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Balanced logs ​

A balanced log tracks value that moves in and out over time.

Use it for money, hours, points, credits, or anything where you need to know how much you have and where it came from.

Examples: checking accounts, savings goals, budgets, subscriptions, time tracking, points programs

What makes a log "balanced" ​

In a balanced log, value does not appear or disappear without explanation.

When money comes in, you record where it came from. When money goes out, you record where it went. The balance you see is always the sum of everything that has happened.

This makes it easy to understand not just how much you have, but how you got it and where it went.

What you see ​

When you open a balanced log, you see:

At the top: Your current balance, broken down into:

  • Total — everything that has come in
  • Allocated — value you have moved to child logs
  • Available — what you can spend or transfer right now

Below that: A table of all your entries, showing the amount, date, and details for each transaction.

The balance at the top is calculated from the entries below. They always match because there is no other way to change the balance.

How you add and spend ​

Balanced logs have three main actions:

Add ​

This records value coming in from outside. Use it when money arrives from somewhere you do not track in Anchorline.

Examples:

  • Your paycheck deposits into your checking account
  • A gift card you received
  • Points awarded by a program

You can only add to root logs (logs without a parent). Child logs receive value through transfers from their parent.

Spend ​

This records value going out. Use it when money leaves for somewhere you do not track in Anchorline.

Examples:

  • Buying groceries
  • Paying a bill
  • Redeeming points

Anchorline checks that you have enough available balance before letting you spend. You cannot spend more than you have.

Transfer ​

This moves value between logs you control, or to anchors that represent accounts or people.

Examples:

  • Moving money from your checking account log to your savings log
  • Allocating money from a budget to a category
  • Sending money to a friend (represented by an anchor)

Transfers keep everything balanced. The amount leaving one log equals the amount entering another.

Parent and child logs ​

Balanced logs can be organized into hierarchies.

A parent log might be your overall budget. Child logs underneath might be Groceries, Gas, and Entertainment.

When you set up this structure:

  • Child logs inherit the same unit (like USD) from their parent
  • You transfer value from parent to child to allocate it
  • The parent's "allocated" amount shows how much is in child logs
  • The parent's "available" amount shows what you have not yet allocated

This helps you break down tracking. You can see both the big picture (total budget) and the details (how much is in each category).

Units ​

Every balanced log needs a unit that defines what you are tracking.

Anchorline includes common units like USD, EUR, hours, and points. You can also create custom units for anything you want to track.

The unit determines:

  • How amounts are displayed (like $100.00 vs 100 hours)
  • How many decimal places to use
  • What symbol appears next to numbers

All child logs inherit their parent's unit, so your hierarchy stays consistent.

Adjustments ​

Sometimes your balance does not match reality. Maybe you forgot to record a transaction, or you made a mistake.

Instead of editing past entries, you record an adjustment.

An adjustment brings your balance in line with the actual amount without hiding what happened. You enter what the balance should be, and Anchorline creates an entry for the difference.

Example: Your log shows $245, but your bank account has $250. You record an adjustment to $250, and Anchorline adds a $5 entry explaining the correction.

This keeps your history complete and makes it clear when corrections were made.

Anchors ​

Anchors represent where value is stored or who it belongs to.

For example, you might have:

  • An anchor for your checking account
  • An anchor for a savings account
  • An anchor for a person you owe money to

When you record an entry, you can tag it with an anchor to show where the money is or who it is for. This adds context without changing how the log works.

See Anchors for more details.

Why balanced logs work this way ​

This approach feels more structured than just editing a number in a spreadsheet. But it gives you something spreadsheets cannot: confidence.

When you look at your balance, you know exactly how it was calculated. If someone asks "where did this money come from?" you can show them. If you need to reconcile with a bank statement, you have a complete record to compare.

The trade-off is intention. You cannot just change a number. You have to record what actually happened.

For many people tracking money, time, or other valuable resources, that trade-off is worth it.

When to use balanced logs ​

Use a balanced log when:

  • You are tracking something with a quantity (money, hours, points)
  • You need to know how much you have
  • You care about where value came from and where it went
  • You want to prevent overspending or track allocations
  • You might need to reconcile against an external source (like a bank statement)

When to use something else ​

If you are tracking individual things rather than quantities, use a collection log instead.

Collection logs are for items, assets, contacts, or anything where identity matters more than totals.

Where to go next ​

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