# Troubleshooting Your Plan > Running into trouble with your plan? We can help! This article offers a list of common scenarios that might cause a YNABer difficulty with their plan. Source: https://support.ynab.com/en_us/troubleshooting-your-plan-r19HPofJo Last updated: 2026-10-08T19:29:03.334Z Troubleshoot the following areas of your YNAB plan: Ready to Assign, Accounts, Credit Cards, and targets. Contact YNAB support if you need any additional assistance. Dealing with unexpected issues with your plan can be frustrating, and we want to do our best to get you back to the perfect plan as quickly as possible. Below is a list of common scenarios. Click the one that sounds most like your issue and we'll provide an answer here in this article, or point you toward another article that will likely provide the information you need. #### In This Article **Ready to Assign** [Ready to Assign is negative.](#rta-negative) [Ready to Assign is higher than I expect it to be this month.](#rta-higher) [Ready to Assign is higher in a future month than it is this month.](#negassigned) [Money seems to be missing from Ready to Assign](#futurered). [Ready to Assign is lower in a future month than it is this month.](#futurered) [When I assign the money in this month's Ready to Assign, next month's Ready to Assign goes negative.](#futurered) [I entered income and some or all of it didn't show up in Ready to Assign.](#futurered) [This month's Ready to Assign is higher or lower than it was last month.](#past) **Accounts** [I have more money in my plan than I do in my accounts.](#more-money) [My account balances in YNAB don't match my account balances at the bank.](#balances) [My balance is incorrect because my bank account is linked, but transactions aren't importing (or the connection is broken altogether).](#missing) **Credit Cards** [My Credit Card Payment category Available amount is less than the balance on my account.](#balance-less)  [My Credit Card Payment category Available amount is more than the balance on my account.](#toomuch) [My Credit Card Payment category Available amount is showing red overspending. How is that possible?](#cc-red) **Targets** [My target says it’s funded even though it isn't.](#nfs) [My target is showing underfunded even though the category has enough to fund it.](#funded) [I didn't need to add money to my target this month. Is there any way to get rid of the yellow alert?](#change) **Transactions** [I approved a number of transactions, but they're no longer approved. Why did YNAB unapprove my transactions?](#unapprove) **I still need help** [Send us a message!](#message) * * * ## Ready to Assign is negative. If Ready to Assign is unexpectedly negative, you've overassigned money. We have [an entire article](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/when-ready-to-assign-is-negative-an-overview-HylZA0zCc) dedicated to this topic.  [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Ready to Assign is higher than I expect it to be this month. If you have more ready to assign than you expect, start by checking where the extra money came from. On the web app, click the amount at the top of your plan to open a [breakdown of everything that added to it this month](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/the-plan-header-BkmiuJ_C9#RTABreakdown), like money left over from last month, new income, or an inflow from a debt account. Then complete a [YNAB Checkup](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/checkup-S1vJzWGzo) before assigning the rest of that money. After doing so, you’ll have a plan you can trust! [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Ready to Assign is higher in a future month than it is this month. If the amount in Ready to Assign is more in a future month than it is in the current month, then you've most likely pulled more money out of a category in a future month than was assigned to it in that month. You'll know if this is the case because **that category will have a negative number in the Assigned column**.  [Negative Assigned amounts](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/negative-amounts-in-the-assigned-column-an-overview-rJ2fMFzyo) are not generally a bad thing when they are in the present (or past) month, but negative assigned amounts in a future month can cause some wonky behavior in your plan. It's like time traveling to a point in the future and making changes in your plan - you don't really know what will happen between now and then, so it's best to avoid it.  To fix this, you'll want to clear out the Negative Assigned amount by either entering a $0 in the Assigned column for the category or moving money from Ready to Assign or other categories that have a positive Assigned amount (don't let them go below zero!) until the negative numbers are gone from the Assigned column. If you do want to move money to another category, you can flip back to the current month and move the money there.  [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Money seems to be missing from Ready to Assign. You may have noticed any of the following in your plan: * Ready to Assign is lower in a future month than it is this month. * When I assign the money in this month's Ready to Assign, next month's Ready to Assign goes negative. * I entered income and some or all of it didn't show up in Ready to Assign. If this is the case, you may be overspending or you may have overassigned in a future month. On the web app, you can tell which one it is by clicking the amount at the top of your plan to open the [breakdown](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/the-plan-header-BkmiuJ_C9#RTABreakdown). A **Cash Overspending in \[Previous Month\]** line points to overspending, and an **Assigned in Future** line means money is set aside in a future month. Both of these can present the same way - next month's Ready to Assign is lower than this month (or if you just got into a new month, this month might be lower than last month). You may notice a negative Ready to Assign next month but not this month, or you might have money in Ready to Assign this month, but when you try to assign it, next month's Ready to Assign goes negative (like a not-so-fun see-saw, back and forth 🤪). [Red (cash) overspending](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/overspending-in-ynab-a-guide-ryWoxEyi) in your plan will be subtracted from the following month's Ready to Assign if it isn't covered in the month it happens, which is why that future month's Ready to Assign is lower, or even negative. Review your plan categories for any red negative Available numbers. You can also check which categories are overspent by:  * clicking the Overspent view at the top of your plan on the web app. * tapping the banner displaying “Cover \[#\] overspent categories" at the top of your plan on the mobile app. **Covering the overspending in the month it happens** will balance both month's Ready to Assign and get your plan back on track. 👍 With [overassigning in a future month](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/when-ready-to-assign-is-negative-an-overview-HylZA0zCc#future), on the other hand, what usually happens is there is money assigned in a future month, and then all money is assigned in your plan. When you have money assigned in a future month, and you assign **more** money in the current month, YNAB will reassign that money from the future to be used in this month's plan instead. This leaves more money assigned in that future month than you have in your accounts. You may not have any red in this month at all, and this month's Ready to Assign will be fully assigned, but you'll notice a negative Ready to Assign in the future most month you have money assigned, as well as a handy red Assigned in the Future alert in the right sidebar of your plan in the web app (with no categories selected).  Since you are overassigned in the future, any money moved to Ready to Assign or added via a transaction will work to cover that negative amount first, before the remaining amount will show up in Ready to Assign in the current month.  The solution here is to assign less into your categories, in this month or any future month, until all month's Ready to Assign numbers are out of the negative.  [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## This month's Ready to Assign is higher or lower than it was last month. ### iOS You can't change the past in life. As much as we sometimes wish we had a time machine to go back and "fix" decisions we've made, the past is the past and we can only work from the present, towards the future. Since your plan should reflect real life as much as possible, these same principles apply. And just like time, your plan works in a linear fashion, so any actions taken in a past month will affect all subsequent months of your plan, including this month! In short, **do not make changes to a past month's plan.** A past month's plan becomes static (unless you make changes in the past) — like a snapshot of your plan on the last day of that month. Keeping this in mind, a previous month's plan might not match the current month, because this month's plan will show any updates made after the last day of the month that the previous plan is for, and that's okay. **These will _remove_ money from Ready to Assign relative to a previous month:** * Assigning money into categories * Making a balance adjustment in a cash account to a **lower** account balance * **Outflow** transactions categorized to _Income: Ready to Assign_ **These will _add_ money to Ready to Assign relative to a previous month:** * Un-assigning money from categories * Making a balance adjustment in a cash account to a **higher** account balance * Inflow transactions categorized to Income_:_ Ready to Assign (i.e. income added to your plan) #### Be sure to fix any outflows categorized to Income: Ready to Assign While the other scenarios described above don't need any intervention, if you **do** have outflow transactions categorized to Income: Ready to Assign, you'll want to make sure to categorize those transactions to a spending category. Then, you'll assign the money in Ready to Assign to that category. Outflow transactions are not generally meant to be categorized to Income: Ready to Assign as it can cause some wonky behavior in your plan.  ### Android You can't change the past in life. As much as we sometimes wish we had a time machine to go back and "fix" decisions we've made, the past is the past and we can only work from the present, towards the future. Since your plan should reflect real life as much as possible, these same principles apply. And just like time, your plan works in a linear fashion, so any actions taken in a past month will affect all subsequent months of your plan, including this month! In short, **do not make changes to a past month's plan.** A past month's plan becomes static (unless you make changes in the past) — like a snapshot of your plan on the last day of that month. Keeping this in mind, a previous month's plan might not match the current month, because this month's plan will show any updates made after the last day of the month that the previous plan is for, and that's okay. **These will _remove_ money from Ready to Assign relative to a previous month:** * Assigning money into categories * Making a balance adjustment in a cash account to a **lower** account balance * **Outflow** transactions categorized to Income: Ready to Assign **These will _add_ money to Ready to Assign relative to a previous month:** * Un-assigning money from categories * Making a balance adjustment in a cash account to a **higher** account balance * Inflow transactions categorized to Income_:_ Ready to Assign (i.e. income added to your plan) #### Be sure to fix any outflows categorized to Inflow: Ready to Assign While the other scenarios described above don't need any intervention, if you **do** have outflow transactions categorized to Inflow: Ready to Assign, you'll want to make sure to categorize those transactions to a spending category. Then, you'll assign the money in Ready to Assign to that category. Outflow transactions are not generally meant to be categorized to Inflow: Ready to Assign as it can cause some wonky behavior in your plan.  ### Web You can't change the past in life. As much as we sometimes wish we had a time machine to go back and "fix" decisions we've made, the past is the past and we can only work from the present, towards the future. Since your plan should reflect real life as much as possible, these same principles apply. And just like time, your plan works in a linear fashion, so any actions taken in a past month will affect all subsequent months of your plan, including this month! In short, **do not make changes to a past month's plan.** A past month's plan becomes static (unless you make changes in the past) — like a snapshot of your plan on the last day of that month. Keeping this in mind, a previous month's plan might not match the current month, because this month's plan will show any updates made after the last day of the month that the previous plan is for, and that's okay. **These will _remove_ money from Ready to Assign relative to a previous month:** * Assigning money into categories * Making a balance adjustment in a cash account to a **lower** account balance * **Outflow** transactions categorized to _Inflow: Ready to Assign_ **These will _add_ money to Ready to Assign relative to a previous month:** * Un-assigning money from categories * Making a balance adjustment in a cash account to a **higher** account balance * Inflow transactions categorized to _Inflow:_ Ready to Assign (i.e. income added to your plan) To see exactly which of these changed the amount you have ready to assign, click that amount at the top of your plan. That [breakdown](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/the-plan-header-BkmiuJ_C9#RTABreakdown) shows each amount that was added or deducted this month. #### Be sure to fix any outflows categorized to Inflow: Ready to Assign While the other scenarios described above don't need any intervention, if you **do** have outflow transactions categorized to Inflow: Ready to Assign, you'll want to make sure to categorize those transactions to a spending category. Then, you'll assign the money in Ready to Assign to that category. Outflow transactions are not generally meant to be categorized to Inflow: Ready to Assign as it can cause some wonky behavior in your plan.  [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## I have more money in my plan than I do in my accounts. When the money in your plan doesn't seem to match the money in your accounts, we recommend troubleshooting by doing a full [YNAB Checkup](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/checkup-S1vJzWGzo). If you'd like a hand with this, we're happy to help. Just [tell the chatbot you need a human or send us an email](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-get-help-SygqcvtC5)! [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## My account balances in YNAB don't match my account balances at the bank. If your account balances in YNAB aren't quite matching your numbers at the bank, you'll want to [reconcile your account](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/reconciling-accounts-a-guide-BJFE3fHys). You can always [tell the chatbot you need a human or send us an email](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-get-help-SygqcvtC5) if you have any trouble following our reconciliation guide. