[Blog](https://blnkfinance.com/blog) [Build](https://blnkfinance.com/blog/build) Apr 2, 2026 4 min read # How to Build Recurring Payments and Savings Goals with Blnk Ledger - Emmanuella Etop-Essien Developer Relations  On this page 1. [Mental model](#mental-model) 2. [Step 1: Setting up your ledger design](#step-1-setting-up-your-ledger-design) 3. [Step 2: Schedule automated payments](#step-2-schedule-automated-payments) 4. [Step 3: Tracking goal progress](#step-3-tracking-goal-progress) 5. [Wrapping up](#wrapping-up) 6. [What else can you build?](#what-else-can-you-build) Mia opens Kite, a personal finance app, sets a savings goal, and picks her terms: $200 a month for 3 months. She confirms it and moves on. From that point, she expects the deposits to happen on their own. For you as the developer, a fixed savings goal gives you everything upfront: the amount, the deposit count, and the exact dates. In this guide, you'll set up Mia's savings balance, schedule all three deposits in a single bulk request, and query her progress, all with Blnk. ## \# Mental model Before you touch any code, define how money should move when Mia's goal is active. For Kite, there's one movement: - **Deposit:** `@BankDeposits` → `bln_mia_savings`. Each [scheduled](https://docs.blnkfinance.com/transactions/scheduling) deposit moves $200 from the bank deposit source into Mia's savings balance on its due date. `@BankDeposits` is a [system balance](https://docs.blnkfinance.com/balances/internal-balances) that represents external inflows. Blnk creates it automatically the first time you reference it. In production, you define this name to map to your actual funding source.  The money movement map shows $200 flowing from @BankDeposits into Mia's savings balance on the 1st of each month across three scheduled deposits. See it with our Money Movement Map tool. ## \# Step 1: Setting up your ledger design Make sure you have a [deployed Blnk instance](https://docs.blnkfinance.com/cloud/start/guide) before you start. For Mia's savings goal, you need three things in place before you can schedule any transactions. To implement this with Blnk: 1. **Create a ledger called Savings Ledger** to group all savings balances. [Read docs.](https://docs.blnkfinance.com/ledgers/introduction) 2. **Create an [identity for Mia](https://blnkfinance.com/glossary/identity)** so you can attach her savings balance to her profile. [Read docs.](https://docs.blnkfinance.com/ledgers/introduction) 3. **Create a savings balance for Mia** under the Savings Ledger, linked to her identity. [Read docs.](https://docs.blnkfinance.com/ledgers/introduction) Save the `ledger_id`, `identity_id`, and `balance_id` Blnk returns. You'll reference the `balance_id` as `destination` in every scheduled deposit, and the ledger and identity IDs when setting up savings for other customers. ## \# Step 2: Schedule automated payments When Mia activates her goal, your app has three inputs: - The amount ($200 per deposit) - The frequency (monthly) - The count (the number of deposits, 3 in this case) Use those to calculate the exact date for each deposit, then send all three transactions in one bulk request. Each transaction has a [`scheduled_for`](https://blnkfinance.com/glossary/scheduled-transaction) value set to the 1st of its respective month. ``` const response = await blnk.Transactions.createBulk({ transactions: [ { amount: 20000, precision: 100, currency: 'USD', reference: 'save_mia_2026-03', source: '@BankDeposits', destination: 'bln_mia_savings', description: 'Monthly savings deposit - March 2026', allow_overdraft: true, scheduled_for: '2026-03-01T08:00:00+00:00', meta_data: { goal_id: 'goal_mia_001', period: '2026-03', }, }, { amount: 20000, precision: 100, currency: 'USD', reference: 'save_mia_2026-04', source: '@BankDeposits', destination: 'bln_mia_savings', description: 'Monthly savings deposit - April 2026', allow_overdraft: true, scheduled_for: '2026-04-01T08:00:00+00:00', meta_data: { goal_id: 'goal_mia_001', period: '2026-04', }, }, { amount: 20000, precision: 100, currency: 'USD', reference: 'save_mia_2026-05', source: '@BankDeposits', destination: 'bln_mia_savings', description: 'Monthly savings deposit - May 2026', allow_overdraft: true, scheduled_for: '2026-05-01T08:00:00+00:00', meta_data: { goal_id: 'goal_mia_001', period: '2026-05', }, }, ], }); ``` ``` result, resp, err := client.Transaction.CreateBulk(blnkgo.CreateBulkTransactionRequest{ Transactions: []blnkgo.CreateTransactionRequest{ blnkgo.CreateTransactionRequest{ ParentTransaction: blnkgo.ParentTransaction{ Amount: 20000, Precision: 100, Currency: "USD", Reference: "save_mia_2026-03", Source: "@BankDeposits", Destination: "bln_mia_savings", Description: "Monthly savings deposit - March 2026", ScheduledFor: "2026-03-01T08:00:00+00:00", MetaData: blnkgo.MetaData{ "goal_id": "goal_mia_001", "period": "2026-03", }, }, AllowOverdraft: true, }, blnkgo.CreateTransactionRequest{ ParentTransaction: blnkgo.ParentTransaction{ Amount: 20000, Precision: 100, Currency: "USD", Reference: "save_mia_2026-04", Source: "@BankDeposits", Destination: "bln_mia_savings", Description: "Monthly savings deposit - April 2026", ScheduledFor: "2026-04-01T08:00:00+00:00", MetaData: blnkgo.MetaData{ "goal_id": "goal_mia_001", "period": "2026-04", }, }, AllowOverdraft: true, }, blnkgo.CreateTransactionRequest{ ParentTransaction: blnkgo.ParentTransaction{ Amount: 20000, Precision: 100, Currency: "USD", Reference: "save_mia_2026-05", Source: "@BankDeposits", Destination: "bln_mia_savings", Description: "Monthly savings deposit - May 2026", ScheduledFor: "2026-05-01T08:00:00+00:00", MetaData: blnkgo.MetaData{ "goal_id": "goal_mia_001", "period": "2026-05", }, }, AllowOverdraft: true, }, }, }) ``` ``` response = blnk.transactions.create_bulk({ "transactions": [ { "amount": 20000, "precision": 100, "currency": "USD", "reference": "save_mia_2026-03", "source": "@BankDeposits", "destination": "bln_mia_savings", "description": "Monthly savings deposit - March 2026", "allow_overdraft": True, "scheduled_for": "2026-03-01T08:00:00+00:00", "meta_data": { "goal_id": "goal_mia_001", "period": "2026-03", }, }, { "amount": 20000, "precision": 100, "currency": "USD", "reference": "save_mia_2026-04", "source": "@BankDeposits", "destination": "bln_mia_savings", "description": "Monthly savings deposit - April 2026", "allow_overdraft": True, "scheduled_for": "2026-04-01T08:00:00+00:00", "meta_data": { "goal_id": "goal_mia_001", "period": "2026-04", }, }, { "amount": 20000, "precision": 100, "currency": "USD", "reference": "save_mia_2026-05", "source": "@BankDeposits", "destination": "bln_mia_savings", "description": "Monthly savings deposit - May 2026", "allow_overdraft": True, "scheduled_for": "2026-05-01T08:00:00+00:00", "meta_data": { "goal_id": "goal_mia_001", "period": "2026-05", }, }, ], }) ``` ``` ApiResponse response = blnk.transactions().createBulk( CreateBulkTransactions.create() .transactions(List.of( Map.ofEntries( Map.entry("amount", 20000), Map.entry("precision", 100), Map.entry("currency", "USD"), Map.entry("reference", "save_mia_2026-03"), Map.entry("source", "@BankDeposits"), Map.entry("destination", "bln_mia_savings"), Map.entry("description", "Monthly savings deposit - March 2026"), Map.entry("allow_overdraft", true), Map.entry("scheduled_for", "2026-03-01T08:00:00+00:00"), Map.entry("meta_data", Map.of("goal_id", "goal_mia_001", "period", "2026-03"))), Map.ofEntries( Map.entry("amount", 20000), Map.entry("precision", 100), Map.entry("currency", "USD"), Map.entry("reference", "save_mia_2026-04"), Map.entry("source", "@BankDeposits"), Map.entry("destination", "bln_mia_savings"), Map.entry("description", "Monthly savings deposit - April 2026"), Map.entry("allow_overdraft", true), Map.entry("scheduled_for", "2026-04-01T08:00:00+00:00"), Map.entry("meta_data", Map.of("goal_id", "goal_mia_001", "period", "2026-04"))), Map.ofEntries( Map.entry("amount", 20000), Map.entry("precision", 100), Map.entry("currency", "USD"), Map.entry("reference", "save_mia_2026-05"), Map.entry("source", "@BankDeposits"), Map.entry("destination", "bln_mia_savings"), Map.entry("description", "Monthly savings deposit - May 2026"), Map.entry("allow_overdraft", true), Map.entry("scheduled_for", "2026-05-01T08:00:00+00:00"), Map.entry("meta_data", Map.of("goal_id", "goal_mia_001", "period", "2026-05")))))); ``` ``` { "batch_id": "bulk_mia_goal_001", "status": "queued", "transaction_count": 3 } ``` **Here's what happens:** - Blnk records all the transactions as `SCHEDULED` . They get processed as soon as the time is reached, and her balance is topped up. - Each `reference` is unique per period; it acts as an idempotency key. If your app sends the same request twice, Blnk discards the duplicate. - `allow_overdraft: true` on `@BankDeposits` lets the system balance go negative. This is the standard pattern for representing external inflows. - Add a shared ID like `goal_id` to group together all transactions for this plan.  