Glossary

The terms used across this help center, in alphabetical order, each linked to the article that explains it in full. New to Pennyweight? Start with Start here, then read workspaces and ledgers. See also what your AI can do, limits and timeouts and how categories work.

Account (linked vs manual)

A linked account is at a US bank or card you connected. Its transactions arrive on their own, and its balance is the one your bank reports. A manual account is one you add for money Pennyweight can't sync, such as cash, a car or an account outside the US. Its balance is the starting figure plus its transactions. See how and when bank transactions arrive and add a manual account.

Active ledger

The ledger your AI works in when you don't name one. Each connected AI has its own, saved on its connection, and it starts at your default ledger each time you authorize an AI. See choose which ledger your AI works in.

Audit log

The record of your AI's changes, usually with its reason and the AI app that made each one. Each ledger has its own log; changes that aren't about one ledger, such as settings or a backup restore, go in the workspace log. Reading your data isn't logged. See the audit trail.

Base currency

The currency you pick during setup. Your default ledger uses it, and it can't be changed later. It's your display currency until you choose another. See choosing your currencies.

Demo ledger

A ledger of 12 months of fictional personal or business transactions for trying Pennyweight. Create one during setup or in the web app's Ledgers settings. It's free, stays out of your real totals, and can be reset to fresh data or deleted. See Start here.

Display currency

The currency for totals that combine ledgers, such as net worth, converted at daily exchange rates. It starts as your base currency; change it in the web app's settings or ask your AI. Stored amounts are never converted. See accounts and totals in more than one currency.

Duplicate vs ambiguous (import)

In an import preview, a duplicate is a row with the same date, amount to the cent, currency and merchant as a transaction already in the account. An ambiguous row matches on date, amount and currency but has a different merchant. Unless you say otherwise, duplicates are skipped and ambiguous rows are imported. Only the target account is checked.

An exact repeat inside the same file is a duplicate only when the same running balance proves it; otherwise it's ambiguous, since it can be a second real purchase. On a file uploaded straight to Pennyweight, a row is also a duplicate when an existing transaction's merchant matches another column of that row. See reading an import preview and find and fix duplicates.

Feed coverage

For a linked account, the earliest and latest dates of the transactions your bank has sent. Only bank transactions count, so history you import doesn't change the range. See add older history to a linked bank account.

Knowledge entry

A note your AI keeps about one ledger: a fact you told it, an assumption, or something it noticed. Knowledge never categorizes a transaction by itself, and it stays in its ledger. See what your AI remembers and teach Pennyweight how your money works.

Ledger

A part of your workspace you want to see on its own, such as your household, a business or a trip. Each ledger has a name, a type and a currency. Every account belongs to one ledger, and so do rules, budgets, alerts and knowledge. A budget's limit is in its ledger's currency. See workspaces and ledgers.

Lock vs sign out

Both make this browser forget your unlocked keys, so you'll need your passphrase again. Sign out also ends your sign-in. Neither one disconnects your AI. See lock vs sign out.

Opening balance

What an account held before its first recorded transaction. Pennyweight adds the account's transactions to it, so a wrong opening shifts every later balance by the same amount. An account for money between people has none. See set or correct an opening balance.

Passphrase

A phrase you create during setup. Your data is encrypted with a key derived from it, and it isn't your login password. Pennyweight can't reset it. See create your account and passphrase.

Past due

The status of your subscription after a renewal payment fails. Your plan stays active while it's past due, so your AI keeps working and your banks keep syncing. See payment failed.

Person (IOU) account

An account for one person you lent money to or borrowed from: someone who owes you, or someone you owe. Its balance is the sum of the loans and repayments recorded on it, with no starting balance. See track money you lent or borrowed.

Pin

A knowledge entry saved as yours, at full confidence. Observations your AI records on its own are never pins. A pin on a merchant means Pennyweight stops your AI from changing that merchant's category without checking with you, refuses a contradicting rule until you confirm, and makes rules skip that merchant's transactions. See what your AI remembers.

Preview and confirm

For most changes that touch many transactions at once, or bring data in, Pennyweight returns a preview first and saves nothing until your AI sends the request again with a one-time confirmation code. Applying your rules to transactions you already have works this way too. The code expires after 15 minutes, or 60 minutes when restoring a backup. Undoing an import is an exception: it has no confirmation code. Your AI decides when to show you the preview, and can run the preview and the save back to back. See preview and confirm.

Profile

What your AI knows about you across every ledger: your preferred voice, how you make money decisions, people it should recognize, and a short note. Your AI receives it when it connects; if a connection can't open it, reconnect Pennyweight in your AI app. The web copy and your AI's copy don't sync; see your AI profile.

Read-only ledger

What a ledger becomes when your trial is over and it has no subscription of its own. You can still view it, export it and delete it, but adding or changing data in it is paused. Your other ledgers aren't affected. A payment that is only past due doesn't cause it. See when a ledger is read-only.

Recovery code

A code shown once during setup. It's the only way back into your data if you forget your passphrase. If you lose both, your data is permanently unrecoverable. See save your recovery code.

Reversal check

When your AI tries to change a category that you, a rule or your bank set on a transaction last changed within the past 90 days, Pennyweight holds the change until you confirm it. Giving an uncategorized transaction its first category never triggers it. See why your AI asks "are you sure?".

Rule

A saved decision that a merchant's charges belong in one category. A rule belongs to one ledger and matches the merchant name only. Active rules categorize new transactions as they're added, including bank transactions at your next session. They never change a category you set yourself, and existing transactions change only when your AI applies your rules to them. See create a rule and Apply your rules to transactions you already have.

Soft delete and restore window

A deleted transaction disappears at once from searches, balances and reports, and you can ask your AI to restore it for 30 days. After that it's removed permanently. Transactions removed by undoing an import can also be restored for 30 days. See delete a transaction and restore it.

Split

One charge divided into pieces, each with its own amount and category. The pieces must add up to the charge. Your AI's category reports and budgets count each piece under its own category. The web app's category totals count the whole charge under its main category. See split a transaction.

Transfer link

A link that pairs two of your transactions so they count correctly. Links never change a balance. There are four kinds:

• Transfer and reimbursement pair two transactions on different accounts with opposite signs. Both sides are left out of spending and cash flow. See link the two sides of a transfer.
• Refund match pairs a purchase with its refund. A full refund leaves both out; a partial one keeps both counting, so spending shows what you paid. See match a refund to its purchase.
• Pass-through pairs one purchase recorded twice, such as a PayPal payment and the card charge behind it. You name the side that keeps counting, so the purchase counts once. See a purchase shows twice.

For the rule behind all of them, see transfers aren't spending.

Workspace

Where Pennyweight keeps your money, created when you set up your account. It holds your encryption key and your base currency. Your account starts with one. See workspaces and ledgers.