Tracked articles
Some spending can be planned exactly; some can only be measured. Tracked articles are for the second kind: they are not 'expect to spend about this much' — they are 'this is what actually happened, and here is the meter'.
Plan versus meter
A planned article is a decision you make in the draft. A tracked article is a reading you collect in the open month: fuel by fill-up, groceries by trip, data by the bill. The meter does not replace the plan — it corrects it.
The correction is visible
When the tracked reading comes in, you see the gap between the planned amount and the real one, in the same article, in the same month. No second spreadsheet, no actuals tab somewhere else.
Why it matters at the close
A close that reads tracked articles is a close that reads reality. The carry-forward number is built from what happened, not from what was hoped — and next month's draft starts from truth.
A meter, in numbers
Fuel was planned at 400.00. The fill-ups, metered as they happen, say:
The close that reads it
Some envelopes are plans. Tracked articles are meters: they count real usage, not guesses.