Introduction
Every transaction that comes through to your Money Dashboard account runs through "categorisation". Categorisation is the process where we put your transaction into a category based on what it is. Here are a couple of examples:
- Your Aldi shop may be marked as Groceries
- Your trip to the cinema may be marked as Experiences
The good news is we categorise all your transactions automatically so you don't have to. However we also allow you to create custom categories so you can categorise everything as you see fit
Top Tip: If you are looking for guidelines on how to change a category on your transaction, please refer here.
What are Categories and why are they important?
What pre-set categories are there within the application?
The Two Parts of Categorisation
How do I create a custom category
How to edit/delete custom categories
Topic Area
Categorisation
Relevant to users on:
Money Dashboard Neon
Not sure which App you are on?
If you are unsure if you are on Money Dashboard Classic or Money Dashboard Neon? You can find that information here
What are Categories and why are they important?
When you are looking at your transactions on Money Dashboard Neon you might notice the term Categories.
Categories = The possible groups you can assign a transaction to (eg Groceries)
Categorisation = The process of assigning a category to a transaction
Categories are the backbone of using Money Dashboard Neon. Simply put, assigning Categories to your transactions is grouping and categorising your spending and income. Rather than seeing all your spend in isolated transactions you can get a sense of what you're actually spending in certain areas.
Top Tip Keeping on top of your categorisation ensures your reporting stays relevant and is a great way to stay in control of your finances.
How do categories work?
We automatically sort your transactions into 14 categories so you can see at a high level you’re spending trends. Do you overindulge in Ubers within the Transport category or are do you regularly order a Saturday night takeaway in the Food & Drink category? Knowing where you spend your money is the first step to gaining more control. You can also create custom categories automatically.
For a full list of pre-set system categories, please refer here:
What pre-set categories are there within the application?
The Two Parts of Categorisation
Categorisation comes in 2 parts that work together. You have the actual categories themselves that you apply to transactions. Then you have categorisation rules which are rules based on previous transactions that enter your account that you have created. This rules automatically assign certain category to future transactions for you based on your selections.
What is a category rule?
It wouldn't be great if you categorised all your transactions and then when your next batch came in the categorisation defaults back into what our back end system deems as a correct category. This is where category rules comes in. Category rules essentially say "You categorised this transaction as this category". When I see this transaction again I'll automatically follow this rule"
Top Tip You can find out more about how to delete your category rules by going to this article.