The Income page is where ZhanPlan shows you exactly how much money came in each month — separated from transfers and other credits that are not real income. This is one of the most important numbers in personal finance, and most people do not track it accurately.
What Counts as Income in ZhanPlan
ZhanPlan distinguishes between real income and internal transfers. Real income includes:
- Payroll deposits — direct deposits from your employer
- Freelance payments — client payments, 1099 income
- Zelle received from other people (not yourself)
- Venmo or Cash App received from other people
- Side income — gig work, tutoring, selling items
- Tax refunds and government payments
- Investment dividends (if they appear in your bank account)
Internal transfers — moving money between your own accounts — are automatically excluded. SoFi vault moves, savings-to-checking transfers, and similar self-transfers do not count toward your income.
How Income Gets Added
Income entries come from two sources:
1. Bank Import
When you import a bank statement on the Bank Import page, ZhanPlan extracts all credit transactions and classifies them as Income or Expense. Real deposits (payroll, Zelle from others) are classified as Income and automatically appear on your Income page.
2. Manual Entry
Click Add Income at the top of the Income page to manually log an income entry. Fill in:
- Date — when you received the income
- Source — where it came from (e.g., Employer Name, Client Name, Zelle)
- Amount — how much you received
- Note — optional context
- Recurring — check this if the income repeats on a schedule
If you check Recurring, a frequency dropdown appears: Weekly, Every 2 Weeks, Every 3 Weeks, Every 4 Weeks, Monthly, Quarterly, Every 6 Months, Yearly.
Use the Recurring toggle for your paycheck. Once you mark your payroll deposit as recurring with the correct frequency, ZhanPlan can use it in Cash Flow projections to show your expected income for future months.
The Income Summary Cards
At the top of the Income page, ZhanPlan shows:
- This Month — total income received so far in the current month
- Last Month — total income received last month
- YTD (Year to Date) — total income from January through today
- Monthly Average — your average monthly income based on all imported data
- vs Planned — how your actual income compares to the planned income you set in Cash Flow
The Planned comparison is especially useful if you have set a planned monthly income in your Cash Flow settings. If your actual income consistently falls below your plan, that is a signal to revisit your plan — or find the gap.
Bulk Delete
If you imported an incorrect statement and need to remove all the income entries from that import, use bulk delete:
- 1Scroll to the month you want to clean up
- 2Check the checkbox in the column header to select all entries in that month
- 3Or check individual checkboxes for specific entries
- 4A red action bar appears at the bottom — click Delete Selected
- 5Confirm the deletion
Bulk delete removes only the checked entries. It does not affect other months or other data.
How Income Affects Other Features
Your income data feeds directly into:
- Cash Flow — income totals populate the income side of your monthly cash flow
- Health Score — your savings rate and cash flow dimensions use income data
- Comparison — income vs spending side by side across multiple months
- Forecast — projected income for future months based on recurring entries
What if my paycheck deposit is being categorized as a transfer?
Go to the Bank Import review screen and check the Excluded column. If your paycheck is incorrectly flagged as a transfer, uncheck the Excluded box — it will then be classified as Income and saved to the Income page. You can also add it manually on the Income page.
Can I track multiple income sources?
Yes. There is no limit to the number of income sources you can track. Each entry has its own source label, so you can separate payroll, freelance, rental income, and any other source.
How does ZhanPlan handle irregular income?
Add each payment manually with its actual date and amount. Over time, the Monthly Average metric gives you a realistic picture of what you earn in a typical month — useful for budget planning when income varies.