Now that we have linked our accounts, created a spending plan, and funded our categories, it’s time to start categorizing transactions. If you linked your bank account, your transactions will automatically start showing up at the bottom of the screen. You can simply drag and drop a transaction onto the right category and voila! You'll see your available balance update in real-time.
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You can also tap on the transaction to see additional details, edit the transaction, split the amount between different categories, and more.
When you drop a transaction onto an income or bill category, One Goal will ask you when the next paycheck comes or when the next bill is due. This will help you stay on track with your bills and help ensure that you don’t miss a paycheck. The bills category also shows whether or not you are on track for your next bill or if you need to add more money.
Sometimes the transactions will have long numbers and names associated with them which makes it hard to know where it should go. If you select the transaction, it will show an even longer name which usually contains some clue as to where it came from. You can change the name to remember what the purchase is for. If you are still unsure of a transaction, it might be a good idea to contact your bank to ensure that it was not a fraudulent purchase.
Another great feature of One Goal is the ability to split transactions. When you select a transaction, there is a plus button that says “Split Transaction”. When you click the plus button, you will be able to pick a second category of where you want the money to come from. You can add as many categories as you would like. You can then type in how much money it will take from each category or you can change the option to split by percentage.
We get it! Sometimes you spend more than you planned. If you overspend, One Goal will help you get back on track.
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If you overspend in a category, One Goal will pop up with a window telling you that you broke your budget. You can choose to fix it later if you would like or fix it now. When you click on fix, it will tell you how much money you need to get your spending category back to zero and where you want to pull that money from. You can pull the money from anywhere including your income, however, we strongly suggest that you resolve overspending within your spending categories. When you take from other spending categories, you ensure that your savings goals and bills are on track, and that your income is saved specifically for funding your weekly spending.
On the rare occasion you may want to ignore a transaction. Simply tap the transaction to edit it, then near the bottom there is an ignore button. We highly suggest not ignoring any transactions, especially not that cheeseburger from last week that you don’t want your significant other to see. However, if you were double charged for something and then refunded, you might want to ignore the second purchase and refund. When you ignore a transaction, you want to make sure it is only for something that would not affect your budget in any way.
If you have ignored important transactions, you will find a warning on your accounts page saying "There’s more Money in your budget than in your accounts." You want to make sure to tap that warning and a window will pop up showing you what your accounts need. Go ahead and select the "Balance Budget" button. This doesn’t change how much money you have in your account, however, it will change the amount of income you have in your budget so that everything is balanced. You may get the opposite warning where there’s more money in your accounts than your categories. Follow the same steps as above and your accounts will be balanced with your budget.
Categorizing transactions is not a difficult thing to do, however it is one of the most important things you can do to stay on track with your savings goals. By categorizing transactions, you will find just how much money you are actually spending and which categories may need help. One Goal makes it easy to keep up with categorizing transactions and will help you be consistent with your budget so that you can reach your financial dreams. If you have any questions or feedback, don’t hesitate to let us know!
