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Transactions

Managing Your Financial Transactions

The Transactions feature is the core of Cognito Money, allowing you to track all money coming in and going out of your accounts.

What are Transactions?

Transactions in Cognito Money represent the movement of money in and out of your accounts:

  • Income transactions: Money you receive (paychecks, gifts, refunds, etc.)
  • Expense transactions: Money you spend (bills, groceries, entertainment, etc.)
The Importance of Tracking Transactions

Consistently recording transactions provides numerous benefits:

  • Know exactly where your money is going
  • Identify spending patterns and habits
  • Ensure you stay within your budget
  • Prepare accurate tax information
  • Detect fraud or unauthorized charges
  • Enable powerful financial analysis and planning
Accessing Transactions

You can access the Transactions page in two ways:

  1. Click on Transactions in the main navigation menu
  2. Click on View All in the Recent Transactions section of the Dashboard
Transactions Main Page

The Transactions home page offers several options organized by function:

Input Actions (Row 1):
  • Add Transaction: Manually enter a new expense or income
  • Import Bank Statement: Upload transactions from bank files (CSV, XLSX, OFX)
  • Upload Receipt Image ENHANCED: Import grocery receipts with itemized details (Albertsons .eml, Smith's .txt, or photos)
  • Upload Bill NEW v3.3: Import utility bills with line-item parsing (Electric, Water, Sewer, Waste)
View/Search Actions (Row 2):
  • View All Transactions: See your complete transaction history
  • Monthly Summary: View monthly totals and analysis
  • Search Transactions: Find specific transactions with filters
  • Find Duplicates: Identify potential duplicate entries
Detail View Actions (Row 3):
  • View Receipts ENHANCED: See all transactions with itemized grocery receipts
  • View Bills NEW v3.3: See all transactions with itemized utility bills
  • Reconcile Balance: Compare with your actual bank balance
  • Category Mappings: Set automatic categorization rules
Management Actions (Row 4):
  • Delete All Transactions: Clear all transaction data (use with caution!)
AI Chatbot Can Query Itemized Data!

After uploading receipts or bills, use the AI chatbot to ask detailed questions:

Grocery Receipts:

  • "What items did I buy at Albertsons?"
  • "How many times did I buy bread this month?"
  • "What did I spend on produce?"
  • "Show me my discount savings"

Utility Bills: NEW v3.3

  • "How much did I spend on Electric this month?"
  • "Show my water charges over time"
  • "What's my total utility breakdown?"
  • "Compare Electric costs: September vs October"

Step-by-Step Guide to Adding a Transaction
  1. Navigate to the Transactions page and click the Add Transaction button
  2. Select the transaction type (Expense or Income)
  3. Fill in the required information:
    • Amount: How much money was involved
    • Date: When the transaction occurred
    • Category: Which spending or income category it belongs to
    • Description: What the transaction was for
    • Payment Method: How the transaction was paid (cash, credit card, etc.)
    • Tags: (Optional) Custom labels to further organize transactions
    • Notes: (Optional) Any additional information about the transaction
  4. Click Save Transaction to add the transaction
Transaction Types in Detail
Expense Transactions

Used to record money spent:

  • Reduces your account balance
  • Requires a category to track what the money was spent on
  • Tracked with red text in transaction lists
  • May be linked to bills or budget categories
Income Transactions

Used to record money received:

  • Increases your account balance
  • Usually categorized as various types of income
  • Tracked with green text in transaction lists
  • Includes salary, gifts, refunds, interest, etc.
Tag Suggestions

When adding a transaction, Cognito Money can suggest relevant tags:

  • Enter a detailed description and select a category
  • Click the Suggest Tags button
  • Cognito Money will suggest appropriate tags based on similar transactions
  • You can also manually add tags separated by commas
Tip:

For the most accurate financial picture, add transactions as soon as possible after they occur. Consider setting a daily reminder to record new transactions.

The Transactions List

The main Transactions page displays your transactions in a list format with the following information:

  • Date: When the transaction occurred
  • Description: What the transaction was for
    • Receipt Icon NEW: A green receipt icon appears when a transaction has an attached receipt with itemized details. Click the icon to view the receipt.
  • Category: The spending or income category
  • Type: Income or Expense (with color badge)
  • Amount: How much money was involved (red for expenses, green for income)
  • Actions: Buttons to edit or delete the transaction
Viewing Options

Cognito Money offers several ways to view your transactions:

  • Current Month View: Default view showing current month transactions
  • All Transactions: Complete history of all recorded transactions
  • Monthly Summary: Month-by-month breakdown of income and expenses
  • Quick Month Links: Easily switch between months (January, February, etc.)
Filtering Your Transactions

