BananaBird records income based on the period between
snapshots. It is not asking for your normal paycheque amount
or your expected monthly income.
Income
Learn how to define your income sources, record income through snapshots, and track how your earnings change over time.
What Is Income?
Income entries represent the different sources of money you receive over time.
Examples might include employment income, business income, pensions, investment income, rental income, or government benefits.
Creating an income entry defines what you want to track. The actual amount received is recorded separately as part of your snapshots.
Creating an Income Source
To create an income source, open the Income page and select Add Income.
Name
A recognizable name for the source of income, such as
Primary Job, Rental Property, or
Pension.
Owner
An optional name identifying who receives the income.
Income sources can be grouped by owner.
Type
A general classification for the income source, such as
employment, business, government, investment, pension,
rental, retirement, or other.
Description
Optional notes or additional information about the income
source.
Income and Snapshots
Income amounts are recorded through your snapshots rather than stored directly on the income source itself.
For each income source, enter the income you received since your previous snapshot.
This means the amount may vary from one snapshot to another, even if your regular pay rate has not changed. The amount depends on what income actually arrived during that snapshot period.
Opened and Closed Dates
The Opened Date and Closed Date define when an income source is considered active.
For example, if you start a new job, you can set the opened date to your start date. BananaBird will not treat that income source as active for snapshots before that date.
When an income source ends, enter a closed date. It remains part of your historical records but is no longer considered active after that date.
Income Options
Include in Aggregates
When enabled, the income is included in dashboard totals, charts, and other aggregate calculations. Turn this off if you want to track an income without having it contribute to your primary financial totals.
Understanding the Income Page
The Income page brings your income sources and recorded snapshot amounts together into several views.
Income Sources
The main table shows each income source, its owner, type, most recent update date, and most recently recorded amount. Inactive income sources can be displayed using the Show Inactive option.
Income Totals
BananaBird summarizes recorded income over several time periods. These summaries show the total income recorded during each period along with an average weekly amount.
Income Over Time
The Income Over Time chart uses your submitted snapshots to show how your recorded income has changed over time.
Viewing an Income Source
Selecting an income source opens its detail page, where you can review its most recently recorded amount, when it was last updated, and its running total.
The page also includes period summaries, an Income Over Time chart, general information, and the complete history of amounts recorded for that income source.
Entries in the History table link back to the snapshot where that income amount was recorded.
Grouping Income
Income sources can be grouped by Owner or Type.
Selecting an owner or type from the Income table opens a grouped view showing the combined income sources, period totals, and Income Over Time chart for that group.
What Amount Should I Enter?
Enter the total amount received from that income source since your previous snapshot.
For example, suppose you are paid $1,000 every two weeks:
Monthly snapshots
Depending on when your paydays fall, a snapshot period might
contain two or three payments. You might therefore record
$2,000 in one month and $3,000 in another.
Weekly snapshots
Some snapshot periods may contain no payday at all, while
others contain one. You might therefore record $0 for one
snapshot and $1,000 for the next.
Record what was actually received during the period rather than trying to smooth the amount into a fixed weekly or monthly value. Over time, BananaBird uses those snapshot amounts to build your income history and period totals.
Still have questions?
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