Spec
The runway: what is safe to spend until payday, and which bill would overdraw you. On wide screens it takes the middle of the balances panel and most of its width (about 2.2 to 1 against each balance column, which keep at least 240px). On phones, while Road to payday is on, the runway leads the screen (as on the mood board): safe to spend and days to pay, the track, then the three balances as a compact strip, then the register. When it is off (free), the full balances panel returns. During the trial and for paying users it is never hidden: no payday or no bills show an empty state that says what it does. After the trial it shows the manual-habit tip once; once dismissed it is gone and the balances split the panel in thirds. Dates assume today is Wed, Oct 1 and payday is Fri, Oct 10.
Desktop screens (1280px)
Desktop · on track (paid)
Desktop · trial
Desktop · will overdraw
Desktop · trial ending soon
Desktop · no payday yet
Desktop · trial ended (shown once, until dismissed)
Desktop · free, just dismissed (toast)
Desktop · free: balances in equal thirds
Desktop · on track (paid)
Desktop · trial
Desktop · will overdraw
Desktop · trial ending soon
Desktop · no payday yet
Desktop · trial ended (shown once, until dismissed)
Desktop · free, just dismissed (toast)
Desktop · free: balances in equal thirds
Phone screens (320 × 740)
Phone · on track (trial)
Phone · will overdraw
Phone · 10 bills before payday
Phone · no bills yet
Phone · no payday yet
Phone · trial ended (full balances return)
What you can spend now$594.28
What your bank shows$700.00
Everything you entered$634.28
Phone · free, just dismissed
What you can spend now$594.28
What your bank shows$700.00
Everything you entered$634.28
Phone · on track (trial)
Phone · will overdraw
Phone · 10 bills before payday
Phone · no bills yet
Phone · no payday yet
Phone · trial ended (full balances return)
What you can spend now$594.28
What your bank shows$700.00
Everything you entered$634.28
Phone · free, just dismissed
What you can spend now$594.28
What your bank shows$700.00
Everything you entered$634.28
Every state
On track (paid)
Safe to spend is Immediate minus every bill due before payday. The next bill is the only one labeled on the track; the rest are dots.
Will overdraw
Amber only here: the bill that takes you below zero gets ▲, and the track after it is marked until payday. The headline turns into the shortfall.
10 bills before payday
Dots never get labels except the next one. Same-day bills stack into a count. One quiet line replaces any list.
No bills yet
Still useful: what you have until payday. "Nothing due" confirms the empty track is on purpose, and one link adds the first bill.
No payday yet
The runway asks one question instead of disappearing. Date chips are the next two Fridays; "Not on a schedule" leads to the irregular-pay state.
Long payee names
Long names never reach the track. Each bill has an optional short name, prefilled from the first word or two; the full name lives in Show all and the bill itself.
Trial (day 12 of 60)
Everything works. A "Trial" badge on the runway, nothing more; the days left live in the profile menu Plan line until the last 7 days.
Trial ending soon (7 days or less)
One note inside the runway, shown until the trial ends. Says exactly what changes, keeps the data promise, and offers the free path without guilt.
Trial ended (free)
Replaces the runway once, the first time after the trial ends: the manual habit from PRODUCT.md, a way back in, and a dismiss. Bills and paydays entered during the trial are kept.
Free, after dismissing
Gone completely: no runway, no slim line. A toast confirms where to find it again, and the balances share the panel in equal thirds (see the free desktop screen).
Payday is today
The track is complete. Prompts the one thing that matters today: entering the paycheck, which starts the next runway.
Payday passed, no paycheck entered
Nothing is guessed. Asks once, plainly; "It was late" keeps the old payday for two more days.
Pay not on a schedule
Chosen from "No payday yet". The runway steps back to Immediate and stays one tap from returning.
Already overdrawn at the bank
Red belongs to the bank balance, so the runway stays neutral and points there instead of repeating the alarm.
Bill due today, not entered
A bill counts until it is entered as a transaction. On its day it moves to the start of the track with a one-tap entry.
