Finances · updated 2026-08-08

    How to categorize bank transactions in Dumpster Controls

    The Transactions table on the Reconciliation page is where raw bank activity becomes organized spending: every row gets a category, and the app pre-suggests obvious ones like Fuel and Landfill.

    Before you start

    • Transactions in your feed (from a linked account or an imported statement).
    1. 1

      Read the table

      Columns are Date, Merchant, Amount, Account, Category, Linked to, and Status. Money in shows green with a plus sign; each row is labeled "Income" or "Expense" and shows whether it came from "Checking" or "Card". Filter by account with the "All accounts" selector and search with "Search transactions...".

    2. 2

      Assign categories

      Pick a category in the dropdown on each row. Defaults include Landfill, Fuel, Repairs, Supplies, Insurance, Truck payment, Tolls, Office, Payroll, Subcontractor, Overhead, and Credit Card Payment. A sparkle icon means the app auto-suggested a category from the merchant name; picking it confirms the suggestion.

    3. 3

      Manage your category list

      Use "Add category" for a quick new one, or "Manage categories" to open "Manage Categories" where you add, rename, or remove entries and "Save Categories".

    4. 4

      Understand the tiles

      Above the table, "Money In (30d)" and "Money Out (30d)" summarize the last 30 days (excluding card payments), "Auto-Matched" shows the percentage of transactions categorized or matched to a cost, and "To review" counts uncategorized transactions.

    5. 5

      Clean up when needed

      The trash icon deletes one transaction ("Delete Transaction" asks for confirmation, and the action cannot be undone). "Delete All" wipes the whole feed after an explicit confirmation.

    What happens next

    • Payments of your credit card balance are automatically recognized and excluded from expense totals to avoid double counting; the row explains it on hover.
    • Use the "All", "Fuel", and "Operational" view pills to slice the feed (see the fuel and operational article).

    Troubleshooting

    A transaction shows the status "excluded".

    It was identified as a credit card balance payment. It is not an expense; the money was already counted when the original card charges happened.

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