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## My balance is incorrect because my bank account is linked, but transactions aren't importing (or the connection is broken altogether). We have a number of troubleshooting steps you can follow when [transactions aren't importing](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/troubleshooting-linked-accounts-BJ9Mv9b1s#stopped). If you've already taken these steps, [tell the chatbot you need a human or send us an email](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-get-help-SygqcvtC5) with the following information: * Name of the financial institution. * Type of account (checking, credit card, investment, loan, etc.). * Nickname of the account in YNAB. * Date of the last transaction that imported. * Date, payee, and amount of a few transactions that haven't imported, but cleared your online banking account three or more days ago. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## My Credit Card Payment category Available amount is less than the balance on my account. This guide provides [troubleshooting steps if you're planning to pay your credit card balance in full but the money in your Credit Card Payment category doesn't match the balance on your account](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/paid-in-full-credit-cards-a-guide-Hk56hPMyo). If you've already reviewed it and things still aren't adding up, [tell the chatbot you need a human or send us an email](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-get-help-SygqcvtC5) and we'll be happy to help! [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## My Credit Card Payment category Available amount is more than the balance on my account. ### iOS If you pay your credit card in full, you should always have exactly the amount in the Available column of the Credit Card Payment category needed to pay that card off in full. In your plan, the positive Available amount will match the negative balance of the card. ![500 dollar available amount matches the current payment due](https://cdn.bfldr.com/NIEXAZS5/at/mkgxtjxgbm9qrmpcffqj8vpt/CC-PIF-iOS-Help-Article.png?auto=webp&format=png) If you have **more** money in your Credit Card Payment category than you need to pay off the balance, here are the main reasons why that can happen: 1. **Overassigning**. When you started, did you assign more to this category than the amount of your Starting Balance? Have you been assigning dollars for purchases in your spending categories (like groceries and clothing) **and** in this category? There isn't any need to do this, because YNAB automatically **moves money for you** from your spending categories to your Credit Card Payment category. 2. **Cash Back Rewards.** Whenever you receive a cash back reward from your credit card company, categorize it as Income: Ready to Assign. This inflow will only reduce the balance of the card. It won’t take the extra step of moving money out of your Credit Card Payment category as well, so you’ll want to move the extra money out yourself. 3. **Returns/Refunds**. In most cases, returns on credit cards can be categorized right back to their original spending category. Search for any returns you categorized as Income: Ready to Assign. Like cash back rewards, returns categorized to Ready to Assign will reduce your account balance, while leaving the same amount of money in your Credit Card Payment category. If you've reconciled your credit card to the correct balance, and the Available amount in the corresponding Credit Card Payment category is more than you need to pay the full balance on that credit card, you can move the excess money out of that category and use it elsewhere in your plan!  Note that re-assigning money from the Credit Card Payment category to another category will affect the Assigned column of the Credit Card Payment category. **As long as the Available column matches the balance on the card** (okay, technically offsets, positive to negative), a negative number in the Assigned column is ok.  ### Android If you pay your credit card in full, you should always have exactly the amount in the Available column of the Credit Card Payment category needed to pay that card off in full. In your plan, the positive Available amount will match the negative balance of the card. ![500 dollar available amount matches the current payment due](https://cdn.bfldr.com/NIEXAZS5/at/rc5ztkjjbztxkmgm9mhmnffn/CC-PIF-Android-Help-Article.png?auto=webp&format=png) If you have **more** money in your Credit Card Payment category than you need to pay off the balance, here are the main reasons why that can happen: 1. **Overassigning**. When you started, did you assign more to this category than the amount of your Starting Balance? Have you been assigning dollars for purchases in your spending categories (like groceries and clothing) **and** in this category? There isn't any need to do this, because YNAB automatically **moves money for you** from your spending categories to your Credit Card Payment category. 2. **Cash Back Rewards.** Whenever you receive a cash back reward from your credit card company, categorize it as Inflow: Ready to Assign. This inflow will only reduce the balance of the card. It won’t take the extra step of moving money out of your Credit Card Payment category as well, so you’ll want to move the extra money out yourself. 