Accounts & Transactions

Track your bank accounts, credit cards, and transactions. Go to Accounts to get started.

This feature requires a Hierarchy Budget subscription.

Setting Up Accounts

Adding an Account

  1. Go to Accounts
  2. Click Add Account
  3. Enter:
    • Name - e.g., “Chase Checking”
    • Type - Checking, Savings, Credit Card, Cash, Investment, Loan, or Other
    • Institution - Bank name (optional)
    • Last 4 Digits - For identification (optional)
    • Credit Limit - For credit cards only

Account Types

Type Description
Checking Day-to-day transaction accounts
Savings Interest-bearing savings accounts
Credit Card Tracks as liability
Cash Physical cash or envelope budgeting
Investment Brokerage accounts
Loan Mortgages, car loans, personal loans
Other Anything else

Account Summary

The Accounts page shows:

  • Net Balance - Assets minus liabilities
  • Total Assets - Checking + savings + cash + investments
  • Total Liabilities - Credit cards + loans
  • Individual account balances

The Account Register

Click any account to open its register at /accounts/:id.

Viewing Transactions

Filter by:

  • Date range - Last 30 days, 90 days, year, year-to-date, or all
  • Status - All, uncategorized, categorized, or pending
  • Search - Find by description, payee, category, or check number

Adding Transactions

Click Add Transaction and enter:

  • Date
  • Description - What the transaction is for
  • Amount
  • Type - Income, Expense, or Transfer
  • Category - Assigns the Maslow level automatically
  • Memo - Optional notes
  • Cleared - Whether it’s cleared the bank

Editing and Deleting

Click any transaction to edit. You can change any field or delete the transaction entirely.

Cleared Status

Click the checkbox to toggle cleared status. Cleared transactions have been verified against your bank statement.

Reconciled transactions cannot be edited (see Reconciliation below).

Categorizing Transactions

Each transaction is assigned to a category, which determines its Maslow level.

Categorize Pending

Go to Categorize Pending to bulk-categorize uncategorized transactions:

  • Transactions are grouped by payee
  • Select a category and it applies to all transactions from that payee
  • Progress bar shows how many remain

Category Assignment

When you categorize a transaction:

  1. It gets assigned to a Maslow level based on the category
  2. It appears in your actual spending totals
  3. The Cash Flow page reflects the actuals

Reconciliation

Reconcile accounts against bank statements to ensure accuracy.

Starting Reconciliation

  1. Go to your account register at /accounts/:id
  2. Click Reconcile
  3. Enter:
    • Statement Date - Last day of the statement period
    • Statement Ending Balance - From your bank statement

Reconciling Transactions

  1. Check off transactions that appear on your statement
  2. Watch the Cleared Balance update
  3. Watch the Difference approach $0.00
  4. When difference is zero, you’re balanced

Completing Reconciliation

Click Finish when balanced. This:

  • Marks checked transactions as reconciled
  • Locks reconciled transactions from editing
  • Records your last reconciliation date and balance

Reconciliation Tips

  • Start with oldest unreconciled transactions
  • Look for missing transactions if you can’t balance
  • Check for duplicates
  • Verify pending transactions haven’t cleared yet

How Transactions Connect to Your Budget

All categorized transactions flow into your budget:

  • Category determines the Maslow level
  • Actual spending updates in real-time
  • Cash Flow shows forecast vs actual comparison
  • Hierarchy visualization reflects your real spending patterns

Go to Cash Flow to see how your actuals compare to your budget forecast.

Importing Transactions

For bulk import from CSV or Excel files, use Import Data. See the Import Data documentation for details.

Related Pages