Match Expected and Actual Income

Use this guide after real income arrives and you want the planning view to stay aligned with reality.

Before you start #

Have both the expected income item and the actual transaction available to review.

What you will do #

Match the expected and actual entries, confirm the status updates correctly, and then verify future planning still looks reasonable.

1. Open the correct month’s Income Events section #

Go to the Budget page and open Income Events for [month] for the month where the income belongs.

Matching only makes sense when you are looking at the same month that contains the expected event and the actual income transaction.

2. Identify the expected row and the actual row first #

Before you match anything, review the rows you are about to connect.

Check:

• date
• amount
• payee
• current Match Status

Common Cents can already flag likely matches as Potential Match, and exact date-plus-amount matches may already auto-match.

3. Use the Related Actions menu on the row that needs the match #

The Related Actions menu is where matching happens.

Depending on the row type, you may see actions such as:

• Match with Txn #[number]
• Mark as Income & Match
• Add Matching Income Transaction

Use the action that connects the expected event with the real transaction you actually mean.

4. Confirm the rows become a matched pair #

After a successful match, the table should show the rows as Matched instead of leaving them as separate expected and actual items.

You may also see pair labels that make it clear which rows now belong together.

This is your confirmation that the planning record and the real-world transaction are now linked.

5. Pay attention if Common Cents warns that matching will commit plans #

If the match would drive Unplanned below zero in the current month, Common Cents can show Match Will Commit Plans.

That prompt means continuing will commit current planned amounts into Assigned.

Do not click through that warning casually. It is changing the budget state, not just the match state.

6. Recheck the month summary after the match #

Once the match is done, review the surrounding budget picture:

• did the Expected, Actual, Matched, and Total chips update the way you expected?
• does the planning layer still make sense?
• did the match trigger a plan commit that you actually wanted?

This is the step that keeps matching from becoming a hidden budgeting change.

7. Unmatch if you connected the wrong pair #

If the rows were matched incorrectly, use Unmatch from the matched row’s Related Actions menu.

That splits the expected and actual entries apart so you can edit them, delete one, or match them differently.

8. Use this guide whenever planning and reality start drifting apart #

This workflow matters any time expected income has moved ahead of the real transaction history.

Match as soon as the real income arrives so:

• the planning layer stays believable
• expected income does not linger after it has already happened
• future budget decisions are based on the right picture

See also: Paycheck Planning, Add Income (Manual, Generate), and Budget Planning.