Irregular income, several currencies, one plan
A freelancer's budget works when the income is smoothed before it is spent: payouts land in a buffer, a share moves to a tax pot, and you pay yourself the same salary every month from what is there. Tavala does this with what it already has: a wallet for each account a client pays into, income recorded in the currency it arrived in at that day's rate, a savings goal for tax, and transfers between your own wallets that count as neither income nor spending. It is a personal budget, not bookkeeping: there are no invoices and no tax calculations.
- Clients paying in several currencies, any countryTavala
- A strict method for uneven income, in one currencyYNAB
- Cash-flow forecasts months ahead, with bank feeds in many countriesPocketSmith
- A web-first budget with 160+ currencies and an APILunch Money
- Books, invoices and mileage for a US Schedule CQuickBooks Solopreneur
What uneven income needs from a budget
A buffer between earning and spending. A payout of $6,000 in March and $1,800 in April is one problem if you spend what arrives, and no problem if both land in the account a client pays into and your everyday account receives the same amount on the first of every month. In Tavala the payout is income, in the wallet it landed in, and the monthly move to your everyday wallet is a transfer: it shows up in neither income nor spending, so the month's spending is what you spent and Money in is what clients paid.
Set-asides before spending. Tax is the cost that arrives months after the income, so it belongs in a separate pot from the day the payout lands. A savings goal in Tavala is that pot: you fill it with a transfer, the money leaves What's Left the moment you move it, and it still counts in your net worth. The share is yours to choose, from your tax adviser or your country's tax authority; Tavala does not compute tax.
One total when clients pay in different currencies. A client in Germany pays in euros, a platform pays out in dollars, and your rent is in a third currency. Each payout is recorded in its own currency and counts in your main currency at the rate of its day, kept on the entry for good, so last quarter's income still reads what it was worth when it arrived.
Business money and personal money
Keep them apart if your accountant asks you to. A space in Tavala is a separate ledger with its own wallets, budgets and main currency, and the free plan has two private spaces, so a freelance space and a personal one fit. Spaces do not add up into each other, and a transfer moves money between two wallets of the same space, so the salary you pay yourself is recorded twice: going out of the freelance space and coming into the personal one. If you would rather see one net worth, keep one space with a wallet per account instead.
Client costs as projects. A project in Tavala takes only the entries you attach to it, has no end date, and sits outside your monthly budgets. Attach a client's software seat, a subcontractor's invoice and the travel to their office, and the project's page shows what that client cost you. A payout you attach shows beside the total as paid back, not subtracted from it. The CSV export has a Trip or project column for whoever does your books.
Stripe payouts in dollars, a client in euros
A US designer who sells templates through Stripe and does retainer work for a studio in Amsterdam, paid in euros into a multi-currency account. Main currency: the dollar. Each payout goes to its own wallet, and a share of it moves to a Taxes goal the same day.
$2,356.48Spending in USD, transfers not included
| Entry | Typed as, with the rate kept on the entry | Counts in USD as |
|---|---|---|
| Stripe payout3 May, business checking (USD) | +$4,200.00Same currency | +$4,200.00 |
| Studio retainer5 May, euro balance (EUR) | +€2,500.001 EUR = 1.0840 USD (example) | +$2,710.00 |
| To the Taxes goal5 May, business checking to Taxes (USD) | $1,700.00Same currency | A transfer: $1,700.00 arrives |
| Salary to everyday6 May, business checking to personal checking (USD) | $3,800.00Same currency | A transfer: $3,800.00 arrives |
| Rent1 May, personal checking (USD) | -$1,850.00Same currency | -$1,850.00 |
| Design software9 May, euro balance (EUR) | -€62.991 EUR = 1.0840 USD (example) | -$68.28 |
| GroceriesThrough May, personal checking (USD) | -$438.20Same currency | -$438.20 |
| IncomeIn dollars, at each entry's rate | - | +$6,910.00 |
| SpendingTransfers not included | - | -$2,356.48 |
May's income is $6,910.00: the €2,500.00 retainer counts as $2,710.00 at the rate of 5 May and keeps that value whatever the euro does in June. The $1,700.00 moved to the Taxes goal and the $3,800.00 salary are transfers between the designer's own wallets, so they change neither income nor spending, which is $2,356.48 for the month.
Dollars and euros are two wallet currencies, inside the free plan. The euros stay in the euro balance until the designer converts them; that conversion is a transfer too, with the rate the account gave typed on it.
Two more scenarios: paid unevenly, paying yourself evenly, and what one client cost youTwo more scenarios
Paid unevenly, paying yourself evenly
A translator in Leipzig with an agency that pays in euros and a UK publisher that pays in pounds. Main currency: the euro. Payouts land in a business account; the salary moves on the first of each month; a share of each payout goes to a tax pot, at the rate their tax adviser suggested.
