Templates

Overview

The Templates section is the third section of the left panel. Templates are reusable transaction blueprints for recurring patterns such as monthly bills, regular income, or periodic transfers. They help you create transactions quickly and feed the Allocation Plan so it can project future income and expenses.

Columns

The template list displays three columns:

Column	Description
Template	The template name.
In Plan	Shows Yes or No to indicate whether the template is included in the Allocation Plan.
Amount	The transaction amount defined in the template.

Column widths can be adjusted by dragging the dividers in the header row. The list can be sorted by any column using the right-click menu.

Toolbar

The toolbar along the top of the template list provides quick access to common actions:

Button	Tooltip	Description
Add	Add New Template	Creates a new template. The template editor opens with a blank Simple template.
Delete	Delete Selected Template	Deletes the selected template after confirmation.
Allocation Plan	Allocation Plan	Opens the Allocation Plan dialog, which uses in-plan templates to project your budget.
Help	Templates Help	Opens this help topic.

Right-Click Menu

Right-clicking a template in the list opens a context menu with the following actions:

• Edit Item -- Opens the template editor to modify the selected template.
• Clone Item -- Creates a duplicate of the selected template. The clone opens in the editor so you can adjust it before saving.
• Create Transaction -- Creates a new transaction in the ledger using the template's values. The transaction editor opens with the template's fields pre-filled.

Template Types

Each template uses one of four types, selected from the Type drop-down in the template editor:

Type	Description
Simple	A single transaction in one account with one envelope. Covers basic deposits and payments.
Transfer	A movement of money between two accounts, with corresponding envelope assignments.
Regular Multiple	A deposit or payment split across multiple envelope allocations. If Enable Account Transfers in Multiples is enabled, rows can also transfer part of the amount to another account.
Multiple Envelope Transfer	A transfer that splits across multiple envelope assignments. Used for redistributing funds among envelopes.

Frequency

Every template has a frequency that defines how often the transaction occurs. The frequency controls are visible when the template is included in the Allocation Plan and consist of three parts:

• Count -- How many times the transaction occurs within the period (for example, "2" for a biweekly paycheck).
• Period -- The number of time units between occurrences (for example, "1").
• Span -- The time unit: Day, Week, Month, or Year. Labels adjust to plural form (Days, Weeks, Months, Years) when the period is greater than one.

For example, a template set to "1 time, every 1 Month" represents a monthly bill. A template set to "2 times, every 1 Month" represents something that occurs twice a month.

The Allocation Plan uses these frequencies to normalize all templates into a common time frame (daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly) and calculate projected balances.

In Plan

The In Plan flag controls whether the template is included in the Allocation Plan. When the flag is enabled, the template's frequency becomes relevant and the Allocation Plan uses the template to project future income and expenses.

Templates that are not in the plan can still create transactions manually. They do not appear in allocation projections.

The flag can be toggled in the template editor via the Include in Allocation Plan checkbox.

Template Editor

The template editor (Edit Transaction Template) provides fields for all transaction details:

• Name -- A unique name for the template.
• Type -- The template type (see above).
• Payable To -- The payee or description, with auto-complete from your transaction history.
• Code -- An optional check number or reference code, with auto-complete.
• Memo -- An optional note.
• Account and Envelope -- The account and envelope assignments, which vary by template type.
• Payment and Deposit -- The transaction amount.

Transfer types add fields for the destination account and envelope. Multiple types add a table where you can enter the split line items. For Regular Multiple templates, account transfer line items are available only when Enable Account Transfers in Multiples is enabled. Those account-transfer rows reduce the main transaction amount and record the transferred amount in the other account.

Creating Transactions from Templates

Templates can be applied to new transactions in two ways:

• Right-click a template and select Create Transaction. This opens the transaction editor with all fields pre-filled from the template.
• In the transaction editor, use the Apply or Create Template button to apply an existing template to the current transaction or save the current transaction as a new template.