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[Feature] New Report Type: Annual Budget vs. Spend Report for Enhanced Variance Analysis [Budget Tracking Mode] #2348

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opened 2026-02-28 20:11:30 -06:00 by GiteaMirror · 3 comments
GiteaMirror commented 2026-02-28 20:11:30 -06:00
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Originally created by @manaf-aboalrous on GitHub (Aug 3, 2025).

Verified feature request does not already exist?

  • I have searched and found no existing issue

💻

  • Would you like to implement this feature?

Pitch: what problem are you trying to solve?

While the current budget view is excellent for monthly tracking, there’s no native way to assess the overall budget vs. actuals on a yearly basis. One of my primary needs is to understand my year-on-year budget vs. spend variances, especially when using budget tracking mode. This type of insight is currently limited due to the month-based structure of the budget page.

Describe your ideal solution to this problem

Instead of modifying the existing budget page, I propose introducing a new report type that focuses on yearly budget variance insights. This report could allow users to:

  • Allow selecting a specific year (or even compare multiple years)
  • Show budgeted vs. spent amounts by category
  • Optionally include a percentage difference for quick insights

For example, in YNAB, users can view annual summaries that compare total budgeted vs. total spent, helping understand if they’re overspending or underspending in categories over time.

Actual is amazing for detail-level budget tracking, but a yearly summary would unlock powerful insights without compromising the simplicity and speed of the existing UI.

Thanks for your great work on Actual Budget, it's an outstanding tool!

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Originally created by @manaf-aboalrous on GitHub (Aug 3, 2025). ### Verified feature request does not already exist? - [x] I have searched and found no existing issue ### 💻 - [ ] Would you like to implement this feature? ### Pitch: what problem are you trying to solve? While the current budget view is excellent for monthly tracking, there’s no native way to assess the overall budget vs. actuals on a yearly basis. One of my primary needs is to understand my year-on-year budget vs. spend variances, especially when using budget tracking mode. This type of insight is currently limited due to the month-based structure of the budget page. ### Describe your ideal solution to this problem Instead of modifying the existing budget page, I propose introducing a new report type that focuses on yearly budget variance insights. This report could allow users to: - Allow selecting a specific year (or even compare multiple years) - Show budgeted vs. spent amounts by category - Optionally include a percentage difference for quick insights For example, in YNAB, users can view annual summaries that compare total budgeted vs. total spent, helping understand if they’re overspending or underspending in categories over time. Actual is amazing for detail-level budget tracking, but a yearly summary would unlock powerful insights without compromising the simplicity and speed of the existing UI. Thanks for your great work on Actual Budget, it's an outstanding tool! ### Teaching and learning _No response_
GiteaMirror added the featureneeds votes labels 2026-02-28 20:11:30 -06:00
GiteaMirror commented 2026-02-28 20:11:31 -06:00
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@github-actions[bot] commented on GitHub (Aug 3, 2025):

✨ Thanks for sharing your idea! ✨

This repository uses a voting-based system for feature requests. While enhancement issues are automatically closed, we still welcome feature requests! The voting system helps us gauge community interest in potential features. We also encourage community contributions for any feature requests marked as needing votes (just post a comment first so we can help guide you toward a successful contribution).

The enhancement backlog can be found here: https://github.com/actualbudget/actual/issues?q=label%3A%22needs+votes%22+sort%3Areactions-%2B1-desc+

Don’t forget to upvote the top comment with 👍!

@github-actions[bot] commented on GitHub (Aug 3, 2025): :sparkles: Thanks for sharing your idea! :sparkles: This repository uses a voting-based system for feature requests. While enhancement issues are automatically closed, we still welcome feature requests! The voting system helps us gauge community interest in potential features. We also encourage community contributions for any feature requests marked as needing votes (just post a comment first so we can help guide you toward a successful contribution). The enhancement backlog can be found here: https://github.com/actualbudget/actual/issues?q=label%3A%22needs+votes%22+sort%3Areactions-%2B1-desc+ Don’t forget to upvote the top comment with 👍! <!-- feature-auto-close-comment -->
GiteaMirror commented 2026-02-28 20:11:31 -06:00
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@aGitForEveryone commented on GitHub (Aug 18, 2025):

I want to upvote this request. I am coming from spreadsheet budgeting where the core is an annual report. I am trying to switch to the more user friendly ActualBudget, but I am flabbergasted that yearly budgeting is not an option. While the micromanagement of month-to-month envelope budgeting is great for categories like Groceries, doing any kind of forecasting and planning is much more natural with a yearly budget (overview). Much of my expenses are recurring expenses that are fixed and predictable. Envelope budgeting doesn't make sense for those categories in my opinion (which in my case sum up to 90% of my yearly budget)

Looking around on Reddit I cannot find posts discussing the yearly budgets, so I am left to wonder, how do long-time users ever keep a high-level overview of their spendings? Do they maintain spreadsheets next to Actual for those views?

A yearly budget would be a next great step for Actual to become an all-in-one budgeting and planning tool.

Note: While templates are powerful, I think they are a showcase of missing functionality. If yearly budgeting was possible, many of the templates would not be necessary. Any category with predictable costs could directly be budgeted for the expected yearly amount. If needed, you could just show the average on a monthly basis.

@aGitForEveryone commented on GitHub (Aug 18, 2025): I want to upvote this request. I am coming from spreadsheet budgeting where the core is an annual report. I am trying to switch to the more user friendly ActualBudget, but I am flabbergasted that yearly budgeting is not an option. While the micromanagement of month-to-month envelope budgeting is great for categories like Groceries, doing any kind of forecasting and planning is much more natural with a yearly budget (overview). Much of my expenses are recurring expenses that are fixed and predictable. Envelope budgeting doesn't make sense for those categories in my opinion (which in my case sum up to 90% of my yearly budget) Looking around on Reddit I cannot find posts discussing the yearly budgets, so I am left to wonder, how do long-time users ever keep a high-level overview of their spendings? Do they maintain spreadsheets next to Actual for those views? A yearly budget would be a next great step for Actual to become an all-in-one budgeting and planning tool. Note: While templates are powerful, I think they are a showcase of missing functionality. If yearly budgeting was possible, many of the templates would not be necessary. Any category with predictable costs could directly be budgeted for the expected yearly amount. If needed, you could just show the average on a monthly basis.
GiteaMirror commented 2026-02-28 20:11:31 -06:00
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@manaf-aboalrous commented on GitHub (Aug 21, 2025):

Just for reference, PocketSmith has best visual representation for an envelope budget with rolling feature over a timeline trend.

Image

AI Generated Images for Inspiration with Actual Budget Sytle:

Image 1

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Image 2

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Image 3

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Image 4

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@manaf-aboalrous commented on GitHub (Aug 21, 2025): Just for reference, [PocketSmith](https://www.pocketsmith.com/blog/rollover-budgeting-a-clearer-picture/ ) has best visual representation for an envelope budget with rolling feature over a timeline trend. <img width="2000" height="1096" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d0b03b3b-f756-4dd1-8120-0184ba5fc093" /> ### AI Generated Images for Inspiration with Actual Budget Sytle: #### Image 1 <img width="1536" height="1024" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c3488c2f-0e8b-423f-acc1-0d8c4dace6ed" /> #### Image 2 <img width="1536" height="1024" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ac942eb8-8392-466d-af32-234450fcb476" /> #### Image 3 <img width="1024" height="1024" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/4862fae1-44a2-4dbc-a6f1-019e07a80d8d" /> #### Image 4 <img width="877" height="465" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9e7e26bf-6984-4363-a4e2-2c89baaebb87" />
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