Accounts
Learn about budget and tracking accounts, how to add them, manage transfers, and reconcile your balances.
Budget vs Tracking Accounts#
Zerosum has two types of accounts, each serving a different purpose in your financial picture:
Budget Accounts
Affect your budget
Money in these accounts is distributed to budget categories. Transactions require a category and affect your available amounts.
Tracking Accounts
Don't affect budget
Monitor assets and liabilities without involving your budget. Great for net worth tracking.
Key Difference
Budget accounts require you to budget their balance to categories. Tracking accounts are for observation only – they appear in net worth calculations but don't affect your monthly budget.
When to Use Each Type#
Use Budget accounts for money you spend day-to-day: checking, savings, and cash.
Use Tracking accounts for long-term assets and debts you want to monitor but don't budget from: retirement funds, home equity, car loans, mortgages.
Adding Accounts#
Setting up your accounts correctly is crucial for accurate budgeting. Here's how to add a new account:
Steps to Add an Account
- Click "Add Account" in the sidebar or accounts section
- Choose the account type – Budget or Tracking
- Enter account details:
- Name (e.g., "Chase Checking", "Emergency Savings")
- Starting balance (your current actual balance)
- Optional: Pick a color for easy identification
- Optional: Add notes
- Save the account
Understanding Starting Balances#
The starting balance is your actual account balance right now. What happens to this money depends on the account type:
Budget Account Starting Balance
The balance becomes Ready to Budget. You'll need to budget this money to your categories just like any other income.
Tracking Account Starting Balance
The balance is recorded but doesn't affect your budget. It appears in your net worth calculations only.
Account Colors & Organization#
Assign colors to your accounts to quickly identify them:
- Green for savings accounts
- Blue for checking accounts
- Purple for investments
Colors appear in the sidebar and on transaction lists, making it easy to see which account each transaction belongs to.
Transfers Between Accounts#
Transfers move money between your accounts. How transfers work depends on the account types involved.
Same-Type Transfers#
Money moves without affecting your budget categories. The total across your budget accounts stays the same.
Moves value between tracking accounts. Useful for recording investment transfers or loan payments between tracked accounts.
Cross-Type Transfers#
When transferring between Budget and Tracking accounts, the budget side affects your Ready to Budget:
Money leaves your budget (like making an investment contribution). Your Ready to Budget decreases.
Money enters your budget (like selling investments). Your Ready to Budget increases – you'll need to budget this new money.
Warning
Cross-type transfers affect your budget! If you transfer from budget to tracking (like contributing to retirement), make sure you've budgeted for that contribution.
Creating a Transfer#
- Go to either account involved in the transfer
- Click "Add Transaction"
- Instead of a payee, select "Transfer" and choose the destination account
- Enter the amount and date
- Save – both accounts update automatically
When you create a transfer, Zerosum creates linked transactions in both accounts. If you delete one side, the other is also deleted.
Reconciling Accounts#
Reconciliation ensures your Zerosum balance matches your actual bank balance. Regular reconciliation catches errors and keeps your budget accurate.
Why Reconcile?#
- Catch missing transactions – Find purchases you forgot to record
- Spot duplicates – Find transactions entered twice
- Verify amounts – Ensure transaction amounts are correct
- Build confidence – Know your budget reflects reality
The Reconciliation Process#
- Get your bank balance
Log into your bank or check your statement for the current balance
- Start reconciliation
In Zerosum, click the account and select "Reconcile"
- Enter the bank balance
Type in the exact balance shown by your bank
- Mark transactions as cleared
Go through each transaction and mark those that appear on your statement
- Match the balance
When cleared balance equals bank balance, you're done!
- Finish reconciliation
Click to lock cleared transactions as "reconciled"
Handling Balance Mismatches#
If your cleared balance doesn't match your bank balance:
- Check for missing transactions – Look at your bank statement for transactions not in Zerosum
- Verify amounts – Make sure each transaction amount matches the bank
- Look for duplicates – The same transaction might be entered twice
- Check pending transactions – Some transactions may not have cleared at the bank yet
Adjustment Option
If you can't find the discrepancy and it's a small amount, Zerosum can create an adjustment transaction. Use this sparingly – it's better to find the actual error when the amount is significant.
How Often to Reconcile#
We recommend reconciling:
- Weekly – Ideal for active accounts with many transactions
- Bi-weekly – Good balance of accuracy and effort
- Monthly – Minimum recommended frequency
The more frequently you reconcile, the smaller the errors and the easier they are to find and fix.
Closing Accounts#
When you close a bank account or pay off a loan:
- Ensure the balance is zero (transfer remaining funds if needed)
- Mark the account as closed in Zerosum
- The account moves to your "Closed Accounts" section
- Historical transactions remain for reference
Tip
Don't delete accounts – closing them preserves your transaction history and keeps your past reports accurate.
Next: Analytics & Reports
Learn how to visualize your spending patterns and track your financial progress with Zerosum's analytics.