# Getting Started: YNAB Basics and Key Terms > New to YNAB? Learn how YNAB works and what key terms like Ready to Assign, categories, targets, and Available mean so you can start your plan with confidence. Source: https://support.ynab.com/en_us/getting-started-ynab-basics-and-key-terms-BJCaIHaTZe Last updated: 2026-10-24T17:49:54.316Z New to YNAB? This article explains how YNAB works and introduces the key terms you'll encounter as you get started. Keep it handy as a reference while you explore the app. #### In This Article [The Basics](#basics) [Key Terms](#terms) [Want to Go Deeper?](#deeper) * * * ## The Basics Before you dive in, make sure you've downloaded the YNAB app and logged in — then keep this article handy any time you need a refresher. YNAB allows you to make a plan with the cash you have in real life — the balance of your primary spending account. Each time you have new money in the plan, you'll ask yourself "[What is this money for?](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/the-ynab-method-an-overview-SJmiqpi6j)" and set it aside for spending. When you open YNAB, you'll spend most of your time in two places. The _Home_ tab gives you an at-a-glance overview — recent activity, upcoming expenses, and your overall financial picture. The _Plan_ tab is where you do your planning — assigning money to categories and making decisions about where your dollars go. Here's how money moves in YNAB: when you add an account or record income, that money lands in **Ready to Assign**. From there, you **assign** it to **categories** — like Groceries, Rent, or Car Insurance — until Ready to Assign reaches $0. If you linked your accounts, YNAB may have already created some categories and targets for you based on your spending history — you can rename, add to, or adjust any of them. Those categories then guide your spending. As you spend, your Available balance decreases. That's the whole system. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Key Terms **Accounts:** Accounts in YNAB represent your real-world accounts: cash accounts, credit card accounts, and tracking accounts. Money in **cash accounts** (like checking and savings) adds to what you have available to assign. **Credit card accounts** let you track your card spending as part of your monthly expenses. They also help you set aside money for your payments, whether you’re paying a balance down over time or paying it off in full every month. **Tracking accounts** (like investment or retirement accounts) let you monitor balances without affecting your plan. **Account Register:** The transaction history for a single account. Your account register should mirror what you see at your bank — the starting balance on the day you set up the plan, plus every purchase, deposit, or transfer gets recorded here. You can add transactions manually or have them imported automatically via [Direct Import](#di). **Assign / Assigning:** The act of deciding what your money is for. Each time you assign dollars to a category, you're answering the question, "What's it for?" Your goal each time you have money in Ready to Assign is to assign it all to categories until you reach $0. Learn more in [Getting Started: Assigning Your Money in YNAB](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/getting-started-assigning-your-money-in-ynab-SyHCkywTZl). **Auto-Assign:** An optional YNAB feature that distributes your money across categories in one tap, based on your [targets](#targets) or past spending. If you've set up targets, Auto-Assign can fund them for you. If you've been using YNAB for a while, it can assign money based on what you've spent before, so you don't have to enter amounts by hand each month. **Available:** The amount of money left to spend in a category this month. This is what guides your day-to-day spending decisions. A positive Available amount means you have money to spend; a negative amount means you've overspent. Any money not spent this month rolls over to the new month in the same category and can be spent there. **Categories / Category Groups:** Categories represent your spending and saving priorities — Groceries, Rent, Vacation Fund, and so on. Each category holds the money you've assigned to it, like cash in an envelope. You’ll create categories for your priorities and can then organize related categories into **Category Groups** (like "Fixed Expenses" or "Everyday Spending") to keep your plan organized. Learn more in [Getting Started: Categories in YNAB](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/getting-started-categories-in-ynab-rkWG3rp6x). **Credit Card Payment Category:** When you add a credit card account, YNAB automatically creates this category to hold the money set aside for your payment so you always know how much you can pay. As you make purchases on your card, YNAB moves money into this category to set it aside for your payment. The Available amount here represents what you have ready to send to your card issuer. Learn more in [Getting Started: Credit Cards in YNAB](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/getting-started-credit-cards-in-ynab-H1pdorTTWl). **Direct Import:** You