Transactions

Record and manage all your financial transactions

Overview

Transactions are the heart of Firefly III. Every time money moves, you create a transaction to record it. Understanding transaction types and how to manage them efficiently is key to maintaining accurate financial records.

Transaction Types

Firefly III supports three main transaction types:

Withdrawals

Money leaving your asset accounts. Use for expenses like groceries, bills, or shopping.

Deposits

Money entering your asset accounts. Use for income like salary, gifts, or refunds.

Transfers

Money moving between your own accounts. Use when moving money between checking and savings.

Creating a Transaction

1. Navigate to Transactions

   Click Create New in the top menu or go to Transactions > Create New.

2. Select Transaction Type

   Choose Withdrawal, Deposit, or Transfer based on the money movement.

3. Enter Basic Information

   Fill in the essential details:

   • Source Account: Where money comes from
   • Destination Account: Where money goes to
   • Amount: The transaction amount
   • Date: When the transaction occurred
   • Description: What the transaction was for
4. Add Optional Details

   Enhance your transaction with:

   • Category: What type of expense or income
   • Budget: Which budget this affects (for withdrawals)
   • Tags: Additional labels for organization
   • Notes: Any extra information
5. Save

   Click Save to record the transaction.

Understanding Transaction Fields

Source and Destination Accounts

The accounts involved depend on transaction type:

Transaction Type	Source Account	Destination Account
Withdrawal	Your asset account	Expense account (store, restaurant)
Deposit	Revenue account (employer, client)	Your asset account
Transfer	Your asset account	Another asset account

Firefly III automatically creates expense and revenue accounts as you type. Just enter the name of the store or employer!

Description

The description explains what the transaction was for:

• Be specific: “Grocery shopping at Whole Foods” not “Shopping”
• Include relevant details: “Gas for road trip” not “Gas”
• Stay consistent with naming for similar transactions

Categories and Budgets

What's the difference between categories and budgets?

Categories classify what you spent money on (e.g., “Groceries”, “Entertainment”).

Budgets are spending limits you set for specific purposes (e.g., “Monthly Food Budget”).

Use both together: A transaction might be categorized as “Groceries” and count toward your “Food Budget”.

Tags

Tags provide flexible labeling:

• Mark shared expenses: #shared
• Track projects: #kitchen-renovation
• Identify special events: #vacation-2024
• Flag reimbursable items: #reimbursable

Working with Transactions

Editing Transactions

1. Find the Transaction

   Use the search feature or browse your transaction list.

2. Click Edit

   Click the edit icon or open the transaction and click Edit.

3. Make Changes

   Update any fields as needed.

4. Save

   Click Save to apply changes.

Editing historical transactions affects your account balances and reports. Make sure changes are accurate!

Deleting Transactions

To delete a transaction:

1. Open the transaction details
2. Click Delete
3. Confirm the deletion

Deleted transactions are permanently removed. Consider making a backup before deleting important financial data.

Splitting Transactions

Split one transaction into multiple parts:

When to split transactions

Split transactions when one payment includes multiple categories:

• Shopping trip with groceries, household items, and personal care
• Restaurant bill that includes food and takeout for home
• Combined utility bill covering multiple services

How to split:

1. When creating or editing a transaction, click Add Split
2. Enter amount and details for each part
3. Ensure splits add up to the total transaction amount
4. Assign different categories/budgets to each split

Foreign Currency Transactions

Handle transactions in multiple currencies:

1. Enter Primary Amount

   Input the amount in the account’s currency.

2. Add Foreign Amount

   Click to add foreign currency and enter the amount.

3. Automatic Conversion

   Firefly III calculates the exchange rate automatically.

Transaction List and Filtering

Viewing Transactions

The transaction list shows all your financial activity:

• Search: Find transactions by description, account, or amount
• Filter: Narrow by type, date range, or account
• Sort: Order by date, amount, or description

Date Ranges

Common date filters:

• Today
• This week/month/year
• Last 30/60/90 days
• Custom date range

Advanced Search

Search supports:

• Account names: account:"Checking"
• Amount ranges: amount:>100
• Categories: category:"Groceries"
• Descriptions: description:"Whole Foods"

Bulk Operations

Mass Editing

Edit multiple transactions at once:

1. Select transactions using checkboxes
2. Click Mass Edit
3. Choose fields to update
4. Apply changes to all selected

Mass Deleting

Bulk deletion is permanent! Review your selection carefully before proceeding.

Transaction Attachments

Attach receipts and documents:

1. Open Transaction

   View the transaction details.

2. Add Attachment

   Click Attach File and select your document.

3. Add Description

   Optionally describe what the attachment is.

Supported file types:

• Images (JPG, PNG, GIF)
• PDFs
• Text documents

Transaction Links

Link related transactions together:

Use cases for transaction links

• Connect a refund to the original purchase
• Link a reimbursement to the expense
• Relate a payment to an invoice
• Associate a fee with its source transaction

Best Practices

Record Transactions Promptly

Enter transactions as soon as they happen. This prevents forgotten expenses and keeps your balance accurate.

Be Consistent with Descriptions

Use similar wording for similar transactions. This makes searching easier and improves automatic categorization.

Use Categories and Budgets Together

Categorize all expenses and assign budgets to spending you want to control. This gives you both organization and planning.

Review Regularly

Check your transactions weekly to catch errors early and stay aware of your spending patterns.

Don't Forget Small Transactions

Track all expenses, even small ones. They add up quickly and can reveal spending patterns.

Reconciliation

Match Firefly III transactions with bank statements:

1. Mark as Reconciled

   Check the reconciliation checkbox on verified transactions.

2. Compare with Statement

   Ensure all bank statement items are in Firefly III.

3. Investigate Differences

   Find missing or duplicate transactions.

4. Adjust if Needed

   Add missing transactions or correct errors.

Reconcile at least monthly to keep your records accurate and catch issues early.

Special Transaction Scenarios

Handling Refunds

Option 1: Create a new deposit

• Create a deposit from the store back to your account
• Use the same category as the original purchase
• Link to the original transaction

Option 2: Edit the original transaction

• Adjust the amount to reflect the net cost
• Add a note explaining the refund

Recording Cash Transactions

For cash expenses:

1. Create a “Cash Wallet” asset account
2. Transfer from your bank account to cash wallet when withdrawing
3. Record cash expenses as withdrawals from the cash wallet

Shared Expenses

For expenses shared with others:

• Record the full amount you paid
• Add a tag like #shared or #split-with-roommate
• Use reports to see how much you’re owed
• Record reimbursements as deposits

Automation

Recurring Transactions

Automate regular transactions with Recurring Transactions.

Rules

Automate transaction categorization with Rules.

Importing Transactions

Import transactions from bank files:

• CSV files from your bank
• OFX/QFX files
• Other financial software exports

Import features require separate import tools or extensions. Check the Firefly III documentation for import setup.

Troubleshooting

Transaction not showing in reports

Check:

• The transaction date falls within the report period
• The transaction type is included in the report
• The transaction is not marked as deleted

Can't edit a transaction

Possible reasons:

• The transaction is locked due to reconciliation
• It’s part of a recurring series (edit the recurrence instead)
• Browser cache issues (try refreshing)

Balance doesn't match after creating transaction

Verify:

• The source and destination accounts are correct
• For transfers, both accounts are your asset accounts
• The transaction date is set correctly
• No duplicate transactions exist

Related Features

• Accounts - Set up accounts for transactions
• Budgets - Control spending with budgets
• Categories & Tags - Organize transactions
• Rules - Automate transaction processing
• Recurring Transactions - Set up automatic transactions