Categorize a transaction, and move several at once
LumaLedger files most transactions by itself, and sometimes it guesses wrong or can't guess at all. This guide shows how to fix one, how to fix a page of them at once, and how to make the fix stick for next month.
On this page
Read a row
Open Transactions from the navigation. Each row shows the merchant, the account and counterparty underneath, a colored category chip, and the amount. Clicking anywhere else on the row opens the transaction's own page.
Next to the chip sits a small hexagon. It shows how sure LumaLedger is about that category, and hovering it says what filed the transaction and how sure it was. The fuller the hexagon, the surer the filing.
| The hexagon says | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Certain | You chose it, or a rule you trust filed it | Nothing |
| Very likely right, Probably right | Filed from what the bank and merchant tell us | Glance at it when you review the month |
| Just a guess | Little to go on | Check it and fix it if needed |
| No category | Nothing could place it; the outline is dashed | Pick a category |
Transfers between your own accounts and card payments show the account the money went to instead of a category, and no hexagon.
Change one transaction
- 1Click the category chip on the row
A list opens with a search box at the top. Categories are grouped under Income and Expenses, with the current one highlighted.
- 2Type to find the category
Search by name or by what you mean. Typing “coffee” finds the dining category, and “paycheck” finds salary.
- 3Pick it
The chip changes straight away and the hexagon fills up: a category you chose counts as Certain. Your budgets, reports and spending totals follow.
The same chip sits at the top of the transaction's own page, so you can change the category there too.
If the category you want doesn't exist, type its name. When nothing matches, the bottom of the list offers to create it: choose Expense or Income, and the new category is created and applied in one step.
If the money didn't pay for anything but moved to another of your accounts, such as a card payment or a savings transfer, pick the account from the Transfer to group at the bottom of the same list. The row leaves your spending. Filing transfers, including to banks you added by hand, is covered in Connected and manual accounts.
Move several at once
When a run of transactions all belong somewhere else, select them and move them together.
- 1Narrow the list
Use the search box, the category filter and the two date pickers above the list to show the transactions you want. The page shows 50 at a time; Previous and Next at the bottom move between pages.
- 2Tick the ones to move
Each row has a checkbox in front of it. To take the whole page, tick Select all on this page above the list. The same line counts how many you have selected.
- 3Choose the category next to Move to
Click Choose a category and pick from the same list as before. Every selected row changes at once, and a message confirms how many moved.
Clear, next to the picker, empties the selection without moving anything. Going to another page or changing a filter empties it too, so a move only ever touches rows you can see.
File future ones the same way
Changing a category, one row or many, fixes the transactions you changed. It doesn't change how the next charge from the same merchant is filed. For that, you have two options.
Set the merchant's category. Under a transaction's name, click the counterparty (the merchant or person it was with) to open its page. The chip at the top of that page is the category every transaction with them gets. Pick a new one and LumaLedger files their future transactions there and updates the ones already on file. A message says how many moved. You can find every counterparty under Counterparties in the navigation, and its Needs a category filter shows the ones nothing has filed yet.
Write an automation. When the rule depends on more than the merchant, such as an amount or a word in the description, open Automations and create one there. From a transaction's page, the wand icon at the top, labelled New automation, starts one with that transaction's description already filled in.
If a transaction shouldn't count at all, such as a purchase you were paid back for outside the bank, you don't need a category for it. On the transaction's page, find the small switch with a crossed-out eye in the row of icons beside the name. Hovering it says Ignore this transaction. Turn it on and the transaction stays in your ledger but leaves your income and spending. Turn it off to count it again.
What can't be moved
Every category is either an income category or an expense category, and each transaction can only go under its own kind. Purchases, bank fees and refunds go under expense categories. Paychecks, interest and other money you earn go under income categories. A refund belongs with the expense it reverses, so that it lowers your spending instead of adding to your income.
If you try to cross that line, the change is refused and the category stays as it was. In a multi-select, one transaction on the wrong side stops the whole move, so nothing ends up half moved. Leave that transaction out of the selection and try again.
Transfers and card payments in a selection are skipped rather than refused, because they have no category to move. The message after the move counts how many were left alone.
Frequently asked questions
I changed a category. Why did next month's charge from the same store come in under the old one?
Changing the category on a transaction fixes that one transaction. To file every future charge from that merchant the same way, open the merchant's counterparty page (click its name under the transaction) and pick the category on the chip at the top, or write a rule on the Automations page.
Why don't I see checkboxes on the Transactions page?
Selecting several transactions needs a role that can edit the ledger: editor, admin or owner. Viewers see the list without the checkboxes. Ask an owner or admin of the ledger to change your role if you need to file transactions.
Why were some of the transactions I selected left alone?
Transfers between your own accounts and credit card payments have no category, so there is nothing to move. The message after the move says how many were left alone. To change where a transfer went, open its category and pick another account under Transfer to.
Why can't I put a refund under an income category?
A refund gives back money you spent, so it belongs under the expense category of the purchase it reverses. Filing it as income would make your spending look higher and your income look higher by the same amount.
How do I find every transaction that has no category yet?
When some transactions have no category, the home page lists a Categorize task with how many there are. Choose Categorize to open the Transactions page showing only those rows. The Needs a category chip at the top tells you the list is filtered; click it to see everything again.
Keep reading
Connected and manual accounts: which to use, and how to add each
How to connect a bank so it syncs by itself, how to add a bank or card by hand when it can't be connected, and how to file transfers between the two.
Rules: file future transactions automatically
Write an automation that files, renames, tags or ignores transactions that match your filters, check what it catches, and apply it to your history.
Set a budget for a month
Set a monthly or annual budget for a category, let unspent money roll over, give one month its own amount, and fill every budget in one go.