What the budget words and colours mean
On track, Getting close, Almost spent, Over budget and Pacing to exceed: how Tavala picks each word, what the ring, the tick and the pace line show.
On this page
Every budget shows one of four words, a matching colour and a figure for what is left. The word comes from the share of the limit you have spent this month. A fifth label, Pacing to exceed, looks ahead instead. The words state a fact; the colour never appears without one.
The four words
| Share of the limit spent | Word | Colour of the dot, bar and ring |
|---|---|---|
| Under 75% | On track | Green |
| 75% to under 90% | Getting close | Copper |
| 90% to under 100% | Almost spent | Coral |
| 100% or more | Over budget | Coral |
Worked example with a €400 limit for Food & Dining:
- Up to €299.99 spent: On track.
- €300 spent (75%): Getting close, with €100 left in budget.
- €360 spent (90%): Almost spent.
- €420 spent: the figure reads €20.00 over budget and the status line shows only the spend.
The figure and the spend line
- Left in budget is the limit minus the spend. It reads left in budget while there is money left, and over budget once you spend more than the limit. On the Home card the same figure reads left in budgets.
- The status line adds the spend: "Spent €320.00 of €400.00". Refunds lower the spend, and the line never shows a negative one.
- The ring on the monthly budget card shows the percentage spent. It can read more than 100%.
Pacing to exceed
Pacing to exceed replaces On track when two things are true: you have spent under 75% of the limit, and at this month's pace you would finish more than 10% over it. Tavala needs at least 10% of the month to have passed, and some spending, before it says this. The label turns copper and the line adds "on pace for" and the projected month-end spend.
Example: a €400 limit, a third of the month gone and €150 spent. That is 37.5% of the limit, which is On track by share, but at that pace the month ends near €450, so the row reads Pacing to exceed.
Once the spend passes 75% the share-based word takes over, so Getting close, Almost spent and Over budget always win over Pacing to exceed.
The pace marker and the pace line
- On each category row, a small vertical tick on the bar marks today's place in the month, with the caption "marks today’s place in the month". A bar past the tick is ahead of an even pace. This is a reference mark, not a verdict: rent paid on the 1st puts any budget ahead of the tick.
- On the monthly budget card, a line chart draws your spending day by day against a dashed even pace from nothing on the 1st to the limit on the last day.
- Under the card, the facts line reads, for example, "9 days to go · on pace for €1,420.00". The projection appears once something is spent and 10% of the month has passed. On the last day it reads "last day of the month".
Good to know
- Everyday spending only. Budgets do not read trip or project entries. Below a budget you may see a line such as "Lisbon €180.00 outside budgets". See how trips and projects work.
- Home. With only category budgets, the Home card shows "3 budgets" and a line: All on track, "1 getting close", "1 over budget", or both joined with a dot.
- Hidden amounts. With amounts hidden, the figures turn to dots and the words stay. The projection and the spent line are left out.
- No alerts. The words do not trigger a notification. See set a monthly budget for the one vibration cue.
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