Viewing Your Transactions

The Transactions tab is your central hub for monitoring all financial activity from your connected bank accounts. Every purchase, deposit, and transfer shows up here, ready to be categorized and tracked against your budget.

Accessing the Transactions Tab

To view your transactions:

1. Open Balance Budget app
2. Tap the Transactions tab at the bottom of the screen
3. You’ll see your transaction list for the current month

The Transactions tab is always accessible from the main navigation bar.

Understanding the Transaction List

Each transaction displays four key pieces of information:

Date

The date when the transaction occurred, shown on the left side. Transactions are organized chronologically, with the most recent at the top.

Merchant/Description

The name of the business or description of the transaction. For bank transactions, this comes directly from your bank. For manual transactions, this is the name you entered.

Amount

The dollar amount of the transaction. Expenses show as regular numbers, while income shows in green.

Category

The budget category assigned to the transaction. If uncategorized, you’ll see an empty category indicator prompting you to assign one.

Monthly View Selector

Balance shows one month of transactions at a time.

To change months:

1. Tap the month button at the top of the screen (shows current month, e.g., “Nov”)
2. A calendar picker appears
3. Swipe left or right to change months
4. Select a different month and year
5. The transaction list updates automatically

This monthly view makes it easy to focus on specific time periods and review past spending.

Uncategorized Transaction Badge

At the top of your transaction list, you’ll see a badge showing how many transactions haven’t been categorized yet.

The badge shows:

• Number of uncategorized transactions (e.g., “5 Uncategorized”)
• Only counts transactions for the current selected month
• Updates in real-time as you categorize

Why it matters:
Uncategorized transactions aren’t counted against your budget, so your budget numbers won’t be accurate until all transactions are categorized.

Filter Pills

If you have active filters applied, you’ll see colored pills at the top of the transaction list showing your current filters:

• Account: Specific bank account
• Type: Income or Expense
• Status: Categorized or Uncategorized
• Transfer: Is or isn’t a transfer
• Person: Which profile categorized it
• Source: Manual or Bank

Tap any filter pill to modify it, or tap the X to remove it.

Learn more about filtering →

Pull-to-Refresh

Check for new transactions at any time:

1. Pull down on the transaction list
2. You’ll see “Check for new transactions”
3. Release to start the refresh
4. A loading indicator appears
5. New transactions appear when syncing completes

This manual refresh is useful when:

• You just made a purchase and want to see if it synced
• Checking for a pending paycheck
• Before reviewing your budget
• After connecting a new account

Learn more about syncing →

Empty State

If you don’t have any transactions for the selected month, you’ll see a helpful empty state screen that explains:

• Why no transactions are showing
• How to connect bank accounts
• How to add manual transactions
• What to expect after connecting

This is normal when:

• Viewing a future month
• First connecting Balance
• Looking at a past month before using Balance
• All transactions have been filtered out

Transaction Details

To see more information about any transaction:

1. Tap on the transaction
2. The transaction details page opens
3. View full information including:
   • Complete merchant name and location
   • Full date and time
   • Bank account details
   • Assigned categories and amounts
   • Notes (if any)
   • Transfer status

From the details page, you can:

• Categorize the transaction
• Split across multiple categories
• Mark as transfer
• Add notes
• Edit details (manual transactions only)

Floating Action Button

The circular + button in the bottom-right corner is your quick way to add manual transactions.

Tap it to:

• Add cash purchases
• Record pending transactions
• Enter income before it deposits
• Create any transaction not automatically synced

Learn more about adding manual transactions →

Selection Mode

For categorizing multiple transactions at once:

1. Long press any transaction
2. Selection mode activates (checkboxes appear)
3. Tap additional transactions to select them
4. Bottom bar shows count and total amount
5. Tap “Categorize” to assign a category to all selected
6. Tap “Cancel” to exit selection mode

Learn more about bulk categorizing →

Transaction List Tips

Quick Identification

• Bold text: Uncategorized transactions
• Green amounts: Income transactions
• Gray amounts: Expense transactions
• Pending badge: Not yet cleared by bank
• Manual badge: Manually entered transactions

Navigation

• Scroll up/down: Browse transactions
• Tap: View details
• Long press: Enter selection mode
• Pull down: Refresh for new transactions

Best Practices

• Review transactions daily or every few days
• Categorize as you go to keep budget accurate
• Use filter pills to focus on specific transaction types
• Check the uncategorized count regularly

Common Use Cases

Daily Budget Check

1. Open Transactions tab
2. Check for new uncategorized transactions
3. Categorize any new items
4. Pull to refresh for latest sync

Monthly Review

1. Select current month
2. Review all categories assigned
3. Check for any miscategorized items
4. Adjust categories if needed

Finding Specific Purchases

1. Use month selector to go to correct month
2. Apply filters to narrow down
3. Scroll to find the transaction
4. Tap to view full details

Partner Coordination

Both partners can view the same transactions in real-time. When one person categorizes a transaction, it updates immediately for the other person.

Troubleshooting

Transaction Not Appearing

• Wait 2-24 hours after purchase (banks sync on their schedule)
• Pull to refresh manually
• Check if viewing correct month
• Verify account connection is active
• Check if filtered out

Wrong Amount Showing

• Amount comes directly from bank
• Pending transactions may show estimated amount
• Final amount appears when transaction clears
• Cannot edit bank transaction amounts

Can’t Find Old Transactions

• Balance imports up to 90 days of history on first connection
• Use month selector to view past months
• Older transactions may not be available
• Banks limit historical data access

Next Steps

Now that you understand viewing transactions, learn how to:

• Filter Transactions - Find specific transactions quickly
• Categorize Transactions - Assign budget categories
• Split Transactions - Divide across multiple categories
• Refresh Transactions - Update with latest data

Need help? Contact our support team - we’re here to assist!