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Understand the two movements
Buying something on a credit card is spending; paying the bill is usually a transfer from your bank to reduce the card balance. Recording both as expenses doubles your spending report.
1. Follow a $120 example
- You purchase groceries for $120 on the card. Review the $120 purchase and assign the correct spending category.
- Later you pay $120 from chequing. The chequing account shows −$120 and the credit-card account shows a $120 payment.
- Where the app supports linking transfers, pair the two payment sides rather than putting the payment in Groceries again.
The grocery expense is still $120—not $240. If you imported only one account, do not invent a matching transaction; check your statements first.
2. Check refunds, interest and fees
A merchant refund normally reverses some earlier card spending, but interest and card fees can be actual expenses. Check the dates and categories separately. Do not exclude legitimate interest because it appears on a credit-card statement.
3. Verify what is owed
Compare the app against the same credit-card statement close date. Pending purchases, refunds in transit and payments that post on different days can explain differences.
If the figures do not match
- Check for overlapping statement imports and duplicate purchases.
- Review payment transactions categorized as expenses.
- Ensure you are comparing the card balance, not just its monthly expense total.
- Keep a backup before trying to undo a large import.
Read statement reconciliation and duplicate transaction checks.
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