# 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 account, date, description and amount fields filled in and the category and labels pickers below them](https://whisper.money/docs/documentation/create-transaction-dialog.png)

## What to fill in

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

- **Account** decides which balance the transaction belongs to, and its currency.
- **Date** decides which month the transaction is reported in.
- **Description** is what you will recognise later, and what automation rules read.
- **Amount** is negative for money going out and positive for money coming in.

**Category**, **labels** and **notes** are optional and can be added at any time afterwards.

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.

## 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.

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

No. A transaction takes the currency of its account.

---

Full documentation index: https://whisper.money/documentation.md?lang=en