You can filter transactions directly on the main page:

  • Transaction Type: Toggle between All, Income, and Expense using the filter buttons
  • Items Per Page: Choose how many transactions to display (25, 50, 100)
  • Pagination: Navigate between pages of transactions
Advanced Search

For more specific filtering, use the Search Transactions feature:

  • Quick Amount Search: Find transactions with an exact dollar amount
  • Description Search: Find transactions containing specific text
  • Date Range: Filter by start and end dates
  • Amount Range: Set minimum and maximum amounts
  • Category Filter: Show only transactions in specific categories
  • Transaction Type: Filter by Income or Expense
  • Tag Search: Find transactions with specific tags

Editing Transactions

To modify an existing transaction:

  1. Find the transaction in your list
  2. Click the (Edit) button
  3. Update any information as needed
  4. Click Save to apply your changes
Deleting Transactions

To remove a transaction:

  1. Find the transaction in your list
  2. Click the (Delete) button
  3. Confirm the deletion when prompted
Important:

Deleting a transaction will permanently remove it from your records and adjust your account balance. This action cannot be undone.

Duplicating Transactions

For similar or recurring transactions:

  1. Find a similar existing transaction
  2. Click the (Edit) button
  3. Modify any details as needed (date, amount, etc.)
  4. Save as a new transaction instead of updating the existing one
Finding Duplicates

To identify and manage duplicate transactions:

  1. Click the Find Duplicates button on the Transactions page
  2. Review the potential duplicates identified by the system
  3. For each duplicate pair, you can:
    • Delete one of the duplicates
    • Mark as verified duplicate (for legitimate similar transactions)
    • Keep both transactions (if they are actually different)

Importing Bank Statements

Instead of entering transactions manually, you can import them:

  1. On the Transactions page, click Import Bank Statement
  2. Upload a CSV, Excel, or OFX file from your bank
  3. Specify the account name (e.g., "Chase Credit Card")
  4. Identify which columns contain the date, description, and amount information
  5. Optionally select a default category for all imported transactions
  6. Check the option to save these column mappings for future imports
  7. Click Upload and Process to import the transactions
Important Note about Import Formats:

For best categorization results, consistently use the same import format (CSV/Excel or OFX).

Merchant names appear differently in different formats. For example, "ALBERTSONS" in a CSV file might appear as "Card Purchase #569873 ALBERTSONS #0067" in an OFX file.

Your category mappings work best when they match the format of your imported transactions. If you start with CSV/Excel imports and create your category mappings based on those merchant names, you should continue using CSV/Excel imports for consistent categorization.

Excel vs CSV Imports:

We recommend using Excel (XLSX) files instead of CSV when possible for more reliable imports. CSV files can have issues with:

  • Different delimiter formats (commas, semicolons, tabs)
  • Date formatting inconsistencies
  • Character encoding problems with special characters
  • Quoted text fields containing commas

If your bank only provides CSV exports, consider opening the file and saving it as XLSX format before importing.

Uploading Receipts with Itemized Details

Track itemized grocery purchases by uploading receipts. The app supports three methods:

Albertsons (.eml)

100% Accurate - Recommended

  1. Open receipt email in Gmail
  2. Click 3-dot menu → "Download message"
  3. Upload the .eml file
  4. All items extracted perfectly
Smith's (.txt)

100% Accurate - Recommended

  1. Open receipt on smithsfoodanddrug.com
  2. Select all text (Ctrl+A), copy
  3. Paste into Notepad, save as .txt
  4. Upload the .txt file
Photos (OCR)

Works but may have errors

  1. Take clear photo of paper receipt
  2. Upload .jpg or .png file
  3. App uses OCR to extract items
  4. Review and edit if needed
Important:

Receipts attach to existing transactions - they don't create new ones. First import your bank statement, then upload receipts to add itemized detail to those transactions.

Category Mappings

Automatically categorize imported transactions with keyword-based rules:

  1. Click Category Mappings on the Transactions page
  2. Create rules that match transaction descriptions to categories or subcategories
  3. Examples:
    • "AMAZON" → Shopping category
    • "BLACK HILLS ENERGY" → Electric subcategory (under Utilities)
    • "CITY UTILITIES" → Utilities category (parent)
  4. These rules will be applied to all future imports
Subcategories in Mappings NEW v3.3:

You can map to specific subcategories for more granular auto-categorization:

  • Parent mapping: "UTILITIES" → Utilities (general category)
  • Subcategory mapping: "BLACK HILLS" → Electric (specific subcategory)
  • Mix both: Use parent for unknown charges, subcategories for specific merchants
Mapping Strategy Tip:

Create your mappings based on how merchant names appear in your primary import format. If you mainly use CSV/Excel imports, base your mappings on those merchant names. If you mainly use OFX imports, create mappings that match the OFX merchant naming format.