3. **Returns/Refunds**. In most cases, returns on credit cards can be categorized right back to their original spending category. Search for any returns you categorized as Income: Ready to Assign. Like cash back rewards, returns categorized to Ready to Assign will reduce your account balance, while leaving the same amount of money in your Credit Card Payment category. If you've reconciled your credit card to the correct balance, and the Available amount in the corresponding Credit Card Payment category is more than you need to pay the full balance on that credit card, you can move the excess money out of that category and use it elsewhere in your plan!  Note that re-assigning money from the Credit Card Payment category to another category will affect the Assigned column of the Credit Card Payment category. **As long as the Available column matches the balance on the card** (okay, technically offsets, positive to negative), a negative number in the Assigned column is ok.  ### Web If you pay your credit card in full, you should always have exactly the amount in the Available column of the Credit Card Payment category needed to pay that card off in full. In your plan, the positive Available amount will match the negative balance of the card, like this: ![](https://cdn.bfldr.com/NIEXAZS5/at/6ff33gsnb7pcqx73xzmzvxb/CC-PIF-Web-Help-Article.png?auto=webp&format=png) If you have **more** money in your Credit Card Payment category than you need to pay off the balance, here are the main reasons why that can happen: 1. **Overassigning**. When you started, did you assign more to this category than the amount of your Starting Balance? Have you been assigning dollars for purchases in your spending categories (like groceries and clothing) **and** in this category? There isn't any need to do this, because YNAB automatically **moves money for you** from your spending categories to your Credit Card Payment category. 2. **Cash Back Rewards.** Whenever you receive a cash back reward from your credit card company, categorize it as Inflow: Ready to Assign. This inflow will only reduce the balance of the card. It won’t take the extra step of moving money out of your Credit Card Payment category as well, so you’ll want to move the extra money out yourself. 3. **Returns/Refunds**. In most cases, returns on credit cards can be categorized right back to their original spending category. Search for any returns you categorized as Inflow: Ready to Assign. Like cash back rewards, returns categorized to Ready to Assign will reduce your account balance, while leaving the same amount of money in your Credit Card Payment category. If you've reconciled your credit card to the correct balance, and the Available amount in the corresponding Credit Card Payment category is more than you need to pay the full balance on that credit card, you can move the excess money out of that category and use it elsewhere in your plan!  Note that re-assigning money from the Credit Card Payment category to another category will affect the Assigned column of the Credit Card Payment category. **As long as the Available column matches the balance on the card** (okay, technically offsets, positive to negative), a negative number in the Assigned column is ok.  [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## My Credit Card Payment category Available amount is showing red overspending. How is that possible? If you have red in the Credit Card Payment category, that means you've sent a payment to your credit card company for **more** than you had available in that category. [Understand why you might have red in your Credit Card Payment category](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/when-your-credit-card-payment-category-is-red-a-guide-SJDSr3Q1i) and, more importantly, review our solutions. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## My target says it’s funded even though it isn't. 1. Make sure the target behavior is set to "Set aside another" rather than "Refill up to". 2. Make sure the "first due on" date is set to the first time you paid the bill, so the target knows to reset after that point. If you've already paid the bill once, the "first due on" date should be a past date. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## My target is showing underfunded even though the category has enough to fund it. ### iOS If your target is still showing as underfunded even though there is more available in the category than the amount of the target, the culprit is usually an **inflow categorized directly to the category** (like a [refund](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/credit-card-refunds-and-returns-H1J7qDWkj) or [reimbursement](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/reimbursements-in-ynab-H1W7ilhC5)). These transactions are not money assigned to the category - they are (as far as YNAB knows) just returning money to that category that was already there (and was already counted). Most of the target types are only concerned with the Assigned amount during a target period, and since those transactions weren't assigned during the target period, they won't count towards the target period they were entered during.  