have the option to create a secure link to your bank to automatically import transactions into your account register once they clear. Since imports can take a day or two, it's still a good habit to enter transactions as you make them so your plan stays accurate. **Inflow / Outflow:** Money coming **in** to YNAB — like a paycheck or a deposit — is an inflow. Money going **out** — like a purchase or bill payment — is an outflow. When you receive income, you'll categorize it as _Income: Ready to Assign_ (_Inflow: Ready to Assign_ on web), which sends it straight to Ready to Assign for you to assign to your categories. **Overspending:** When the spending in a category exceeds the amount you had Available. Overspending on a **debit or cash** account shows in red and needs immediate attention — you'll need to move money from another category to cover it. Overspending on a **credit card** shows in yellow and means that money did not get set aside in the Credit Card Payment category for that spending. **Payee:** The person or business on the other side of a transaction, like your grocery store, employer, or landlord. YNAB remembers which category you used for each payee so it can categorize future transactions for you. In YNAB, the payee field is also how you tell YNAB that the transaction is a [transfer](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/transfer-transactions-a-guide-HJOsZz4Jj#create) or a payment to a [credit card](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/credit-card-payments-a-guide-r1_506Q1j) or [loan account](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/loan-accounts-a-guide-HkNSkPHJi#payment). **Ready to Assign:** The money in your accounts that hasn't been assigned yet. Whenever Ready to Assign has a positive amount, it's time to assign that money to categories. When it reaches $0, every dollar has been assigned. If it goes negative, you've assigned more than you have and need to remove money from categories until it's back to $0. Learn more in [Getting Started: Assigning Your Money in YNAB](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/getting-started-assigning-your-money-in-ynab-SyHCkywTZl). **Reconcile:** The process of comparing your YNAB account balance to your actual bank statement to confirm everything matches. Regular reconciling keeps your plan trustworthy. YNAB recommends reconciling once or twice a week. **Snooze a Target:** A way to tell YNAB you don't intend to fully fund a target this month — useful when you've already paid an expense before setting up YNAB or you need to change your priorities/cover overspending. The target wakes back up the following month. Learn more in [Getting Started: Starting YNAB Mid-Month](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/getting-started-starting-ynab-mid-month-HkJPvHaTZl). **Targets:** Goals you set for categories to tell YNAB how much money you need and by when — for example, $200 for Groceries each month, or $1,200 for a vacation by December. Targets also power features like Auto-Assign and the Underfunded alert. Learn more in [Getting Started: Targets in YNAB](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/getting-started-targets-in-ynab-r1FTiSaTbe). **Transactions:** A record of money moving in or out of an account. Every time you spend or transfer money or get income or a refund in real life, there will be a transaction in YNAB that represents that real world transaction. You can enter them manually as you spend or let [Direct Import](#di) bring them in automatically. **Underfunded:** A yellow alert on a category that has a target but hasn't been fully funded for the month yet. Auto-Assign's _Underfunded_ option prioritizes filling these categories first, in order of due date. **Zero-Based Planning:** YNAB’s core approach — in a zero based plan, you can only assign money you have in your cash account until you reach zero. You can use Targets and Cost To Be Me to make a plan for your monthly income, but you'll only assign the money when it actually arrives in your account. This is [What's it For?](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/the-ynab-method-an-overview-SJmiqpi6j) in action. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Want to Go Deeper? * [YNAB Glossary](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/ynab-glossary-a-guide-BJd80SORq) — the complete A–Z reference for every term and feature in YNAB. * [The Plan Header](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/the-plan-header-BkmiuJ_C9#RTA) — a detailed breakdown of Ready to Assign and exactly how it's calculated. * [Getting Started: Frequently Asked Questions](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/getting-started-frequently-asked-questions-r1EiQk75Ml) — quick answers to common questions about setting up, assigning your money, and building the habit. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Help Us Help You **Are you stuck or do you need more help?** [Tell the chatbot you need a human or send us an email](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-get-help-SygqcvtC5) to ensure that your message gets to our Support team!