Tracking Transactions & Importing Statements

Your ledger is the heart of Mistos — this is where every dollar in and out lives, and Misto is right beside you to keep it tidy.

How-To Guides

How to view your ledger

Everything you've recorded sits in one friendly list, so you can see your whole money picture at a glance.

1. Open the Transactions page from the menu.
2. Read across each row: Date, Merchant, Category, Account, Amount, plus the Autopay and Tax flags.
3. Glance at the Tax-deductible {year} chip in the top-right to see your running deductible total and count for the year.
4. On a phone, swipe the list sideways to reach the action buttons on each row.

✨ Good to know: If a transaction isn't linked to an account yet, you'll see a small "—" in the Account column. That's just a placeholder, not an error.

How to filter and sort your transactions

When your list gets long, a couple of quick dropdowns help you zero in on exactly what you're looking for.

1. On the Transactions page, open the All categories dropdown and pick a category to show only those entries.
2. Open the All accounts dropdown and pick an account to narrow it further.
3. Use the sort dropdown to switch between Newest First and Oldest First.
4. Watch the list re-arrange itself the moment you choose — there's nothing to click to apply.

✨ Good to know: The two filters work together, so choosing a category and an account shows only the rows that match both.

How to add a transaction by hand

Recording money in and out keeps your whole picture honest — and it only takes a moment.

1. On the Transactions page, click Add Transaction in the top-right.
2. Choose the Type — Expense or Income.
3. Enter the Amount and a Description (the merchant's name).
4. Pick a Category, set the Date, and choose the Account it belongs to.
5. Click Create. You'll see "Transaction added" and your ledger updates instantly.

💡 Tip: Flip on Tax-deductible while you're here and it'll count toward your year-to-date tax total automatically.

How to scan a receipt to fill in a transaction

No typing required — let Misto read the receipt and do the filling-in for you.

1. Click Add Transaction to open the New transaction form.
2. Click the Scan receipt chip.
3. Take a photo or choose a picture of your receipt from your device.
4. Wait a moment while it shows Scanning….
5. Watch the Merchant, Amount, Category, Date, and Tax-deductible fields fill themselves in, and read Misto's golden confirmation bubble naming the merchant.
6. Adjust anything that isn't quite right, then click Create.

⚠️ Heads up: Scanning reads picture files only, and it's available when adding a transaction — not when editing one. Any field it can't read simply keeps whatever was already there.

How to edit a transaction

Made a typo or need to tweak a detail? Fixing it is quick and painless.

1. Find the transaction in your ledger.
2. Click the pencil icon on its row to open Edit transaction.
3. Change any of the pre-filled details you like.
4. Click Update. You'll see "Transaction updated."

✨ Good to know: If you rename a merchant, Misto quietly remembers the friendlier name and uses it for your future imports.

How to change a category from the table

You can re-categorize an entry right where it sits — no form needed.

1. In your ledger, find the row you want to change.
2. Click the Category cell — it's a dropdown all on its own.
3. Pick the new category. It saves instantly, and you'll see "Category updated to {category}."

✨ Good to know: A gold star (✦) beside a category means Misto set it from a rule it learned. It's simply letting you know it made the choice — you can always change it.

How to let Misto update matching transactions for you

Fix one entry from a merchant, and Misto can offer to tidy up all the others too.

1. Change a transaction's Category (from the table or the edit form).
2. If other transactions from the same merchant have a different category, Misto will ask: "Would you like to retroactively update all {N} other transactions matching "{merchant}" to "{category}"?"
3. Click to confirm.
4. You'll see "Retroactively updated {N} transactions," and they'll all match.

💡 Tip: This prompt only pops up when there's actually a mismatch to fix, so if you don't see it, everything from that merchant already agrees.

How to flag a transaction as Tax-deductible or Autopay

Two little toggles help Misto understand each transaction and stop nudging you needlessly.

1. Find the transaction in your ledger.
2. Toggle Tax-deductible on to count it toward your year-to-date deductible total.
3. Toggle Autopay on for charges your bank pays automatically — you'll see a green On badge with a lightning icon.
4. That's it — both save on their own, no button to press.

✨ Good to know: You can also set both toggles right inside the Add Transaction and Edit transaction forms.

How to split a transaction with a household member (Premium)

Sharing a bill? Split an expense so part of it lands on a household member's tab.

