What Good Steward Money does
An overview of the parts of Good Steward Money and how they connect, from the monthly budget to reports.
Updated October 30, 2026
Good Steward Money is a budgeting app that runs in your web browser. You plan how much to give, save and spend each month, record what you earn and spend, and compare the two.
The parts
Most parts are pages in the sidebar.
| Part | What it does | Learn more |
|---|---|---|
| Home | Summarizes the current month: the net, your accounts, upcoming schedules and recent transactions. | The Home page |
| Budget | Shows one month. You plan an amount for each category and see actual income and spending beside it. | How the Budget page works |
| Annual Budget Plan | Shows planned amounts for all 12 months on one page. You do not need it to budget. | The Annual Budget Plan |
| Budget template | A scenario that represents your usual month. It changes nothing in your budget until you apply it. | Budget templates and scenarios |
| Goals | Targets such as an emergency fund, a trip or paying off a card. | Set up a goal |
| Accounts | Your bank, card and other accounts. Each one is on-budget or off-budget. | Add an account |
| Linked banks | Brings in transactions from your bank automatically, if your plan includes bank connections. | Connect a bank |
| Transactions | Lists every deposit, purchase and transfer. You add, edit, split, search and review them here. | The Transactions page |
| Categories | The groups and categories you budget in. You rename, hide, reorder and add them here. | Manage categories and groups |
| Rules | Categorize and tidy new transactions: ones from an import or a bank, and ones you add without a category. | Categorize transactions automatically with rules |
| Schedules | Track recurring bills and income, and post them as transactions. | Set up a recurring bill or income |
| Payees | The names on your transactions. You rename them, merge duplicates and delete unused ones. | Rename, merge and delete payees |
| Reports | Show income, spending, giving, net worth, and how your actual numbers compare with your plan. | Reports overview |
| Budget files | Separate budgets, each with its own accounts, categories, transactions, rules, schedules and plan. Switch files from the budget switcher at the top of the sidebar. | Work with more than one budget file |
How the parts connect
- Accounts hold your transactions. They come from a bank connection, from an imported file or from you. A transaction can have a category, and each category belongs to a group.
- Budget compares the amount you planned for a category in a month with that month's transactions in the category.
- Rules and schedules save typing. Rules set categories as transactions arrive. Schedules post your recurring bills and income.
- Annual Budget Plan and Budget use the same planned amounts. The first shows the year, the second one month.
- Reports and Home use the same planned amounts and transactions.
How categories are grouped
Every group has a money bucket: Income, Generosity, Expenses, Savings & Investments or Debt & Liabilities. Pages list groups in this order: Income, Generosity, Savings & Investments, Debt & Liabilities, then Expenses. See Money buckets and starter categories.
Where you use it
You open Good Steward Money in a web browser on a computer or a phone. On a computer, the sidebar lists the pages. On a phone, the tab bar at the bottom has Home, Budget, Transactions, Reports and More, and More opens the rest. See Navigation and menus.
Some browsers can also install it as an app on your phone or computer. See Install the app on your phone or computer.
Free trial and plans
A free trial starts when you choose a plan. The Billing page shows current prices. See Plans and the free trial.
Your data
You can download a full backup of a budget file at any time. See Back up and export your data.