Reset Monthly Envelopes

I started recording transactions and budgeting on the 15th of September, so I would like all my envelopes to reset on the 15th of every month. I thought it would reset automatically on the 1st of October, but I was glad it didn’t. However, my envelopes did not reset on the 15th of October either, and I cannot figure out how to do that. If I continue to add transactions, it accumulates on the envelopes.

I would like the envelopes to show only the past month’s spending (starting on the 15th). Is this possible?

If it must start on the 1st, that’s okay too, I would just like to know how to make that work. Thanks!

Welcome to Goodbudget! With a couple of easy tweaks you should be able to get it set up just like you’d like it.
When you create a budget, you determine what frequency you’d like to track and it sounds like you’d prefer the monthly cycle (which is the default). I’m basing my instructions on the web version, because I find it easier to use for setting up and changing budgets than the app. However, you CAN use the app if you’d like, and the process is quite similar!
First, to change your start date to the 15th, just click the “Add/Edit” button on your Envelopes page. At the very top of the list you’ll see a gray bar with “Monthly (Primary)” and next to it “Starts on the _____ of the month”. If you want to change from a monthly budget to something more frequent, click “Monthly” and choose another option. Or if you just want to change the date it rolls over, click the “date” dropdown and choose the 15th.
For your other question, it sounds like either you don’t have a regular “Fill” instruction set up, or your Fill is toggled to Add, not Set. To reset everything on the first day of your budget cycle, be sure you have a “Fill” transaction scheduled for the 15th of each month. In each envelope you’ll want to choose “Set” and put the amount of money equal to your budgeted amount (if you have that much to use; otherwise, you’ll want to work up to having a one-month cushion for budgeting and there are tutuorials for that too!). With a “Fill” instruction with all the envelopes marked “Set”, your envelopes will each have exactly one month’s budget in them at the beginning of the period and they’ll tick down as you spend the money.
This means that your spend is only totalling what you’ve spent for that month, and your envelopes will have exactly one month’s budget in them at the start of each period.
Just like any other ledger, the old transactions will still appear but they won’t be counted toward the new month’s totals.
Does this help?

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