Transactions table showing all three scheduled deposits for Mia's savings goal, each with status QUEUED and their respective scheduled dates. ## \# Step 3: Tracking goal progress To show Mia how much she's saved so far, read her savings balance: ``` const response = await blnk.LedgerBalances.get( 'bln_mia_savings', ); ``` ``` balance, resp, err := client.LedgerBalance.Get( "bln_mia_savings", ) ``` ``` response = blnk.ledger_balances.get( "bln_mia_savings", ) ``` ``` ApiResponse response = blnk.ledgerBalances().get( "bln_mia_savings"); ``` ``` { "balance_id": "bln_mia_savings", "balance": 40000, "credit_balance": 40000, "debit_balance": 0, "currency": "USD", "precision": 100, "ledger_id": "ldg_savings_001", "identity_id": "idt_mia_001", "created_at": "2026-03-01T08:00:00Z" } ``` **Here's what happens:** - `balance` is returned in the smallest unit. Divide by `precision` (100) to get the display amount: 40000 / 100 = $400 saved so far (March and April deposits applied). - `credit_balance` reflects total money received into the balance; `debit_balance` reflects total money sent out. For a savings balance that only receives deposits, `debit_balance` stays at 0. To see which deposits have run and which are still scheduled, query by `goal_id`: ``` const response = await blnk.Search.filter( { filters: [ { field: 'meta_data.goal_id', operator: 'eq', value: 'goal_mia_001', }, ], }, 'transactions', ); ``` ``` result, resp, err := client.Transaction.Filter( blnkgo.FilterParams{ Filters: []blnkgo.Filter{ { Field: "meta_data.goal_id", Operator: blnkgo.OpEqual, Value: "goal_mia_001", } }, }, ) ``` ``` response = blnk.search.filter( { "filters": [ { "field": "meta_data.goal_id", "operator": "eq", "value": "goal_mia_001", }, ], }, "transactions", ) ``` ``` ApiResponse response = blnk.search().filter( FilterParams.create() .filters(List.of( Map.of("field", "meta_data.goal_id", "operator", "eq", "value", "goal_mia_001"))), "transactions"); ``` ``` [ { "transaction_id": "txn_save_mia_001", "reference": "save_mia_2026-03", "amount": 20000, "currency": "USD", "status": "APPLIED", "scheduled_for": "2026-03-01T08:00:00+00:00", "meta_data": { "goal_id": "goal_mia_001", "period": "2026-03" } }, { "transaction_id": "txn_save_mia_002", "reference": "save_mia_2026-04", "amount": 20000, "currency": "USD", "status": "APPLIED", "scheduled_for": "2026-04-01T08:00:00+00:00", "meta_data": { "goal_id": "goal_mia_001", "period": "2026-04" } }, { "transaction_id": "txn_save_mia_003", "reference": "save_mia_2026-05", "amount": 20000, "currency": "USD", "status": "QUEUED", "scheduled_for": "2026-05-01T08:00:00+00:00", "meta_data": { "goal_id": "goal_mia_001", "period": "2026-05" } } ] ``` **Here's what happens:** - Each transaction has a `status`: `APPLIED` for deposits that have run, `QUEUED` for ones still scheduled. ## \# Wrapping up You now have a savings goal that runs completely on schedule. Mia confirmed her goal once; Blnk handles the rest: applying each deposit on the right date, updating her balance, and keeping a full audit trail. This same pattern works for any recurring payment with a **known duration**: installment plans, fixed-term subscriptions, [scheduled loan repayments](https://blnkfinance.com/blog/how-to-build-loan-disbursement-interest-and-repayments-with-blnk), or any flow where you know the amount and the count upfront. To see this flow end-to-end, run the [savings goal demo](https://github.com/blnkfinance/blnk-demo/tree/recurring-payments) in the blnk-demo repo. ## \# **What else can you build?** With this foundation you can: - **Pause a goal:** identify which scheduled transactions haven't run yet and set them to inflight. If the customer cancels, void them. - **Adjust the amount:** cancel remaining scheduled transactions and recreate them with the updated amount. - **Extend the goal:** add more scheduled transactions to cover the new periods. - **Notify on each deposit:** listen for [`transaction.applied`](https://docs.blnkfinance.com/webhooks/overview) webhooks to send Mia a confirmation when each month's deposit lands. - If you're processing payments to multiple recipients at once, see how to build a [bulk payroll system](https://blnkfinance.com/blog/how-to-build-a-bulk-payroll-system-using-the-blnk-ledger) with the same API. For more on Blnk, check the [**Blnk docs**](https://docs.blnkfinance.com/home/install) or join the community on [**Discord**](https://discord.gg/7WNv94zPpx) to ask questions and see what others are building. ## Related posts - [ Sep 11, 2026Build ### Building a correct inventory system on a double-entry ledger Praise Philemon ](https://blnkfinance.com/blog/building-an-inventory-system-with-a-ledger) - [ Sep 7, 2026Build ### Why one payment does not always equal one transaction. Emmanuella Etop-Essien ](https://blnkfinance.com/blog/why-one-payment-does-not-always-equal-one-transaction) - [ Sep 3, 2026Build ### Building a BaaS Ledger, Part 2: Transaction Workflows Praise Philemon ](https://blnkfinance.com/blog/how-to-build-a-baas-ledger-part-2)