Adding Transactions
Recording every transaction is the heart of hands-on budgeting. This guide covers the basics of adding income and expenses, plus special cases like splits, transfers, and edits.
Step 1: Basic Transaction Entry
Every transaction needs a few basic pieces of information.
To add a transaction:
- Click Transactions in the navigation
- Click + Add Transaction
- Select the date
- Choose the account
- Choose Income or Expense
- Select a category
- Enter the amount
- Add a payee and description (optional but helpful!)
- Click Add Transaction
Step 2: Income vs. Expense
Every transaction is either Income (money coming in) or an Expense (money going out). Choose whichever matches what actually happened - your category list will filter to match the type you pick.
💼 Business or Personal?
A transaction doesn't have its own Business/Personal setting - it inherits it from the account and category you pick, both of which do. It's not based on the payee you type in, so you can reuse the same payee name across personal and business transactions without it affecting anything.
Step 3: Transfers Between Accounts
Moving money between your own accounts isn't income or an expense - it's a transfer. Use the Transfer button instead of a regular transaction when money moves from one of your accounts to another.
Step 4: Credit Card and Loan Payments
Paying down a credit card, loan, or line of credit is a transfer from the paying account (usually checking) to the debt account.
📝 Example
You pay $300 toward your credit card from checking. This transfer reduces your credit card debt (makes the balance less positive, moving toward zero) and reduces your checking balance by the same amount.
Step 5: Splitting a Transaction
Some purchases cover more than one category - a big-box store trip that's part groceries, part household goods, for example. You don't have to force it into one category.
To split a transaction:
- Start adding a transaction as usual
- Enable the split option on the form
- Enter each category and its portion of the total amount
- Make sure the parts add up to the full transaction amount
- Click Save
Step 6: Editing and Deleting Transactions
Made a mistake? Easy to fix.
To edit or delete a transaction:
- Go to Transactions
- Find the transaction and click Edit or Delete right on that row
- Make your changes (if editing) or confirm (if deleting)
Step 7: Marking Transactions as Cleared
The "Cleared" checkbox marks a transaction as confirmed against your bank statement. This is separate from reconciliation and just helps you track what's actually posted versus what's still pending.
Step 8: Finding Transactions
As your transaction history grows, you'll want to find specific transactions quickly.
You can:
- Filter by account
- Filter by month and year
- Hide cleared transactions
- Search by payee, category, amount, or date - the search box matches all of these at once
Quick Tips
- 💪 Enter transactions daily: It only takes a couple of minutes and keeps you honest
- ✍️ Use real payee names: "Kroger" is more useful later than "Store"
- 🔄 Don't forget transfers: Moving money between your own accounts isn't income or an expense
- ✅ Mark things cleared: It makes reconciling much easier
Next Steps
Ready to put it all together?
- Budget Basics - Turn your categories into a working budget
- Using Reports - See where your money actually goes
- Getting Started Guide - Full overview of HOB
Still have questions? Contact support