Petal

Help

Budgeting that feels like tending a garden.

A gentle walk-through of how Petal works, plus answers to the things people ask most. Tap any question to unfold it.

How-to guide

Add your first pay cheque

1Open the Flow tab and tap the + button to open the entry sheet.
2Choose Income as the flow and pick Pay as the category.
3Enter the amount, then choose how often it repeats, weekly, biweekly, monthly, every N weeks, or every N months.
4If your pay varies, switch Amount to “Varies” and type a different amount for each upcoming date.
5Tap Save. Petal now projects that income into your running balance.

Set up bills and automatic withdrawals

1In the Flow tab, open the entry sheet and choose Automatic for bills that come out on their own.
2Pick a category like Rent, Utilities or Phone, then set the recurrence.
3Use Confirm when the amount isn’t fixed yet, Petal will flag it so you can confirm the real number when it lands.
4Use Manual for transfers you have to make yourself, like moving cash into a sinking fund.

Create sinking funds

1Go to the Funds tab and tap + to add a fund like Joy, Travel or Car.
2Give it an emoji, a starting balance and an optional target amount.
3To feed a fund, add a Manual transfer in the Flow tab and link it to that fund, the balance grows as the transfer repeats.

Track debts and credit cards

1Open the Debts tab and tap + to add a card or loan.
2Enter the current balance, APR and minimum payment.
3Link debt payments from the Flow tab to the debt so each payment reduces the balance and Petal can project a payoff date.

Set a goal and watch it bloom

1In the Goals tab, tap + and name your goal, e.g. “Pay off Visa by June 1”.
2Choose whether it’s a debt payoff, a fund target or a plain savings amount.
3Pick a target date and Petal calculates how much you need each month.
4As you progress, the goal flower grows from seed to full bloom, a gentle nudge to keep going.

Ask the AI advisor

1Open the Advisor tab and pick “Reshuffle for goals” or “Cash-flow rescue”.
2Petal sends a snapshot of your register, funds, debts and goals, never a suggestion to take on new debt.
3Read the plan, then adjust your items in Flow, Funds or Debts to put it into action.

Sync to the cloud and sign in

1Tap Sign in on the home screen and choose Google, Apple or email.
2Once signed in, your budget syncs to your account automatically and stays available across devices.
3Prefer to keep things on this device only? Use the “keep it on this device” option at sign-in, your data stays in local storage.

Add Petal to your home screen

Petal installs like a real app, full screen, its own icon, and it still opens when you have no signal.

On iPhone or iPad (Safari)

1Open Petal in Safari.
2Tap the Share button, the square with an arrow pointing up.
3Scroll down and tap “Add to Home Screen”.
4Name it Petal and tap Add.

On Android (Chrome)

1Open Petal in Chrome.
2Tap the three-dot menu.
3Tap “Install app” or “Add to Home screen”, then confirm.

Offline mode works on the live Petal site, not inside the editor preview.

Frequently asked

When you sign in, your budget is stored in your private cloud account and locked to you. Nobody else can read it. If you choose device-only mode, your data never leaves your phone’s local storage.
No. Petal is a planning tool, not a bank connection. You enter your pay and bills by hand (or copy them from your statement), and Petal projects what your balance will look like going forward.
Safe to spend is your current running balance minus your preferred buffer. It’s the amount you can comfortably spend without dipping into the cushion you want to keep.
The minimum floor is the absolute lowest your balance should ever go, Petal shows red when a projected balance drops below it. The comfortable floor is a softer cushion: staying above it is green, dipping under it is yellow. Petal warns you before either floor is crossed, using your planned income, bills and fund spending.
Sinking funds are little pots you fill over time for irregular expenses, Joy money, travel, car repairs, a new camera. Saving a little each payday means surprises stop hurting.
The advisor reads a snapshot of your register, funds, debts and goals and suggests how to rearrange the money you already have. It will never recommend opening new credit or taking on debt, the whole point is to leverage your existing income.
Yes. Choose “keep it on this device” at the sign-in screen and Petal works fully offline, saving everything to local storage. Sign in later any time to sync across devices.
When adding income, switch Amount to “Varies”. Petal shows each upcoming payday date and lets you type a specific amount for each one, so your projection stays accurate.
In the Flow register, tap an occurrence to mark it cleared and enter the actual amount. Petal uses the real number from that point forward so your running balance stays honest.
Each goal shows a flower that grows as you progress, seed, sprout, bud and full bloom. It’s a quiet, visual reminder of how close you are, tied to the percent of your target you’ve reached.

Free and Premium

Petal is free to use: your register, payday checklist, dashboard, health meter, 3 sinking funds, 2 goals and 1 account are all included. Premium ($7.99 a month) adds the AI advisor, CSV and statement import, monthly reviews with six-month trends, and unlimited funds, goals and accounts.

Free Petal is paid for by small banner cards that sit quietly between sections, never pop-ups, never over your numbers. They disappear as soon as you upgrade.

See Petal Premium

Still wondering something?

Most answers live in the Flow, Funds, Debts and Goals tabs. Try adding your first pay cheque and the rest tends to follow.

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