Your month-end review

The month-end review is part of closing your month. When you close a month from the Full P&L tab, the close flow asks two short, optional questions: a reflection and a commitment.

Looking at the numbers is what the dashboard and P&L are for. The review is where you think about the month and decide what you want to change next.

How it works

Closing a month opens a full-screen flow with two steps.

Step 1 — Lock and reflection. Confirms what closing does (locks the score, finalises the totals). Below that, an optional question: "What stood out this month?" Leave it blank if nothing comes to mind. Tapping "Close {Month}" commits the close.

Step 2 — Commitment. "What are you changing next month?" — free text, optional. If you have active goals, chips above the field let you tap one to copy its monthly target in. A checkbox — "Nothing changing — just reviewed" — lets you complete the review honestly without forcing a commitment.

Tapping "Done" returns you to the P&L, where the verdict header now sits at the top of the month.

Where your commitment goes

The commitment isn't a reminder or a to-do — keel doesn't nag you about it. What it does is quietly inform next month's coaching. If your commitment was "cut dining out by £200" and next month's coaching surfaces a dining insight, the coaching is framed through your own words. If your commitment doesn't connect to anything keel sees the following month, it stays silent — keel doesn't pretend to notice things it didn't notice.

Your commitment also appears as a subtle one-liner on the Coach tab next month — a reminder in your own voice, not a scolding.

Why it works this way

• Two questions are the product. The reflection and the commitment are the only interactions that change behaviour. If keel asked nothing but "what stood out?" and "what are you changing?", the review would still be valuable.
• Opt-out is visible, never silent. "Nothing changing — just reviewed" is a real button. Some months are just quiet months, and acknowledging that is more honest than forcing a commitment you won't keep.
• Honesty without shame. When you overspent, keel names it plainly — but it never piles on. In a deficit month, coaching always includes something neutral or forward-looking.

Good to know

• Once you commit, you can't edit the review. A "Revise" option is planned for a future update.
• Your partner sees it too. Households share the month record, so your partner sees the same review state and commitment text on their Coach tab. It's a household conversation, not a private journal.
• If a late import materially changes a closed month's totals (by 5% or more), keel adds a note to your inbox suggesting you re-read your review with the new data in mind. The review itself stays.

FAQ

Why just two questions? I want a proper report. The report already exists — that's what the dashboard, the P&L, and the Reports section are for. The review is a different thing: the moment where you engage with your month rather than consume it. Two questions is the whole design.

What if I never do the review? Nothing breaks. The Coach tab dims its current-month coaching until you review, but everything stays reachable. And if you keep closing months without reviewing, keel eases up — the review is meant to help you, not harass you.

Does keel actually read my reflection and commitment? Your reflection is stored with the month's record and isn't currently used to shape coaching. Your commitment is passed to next month's coaching as context — if something relevant comes up, the coaching is framed through your words; if nothing's relevant, it stays silent.

Can I skip a month's review and do it later? You can, but the value drops the further you get from the month — an honest reflection at the one-week mark beats a month of "oh, I should do that". If you close the following month without reviewing this one, the older review stays available, but coaching won't wait for it.

What's the difference between this and the close itself? Closing is about wrapping up the month's data — finalising totals and locking the score. The review is about reflecting on the month and deciding what's next. They happen in the same flow, but they're doing different jobs.