Last reviewed: September 2026.
Guardrails and Buckets are available on every plan and are turned on by default. This article answers the common questions about the "Monthly Income" figure and the "Current Distribution" rate on those two reports.
Where does the monthly income figure come from?
From the systematic withdrawals recorded on the household's accounts. SurgeTK adds up the withdrawals on every account the report includes and converts each one to a monthly amount. Nothing else feeds this figure: not client income, not one-time transactions, not tax withholding.
The current distribution rate is that monthly figure × 12 ÷ the unrounded value of the included accounts. It prints with two decimals.
How is each frequency converted?
Frequency | Monthly amount |
Monthly | Amount × 1 |
Quarterly | Amount ÷ 3 |
Semi-annual | Amount ÷ 6 |
Annually | Amount ÷ 12 |
Blank or any other value | $0 |
Example: a $3,000 quarterly withdrawal and a $500 monthly withdrawal give $1,000 + $500 = $1,500 a month.
Why is my monthly income $0 and my rate 0.00%?
The report prints 0.00% and $0 when no included account has a systematic withdrawal that counts. It does not fall back to the Available rate. Check these causes:
No account has a systematic withdrawal.
The withdrawals sit on accounts the report leaves out: closed accounts, open accounts with $0, cash accounts, education or custodial accounts, accounts with no type, or accounts set to "Always exclude". Withdrawals on those accounts do not count.
The withdrawal has a blank frequency. See below.
The withdrawal amounts add up to $0.
With no withdrawals, the Upper Guardrail and Lower Guardrail columns are built from the portfolio value multiplied by the Available rate, so those columns still print numbers.
Which accounts count?
Only accounts the report includes. An account is included unless it is closed, holds exactly $0, is a cash type, is an education or custodial type, has no account type, or is excluded by hand on its Exclusions tab. Read Why a Client or Account Is Missing From a Report for the full rules and for the Exclusions tab.
How do I add or fix a systematic withdrawal?
Open the account from the household page.
Go to the Withdrawals tab and click Edit.
Under "Systematic Withdrawals", enter the "Withdrawal Amount".
Choose the "Frequency": Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-annual or Annually. There is no blank option.
"Federal Tax Withholding ($)" and "State Tax Withholding ($)" are optional. They do not change the income figure.
For a frequency other than Monthly you can click "+ Set schedule month(s)" to record the months. This does not change the income figure.
Click "Add Another Withdrawal" for a second row, or "Remove" to delete a row. A row with an empty amount is dropped when you save. A $0 amount is kept.
Click Save Changes in the modal footer. The tab has no save button of its own.
Open the Guardrails or Buckets report and click Refresh.
The hint on the tab reads "Recurring distributions taken from this account. Guardrails and Buckets use these to calculate income." In view mode the tab reads "No systematic withdrawals." when the account has none.
Why can a frequency be blank?
The account form never saves a blank frequency. A blank frequency can only come from synced or imported data. A withdrawal with a blank frequency contributes $0 to the report.
When you open such an account, the Frequency dropdown shows Monthly, because there is no blank option. Check the amount, choose the right frequency, and click Save Changes. Saving the account for any other reason also saves that row as Monthly.
Do tax withholding, scheduled months or one-time withdrawals change the figure?
No. The income figure uses only the amount and the frequency of each systematic withdrawal. Tax withholding, scheduled months, tax status, holdings and the one-time transactions on the Transactions tab are ignored.
Why does the household header show a different "Monthly Distribution"?
The "Monthly Distribution" figure in the household header counts withdrawals on every open account with a value, including cash accounts, education accounts, blank-type accounts and accounts you excluded by hand. The report counts only included accounts. So the header can be higher than the report. Both leave out closed accounts and open $0 accounts.
Does the Homework worksheet use the same income?
No. The "Income" line in the Homework Cash Flow box comes from the clients, not from withdrawals. When any living client has a "Monthly Income" above $0 on their client record, Homework prints the sum of the living clients' Monthly Income. Otherwise it prints the figure typed on the worksheet. Deceased clients are not counted. Read Meeting Worksheet (Homework).
I changed a withdrawal. Why did the report not change?
Click Refresh on the report page. The button is called Refresh, not Regenerate.
Make sure you are viewing Live, not a saved snapshot. Snapshots and Surge packets never change.
Check that the account is included. A withdrawal on a left-out account never counts.
Check the Frequency. A blank frequency adds $0.