What is a zero-based budgeting app?
It is an app where you give every dollar of income a job until “Ready to Assign” reaches zero. HomeVault does this with monthly envelopes, per-category rollover and “copy last month”.
Is HomeVault free?
No. There is no free plan. Every account starts with a 15-day free trial of every feature, with no card needed. After that, Pro is $7.99/month ($69/year) and Family is $10.99/month ($99/year).
What happens when my free trial ends?
If you choose Pro or Family, nothing changes. If you don’t, your account becomes export-only: you can still sign in and download all your data (CSV, Excel, QuickBooks, Quicken, OFX, PDF and a full backup), but nothing else works. 7 days later the account and all its data are permanently deleted. The deletion date is shown in the app.
Can my partner and I share one budget?
Yes. Household members can tag accounts, transactions, bills and goals as mine, yours or ours. Pro includes 4 members; the Family plan supports up to 10 members and includes a spending-by-member report.
Does HomeVault connect directly to my bank?
No. HomeVault does not use automatic bank sync, so it never asks for your bank password. You import the CSV, OFX, QFX or QBO files your bank provides. Duplicates are detected and your rules categorize transactions automatically.
What is the difference between the debt snowball and debt avalanche methods?
Snowball pays off the smallest balance first. Avalanche pays off the highest interest rate first. HomeVault’s debt payoff planner compares both and shows payoff dates and the interest saved.
Can I export my budget to QuickBooks, Quicken or Excel?
Yes. HomeVault exports QBO and CSV for QuickBooks Online, IIF for QuickBooks Desktop, QFX for Quicken, OFX for Xero, and Excel, PDF and JSON.
Does HomeVault help with taxes?
The Family plan’s tax-time summary totals charitable gifts, medical costs, mortgage interest, property tax, childcare, education and other categories, and exports a PDF for your tax preparer. It is not tax advice.
Can I cancel any time?
Yes, online in one click on the Plan & billing page. You keep your plan until the end of the period you paid for and are not charged again.
Can I use HomeVault on my phone?
Yes. HomeVault is a web app that works in any modern browser, and its layout adjusts down to phone-sized screens. There is nothing to install.