€8,258.40Income in EUR, the quarter, in euros
| Entry | Typed as, with the rate kept on the entry | Counts in EUR as |
|---|---|---|
| Agency, January28 Jan, business account (EUR) | +€2,150.00Same currency | +€2,150.00 |
| UK publisher14 Feb, pound balance (GBP) | +£3,600.001 GBP = 1.1690 EUR (example) | +€4,208.40 |
| Agency, March27 Mar, business account (EUR) | +€1,900.00Same currency | +€1,900.00 |
| Pounds to euros20 Feb, pound balance to business account (EUR) | £3,600.001 GBP = 1.1610 EUR (your own rate) | A transfer: €4,179.60 arrives |
| Tax pot, the quarterBusiness account to Tax goal (EUR) | €2,100.00Same currency | A transfer: €2,100.00 arrives |
| Salary, three months1 Jan, 1 Feb and 1 Mar, business account to Girokonto (EUR) | €7,200.00Same currency | A transfer: €7,200.00 arrives |
| IncomeThe quarter, in euros | - | +€8,258.40 |
The quarter brought €8,258.40 in three uneven payouts, and the translator's everyday account received €2,400.00 on the first of every month regardless. The pound payout counts as €4,208.40 at the reference rate of 14 February; converting it six days later is a transfer, at the rate the account gave, typed on that transfer: €4,179.60 arrived.
The quarter fell €1,041.60 short of the €7,200.00 of salary and the €2,100.00 for the tax pot together, so the buffer built in better months paid the difference and the salary still arrived on the first. One short quarter is what the buffer is for; two in a row is the signal to lower the salary, before a lean month forces it.
What one client cost you
A developer in Austin building an app for a client, with an illustrator in India paid in rupees, a stock photo licence and a font licence bought in euros. Main currency: the dollar. Each cost is attached to a project, Northwind app, and so is the client's payment.
$481.20Project cost in USD
| Entry | Typed as, with the rate kept on the entry | Counts in USD as |
|---|---|---|
| IllustratorPaid through a transfer service from the dollar account (INR) | -₹18,000.001 INR = 0.01188 USD (example) | -$213.84 |
| Stock photosBusiness card (USD) | -$79.00Same currency | -$79.00 |
| Font licenceBusiness card (EUR) | -€40.001 EUR = 1.0840 USD (example) | -$43.36 |
| Test devices, rentedBusiness card (USD) | -$145.00Same currency | -$145.00 |
| Client paymentAttached to the project by hand | +$4,800.00Same currency | +$4,800.00 |
| Project cost | - | -$481.20 |
| Paid by the clientShown beside the total, not taken off it | - | +$4,800.00 |
The project's page shows $481.20 of costs and $4,800.00 paid beside it, so the client was worth $4,318.80 before the developer's own time. The ₹18,000.00 for the illustrator counts as $213.84 at the day's rate; a project takes only the entries attached to it, so none of this lands in the developer's personal budgets.
Dollars, rupees and euros are three currencies. Paying in rupees and euros from a dollar card never uses a wallet slot, so this fits the free plan as long as the wallets themselves are in two currencies.
Apps freelancers compare, on the rows that matter for uneven income
How each app handles more than one currency, its budgeting method, which bank connections it has, and the price, from each app's own pages.
| App | Currencies | Budgeting method | Bank connections | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tavala | Every currency in one space155 currencies and 96 cryptocurrencies; 2 per space on the free plan | What is left, per budgetPlus safe to spend before payday | Optional add-onBanks in the United States and Canada, through Plaid, $3.99 a month per bank | Free; Plus $39.99 a yearor $6.99 a month on the web |
| YNAB | One per planIts advice for several: a separate plan for each | Every dollar a jobAssign income before you spend it | IncludedSelect banks in the US, Canada and 18 European countries, UK included | $109 a yearor $14.99 a month; 34-day trial |
| PocketSmith | Multi-currency, all plansA base currency; gold, silver and bitcoin too | Forecast and budget calendarProjection from 6 months (free) to 60 years | Paid plans, capped by plan6 banks in 1 country, 18 banks, or unlimited | $9.99 a month, billed yearlyFoundation; $14.95 billed monthly; 14-day money back |
| Lunch Money | 160+ currenciesTotals in a primary currency you can change | Category budgetsWith rollover; it says envelope and zero-based fit | OptionalPlaid in the US, Canada and 17 European countries; no UK | $60 to $150 a yearYou set the yearly price (default $100); or $10 a month |
| Wallet by BudgetBakers | Full multi-currencyOne currency per account; the base currency cannot change | Budgets and goalsTracking first | Premium"over 15,000 banking institutions"; no countries listed | Premium; prices only in the storesNo pricing page; US App Store $5.99 to $49.99, lifetime $29.99 |
| QuickBooks Solopreneur | Not statedIts pages are US-only: Schedule C, IRS, US sales tax | Bookkeeping, not budgetingIncome, expenses, profit and loss, Schedule C categories | IncludedOne bank account on Free; no limit stated for paid plans | Free; paid from $20 a monthLite $20 and Simple Start $38, half off for 3 months |
These apps answer different questions. QuickBooks Solopreneur keeps a US sole proprietor's books: income and expenses in Schedule C categories, invoices, mileage and receipts, with a bank feed; it is not a household budget, and its own pages do not say it handles a second currency. YNAB brings a method and its own guide for irregular income (budget the money you have, not the money you expect), in one currency per plan. PocketSmith forecasts cash flow from six months to sixty years ahead and converts every currency, with bank feeds capped by plan. Lunch Money holds more than 160 currencies on the web with Plaid imports in the US, Canada and 17 European countries. Wallet syncs banks in many countries but fixes its base currency for good. Tavala is the one here that starts with no account and no bank, records each payout in its own currency at its day's rate, and keeps a tax pot and a client project beside your everyday budgets; it has no books, no forecast beyond 90 days and no bank feed outside the United States and Canada.
