> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://support.lunchmoney.app/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://support.lunchmoney.app/guides/migrating-from-ynab.md). # Migrating from YNAB #### Jump to: * [**Before you start**](#before-you-start) * [**Key differences between YNAB and Lunch Money**](#key-differences-between-ynab-and-lunch-money) * [**How to import your transactions (and categories) from YNAB into Lunch Money**](#how-to-import-your-transactions-and-categories-from-ynab-into-lunch-money) * [**How to set up your zero-based budget in Lunch Money**](#how-to-set-up-your-zero-based-budget-in-lunch-money) * [**Additional Feature Highlights & Differences**](#additional-feature-highlights-and-differences) * [**FAQs**](/faq.md) * [I've created new categories. What should I do to ensure compatibility within Lunch Money?](#ive-created-new-categories.-what-should-i-do-to-ensure-compatibility-within-lunch-money) * [I'm having trouble, where can I get support?](#im-having-trouble-where-can-i-get-support) *** ## Before you start Thinking about switching from You Need A Budget (YNAB) to Lunch Money? We’re here to help make the transition as smooth as possible! In this guide, we’ll walk through the biggest differences between the two apps and show you how to add budget categories and historical transactions, set up budget rollovers, and make the most of Lunch Money’s features to continue budgeting with confidence. {% hint style="info" %} **Tip:** One of the best things about Lunch Money is flexibility. We don’t lock you into a specific budgeting philosophy, so whether you want to stick with zero-based budgeting or try a different approach, we provide the tools you need to budget your way! [Check out the budgeting guide to learn more](/guides/budgeting.md). {% endhint %} *** ## Key differences between YNAB and Lunch Money #### Budgeting One of the biggest differences to understand when moving to Lunch Money is that budgeting is based on transaction activity, not account balances. This means that your available budget for each period is calculated based on your income transactions for that budget period, rather than on the total available cash in your accounts. Because budgeting is transaction-based, all expenses reduce your "Left to budget" amount, regardless of whether the purchase was made from a cash account or on a credit card. If you prefer budgeting based on your total available cash (similar to YNAB), you can absolutely set that up in Lunch Money with a bit of manual configuration. This typically involves enabling [rollovers](/guides/budgeting/step-2-setting-up-your-budget.md#whats-a-rollover) and setting starting balances for both individual budget categories and the General Pool. #### Transfers In Lunch Money, transfers between your own accounts (such as credit card payments or moving money into savings) appear as two separate transactions: one debit from the originating account and a credit to the destination account. These transactions are treated as transfers when categorized under a transfer category. By default, you may already have a 'Payment, Transfer' category set up. This category includes two helpful properties — ‘[exclude from totals](/setup/categories/category-properties.md#exclude-from-totals)’ and ‘[exclude from budget](/setup/categories/category-properties.md#exclude-from-budget)’ — so transfers won’t impact your income, expenses, or your budget totals. If you prefer to see transfers as a single entry in the Transactions table, you can also [group](/finances/transactions/transaction-types.md#how-to-group-transactions) debit and credit transactions together. ## How to import your transactions (and categories) from YNAB into Lunch Money Importing your historical transactions into Lunch Money is made easy with our CSV import feature! During the import process, you’ll be able to map your columns, categories, and accounts, then review everything.
We recommend setting up your accounts first on the [Accounts page](https://my.lunchmoney.app/accounts), while categories can either be created ahead of time or added during the import process. {% hint style="info" %} **Tip:** If you have a complex category system (with groups and subcategories), you may find it easier to set up the categories on the Categories page first. [You can learn more here](/setup/categories/category-creation.md). {% endhint %} Follow these steps to import your transactions: 1. [Download your transactions from YNAB](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-export-plan-data-Sy_CouWA9#selected) 2. Go to the [Transactions page](https://my.lunchmoney.app/transactions/) in Lunch Money and click "Import" 3. Click "Upload a new file (CSV or PDF)" 4. Choose the account you wish to import the transactions into and upload the file 5. Proceed through the import process to map your columns, categories, and accounts and review the date and amount type notations 6. Review your transactions and complete the import {% hint style="warning" %} **Note:** Category group hierarchies can’t currently be imported through CSV. If you haven’t already created your category groups before importing, your categories will be imported individually. You can [reorganize](/setup/categories/editing-categories.md#how-to-reorder-the-categories) and [group](/setup/categories/category-groups.md) them later on the [Categories page](https://my.lunchmoney.app/categories). {% endhint %} For a complete walkthrough of the CSV import feature, [click here](/guides/import-via-csv.md). ## How to set up your zero-based budget in Lunch Money #### 1️⃣ Step 1: Set your budgeting period Before you start budgeting, choose your budgeting cycle. Do you budget monthly, bi-weekly, or quarterly? Do you want your budget to start on a specific day of the month, like the 10th or the 15th? You can[ learn more about setting your budgeting period here](https://support.lunchmoney.app/guides/budgeting/step-2-setting-up-your-budget#setting-your-budgeting-period).
