Daily work
Transactions and the inbox
Getting spending into the app, and putting each charge on the right category.
In short
Every charge lands in one queue first, whichever way it arrived. Working that queue to empty is the daily habit the rest of the numbers depend on.
Everything you spend lands in the inbox first, whichever way it arrives. The inbox is a queue of charges that do not have a job yet, and working it down is the daily rhythm of the app.
Everything you spend lands here first.
- 1Who you paid. Link it to a vendor once and later charges match themselves.
- 2Pick the job here. Choosing a category is an optional second step, not a blocker.
Four ways in
- Bank feed. Connect an account from Settings and new charges arrive on
their own. This is the least work by a distance.
- File import. Upload a CSV or Excel export and map the columns once.
- Paste. Copy rows straight out of a spreadsheet and paste them in.
- By hand, for the cash job at the hardware store.
Working the queue
The inbox has three tabs. Inbox is charges with no job. Needs category is charges that have a job but no category yet. Recently assigned is the last 30 days of work you have already filed, so you can check yourself.
Picking a job commits it immediately, then offers that job's categories as an optional second step. If you walk away after picking the job, the charge is still filed against the job. It just shows up under Needs category.
With rows selected you can assign in bulk. Number keys 1 through 9 assign to the first nine categories without touching the mouse. Assignments are optimistic: the row leaves the list at once, with an Undo on the toast if you got it wrong.
Rules
If a supplier always belongs to the same category, say so once. Rules live at Sync options and run as charges arrive, so a familiar supplier files itself. You can also apply a new rule to everything already in the inbox.
Rules can also ignore a vendor outright, which is how you keep a personal card or an inter-account transfer out of the job costs.
Vendors
Vendors are separate from categories, and the distinction matters. A vendor is who you paid. A category is what it was for. Keeping them apart means a supplier can appear across a dozen categories and still total correctly at tax time.
Each vendor carries a GL code, a tax ID and a 1099 flag. New charges match themselves to a known vendor as they arrive, and the 1099 report totals each flagged vendor by calendar year and marks anyone over the reporting threshold.
If you have history in the app already, Set up vendors from history reads back through your charges, groups the spellings that mean the same supplier, and lets you confirm them in one pass.
Splitting a charge
One supplier charge often covers more than one job. Choose Split on the row and divide it, with each part carrying its own amount, job and category.
The parts have to add up to the original. That is what keeps a split from quietly changing what you spent. The original row stays as a container, and the parts are what count toward each job.
Important
A deposit from a client is not negative spending. If money coming in lands in your inbox, use Book as payment to record it against the job as a client payment instead. Filing it as a refund would understate what you have spent and overstate what is left.
Receipts
Drag a receipt onto any charge, or use the paperclip in the row. On a phone the upload button opens the camera, which is the point: photograph it at the counter and it is attached before you have left.