Your daily number is how much you can spend today and still finish the month where you want to, with your bills and planned costs already covered.

It saves you working out where you stand. One figure each morning tells you what you have to spend, so you can keep on top of day-to-day spending and have something left at the end of the month, without planning every pound.

Look at it in the morning. Spend less than it and it will usually be a little higher tomorrow; spend more and it will be lower. If you connect your bank, the main screen also shows what you've spent today, so you can see how you're doing as the day goes on. On Your plan, set how much you want to have left at the end of the cycle, and the number does the rest.

Knowing the figure changes what you do, a little at a time. A £30 lunch looks different when you know you have £44 for the day than when you only know there's money in the account. The number doesn't nag and doesn't stop you spending; it keeps where you stand in view, and that is usually enough to shift your spending over a few weeks, with no budgets or spreadsheets to keep.

The app takes the money in your accounts, adds any cash and money you're expecting, and takes away what you want to end the cycle with and the bills and one-off costs still to come. What's left is spread evenly over the days left in the cycle. The number is set at midnight and stays the same all day: whatever you spend, receive or change today shows in tomorrow's number. It changes during the day only if you update it, on Your plan.

1. Your cycle. In the menu, under PLANNING, open Budget cycle and choose the day of the month your budget starts, usually the day you're paid.
2. Your money. With your bank connected, your balances and spending come in by themselves. Otherwise, under ACCOUNTS, add an account and type its balance in; you'll need to keep it up to date. Cash goes under ACCOUNTS too, and money you're expecting under MONEY, in Incoming.
3. Your costs. With a bank connected, open Transactions under MONEY, tap a regular payment and turn on Monthly cost; it then appears under Upcoming costs and ticks itself off when it's paid. Without a bank, add your monthly costs under MONEY yourself. Add any one-off costs you know are coming under MONEY, in One-off costs.
4. Your goal. In the menu, under PLANNING, open Your plan and set 'End with' to how much you want left at the end of the cycle, then tap Update now. Zero means breaking even.

The squirrel is a helper you can switch on. You tell it the daily number you're aiming for, and it keeps an eye on how your real number compares.

It does two things. When your daily number is running above your aim, it suggests putting some of the extra away, so you finish the cycle with more than you planned. When your number has been running below your aim for a while, it suggests a lower aim, so you're working to a figure you can keep to. Either way, you don't have to watch the figures yourself.

Switch it on and set your daily aim: the daily number you'd be happy with. Then carry on as usual. When the squirrel has a suggestion, it appears on the main screen, beneath your daily number, with a button to accept, such as 'Put £50 away' or 'Aim for £40', and 'Not now' to wait. Undo puts it back if you change your mind. Choose how bold you want it to be: Cautious, Balanced or Keen.

Putting money away raises the amount you'll end the cycle with, so your daily number comes back towards your aim. No money moves between accounts; the app simply plans to finish with more. A lower aim changes only the figure you're aiming for, so that the squirrel's next suggestions start from somewhere realistic. The squirrel never suggests a higher aim; you can raise it yourself whenever you like.

The squirrel compares your daily number with your aim. When the number is above the aim, it offers to put away the extra over the days left, keeping back a cushion above your aim and rounding down to a tidy figure. When your number over the past week or so has averaged a little below your aim, it suggests that average as your new aim. Boldness decides how often it asks, how big the cushion is and how many days it looks back.

1. In the menu, under PLANNING, open Squirrel and switch it on. The squirrel needs a connected bank account, so the row appears once you have one.
2. Set your Daily aim.
3. Choose Boldness. Balanced is a good start.

The squirrel sleeps in holiday mode.