Getting Started

Everything you need to set up your Firefighter Shift-Pay Budget System in under five minutes — no experience with spreadsheets or budgeting apps required.

1. Opening the app 2. First-time setup 3. Tour of the dashboard 4. Your shift calendar 5. Backing up your data 6. FAQ & troubleshooting

1. Opening the app

1

Unzip the folder

Extract the download to anywhere on your computer — your Desktop or Documents folder both work fine. Keep the folder structure intact (the index.html file needs its assets folder next to it).

2

Double-click index.html

It opens directly in your default web browser. This system runs entirely in your browser — there's nothing to install, no account to create, and no internet connection required after you've downloaded it.

3

Use a modern browser

Works great in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari (recent versions). Bookmark the page or pin the tab so it's easy to find next time.

Tip: on a shared or work computer, consider saving the folder to your personal user account rather than a shared drive — your budget data is stored locally in that browser only.

2. First-time setup wizard

The first time you open the app, a short guided setup walks you through five quick screens:

1

Welcome

Your name, department, and rank — purely cosmetic, used to personalize your dashboard greeting.

2

Base pay

Whether you're paid an annual salary or an hourly rate, plus your average scheduled hours per week (this converts salary ⇄ hourly automatically).

3

Shift schedule

Pick your rotation (24/48, 48/96, 4-platoon with Kelly Days, 10s & 14s, or a fully custom cycle) and one date you know you were — or will be — scheduled to work. That single "anchor date" is all the system needs to build your entire rotating calendar automatically, past and future.

4

Overtime, pension & tax basics

Sensible defaults are pre-filled (time-and-a-half OT, 1.5x holiday pay). Adjust anything that doesn't match your department's policy — you can always fine-tune later.

5

Review

A snapshot of your derived hourly rate and projected annual base pay before you land on your dashboard.

Didn't fill everything out perfectly the first time? Open Settings → Re-run setup wizard anytime.

3. Tour of the dashboard

Every screen updates automatically as you add information — there are no formulas to maintain and nothing to break.

4. Your shift calendar, explained

Firefighter schedules are notoriously hard to budget around — this is the heart of what makes this system different from a generic budget spreadsheet.

Once you set your rotation and one anchor date, every day in the calendar is automatically labeled ON SHIFT, Kelly Day, or off duty — forever, in both directions from that date. Click any day to:

Everything you log flows straight into your Income Center totals and annual projection — no manual re-entry anywhere else.

5. Backing up your data

Your information is stored privately in your browser only — nothing is uploaded anywhere. That privacy comes with one responsibility: back up regularly, especially before clearing your browser's history/site data or switching computers.

6. FAQ & troubleshooting

My numbers disappeared after a browser update / cleanup. Restore your most recent backup file from Settings. Going forward, download a fresh backup monthly, ideally right after payday.

Are the tax numbers exact? No — they're simplified planning estimates using standard federal brackets and your entered flat state/local rate. Always confirm exact withholding against your official pay stub (LES) or payroll department.

Can I use this for a non-24-hour schedule? Yes — choose "Custom rotation" during setup and any ON/OFF cycle length is supported, or use the 10s & 14s preset for combination department schedules.

Can more than one person use this on the same computer? Each browser stores one budget at a time. To keep two people's budgets separate, use separate browser profiles, or export/import backups when switching.

Does this send my financial data anywhere? No. There is no server, no account, and no analytics — everything runs locally in your browser.