Description
CalcNote-style expense calculator. Write Label expression | on any line and the result appears in the right column. Includes a live 75/25 split panel and a toolbar button to write results back into the note.
Additional Information
| Links: | |
|---|---|
| Maintainers: | technoparth |
| Version: | 2.0.3 |
| Minimum app version: | 3.2 |
| Downloads: This version: | 34 |
| Last updated: | 2026-05-04T20:57:46Z |
🧮 MathNote — Expense Calculator Plugin for Joplin
A Mathematical Calculator + Note taking expense calculator that lives inside your Joplin notes. Write natural expense lines, hit Calculate, and totals appear automatically — no spreadsheet needed.
Table of Contents
- What It Does
- Installation
- Toolbar Buttons
- How to Write Expense Lines
- Line Types Reference
- Operators
- Full Example Note
- The Live Panel
- Tips & Tricks
What It Does
| Before (you type) | After (plugin calculates) |
|---|---|
Coffee 3.5 * 20 | |
Coffee 3.5 * 20 | 70 |
Rent 12000 | |
Rent 12000 | 12,000 |
Total | |
Total | 12,070 |
- Every line ending with
|is treated as a calculation slot. - The panel (sidebar) shows a live 75 / 25 split view — expression on the left, result on the right — updating as you type.
- The toolbar button writes calculated results back directly into your note body.
Installation
- In Joplin, open Tools → Options → Plugins.
- Click Install from file and select the
.jplfile, or search forMathNotein the plugin marketplace. - Restart Joplin when prompted.
- Two new buttons appear in the note toolbar (top of the editor).
Toolbar Buttons
There are two buttons added to the note toolbar:
🧮 Toggle Expense Panel
Command name:
mathNote.togglePanel
Opens or closes the live 75/25 split panel in the sidebar. The panel reads your current note and displays every line as a two-column view:
┌─────────────────────────────────┬──────────┐
│ Expression │ Result │
├─────────────────────────────────┼──────────┤
│ Coffee 3.5 * 20 │ 70 │
│ Groceries 50 + 30 * 2 │ 110 │
│ TOTAL │ 180 │
└─────────────────────────────────┴──────────┘
The panel updates automatically every time the note content changes — you do not need to click anything to refresh it.
💰 Calculate Expenses
Command name:
mathNote.calculate
Evaluates every calculation line in the note and writes the results back into the note body next to the | character.
- Results are aligned at a fixed pipe column so everything lines up neatly.
- Safe to run multiple times — results are always recalculated fresh, never accumulated.
- Shows a toast notification when done:
✓ Expenses calculated and saved.
How to Write Expense Lines
The basic pattern for any expense line is:
[Optional Label] [Math Expression] |
The | (pipe character) at the end marks a line as a calculation slot. Without |, the line is treated as plain text and ignored.
Groceries 50 + 30 * 2 | ← will be calculated
This is just a note ← ignored, no pipe
Spacing is flexible — the plugin finds the first digit and treats everything before it as the label.
Line Types Reference
expr — Expression Line
Any line containing a math expression followed by |.
Pattern: [Label] [expression] |
Coffee 3.5 * 20 | → Coffee 3.5 * 20 | 70
Rent 12000 | → Rent 12000 | 12,000
Taxi 150 + 80 + 60 | → Taxi 150 + 80 + 60 | 290
Snacks (20 + 15) * 3 | → Snacks (20 + 15) * 3 | 105
- The label is everything before the first digit (
Coffee,Rent, etc.). - The expression is the numeric math part.
- Existing results after
|are automatically replaced on recalculation — safe to re-run.
total — Section Total
A line containing only the word total (or subtotal, sum) followed by |. Sums all expr lines above it since the last heading or previous total.
Keywords: total, Total, TOTAL, subtotal, sum — case-insensitive.
Coffee 3.5 * 20 | → | 70
Groceries 50 + 30 | → | 80
Rent 12000 | → | 12,000
Total | → | 12,150
After a Total line, the section sum resets to zero — the next Total will only include lines written after it.
# Week 1
Lunch 120 + 90 | → | 210
Dinner 200 | → | 200
Total | → | 410 ← only Week 1
# Week 2
Lunch 100 + 80 | → | 180
Dinner 150 | → | 150
Total | → | 330 ← only Week 2
grandtotal — Grand Total
A line containing grand total (or overall total) followed by |. Sums all Total values in the note.
Keywords: grand total, Grand Total, GRAND TOTAL, overall total — case-insensitive.
# Food
Groceries 500 | → | 500
Total | → | 500
# Transport
Metro 50 * 22 | → | 1,100
Uber 300 | → | 300
Total | → | 1,400
Grand Total | → | 1,900
Note:
Grand Totaladds upTotallines only — it does not double-count individualexprlines.
vardef — Variable Definition
A line of the form name = value (no | needed). Defines a reusable variable that can be referenced by name in any expr line that follows it.
