Move a transaction to a different ledger
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Each transaction belongs to the ledger of its account, and Pennyweight can't move one to another ledger. You can still get it into the right books. Re-enter it in an account of the other ledger and delete the original, or split it so the other ledger's cash flow counts it. For how ledgers and accounts fit together, see workspaces and ledgers.
Why a transaction can't move
Every account lives in one ledger, and its transactions are filed in that ledger. When your AI adds a transaction, it goes into the ledger of the account you name. A request to file it in a different ledger is refused.
How to do it
Use this when the money actually came from an account in the other ledger, for example a coffee you paid from your business checking that was recorded on your personal checking.
- Tell your AI which transaction is in the wrong place. Name the merchant, amount, date and account.
- Name the account in the other ledger it belongs to. If that ledger has no such account yet, add a manual account to it first.
- Ask your AI to add the transaction to that account with the same date, amount and merchant. See record cash or a missing transaction.
- Ask your AI to delete the original. A delete needs a reason, and you can restore the original for 30 days. See delete a transaction and restore it.
My $4.75 Daily Grind Coffee charge from the 3rd of last month is on Everyday Checking, but I paid it from Studio Checking. Add it to Studio Checking with the same date, amount and merchant, then delete the one on Everyday Checking.
When the transaction has to stay on its account
A business purchase on your personal card stays on that card. Re-entering it on another account would change that account's balance for money it never spent. Instead, ask your AI to split the charge and assign the piece to the other ledger. A single piece for the full amount works, because the pieces only have to add up to the charge.
The $142.67 Big Basket Superstore charge on my Rewards Card last month was for the studio. Keep it on the card, but count it in my Studio ledger's cash flow, then show me Studio's cash flow for last month.
A cash flow report for the other ledger then counts that piece. Other reports, such as spending by category, keep the whole charge in its original ledger. See split one charge across categories.
What you'll see
For the first prompt, your AI confirms a $4.75 Daily Grind Coffee charge on Studio Checking, dated the 3rd of last month, and says it deleted the one on Everyday Checking. For the second, it confirms the split and shows Studio's cash flow for last month with the $142.67 counted as an expense. The charge stays on the Rewards Card.
If you ask your AI to move it
If your AI tries to change a transaction's ledger, Pennyweight refuses the change and the transaction stays where it was. The refusal tells your AI the two ways that work: split the transaction and assign a piece to the other ledger, or delete it and add it again in the other ledger. Your AI should then offer you one of them.
Move the Bluejay Air charge on my Rewards Card to my Studio ledger.
Good to know
- The new entry is a new transaction. It gets its own id, and it doesn't keep the original's category, tags or notes unless your AI adds them to it.
- Both balances are recalculated. Adding the new entry updates its account's balance, and deleting the original updates the old account's balance.
- A linked transfer loses its link. If the original is one side of a linked transfer, deleting it unlinks the other side.
- Tags don't change the ledger. A tag such as "Business" leaves the transaction where it is. See tag transactions and add notes.