Commander offers three distinct modes that fundamentally change how your budget lines behave. You can
switch between modes freely at any time. All modes support custom time periods (yearly, quarterly, monthly,
semi-monthly, biweekly, or weekly) with customizable start dates.
Tracking Mode transforms your budget lines into observation tools that record and visualize spending patterns
without enforcing any limits or goals. Each budget line maintains a running total where expenses increase the
amount spent and income decreases the total. This income-decreases-expense approach is particularly useful for
tracking reimbursements or refunds within specific categories.Tracking Mode compares your spending & income in the current cycle against the equivalent totals from the
previous cycle, showing you how your finances change over time. Totals in each line reset at the
start of each new period.
Targets Mode adds aspirational spending limits and income goals to your budget lines while maintaining
flexibility. Each budget line tracks spending against a target amount you define, where assigned transactions
accumulate toward the line’s total activity which is then compared against the defined target.Targets are soft goals—the app tracks all spending regardless of target amounts. Each budget line operates
independently, meaning overspending in one category doesn’t affect tracking in others. Target amounts reset
each period with no rollover of unused budget capacity, and there are no automatic adjustments or transfers
between budget lines.Target amounts, when set, apply for that cycle and future cycles. Setting a target now doesn’t affect past
budget cycles.
Envelope Mode implements zero-based budgeting where you allocate every dollar before spending. This ensures
that you are only spending money that you already have.
Unlike Tracking and Target modes where spending & income accumulates over the budget cycle and then resets,
Envelope Mode uses a depletion model where funds can be continuously added to a line at any time
during the cycle and then spent.When you transfer funds into your budget-included accounts, the app doesn’t assign them to any budget line
by default and instead refers to them as ‘Unbudgeted Funds’. You can then allocate money from this pool into your budget
lines, also referred to as envelopes, move money between envelopes as needed, and can fill or refill
envelopes either from Unbudgeted Funds or from other envelopes at any point during the cycle.
If you assign an income transaction to a line, its value is then added to that line for later spending or transfers.You can spend from an empty or negative envelope—the app tracks all spending regardless of envelope balance.
Negative envelopes alert you to the deficit, which you can address by transferring from other envelopes or
unallocated funds. Unused money or an unaddressed deficit in envelopes automatically rolls over to the next period. This encourages saving within categories for larger future
purchases.
