Actual is a local-first personal finance manager designed to help users track income, manage expenses, and maintain a balanced budget. It functions as a data-centric application that prioritizes offline access and local file storage, ensuring that financial records remain available and performant regardless of network connectivity.
The platform distinguishes itself through a robust architectural foundation that emphasizes data integrity and auditability. Every financial action is recorded as an immutable sequence of events, and all currency values are processed using an integer-based arithmetic engine to eliminate floating-point rounding errors. To support multi-device usage, the application employs conflict-free replicated data types, allowing users to synchronize budget changes across different clients without the risk of data loss or corruption.
Beyond core ledger management, the application provides a comprehensive suite of tools for financial oversight. Users can automate repetitive data entry through rule-based transaction scheduling, visualize long-term trends such as net worth and cash flow, and manage complex account lifecycles. The interface is highly customizable, supporting community-driven visual themes and experimental feature flags that allow for early access to new functionality.