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Clova tools

Casual pay planner

When each pay is different, a regular amount to live on can help. Try your recent net pays, then check what a smaller or later pay would do to the next bill.

Step 1 · Try your pays

Eight pays, one planWhat each pay adds to or takes from the reserve
Planned pay$550into the plan from each pay
Into the planKept in reserveTaken from reserve

Type over any amount on the chart: eight net pays in order, your planned pay and the reserve you start with. Below zero means a transfer couldn't be funded, not an overdraft.

Before pay 1$300
1 Oct$800
8 Oct$450
15 Oct$400
22 Oct$350
29 Oct$1,000
5 Nov$800
12 Nov$520
19 Nov$680

Lowest reserve: $100 after the 22 Oct pay.

Weekly pays in AUD. Starting reserve $300; planned pay $550.
PayNet payReserve changeReserve after the pay, before bills
1 Oct$800+$250$550
8 Oct$450−$100$450
15 Oct$400−$150$300
22 Oct$350−$200$100
29 Oct$1,000+$450$550
5 Nov$800+$250$800
12 Nov$520−$30$770
19 Nov$680+$130$900
This tracks money moving between your pay and the reserve, before any bills come out.

Step 2 · Check the next bills

What if that pay changes?

Worked example

Use the next few pays you expect and the one or two bills that matter. Then change one pay to see where the money runs short. Unlike the recent pays above, these are future pays with dates.

Money in your account now that can go to these bills. Don’t count savings you won’t touch or credit cards. The prefilled dates are examples you can change.

Expected pay 1
Bill or spending 2
Bill or spending 3
Change one pay
The changed pay leaves First bill $50.00 short on 30/10/2026.

Example · Future pay isn’t guaranteed

Original pay

All bills covered

Through 31/10/2026, if these pays arrive.

Lowest balance
$30.00
Cash needed at the start
$20.00
Extra cash needed
$0.00
End balance
$30.00

Smaller or later pay

$50.00 short

First bill on 30/10/2026: $50.00 before a $100.00 payment.

Lowest balance
-$50.00
Cash needed at the start
$100.00
Extra cash needed
$50.00
End balance (if bills had been paid)
$30.00

Pay and a bill land on 30 Oct. Check which clears first. This check puts bills first.

Ending in the black doesn’t help if a bill bounced earlier.

See every pay and bill
Original pay, AUD. After a shortage, balances show what would have happened if the bills had been paid.
DatePay or billAmountMoney left
29/10/2026Pay+$200.00$250.00
30/10/2026First bill−$100.00$150.00
31/10/2026Other spending−$120.00$30.00
Smaller or later pay, AUD. After a shortage, balances show what would have happened if the bills had been paid.
DatePay or billAmountMoney left
30/10/2026First bill−$100.00-$50.00
30/10/2026Pay+$200.00$150.00
31/10/2026Other spending−$120.00$30.00
Try a fix (optional)
Try a fix

Only if you can actually get this money.

Uses take-home pay only. No tax or GST. Bills go before pay on the same day. Use payments leaving your account and avoid counting a credit-card purchase again as a repayment.

Reading your pay plan

The first chart checks a planned transfer after each of eight pays. It shows when a reserve runs out, but it does not check the dates of individual bills.

The dated comparison checks every payment in order. Read the first bill that runs short before the closing balance. A later pay cannot cover an earlier bill on time, even if the window finishes above zero.

Use net employee pay only. This tool does not calculate sole-trader tax or GST. A finite reserve cannot keep covering a repeated shortfall forever.

Figures are for discussion and planning. Check the amounts and dates against your actual bills and usable pay. Nothing you enter here is saved.

Guides that use this