Getting started

BranchBooks is a double-entry accounting app with envelope budgeting and target budgeting, installed on your own device. Each book is a plain-text ledger in a git repository.

What it runs on

Windows, 64-bit. An Android app is planned.

Your first book

1. Install BranchBooks.
2. Choose New book and pick how it starts:
   • Empty, in the currency you budget in.
   • The sample ledger, to look around with made-up figures.
   • A clone of a book already on a git host, over HTTPS with a token.
   • A GnuCash file, with its accounts and full history. See Importing from GnuCash.
3. On Accounts, choose Add account for each bank account and card, with today’s balance. See Accounts.
4. Start assigning money on Budget.

How it fits together

• Accounts covers adding accounts and categories, and starting balances.
• Budgeting explains envelopes, Unassigned, overspending and credit cards.
• Targets covers monthly amounts and savings goals.
• Scenarios are what-if copies of your book, on git branches.
• Sync keeps a book the same across devices through a git host.
• The ledger format shows what BranchBooks writes into your files.