Opening the create transaction form
You can create a new transaction from several places in Commander Finance:- The Home page displays a Create Transaction button.
- The Transactions page includes a + button in the page toolbar, labeled New transaction at wider widths and shown as a bare + icon on narrow screens. On this page you can also press
nto open the form, unless a text field has focus. - An Account Detail page includes a + icon button in its Transactions section, which pre-selects the account.
- A Budget Line Detail page includes a + icon button in its Transactions section, which pre-selects the budget line.
Entering transaction details
The form begins with the Amount field, which displays-$0.00 by default. A toggle button on the left controls whether the transaction is an expense or income—red with a down arrow indicates an expense (a negative amount), while green with an up arrow indicates income (a positive amount). Click the toggle to switch between the two states, or type a minus sign in the amount field to negate the value.
The Amount field requires a non-zero value; Commander displays an error if you attempt to save a transaction with a zero amount.
You can select a merchant from the Merchant dropdown or type to search and filter your existing merchant list. The merchant is optional, but if you leave it blank you must fill in the Memo field below it. Typing a new merchant name that doesn’t exist in your list creates that merchant when you save the transaction. If you previously linked a merchant to a budget line, Commander fills in the Budget Line field automatically when you select the merchant.
The Memo field provides space for transaction notes or descriptions and accepts up to 128 characters. You must fill in either the Merchant or Memo field—Commander displays an error message if both remain empty. In the main transaction lists, transactions display with their merchant name as the identifier; if you view transactions grouped by merchant, the Memo field identifies individual transactions within that merchant’s list.
Setting additional transaction information
The Date field defaults to today. Click the calendar icon to open the date picker, or use the segmented input to adjust the month, day, and year individually. Commander does not allow future dates; if you select one, the form displaysThe transaction date cannot be in the future and blocks saving until you choose today or earlier. Below the date, select an account from the Account dropdown by choosing from your list or typing to search. Commander requires an account selection before saving.
The Budget Line field assigns the transaction to a category for tracking. Click the dropdown to select from existing budget lines or type to search. You can also create a new budget line by typing a name that doesn’t exist in your list—Commander creates the new line when you save the transaction. The Budget Line field is optional; you can categorize unassigned transactions later from the transactions list or from the transaction detail page.
The transaction-status checkbox at the bottom of the form is labeled Transaction Status: Settled when checked and switches to Transaction Status: Pending when unchecked. This status helps track whether transactions—particularly credit card charges—have fully processed or remain pending with your financial institution.