How to Save and Update Your Cost Settings
How saving works in the AskBiz Cost Configuration Drawer, where your data is stored, and best practices for keeping settings up to date over time.
Key Takeaways
- Tap the Save button at the bottom of the Cost Configuration Drawer to persist all changes — there is no autosave.
- Settings are stored in your browser's localStorage under the key cfo_cost_config, so they survive page refreshes but are device-specific.
- Revisit and update your cost settings whenever a major cost changes — at least monthly for accuracy.
How Saving Works in the Drawer
The Cost Configuration Drawer does not autosave as you type. Changes you make to any tab — Cash Balance, Fixed Costs, or Variable Costs — are held in a temporary state until you explicitly save them. This design prevents accidental overwrites if you open the drawer to check a figure and inadvertently change a number. When you are ready to apply all your changes across all three tabs, scroll to the bottom of any tab and tap the Save button. The drawer closes, and the CFO dashboard immediately recalculates all four metric cards using your updated inputs. A confirmation may briefly appear to confirm the save was successful.
Where Your Data Is Stored
AskBiz stores your cost configuration in your browser's localStorage under the key cfo_cost_config. localStorage is a storage mechanism built into every modern web browser that persists data between sessions without requiring a server. This means your settings survive closing the tab, closing the browser, or restarting your device — as long as you are using the same browser on the same device. It also means your configuration is not shared between devices. If you use AskBiz on both a laptop and a phone, you would need to enter and save your configuration separately on each device.
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Because cost settings are stored in localStorage, clearing your browser cache, cookies, and site data will erase your AskBiz cost configuration. If you or your IT team regularly clear browser data, you will need to re-enter your cost settings afterward. To protect yourself from this, keep a simple note of your cost figures in a document or spreadsheet so you can quickly re-enter them. Some businesses copy their cost breakdown into a shared document (for example a Google Sheets tab labelled "AskBiz CFO Config") so any team member can restore the configuration quickly. This takes five minutes to set up and saves frustration later.
How Often to Update Your Settings
Your configuration is only as accurate as the last time you updated it. A good maintenance schedule is: update your cash balance every Monday (or every time you check your bank balance), update variable costs once a month using the previous month's actuals, and update fixed costs whenever a contract, subscription, or lease changes. Business owners going through a growth phase — hiring staff, moving to a new office, adding new software tools — should update their configuration immediately after each change rather than waiting for a monthly review. Think of the Cost Configuration Drawer as a living document, not a set-and-forget form.