Few notifications feel better than a salary alert. Then transport, data, foodstuff, bills and the odd “urgent 2k” request take their share, and sapa sets in by the second week. It happens to many of us: more than half of Nigerians start each month unsure their income will cover basic expenses.
So, how do you make your salary last from one payday to the next? Well, with Salary Manager™ on PocketApp, of course!
Salary Manager™ is a free budgeting tool in PocketApp. You split your PocketApp balance into expenses (like transport, food and data) and choose how often each one becomes available to spend. Salary Manager™ won’t let you overspend on any expense, and the money you’ve budgeted earns interest while the feature is on.
In this article, you’ll learn what Salary Manager™ can do, how to set it up, and how its interest works.
What is Salary Manager™?
Salary Manager™ is a new PocketApp feature that lets you plan your spending by assigning your money to specific one-time and recurring expenses, then holds you to that plan. It can also automatically send money from an expense to a set account number on the date and time you choose.
If you’ve ever split your salary across different bank accounts so you don’t touch the cash for your Spotify subscription and your transport fare, Salary Manager™ does the same job in one place. It works like envelope budgeting, with each expense as its own envelope.
Your money doesn’t move into a separate wallet, though. Salary Manager™ sets it aside for each expense within your PocketApp balance, so you always know what’s left to spend. Any money you don’t assign to an expense stays as “Unbudgeted Cash,” which you can spend freely.
Salary Manager™ is free for every PocketApp user, and (despite the name) works with any money in your PocketApp balance, so freelancers and anyone budgeting on a fluctuating income can use it too.
What can you do with Salary Manager™?
Most budgets live in a notebook or your head, so they’re easy to forget when you pay. Salary Manager™ turns yours into rules your Pocket follows.
Here’s what you can do with Salary Manager™:
- Plan your month in advance. Set a monthly spending amount, then split it across your expenses while the app tracks what’s left.
- Decide when your money becomes available. Your food money can reset every day, your data money can arrive once a week, and your DStv subscription can be ready on the day it’s due each month.
- Spend straight from your budget. You can transfer money, pay bills or make card payments from any expense. If your “Food” expense has ₦10,000 left, for example, you can’t spend ₦12,000 from it.
- Automate regular payments. Pick who gets paid and when, and the payment goes out on its own, whether it’s your house help’s salary or your parents’ monthly upkeep.
- Earn interest on what you’ve budgeted. The money set aside for your expenses earns interest, too.
None of this makes your salary bigger, but a bigger salary isn’t always the fix (just ask this Nigerian earning almost ₦1 million a month). Salary Manager™ makes next week’s money much harder to spend this week.
How often can each expense become available on Salary Manager™?
For every expense you add, PocketApp asks “How often?” and your answer decides when that money becomes available.
You can pick from six schedules on Salary Manager™:
| Schedule | When the money is available |
| “Every Day” | Every day, reset to the same amount |
| “One Day” | On one specific day of the month |
| “Entire Month” | All month, as one lump sum |
| “Once Every Month” | On the same day every month |
| “Once Every Week” | Once a week |
| “Once Every Two Weeks” | Every two weeks |
Recurring expenses renew automatically, and unused amounts don’t roll over. If you don’t spend all of today’s food money, tomorrow still starts at your usual daily amount (the money stays in your PocketApp either way).
How to set up Salary Manager™
Set up Salary Manager™ on PocketApp before your salary arrives, and your plan will be ready when the alert comes in.
You can set up Salary Manager™ in six steps:
- Update PocketApp and log in. New to PocketApp? You can download the app and sign up with your Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identification Number (NIN).
- Turn on Salary Manager™. Tap “Create a Budget” on the Salary Manager™ card, or tap your profile picture at the top right and switch on the “Salary Manager” toggle.
- Enter how much you want to spend this month. Type the amount and tap “Next.”
- Add your expenses. Tap “Add New Expense,” name it, enter the amount and choose a schedule under “How often?” For a data plan, airtime or utility bill, tap “Add a Bill” and the app fills in the details.
- Tap “Add,” then repeat for each expense. You can add as many expenses as you want.
- Tap “Create My Budget.” You’ll see a breakdown of your budget for the period.
That’s it! Your expenses now show up on your home screen.
Don’t have all the money yet? You can add the expense anyway. Any unfunded expense will stay greyed out until you top up the shortfall from your bank or a linked Piggyvest account.
Unsure of how to budget your income? You can use the 50/30/20 rule as a starting point.
How does interest payment work on Salary Manager™?
As of November 2026, Salary Manager™ on PocketApp pays 11% per annum on the money you’ve budgeted. Interest builds daily, and we pay it into your PocketApp account once a month.
Here are a few things to know about the interest:
- Which money earns interest? Your budgeted balance, meaning the money held for your expenses. Unbudgeted cash doesn’t earn interest.
- How is it worked out? Every day, PocketApp multiplies your budgeted balance by 11% and divides it by 365. If ₦100,000 stays budgeted for 30 days, that’s about ₦904 before withholding tax (the tax deducted before it’s paid to you).
Keep Salary Manager™ switched on, though. If you turn it off, you lose any interest you haven’t been paid yet.
Can you change your budget or turn Salary Manager™ off?
Plans change, and your budget on Salary Manager™ can change with them. You can also turn off the feature anytime.
Before you make changes, keep these in mind:
- Can you edit an expense? Yes. Open it and tap “Edit” to change the amount, schedule or other details. Raising the amount needs enough unbudgeted cash, and lowering it frees up the difference.
- Can you delete an expense? Yes, at any time. Whatever is left in it goes back to your unbudgeted cash.
- What happens if you turn Salary Manager™ off? Your spending controls go, and so does your unpaid interest. When you switch it back on, interest starts counting from zero.
Got Unbudgeted Cash left at the end of the month? You can send it to your PiggyBank or Flex Naira on Piggyvest without leaving PocketApp.
Start planning your salary today
Your salary doesn’t have to run out before the month does. With Salary Manager™, you decide what every naira is for and when you can spend it, and your budget earns interest while it waits.
Update PocketApp and create your first budget with Salary Manager™ today.
