A short walkthrough of every feature — bookmark this page or come back to it any time.
NeedAhead isn't a budgeting app — it's a future cash requirement calculator. Enter what you have right now and what's coming up, and it tells you whether you're covered, and if not, exactly which day you'll run short and by how much.
Everything lives inside a category — a self-contained board with its own balance, currency, and list of expenses. Use one for your everyday finances and another for a trip or a specific goal; they never mix. Switch between them with the dropdown, use Rename or Delete to manage one, and create a new one any time with "+ New category".
Pick whichever's fastest for the moment.
Fill in the description, amount and due date yourself and press "+ Add expense".
Type something like "rent $2000 on sep 6" into the quick-add box and press "Add with AI" — Claude reads it and fills in the description, amount and date for you.
Press "Scan receipt" and choose a photo (JPEG, PNG or WebP, up to 2MB). Claude reads the total, the date and the merchant to create the expense automatically — and attaches that same photo to it.
Every expense is automatically classified into a tag — Food & Drink, Transport, Bills & Utilities, Shopping, Housing, Health, Entertainment, or Other — based on its description (e.g. "coffee" becomes Food & Drink). You'll see it as a small badge on the row; click it to pick a different one yourself or clear it, and that choice is then kept even if you edit the description later. This works for everyone, guests included.
Check the box next to any expense once you've actually paid it. It's immediately subtracted from your current balance and removed from what's still ahead of you. Paid items are hidden by default — use "Show paid items" to see them again, or Undo right after checking one to reverse a mistake.
This table walks forward from today, showing your remaining balance after each upcoming expense in order — so you can see exactly which day, if any, it would go negative.
Use "Attach a file" on any expense to keep a receipt (an image or PDF, up to 2MB) alongside it — handy for anything you might need later for reimbursement or taxes. One file per expense; scanning a receipt (above) attaches its photo automatically.
Press "Lock" on a category to freeze it completely — balance, currency, name, every expense row, and adding new items are all disabled until you unlock it again. Useful once you're done planning and just want to avoid accidental edits.
"Export CSV" downloads the active category's expense list — including paid status and any attachment names — as a spreadsheet-friendly file.
You can use NeedAhead as a guest with nothing saved — refreshing the page resets everything. Sign in with just your email (no password) to keep your numbers saved across visits and devices, and to unlock AI quick-add, receipt scanning, and file attachments.
Switch the interface language anytime from the dropdown in the header — English, 한국어, 中文, or Nederlands — and toggle dark mode with the button next to it. This guide remembers the same language choice as the app.