Utility bills,estimated ahead.

Utility bill tracker

How to plan utility bills that change every month

You cannot know next month’s gas bill. You can know roughly what it will be, and how sure that estimate is.

Why utility bills are hard to budget

Rent is the same every month. Gas, electricity and water follow what you use, the weather and the tariff. A winter gas bill can be several times the summer one, and the invoice usually arrives after the period it covers, when the money is already spent.

A fixed line in a budget does not fit that. Set it for summer and winter breaks it. Set it for winter and every summer month looks like spare money that is not really there.

Know how your provider bills you

Before planning, check which kind of bill you have. It decides how to track it:

• Monthly, by actual use: a new amount every month from meter readings. This is what a variable monthly bill in Figa is for.
• Fixed prepayments with a yearly settlement: the same amount every month, then a top-up or a refund once a year, common in Germany and Poland. Track the prepayment as a fixed monthly bill and the settlement as a yearly one.
• Quarterly or every two months: add it as a recurring bill with the amount you expect, and change that one occurrence when the invoice differs.
• Fixed price: some contracts fix the monthly amount for a year. A fixed monthly bill is enough.

Figa’s forecasts work for bills billed every month. For the other kinds, plan the amount you expect and correct it when the invoice comes.

Pick an estimate that fits the bill

In Figa, choose Variable monthly bill, then a Forecast method:

• Last confirmed amount: the latest invoice becomes the next estimate. The default, and enough for a steady electricity bill.
• Average of recent bills: the average of the last three invoices. Good for a bill that goes up and down without a season.
• Seasonal forecast: compares the same period in the previous three years. Built for heating.
• Manual forecast amount: the amount you enter, until you change it. For when you know better than the history.

Figa keeps the method you choose. It never switches to another one on its own. With no history at all, a Starting estimate gives the bill a number until the first invoice arrives.

Billing periods do not follow the calendar

Many utility bills cover something like 15 November to 14 December. Comparing that with a calendar December would compare two different stretches of winter.

Figa compares a period with the same billing cycle in earlier years, not with the calendar month, and handles shorter months too. When you confirm an invoice, enter its billing period with the amount.

Read how sure the estimate is

An estimate is only useful if you know how much to trust it. In Figa, calculated estimates have a small chart icon beside the amount: hover or tap it for the basis of the estimate. The bill details show low, medium or high reliability, how many bills it is based on, and why.

Reliability reflects the history, how much the bill varies and how far ahead the forecast looks. It is not a probability. Treat a low one as a reason to keep a margin, not as a wrong number.

Close the loop when the invoice comes

Each invoice you enter makes the next estimate better. Enter the amount and choose Save and mark as paid if it is already paid, or Save amount if it is not. Only confirmed invoices count as history; estimates and skipped months do not.

Over time, Amount history shows the average, lowest and highest amount of each bill and the change since the last one. It is the quickest way to see whether a new tariff made a difference.