I’m having an issue with the Savings Budget template from Tiller Community Solutions. I have $1000 allocated to a category called Backpacking. I have this category set up in the Budget program, and it is fully funded with $1000. This month, I spent $500 which I categorized in the Category page. In my budget sheet, this $500 transaction shows up as an expense. But this expense does not carry over into the Budget sheet. The expense, once I categorize the transactio, and it shows up in my Budget sheet as such, “should” reduce the $1000 Savings budget by the $500 expense. But it doesn’t. I have tried everything I can think of, but nothing I do (asside from manually lowering the $1000 in the Savings sheet) affects that $1000 funding in that Savings sheet. Where am I going wrong???
I adopted the Savings Budget sheet recently and it didn’t work at first until I fixed a couple of things.
A couple of suggestions, in your Categories sheet:
- Make sure you choose the Savings option from the Track column against the Backpacking category
- Make sure the cell is cleared under the Hide From Reports column
Savings option is selected, and the Hide function is not selected (i.e., cleared).
Are transactions in your Budget spreadsheet reflected in your Savings sheet?? So, if you spend $$ in a category you set up in the Savings sheet, this is subtreacted from whatever goal amount funding you set up in the Saving sheet??
Yes, this all works for me. Here are my settings at the top:
You should make sure the dates you select at the top match the dates of the transactions you are expecting to see the effects of.
If that doesn’t work, maybe the Savings Budget sheet isn’t seeing the necessary cells in the Transactions sheet? Or in the Categories sheet.
To figure out the source of the problem, you can look at: Does your Monthly Budget sheet work as expected? And your Yearly Budget sheet?
If they do not work either, then something may be wrong with your Categories or Transactions sheets (a renamed column header? Other personal modifications you may have made to these sheets?)
If they do work, then something may be wrong with your Savings Budget sheet. In which case, have you modified it? Perhaps you could try reinstalling or upgrading it…
Also, when you reference “the Savings sheet” I’m assuming you mean the budget section of the Categories sheet.
I don’t have a Savings sheet
The sheets in play here should be:
- Categories
- Transactions
- Savings Budget
The name of the “Savings Sheet” is the “Savings and Debt” sheet. So “No,” I’m not referring to the Categories sheet.
Date at the top of the Savings sheet matches the date for the Budget Sheet.
As far as i can tell, the cells in the Savings Sheet are seeing the correct account – i.e., the same account the transactions are linked to, and that the Budget Sheet sees.
As far as I can tell, bioth the Monthly Budget sheet and the yearly sheet are working fine. I have not modified anything.
Looks like you mean this community sheet. I haven’t used it personally so I don’t know anything about it.
I do know that the Savings Budget sheet works from the budget section of the Categories sheet, and it’s working that way for me. How that is supposed to integrate with the Savings & Debt sheet, I don’t know.
Hi @mpstaples - based on my understanding of the Savings & Debt sheet distinct from the Savings Budget sheet, the spending of savings won’t be reflected in that sheet? @randy do I have that right? Does the total saved get reduced when someone spends against that goal?