laitszkin/record-spending

Record Spending

Dependencies

• Required: spreadsheet for every workbook creation, edit, recalculation, formatting change, and chart update.
• Conditional: none.
• Optional: none.
• Fallback: No alternate workbook-editing path is defined; stay within the spreadsheet workflow for ledger changes.

Standards

• Evidence: Treat ACCOUNT.md as the source of truth for account identity and CHART.md as the source of truth for recurring chart rules.
• Execution: Resolve ledger scope, handle account maintenance first, then update the monthly workbook and summary sheet through spreadsheet.
• Quality: Preserve existing naming, formulas, and reconciliation behavior, and record new chart rules or account metadata changes immediately.
• Output: Report the updated workbook path, changed worksheets, account-registry changes, and chart-rule changes.

References

Load these only when needed:

• references/account-format.md
• references/workbook-layout.md

Workflow

1) Resolve the bookkeeping scope

• Work inside the user-specified ledger directory. If none is given, use the current working directory.
• Determine the target month from the user's date. If no date is given, default to the current local month.
• Keep one workbook per month, named YYYY-MM.xlsx unless the user already has a different convention. Preserve existing naming conventions.
• Expect these companion files beside the monthly workbooks:
  • ACCOUNT.md
  • CHART.md

2) Read ACCOUNT.md before doing anything else

• Always open ACCOUNT.md first.
• Match the user's wording against recorded account names, aliases, and notes.
• If ACCOUNT.md is missing, create it with the structure in references/account-format.md before editing any workbook.
• If the request could refer to multiple accounts and the correct one is not provable from context, ask one targeted clarification question instead of guessing.

3) Handle account maintenance first

• When the user adds an account, append it to ACCOUNT.md before writing ledger rows.
• When the user renames an account, update the same account entry in ACCOUNT.md and rename the related worksheet in every affected monthly workbook.
• Preserve historical rows and formulas when renaming; update references instead of recreating data.
• After every task, re-check whether a new account, alias, or status change was introduced and sync ACCOUNT.md.

4) Maintain one worksheet per account in the monthly workbook

• Create or update the target monthly workbook through the spreadsheet skill.
• Ensure every tracked account has its own worksheet for that month.
• Record every balance-changing event on the matching worksheet.
• Use a consistent transaction table with at least these columns:
  • Date
  • Description
  • Category
  • Direction
  • Amount
  • Counterparty Account
  • Running Balance
  • Notes
• For transfers between two known accounts, write offsetting rows to both worksheets and keep them reconcilable.
• Keep totals, balances, and summary values in Excel formulas instead of hardcoded derived numbers.

5) Maintain a monthly summary worksheet

• Every monthly workbook must include one summary worksheet. Reuse the existing summary-sheet name if present; otherwise use Monthly Summary.
• The summary worksheet must include:
  • each account's month-end balance
  • asset allocation by account
  • total assets
  • total liabilities
  • net assets
  • month-to-date balance change by account
  • asset/liability ratios and other quantified metrics defined in CHART.md
• Build the summary with worksheet formulas and cross-sheet references so the workbook stays updateable.
• If the available data cannot support a requested metric, mark it as unavailable instead of inventing numbers.

6) Keep chart rules stable and documented

• Before changing chart behavior, read CHART.md if it exists. If it does not exist, create it from the template guidance in references/workbook-layout.md.
• Use the same chart rules every month unless the user explicitly asks to change them.
• Default monthly charts must include:
  • an account asset-allocation chart
  • an assets-vs-liabilities chart
  • a monthly balance-change trend chart
• When the user asks for more chart types or more quantified analysis, add them to the workbook and record the new rule in CHART.md so later months follow the same standard.

7) Validate before finishing

• Confirm the correct month workbook was updated.
• Confirm the correct account worksheet was updated, created, or renamed.
• Confirm ACCOUNT.md reflects all account additions, renames, aliases, and status changes.
• Confirm CHART.md reflects any new chart or quantified-analysis rule.
• Recalculate workbook formulas and check for Excel errors through the spreadsheet workflow.
• Report the workbook path, changed worksheets, account-registry updates, and chart-rule updates.

Guardrails

• Prefer the smallest correct edit; do not redesign an existing ledger if it already satisfies the rules.
• Preserve user-defined account names, workbook names, and worksheet names whenever possible.
• Do not create duplicate accounts when an existing alias already matches.
• If a safe answer depends on a missing amount, date, or account target, ask only for that blocking fact.