Available, and group rows roll those same ideas up across all categories in the group.

Use filters to find the categories that need attention #

The Filter control above the grid helps you narrow the page to the categories that need a closer look.

Common options include:

• All
• Overspent
• Rollover
• Zero
• Underfunded and Overfunded when Targets is enabled

That makes it easier to spot whether your problem is spending that already happened, money that was never assigned, or a category that is simply carrying the wrong available balance.