If you would like that money to count towards a target, you can recategorize the inflow transaction as Income: Ready to Assign. Then, move it from Ready to Assign to the appropriate category. You can also choose to [snooze the target](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/snooze-a-target-HyS4E5rZT) in this month so that it no longer shows as underfunded. ### Android If your target is still showing as underfunded even though there is more available in the category than the amount of the target, the culprit is usually an **inflow categorized directly to the category** (like a [refund](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/credit-card-refunds-and-returns-H1J7qDWkj) or [reimbursement](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/reimbursements-in-ynab-H1W7ilhC5)). These transactions are not money assigned to the category - they are (as far as YNAB knows) just returning money to that category that was already there (and was already counted). Most of the target types are only concerned with the Assigned amount during a target period, and since those transactions weren't assigned during the target period, they won't count towards the target period they were entered during.  If you would like that money to count towards a target, you can recategorize the inflow transaction as Income: Ready to Assign. Then, move it from Ready to Assign to the appropriate category. You can also choose to [snooze the target](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/snooze-a-target-HyS4E5rZT) in this month so that it no longer shows as underfunded. ### Web If your target is still showing as underfunded even though there is more available in the category than the amount of the target, the culprit is usually an **inflow categorized directly to the category** (like a [refund](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/credit-card-refunds-and-returns-H1J7qDWkj) or [reimbursement](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/reimbursements-in-ynab-H1W7ilhC5)). These transactions are not money assigned to the category - they are (as far as YNAB knows) just returning money to that category that was already there (and was already counted). Most of the target types are only concerned with the Assigned amount during a target period, and since those transactions weren't assigned during the target period, they won't count towards the target period they were entered during.  If you would like that money to count towards a target, you can recategorize the inflow transaction as Inflow: Ready to Assign. Then, move it from Ready to Assign to the appropriate category. You can also choose to [snooze the target](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/snooze-a-target-HyS4E5rZT) in this month so that it no longer shows as underfunded. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## I didn't need to add money to my target this month. Is there any way to get rid of the yellow alert? Sometimes things change, and you may find that you don't need to fund a target for a single month, but you will need to fund it in future months. So what do you do about that yellow underfunded alert? That's where [target snooze](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/snooze-a-target-HyS4E5rZT) comes in! You can snooze a target for the current month, which will stop it from asking for more funds in the current month only. The yellow alert will turn green if there is money Available and grey if the category is empty. You won't be prompted to assign funds again until the next month. [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## I approved a number of transactions, but they're no longer approved. Why did YNAB unapprove my transactions?  Check to see whether you've opened a different plan than you were expecting; this is the most common reason formerly approved transactions appear unapproved. [Tell the chatbot you need a human or send us an email](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-get-help-SygqcvtC5) if this isn't the case and we'll investigate!   [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Send a Message If you've tried the troubleshooting steps provided, and you're still having trouble with your plan, it's time to send us a message. [Tell the chatbot you need a human or send us an email](https://support.ynab.com/en_us/how-to-get-help-SygqcvtC5), and we'll get you squared away!   [Back to Top](#backtotop) * * * ## Help Us Help You! Our Knowledge Base team reviews article feedback responses weekly, and we actively revise these articles to make them as helpful as possible. That's where you come in! Our articles are scored based on the _Yes_ or _No_ ratings received below. We also collect freeform feedback for any _No_ ratings (so our team can focus in on what you were specifically searching for!). **Success**: Found what you were searching for? It would be super helpful if you click _Yes_ below. **Suggestions**: Didn't find what you're searching for and you'd like to share what terms or topics you wanted? Click _No_ below. You'll then be able to submit your feedback about this article. **Please note:** the feedback submissions are anonymous, and we’re not able to respond, so make sure to use the next option if you have a specific scenario or question you would like a response to. **Support**: If you have a question or would like a response to your specific question, [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!