Apply a template to your year
Write a budget template into your plan from a month you choose through December, or apply one row at a time.
Updated October 30, 2026
Applying a template writes its amounts into your plan. Until you apply it, a template changes nothing.
Before you start
You need a scenario with at least one line. See Set up template lines.
Apply the whole template
- Select Budget template under Plan ahead in the sidebar (on a phone, the More tab, then Budget template).
- Select the scenario to apply.
- Below the scenario chips, choose the first month from the month list (from Jan to from Dec). The default is the current month.
- Choose a mode: top up to plan (the default) or overwrite existing.
- Select Apply “{scenario name}” to {year}. The year is always the current year.
If you chose overwrite existing and amounts you set could be replaced, the Replace amounts in 2026? dialog opens. Select Replace amounts.
A banner such as "Applied to September to December." appears, even when no amount changed. Its button opens the first applied month that is not in the past, such as View October's budget. If the scenario is not active, the banner also asks "Make “{scenario name}” your active template too?" Select Make active or Not now.
What each mode does
- top up to plan raises an empty amount, or one below the plan, to the plan. It never lowers an amount and leaves negative amounts alone.
- overwrite existing replaces the amounts of categories that have a line in this scenario or a funding formula, in the months where the line or formula has an amount. A note such as "Up to 8 amounts you have already set in September to December may be replaced." shows the most that could change.
Apply also runs your funding formulas and the formulas that goals add. It does not touch categories that have no line and no formula, and it ignores lines on off-budget categories.
If an amount changes, Apply adds one undo step. Undo it on the Annual Budget Plan. See Plan your year.
Lines on hidden categories, and lines on categories in a hidden group, are not applied. See Set up template lines.
Apply one row
On a wide screen, each category row ends with a three-dot button. Its menu covers the current month through December.
| Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Apply row, Oct–Dec (never lowers) | Tops up this category only. |
| Replace row, Oct–Dec | Overwrites this category's amounts. A dialog asks first if any would be replaced. |
| Reset row, Oct–Dec | Sets this category to $0 for those months. A dialog asks first if any amounts are set. |
After Apply row or Replace row, a banner reports the result:
- "Nothing to apply: “{category}” has no amount in your budget template."
- "No amounts changed: every month from Oct already meets the template amount."
- "Updated 3 months of “{category}” from your budget template."