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Income Sources

Managing Your Income Sources

The Income Sources feature helps you track all your income streams, providing a clear picture of how much money you're bringing in and when to expect it.

What are Income Sources?

Income Sources represent all the ways you earn money, such as:

  • Regular employment salary or wages
  • Social Security benefits
  • Pension payments
  • Rental income
  • Investment income
  • Side hustles or freelance work
  • Business income
  • Retirement account distributions
How to Access Income Sources

You can access the Income Sources page by clicking on Income in the main navigation menu.

Benefits of Tracking Income Sources
  • Know exactly how much money you're earning each month
  • Plan for upcoming expenses based on when income will arrive
  • Easily see how your income compares to your expenses
  • Track changes in your income over time
  • Link budgets to specific income sources for better financial planning

Step-by-Step Guide to Adding an Income Source
  1. Navigate to the Income Sources page and click Add Income Source button
  2. Fill in the required information:
    • Name: Enter a descriptive name for the income source (e.g., "Main Job Salary")
    • Amount: Enter the payment amount
    • Frequency: Choose how often you receive this income (e.g., weekly, bi-weekly, monthly)
    • Payment Day: Select which day of the month/week you receive this income
    • Category: Select an appropriate category (usually "Income")
    • Notes: (Optional) Any additional information about this income source
  3. Click Save to add the income source
Tip:

For variable income (like freelance or commission-based work), enter an average or base amount. You can always update the actual amounts when recording transactions.

The Income Sources Dashboard

The Income Sources dashboard provides you with an overview of your earnings:

  • Monthly Income: Total of all your monthly income sources
  • Yearly Income: Projected annual income from all sources
Income Source Status Indicators

Each income source in your list will have one of these status indicators:

  • Active - The income source is active and included in your income calculations
  • Inactive - The income source is inactive (temporarily paused or no longer receiving)
Income Source Actions

For each income source, you can perform these actions:

  • Activate/Deactivate - Toggle the income source's active status
  • Edit - Modify the income source details
  • Delete - Remove the income source completely
Important:

Instead of deleting an income source you no longer receive (like a previous job), consider marking it as Inactive. This preserves your financial history for accurate reporting.

Understanding Payment Schedules

Cognito Money calculates when your income will arrive based on the frequency and payment day you set:

Weekly Payments

For income received every week:

  • Select the day of the week you receive payment (e.g., Friday)
  • Cognito Money will calculate payment dates for every Friday in the month
Bi-Weekly Payments

For income received every two weeks:

  • Select the day of the week you receive payment
  • Set the "next payment date" to ensure Cognito Money knows which weeks are your pay weeks
  • The system will calculate payment dates every other week from the next payment date
Monthly Payments

For income received once per month:

  • Select the day of the month you receive payment (e.g., 1st, 15th, last day)
  • Cognito Money will calculate payment dates for that day each month
  • For "last day of month" select 31 (the system will adjust for shorter months)
Payment Schedule Display

You can see upcoming income payments in several places:

  • Dashboard: The main dashboard shows upcoming income
  • Calendar: The financial calendar displays all income payment dates
  • Income Sources List: Each income source shows its payment schedule

Understanding Income Distribution Chart

The Income Distribution pie chart helps you visualize how your income is distributed across different sources:

  • Each slice represents a different income source
  • The size of each slice indicates the proportion of your total income from that source
  • Hovering over a slice shows the exact amount and percentage
Insight:

This visualization is particularly helpful for identifying income diversification. Financial experts recommend having multiple income streams for greater security. If one source dominates your chart, you might want to consider developing additional revenue streams.

Income vs. Expenses Analysis

On the Dashboard and Financial Health pages, you can see how your income compares to your expenses:

  • Charts show income and expenses side by side
  • The gap between income and expenses is your potential savings
  • Historical trends show how your income-to-expense ratio has changed over time

Creating Budget-Income Associations

Cognito Money allows you to associate specific budgets with income sources. This powerful feature helps with:

  • Envelope budgeting - allocating specific income to specific expenses
  • Timing budget periods to align with income receipt dates
  • Managing variable income more effectively
How to Link a Budget to an Income Source
  1. Go to the Budgets page
  2. Click Add Budget or Edit an existing budget
  3. In the budget form, find the Income Source dropdown
  4. Select which income source should fund this budget
  5. Save the budget
Benefits of Budget-Income Linking

This approach provides several advantages:

  • Better Cash Flow Management: Know which expenses are covered by which income sources
  • Improved Planning: Align expense timing with income timing
  • Clearer Financial Picture: See how changes in income would affect specific areas of spending
  • Household Coordination: For shared finances, easily track which partner's income covers which expenses

Tips for Effective Income Management
  1. Track ALL income - Even small, irregular income should be recorded to get a complete financial picture
  2. Use consistent naming - Name your income sources in a way that matches how they appear in your bank or transaction records
  3. Update amounts promptly - When you get a raise or your income changes, update the amount in your income sources
  4. Link to budgets strategically - Consider which income sources best align with different expense categories
  5. Make backup plans - Use the income overview to identify what expenses would be at risk if a particular income source was interrupted
Income Growth Strategy

Use the Income Sources feature to help implement an income growth strategy:

  • Set goals for increasing existing income sources (raises, promotion)
  • Add new income sources to develop multiple streams of revenue
  • Track income growth over time using the dashboard and financial health reports
  • Compare the return on time invested for different income sources

Common Issues and Solutions
Problem: Income is counted twice in reports
Solutions:
  1. Make sure you're not recording the same income as both an Income Source and a Transaction
  2. Check that you don't have duplicate income sources with the same name
  3. Verify that recurring income transactions aren't being duplicated
Problem: Payment schedule doesn't match actual deposits
Solutions:
  1. For bi-weekly income, make sure the next payment date is set correctly
  2. For monthly income on the last day of the month, use day 31 (system will adjust)
  3. For irregular income, consider using Transactions rather than Income Sources
  4. For income that arrives on business days only, make manual adjustments for holidays
Problem: Income Source doesn't appear in reports or dashboard
Solutions:
  1. Check if the income source is marked as Active
  2. Verify that the amount is greater than zero
  3. Ensure the income source is within the date range being viewed
  4. Check if any filters have been applied that might exclude it