1. Click the scissors icon on the transaction's row to open the Split Transaction panel.
2. Choose the household member you're splitting with.
3. Pick a ratio — 50/50, 30/70, or 70/30.
4. Review the Amount Owed it works out for you, and edit it if needed.
5. Click Post Split. You'll see "Transaction split recorded!" and a green Split {percent}% ({amount}) badge on the row.

✨ Good to know: Splitting is part of Misto's Premium plan. If you're not on Premium yet, you'll see "Expense splitting is part of Misto's Premium" — head to the Upgrade screen whenever you're ready to unlock it.

How to attach a receipt to a transaction

Keep proof of a purchase tucked right alongside the entry it belongs to.

1. Click the Attach receipt (paperclip) icon on the transaction's row.
2. Choose a picture or PDF from your device.
3. Wait for Uploading… to finish — you'll see "Receipt attached" and a small thumbnail.
4. Click the thumbnail any time to open a full-screen preview.
5. To remove it, click the X, then confirm "Remove receipt?" You'll see "Removed."

How to delete a transaction or clear them all

Sometimes an entry has to go — and Mistos always asks first, just to be safe.

1. To remove one, click the trash icon on its row.
2. Confirm "Delete transaction?" You'll see "Deleted."
3. To wipe the whole ledger, click the red Clear All button.
4. Read the warning carefully — this deletes all transactions and resets your account balances — then confirm. You'll see "All transactions cleared."

⚠️ Heads up: Clearing all can't be undone, so it's worth a second look before you confirm.

How to import a bank or card statement

Skip the typing entirely — hand Misto a statement and let it harvest your transactions, with a full review before anything is saved.

1. On the Transactions page, find the dashed drop zone and drag your file in, or click to choose one. Misto reads PDF, CSV, OFX, QFX, and QIF files.
2. Wait while it shows reading… and sorts everything into categories for you.
3. When you see "Successfully parsed {N} transactions!", the review panel opens.
4. Pick where they should land using the Target Account dropdown (it shows each account's balance to help you choose).
5. Go down the Verify Transactions list: untick any row you'd like to skip, and fix the Date, Description, or Category on anything that needs it.
6. When it looks right, click Import {N} items.
7. Enjoy the confetti — you'll see "Harvested {N} transactions to {account}!"

💡 Tip: Dates are editable on purpose. Statements sometimes write dates in confusing formats, so give them a quick glance before importing.

How to manage the category rules Misto has learned

Over time Misto learns which merchant belongs in which category. You're always in charge of that list.

1. On the Transactions page, find the Category rules card.
2. Read each learned rule, shown as "{merchant} → {category}".
3. To remove just one, click Forget this rule (the trash icon) and confirm.
4. To reset everything Misto has picked up, click Forget all learned. You'll see "Learned categories cleared — Misto will re-learn from your next corrections."

✨ Good to know: All of these rules live safely on your device, and "Forget all learned" keeps any rules you set on purpose — it only clears what Misto figured out on its own.

Frequently Asked Questions

"Why won't my statement import?"

A few gentle things to check. If you see "Only PDF, CSV, OFX, QFX, and QIF statement formats are supported," your file is a type Misto can't read — re-download it in one of those formats. If it's over 20MB, you'll get a too-large message, so try a shorter date range. And if Misto reads the file but finds "No transaction patterns detected," your PDF is likely a scanned image of a statement rather than a text one — download the text version from your bank and it should come right in.

"Why is the scissors icon greyed out?"

No worries — this just means there's no one to split with yet. On Premium, the scissors turn on once you've invited someone; until then you'll see "Invite members to split." If you're not on Premium, you'll see "Expense splitting is part of Misto's Premium," and you can unlock it any time from the Upgrade screen.

"Where's the search box on the Transactions page?"

There isn't a typing search box here, and that's by design. Instead, you filter with the All categories and All accounts dropdowns — pick one or both and the list narrows instantly. Pair them with the Newest First / Oldest First sort to find exactly what you need.

"What does the gold star (✦) next to a category mean?"

That's just Misto letting you know it chose that category from a rule it learned — "Misto categorized this from a learned rule." It's never locked in. Click the Category cell to change it, and Misto will happily learn from your correction.

"Only some of my statement came in — what happened?"

Occasionally a handful of rows can't be saved, and Misto is honest about it: you'll see "Imported {X} of {Y}… {Z} failed and are still listed below." The ones that didn't make it stay right there in the review list, so you can adjust a detail and click Import {N} items again to bring them in.