# Create a transaction

Add a transaction by hand when it did not arrive from a bank file or a connected account: cash, a repayment between friends, or something the bank never recorded.

## Where the dialog is

The **Transaction** button on the transactions page opens it. It also opens from an account page, with that account already chosen.

![The create transaction dialog, with the expense and income toggle next to the amount at the top, the description, date and account fields below, and the category and labels pickers under them](https://gastos.pablogranados.com/docs/documentation/create-transaction-dialog.png)

## What to fill in

Four fields are required: **amount**, **description**, **date** and **account**.

- **Amount** is typed without a sign: the **Expense / Income** toggle next to it decides whether the money goes out or comes in.
- **Description** is what you will recognise later, and what automation rules read.
- **Date** decides which month the transaction is reported in.
- **Account** decides which balance the transaction belongs to, and its currency.

**Category** and **labels** are optional and can be added at any time afterwards. Notes sit behind an **Add note** button until you need them.

Creditor and debtor names are not part of this dialog. They only exist on transactions a bank supplied them for.

## Updating the balance at the same time

On an account you keep by hand, the dialog offers **Update account balance**. Leave it ticked and the account's balance moves by the amount of the transaction, so the balance and the transaction stay in step.

On an account connected to a bank the option is not offered: the bank is the source of that balance, and the next sync would overwrite anything entered here.

## Automation rules still run

A transaction created by hand is matched against your automation rules like any other. A rule only fills what you left empty: choose a category yourself and the rule will not replace it. When a rule matches, its name is shown after saving. The exception is a [duplicated](https://gastos.pablogranados.com/documentation/transactions/duplicate) transaction, which keeps what the original had.

## FAQ

### Why is the amount saved as a negative number?

Because money going out is a negative amount everywhere in Whisper Money. Reports, budgets and cashflow all rely on the sign. You never type it yourself: the **Expense / Income** toggle in the dialog sets it for you.

### Can I create a transaction in a different currency?

No. A transaction takes the currency of its account.

---

Full documentation index: https://gastos.pablogranados.com/documentation.md?lang=en