Pattern: variableName = [expression]
tax = 0.18
discount = 0.10
item_price = 2500
Shirt item_price * (1 - discount) | → | 2,250
Tax due item_price * tax | → | 450
- Variable names must start with a letter or
_and contain only letters, digits, and_. - Variables can reference previously defined variables.
- Variable lines themselves are displayed in the panel but not given a pipe result in the note.
rate = 50
hours = 8
days = 5
Weekly pay rate * hours * days | → | 2,000
heading — Markdown Heading
Any standard Markdown heading (#, ##, ###, etc.). Headings visually group sections in the panel and reset the running section total — so a Total after a heading will only include lines since that heading.
# Monthly Budget
# Food & Groceries
Vegetables 200 |
Fruits 150 |
Total | ← sums only Food & Groceries section
# Entertainment
Movies 500 |
Games 300 |
Total | ← sums only Entertainment section
blank — Empty Line
A completely empty line. Displayed as a small gap in the panel for readability. Has no effect on calculations.
Coffee 120 |
Rent 8000 | ← blank line above is just spacing, no impact
text — Plain Text
Any line that has no | and is not a variable definition, heading, or blank. These lines are completely ignored by the calculator and passed through unchanged. Use them freely for notes, comments, or context.
## August Expenses
Note: includes the weekend trip to Pune
Petrol 500 + 200 | → calculated normally
Hotel 3500 | → calculated normally
Remember to claim petrol reimbursement from office. ← plain text, ignored
Operators
| Operator | Symbol | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Addition | + |
100 + 50 |
150 |
| Subtraction | - |
500 - 80 |
420 |
| Multiplication | * |
3.5 * 20 |
70 |
| Division | / |
1500 / 3 |
500 |
| Modulo | % |
100 % 30 |
10 |
| Exponentiation | ^ |
2 ^ 10 |
1,024 |
| Grouping | ( ) |
(50 + 30) * 2 |
160 |
All standard operator precedence rules apply (* and / before + and -). Use parentheses to control order.
(500 + 200) * 0.18 | → | 126 ← tax on combined amount
500 + 200 * 0.18 | → | 536 ← tax on 200 only (precedence)
Full Example Note
Here is a complete monthly expense note using every feature:
# Monthly Expenses — August 2025
gst = 0.18
discount = 0.05
---
## 🥗 Food
Groceries 50 + 30 * 2 + 10 |
Eating out 120 * 4 |
Coffee 3.5 * 20 |
Total |
## 🚗 Transport
Metro pass 550 |
Petrol 80 * 6 |
Uber rides 150 + 200 + 90 |
Total |
## 🛍️ Shopping
Clothes 2500 * (1 - discount) |
Books 400 + 350 |
Electronics 8000 |
Total |
---
Grand Total |
After clicking 💰 Calculate Expenses:
# Monthly Expenses — August 2025
gst = 0.18
discount = 0.05
---
## 🥗 Food
Groceries 50 + 30 * 2 + 10 | 120
Eating out 120 * 4 | 480
Coffee 3.5 * 20 | 70
Total | 670
## 🚗 Transport
Metro pass 550 | 550
Petrol 80 * 6 | 480
Uber rides 150 + 200 + 90 | 440
Total | 1,470
## 🛍️ Shopping
Clothes 2500 * (1 - discount) | 2,375
Books 400 + 350 | 750
Electronics 8000 | 8,000
Total | 11,125
---
Grand Total | 13,265
The Live Panel
The 🧮 Toggle Expense Panel opens a sidebar panel that shows the same note in a clean 75/25 split layout. It is read-only — editing happens in the note itself.
- Left column (75%) — shows the label and expression.
- Right column (25%) — shows the calculated result, right-aligned.
- Section Totals are highlighted in amber.
- Grand Total is highlighted in green.
- Headings are styled in blue and visually group sections.
- Variable definitions appear in a dimmed style — they are context, not expenses.
- The panel refreshes automatically — no manual action needed while typing.
Tips & Tricks
Re-run freely — the calculator strips old results before recalculating, so clicking 💰 Calculate multiple times is always safe.
Labels are optional — a bare expression works just fine:
500 + 200 | → | 700
Decimals work — use . as the decimal separator:
Fuel 1.5 * 92.50 | → | 138.75
Variables carry down the note — define once, use anywhere below:
price = 999
quantity = 12
Subtotal price * quantity | → | 11,988
Discount price * quantity * 0.10 | → | 1,198.80
Use headings to separate months or categories — each # heading resets the section accumulator, so your Total lines stay accurate even in long notes.
The panel works even before you calculate — open the panel while typing to preview results live without modifying the note body.
License
MIT — free to use, modify, and distribute.