#### 2️⃣ Step 2: Enable rollovers To work with a zero-based budgeting system, you’ll want to enable rollovers for both the General Pool and your individual categories. This ensures that all unused money is carried over to the next period.
**Step-by-step guides:** * [How to turn on General Pool rollovers](/guides/budgeting/step-2-setting-up-your-budget.md#how-to-turn-on-general-pool-rollovers) * [How to turn on Category rollovers](/guides/budgeting/step-2-setting-up-your-budget.md#how-to-turn-on-category-rollovers) If you already have accumulated balances in certain categories or in the General Pool, you can enter those amounts as starting balances when enabling rollovers. {% hint style="warning" %} **Note:** If you're starting mid-month and already have income transactions recorded, subtract that income from your copied “total available cash” amount before you enter starting balances. Otherwise, you may accidentally count the same income twice for the current period. {% endhint %} #### 3️⃣ Step 3: Allocate funds to categories You’re ready to budget! To assign money to a category, click the cell under the ‘Budgeted’ column for that category. [Learn how](/guides/budgeting/step-4-budgeting.md#manual-budgeting). As you budget money into categories, funds will move from your General Pool into individual category pools until your Budget Status Card shows "Balanced for this period", meaning every dollar has been given a job:
To move funds between categories, you can use the ‘Move’ feature. [Learn more here](/guides/budgeting/step-4-budgeting.md#moving-money-between-categories). {% hint style="info" %} For a full overview of Lunch Money’s budgeting tools and features, [check out the complete budgeting guide](/guides/budgeting/step-1-intro-to-budgeting.md). {% endhint %} ## Additional Feature Highlights & Differences
YNABLUNCH MONEY
🧩 Budgeting StyleYNAB follows a rigid zero-based envelope budgeting method.⚡Lunch Money gives you the flexibility to build a budgeting system that works for you! Learn more.
📆 Custom Budgeting PeriodsYNAB only supports monthly budget cycles.⚡Lunch Money lets you set custom budgeting periods — weekly, bi-weekly, twice a month, and/or custom start dates — perfect for irregular pay cycles, or anyone wanting more control. Learn more.
🤝 CollaborationYNAB only allows membership in one group, and the group manager has full visibility into all your budget accounts.⚡Lunch Money lets you invite and collaborate across unlimited budget accounts, while giving you full control over which budget accounts remain private or shared. Learn more.
📎 File attachmentsYNAB doesn’t natively support adding attachments.⚡Attach receipts and documents directly to Lunch Money using formats like PDF, PNG, JPG, HEIF, and more. Learn more.
🏷️ Color-coded tagsYNAB only supports up to 6 “flags”.⚡Lunch Money supports unlimited custom color-coded tags for more detailed tracking and organization. Learn more.
🌍 Native multi-currencyYNAB relies on third-party plugins to mimic multi-currency support.⚡Lunch Money includes native multi-currency support across the platform, making it easy to budget and track finances across different currencies. Learn more.
🪙 Track your crypto portfolioYNAB doesn't support crypto portfolio tracking.⚡Connect your crypto wallet or manually track coins to see your balances in real-time, in your preferred currency. Learn more.
*** ## FAQs ### I've created new categories. What should I do to ensure compatibility within Lunch Money? #### Set category properties In Lunch Money, new categories will generally be created as expense categories by default. To define a category as an **income** category, you will need to enable the "**Treat as income**" property for that category via the [Categories page](https://my.lunchmoney.app/categories). You may also set other category properties, such as "**Exclude from totals**" and "**Exclude from budget**". To learn more about category properties, [click here](/setup/categories.md#category-properties). #### Set-up autocategorization If you plan to sync transactions automatically from your bank, you'll want to ensure your [auto-categorizations](/setup/categories/auto-categorization.md) are set up properly. This involves mapping your existing categories to Plaid's taxonomy. Imported transactions include metadata from Plaid including their best-guess as to the category of the transaction. Within Lunch Money, we also have a [rules engine](/setup/rules.md) where you can create more complex rules to categorize or otherwise modify these transactions. However, auto-categorization is an easy first step to avoid a slew of uncategorized transactions when you start syncing. To set up auto-categorization, [click here](https://my.lunchmoney.app/categories/auto) or follow the link from the [Categories](https://my.lunchmoney.app/categories) page. Note that the button link only appears if you have actively-syncing accounts. ### I'm having trouble, where can I get support? If you need any assistance or have any questions, feel free to email us at **** or open an support ticket from the '**HELP**' menu at the top right within the Lunch Money app! :blush: You can also [join our community Discord](https://discord.gg/vSz6jjZuj8) to ask questions, share feedback, and interact with other Lunch Money users! --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://support.lunchmoney.app/guides/migrating-from-ynab.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.