Quick Start: Setting Up Your Accounts

Your First 5 Minutes with Accounts

This guide will help you set up your financial accounts in UnderControl and start tracking your money effectively.

Step 1: Add Your Main Accounts

Start with the accounts you use most often:

Add Your Checking Account

1. Click "Add Account"
2. Name it something clear like "Chase Checking" or "Main Checking"
3. Enter your current balance
4. Keep it as a Budget Account (this is your spending money)
5. Click Save

Add Your Savings Account

1. Click "Add Account" again
2. Name it "Emergency Savings" or "Primary Savings"
3. Enter the current balance
4. Choose Off-Budget Account if this money isn't for everyday expenses
5. Add a note like "Emergency fund - don't touch unless necessary"
6. Click Save

Add Credit Cards (Optional)

1. Click "Add Account"
2. Name it "Chase Credit Card" or similar
3. For the balance, enter your available credit (not what you owe)
   • If you have a $5,000 limit and owe $1,000, enter $4,000
4. Keep as Budget Account (this is money you can spend)
5. Click Save

Step 2: Understand Your Dashboard

After adding accounts, your dashboard will show:

• Total Balance: All your money combined
• Budget Total: Money available for spending (checking + available credit)
• Off-Budget Total: Money in savings/investments

Step 3: Choose Account Types Wisely

Use Budget Accounts for:

• ✅ Checking accounts
• ✅ Credit cards (available credit)
• ✅ Savings you can spend from
• ✅ Cash on hand

Use Off-Budget Accounts for:

• ✅ Emergency funds
• ✅ Investment accounts
• ✅ Retirement accounts (401k, IRA)
• ✅ Loan balances (enter as negative amounts)
• ✅ Long-term savings goals

Step 4: Test Your Setup

1. Check your totals - Does your "Budget Total" match money you can actually spend?
2. Review off-budget - Is money you're saving for specific goals in "Off-Budget"?
3. Update a balance - Try changing one account balance to see how totals update

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ Don't Do This:

• Put your 401k as a Budget Account (you can't spend this money)
• Enter credit card debt as a positive balance
• Mix up checking account balance with available overdraft
• Put emergency savings as Budget (unless you want to spend it)

✅ Do This Instead:

• Keep retirement money in Off-Budget accounts
• Enter credit debt as negative balance, or available credit as positive
• Enter only actual account balance for checking
• Put emergency funds in Off-Budget to avoid accidentally "spending" them

Quick Reference: Account Types

Account Type	Budget or Off-Budget?	Why?
Checking	Budget	Money you can spend
Credit Card	Budget	Available credit you can spend
Emergency Savings	Off-Budget	Not for regular expenses
Investment Account	Off-Budget	Not for everyday spending
Car Loan	Off-Budget (negative)	Debt you're tracking
401k	Off-Budget	Can't access easily

What's Next?

Once your accounts are set up:

1. Update balances regularly - Weekly or monthly works well
2. Start tracking expenses - Link expenses to the accounts you paid from
3. Set up budgets - Your Budget Account totals will help you budget realistically
4. Use the privacy mode - Turn on "blind mode" when sharing your screen

Need Help?

• Wrong account type? Just click the account name and edit it
• Made a mistake? You can delete accounts you don't need
• Want to see history? Click on any account to see balance changes over time
• Need privacy? Toggle "blind mode" to hide dollar amounts

Your accounts are the foundation of good financial tracking in UnderControl. Take a few minutes to set them up correctly, and everything else will be much easier!