Where Tavala falls short for freelancers
- No invoices, no time tracking and no tax calculations: no quarterly estimates, no VAT or GST, no Schedule C. Tavala is a personal budget; keep a bookkeeping tool or an accountant for the business side.
- No bank connection outside the United States and Canada, and no link to Stripe, PayPal, Payoneer, Upwork or Wise. Those balances are wallets you update yourself, one line per payout.
- No import of bank statements: Tavala imports debts from a CSV file, not transactions.
- The rates are daily reference rates, not the rate your platform converted at. Type the rate you actually got on that entry or transfer when the statement matters.
- Spaces do not add up into each other, so a separate freelance space and a personal space show two net worths.
What it costs
Tavala is free to start: as a guest on any device, or on one synced device with a free account. The free plan holds wallets in 2 currencies per space, counted from the wallets, not from what you spend: paying in a third currency from an existing wallet never needs another slot, and archiving the last wallet in a currency frees its slot while its history stays. The free plan has two private spaces, so a freelance space beside a personal one fits.
A third wallet currency, a phone and a laptop in sync, or a space shared with a partner needs Tavala Plus: $39.99 a year or $6.99 a month on the web. In the app stores Plus is priced by country. A bank connection, for banks in the United States and Canada, is $3.99 a month per bank on top of Plus.
See pricing. There is no free trial; the free plan is the trial.
How this page was made
We compared only what each app's own pages say about price, currencies, offline use, bank connections and sharing, on 25 October 2026, and we check the prices again every quarter. The scenarios are illustrations with example rates. Tavala publishes this page; where another app fits better, it says so. Corrections to support@tavala.io.
Questions freelancers ask
- How do I budget with irregular income?
- Let payouts land in one account, set aside tax from each one the day it arrives, and pay yourself the same amount every month from what is there. Set that salary from a lean month, not a good one, and lower it when the buffer drops under a few months of it.
- Should I record a payout before or after the platform's fee?
- Record what arrived. If you want to see what the platform keeps, record the full amount as income and the fee as an expense in a Fees category; the balance ends up the same.
- Can Tavala set aside tax for me?
- Not automatically. A savings goal is the tax pot: after each payout, move your chosen share into it with a transfer. It leaves What's Left at once and still counts in your net worth. Tavala does not compute tax; the share comes from your tax adviser or your tax authority.
- Does Tavala connect to Stripe, PayPal, Payoneer or Wise?
- No. The bank connection is an optional add-on for banks in the United States and Canada, through Plaid. A payout is one typed line, such as +4200 stripe, in the wallet it landed in.
- Should my freelance money be in a separate space?
- If you keep a separate business account, a second space keeps its ledger apart; the free plan has two private spaces. Spaces do not add up into each other, so if you want one net worth, keep one space with a wallet per account.
- Is Tavala accounting software?
- No. It tracks your money, not your business's books: no invoices, no tax forms, no profit and loss statement. The CSV export, with a Trip or project column, is what you hand to the person who does your books.
Go further
- Multi-currencyEvery payout in its own currency, at its day's rate.
- Trips and projectsWhat a client cost you, outside your budgets.
- Exchange rate loss calculatorWhat converting a payout really costs.
- How to budget in two currenciesOne main currency, a wallet per account.
- Which exchange rate belongs in your budgetCard, Wise, ECB or mid-market.
- Budgeting apps for couplesThe honest list, by how you keep your money.
Start with what you spent today.
There is no account to create and no card to enter. Pick your currency, add what you paid, and Home shows what is left.