On track (paid)
Safe to spend is Immediate minus every bill due before payday. The next bill is the only one labeled on the track; the rest are dots.
Will overdraw
Amber only here: the bill that takes you below zero gets ▲, and the track after it is marked until payday. The headline turns into the shortfall.
10 bills before payday
Dots never get labels except the next one. Same-day bills stack into a count. One quiet line replaces any list.
No bills yet
Still useful: what you have until payday. "Nothing due" confirms the empty track is on purpose, and one link adds the first bill.
No payday yet
The runway asks one question instead of disappearing. Date chips are the next two Fridays; "Not on a schedule" leads to the irregular-pay state.
Long payee names
Long names never reach the track. Each bill has an optional short name, prefilled from the first word or two; the full name lives in Show all and the bill itself.
Trial (day 12 of 60)
Everything works. A "Trial" badge on the runway, nothing more; the days left live in the profile menu Plan line until the last 7 days.
Trial ending soon (7 days or less)
One note inside the runway, shown until the trial ends. Says exactly what changes, keeps the data promise, and offers the free path without guilt.
Trial ended (free)
Replaces the runway once, the first time after the trial ends: the manual habit from PRODUCT.md, a way back in, and a dismiss. Bills and paydays entered during the trial are kept.
Free, after dismissing
Gone completely: no runway, no slim line. A toast confirms where to find it again, and the balances share the panel in equal thirds (see the free desktop screen).
Payday is today
The track is complete. Prompts the one thing that matters today: entering the paycheck, which starts the next runway.
Payday passed, no paycheck entered
Nothing is guessed. Asks once, plainly; "It was late" keeps the old payday for two more days.
Pay not on a schedule
Chosen from "No payday yet". The runway steps back to Immediate and stays one tap from returning.
Already overdrawn at the bank
Red belongs to the bank balance, so the runway stays neutral and points there instead of repeating the alarm.
Bill due today, not entered
A bill counts until it is entered as a transaction. On its day it moves to the start of the track with a one-tap entry.
Anatomy
- Label (text-label) with help icon, then the headline figure (hero-cents style at 32px in this panel).
- Track: Today on the left, payday on the right (the $ marker, surface-accent-bright). A dark tick marks today; the filled part is the days already gone this cycle.
- Bills are dots by date. Only the next bill is labeled ("Oct 4 · Phone −$45.00"). Same-day bills stack into a count.
- One summary line: "N bills · $X before payday", Show all ›.
The math
- Safe to spend = Immediate − every bill due before payday that is not yet entered as a transaction.
- Never cap the bill count: every bill is subtracted, however many there are.
- A bill drops off the runway once it is entered; it is then in Immediate already.
Color
- Amber appears only when a bill will take you below zero before payday: that dot, its label with ▲, the dashed track after it, the headline and the note.
- Below zero at the bank stays red in the balances; the runway does not repeat it.
- Every warning carries ▲ and words, never color alone.
Plans
- Trial: full runway with a "Trial" badge (surface-badge, text-badge) beside its label. In the last 7 days the badge reads "Trial · N days left".
- Last 7 days: one note naming the end date, what changes, that data is kept, and one button.
- Trial ended: the runway slot shows the manual-habit tip once, with "Got it" and "Keep Road to payday". Dismissing removes Road to payday from the page completely and shows a toast: "You can subscribe at any time from the profile menu to turn this feature on."
- Free: no runway. The three balances share the panel in equal thirds.
Decided (Oct 1, 2026)
- "Show all ›" goes to the Bills page; no extra sheet.
- The phone strip stays label-and-figure only. Tapping it opens a sheet explaining all three balances, with the same descriptions as the full panel.
- The runway is never hidden during the trial or for paying users. After the trial: the tip once, then gone, with balances in thirds.
- next First-time walkthrough.
Built 1.0.0
The app itself, version 1.0.0, with made-up data. Taken 2026-10-11.
Changes
- 1.0.0, Oct 1–2 2026: Runway in every state: trial badge, empty states, Show all, short before payday.