A Tour of Actual
Welcome to the Actual tour, where we will give you insights into the Interface.
This Tour of Actual is not meant to replace the user documentation. If you want to dive directly into how to install and use the software, please consult the Docs.
When you decide that Actual Budget is right for you, read our thorough Starting Fresh guide.
Are you looking into using Actual as your budgeting software?
It's worth noting that Actual has two budgeting methods included: the envelope budgeting model and the more traditional tracking budget. The big difference between envelope budgeting and more common methods is that with envelope budgeting, you budget with the money you actually have, not the money you think you will get in the future. The tracking budget allows you to budget future income. Actual defaults to the envelope method and we suggest you start there.
Our tour will touch on the following topics. You can go directly to a topic using the left sidebar menu.
- A quick overview of the Actual Budget interface.
- The budget view is where you plan how to save and what you need to spend money on.
- Without transactions in the account register, there would be no point in having a budget.
- Actual also has a few other functions we will look at: scheduling transactions, managing payees and adding and editing rules, which will help automate entering or importing transactions.
- Lastly, we have beautiful reports to show you.