Time-saving tip:

After your first import, your column mappings are saved for future imports from the same account. This will make subsequent imports much faster.

Transaction Summary

The Transactions page provides a summary of your financial activity:

  • Income: Total money received for the selected period
  • Expenses: Total money spent for the selected period
  • Net: The difference between income and expenses
Monthly Summary

For a more detailed analysis by month:

  1. Click the Monthly Summary button on the Transactions page
  2. Select the year you want to analyze
  3. View monthly totals for:
    • Income
    • Expenses
    • Net (profit/loss)
    • Number of transactions
  4. See yearly totals at the bottom of the table
  5. View your top expense categories for the year
  6. Click View for any month to see its transactions
Search Results Analysis

When using the transaction search feature, results include:

  • Total income found within your search criteria
  • Total expenses found within your search criteria
  • Net total (income minus expenses)
  • Count of matching transactions
Analysis tip:

Use the Monthly Summary feature to compare month-to-month patterns and identify seasonal spending variations. This helps with budgeting for future expenses.

Upload Utility Bills with Line-Item Parsing

Track itemized charges from utility bills (Electric, Water, Sewer, Waste) the same way you track grocery items from receipts.

How It Works:
  1. Click Upload Bill on the Transactions page
  2. Upload your bill in one of these formats:
    • .txt file (most accurate, recommended):
      • Open bill PDF in browser
      • Select charges section, copy (Ctrl+C)
      • Paste into Notepad
      • Add "Bill Date: MM/DD/YYYY" at top
      • Save as .txt
    • .pdf file: Upload directly (may need manual correction)
    • Image: Photo of paper bill (uses OCR)
  3. App automatically parses line items (Electric Charge, Water Consumption, etc.)
  4. Subtotals are automatically skipped (no duplicate charges)
  5. Review and edit if needed
  6. Select which existing transaction to attach bill to (searches by exact amount)
  7. Optionally attach original PDF for your records
  8. Bill items are now queryable via AI chatbot!
What Gets Parsed:
Example Bill Charges

Electric:

  • Electric Charge: $27.56
  • Consumption: $125.62
  • Sales Tax: $7.31

Water:

  • Base Charge: $17.65
  • Consumption: $94.48

Other:

  • Sewer Charge: $80.24
  • Solid Waste: $47.44
AI Chatbot Queries

Ask the AI chatbot:

  • "How much did I spend on Electric in September?"
  • "Show my water charges for the past 3 months"
  • "What's my average monthly sewer cost?"
  • "Compare Electric: this month vs last month"
Important:

Bills attach to existing transactions - they don't create new ones. First import your bank statement, then upload bills to add itemized detail to those transactions.

Bills vs Receipts:
  • Receipts: For grocery purchases with multiple items (produce, meat, dairy, etc.)
  • Bills: For utility bills with multiple services (electric, water, sewer, waste, etc.)
  • Both: Attach to existing bank transactions, parsed into line items, queryable via AI

Tips for Effective Transaction Management
  1. Be consistent with data entry - Use the same description formats and categorization principles
  2. Record transactions frequently - Daily or weekly is better than monthly
  3. Use detailed descriptions - "Kroger - Weekly Groceries" is better than just "Groceries"
  4. Categorize everything - Avoid leaving transactions uncategorized
  5. Use tags strategically - Tags are perfect for cross-category grouping (e.g., "Vacation" or "Tax Deductible")
  6. Reconcile regularly - Compare your transaction records with bank statements monthly
  7. Set up category mappings - Automate categorization for recurring merchants
  8. Add context in notes - Who was there, why you spent it, etc.
Workflow Recommendations
Daily Routine

Establish a quick daily process (2-3 minutes):

  • Add any new transactions from the day
  • Review recent transactions for accuracy
  • Make sure all transactions are properly categorized
Weekly Routine

Set aside 10-15 minutes weekly to:

  • Import bank statements for the week
  • Check for duplicate transactions
  • Review income vs. expenses for the week
  • Ensure all transactions have appropriate tags
Monthly Routine

Dedicate 20-30 minutes at month-end to:

  • Review the monthly summary
  • Compare to previous months
  • Reconcile with actual bank balances
  • Identify areas where you can reduce spending
Success habit:

The most financially successful users spend 5-10 minutes each day reviewing and categorizing their recent transactions, making financial awareness a daily habit rather than a monthly chore.