How do I log deposits and payments?

Each expense can hold several payments, each with its date and amount. That lets you see three different numbers at any moment: how much you've committed, how much you've already paid, and how much is still outstanding.

Weddings are almost never paid all at once: there's a deposit to hold the date, a second payment halfway through planning, and a final balance days before. Logging each payment separately is what makes the number useful.

The difference that matters

• Committed — what you've agreed with the vendor, paid or not.
• Paid — what has actually left your account.
• Outstanding — the difference between the two.

Confusing committed with paid is the mistake that makes $80,000 appear two weeks before the wedding, money that was "already accounted for" but never actually spent.

One tip

Log the payment the day you make it, even with a rounded amount. An approximate record that's current is worth more than an exact one from three months ago.