Transaction fees

Some purchases come with an extra charge, a bank fee, a service fee, a card fee, that you want to track separately from the main amount, but still save as one action. A fee lets you do that: one transaction for what you bought, plus a linked fee leg that records the charge on its own.

TL;DR

A fee is an extra expense you attach to any transaction. You tap "Add fee", pick how much it was and which envelope it belongs to, and CentBase saves it as a separate expense linked to the original. In your lists you see the main transaction with a small "Fee" line underneath; the fee itself lives in its own envelope so your budget stays accurate.

What a fee actually is

When you add a fee, CentBase saves two transactions that are linked together:

• The main transaction, the purchase, income, or transfer you entered.
• The fee, a separate expense for the fee amount, paid from an account into a fee envelope.

Both point at each other, so the app always knows they belong together. In your transaction lists you only see one row: the main transaction, with a small fee line tucked underneath it. The fee transaction itself is hidden from the standalone list, it never shows up as a second, duplicate entry.

A fee is always an expense, even when the main transaction is income or a transfer. If the fee is $3, that $3 leaves the account you chose and is tracked as spending in the fee envelope.

How to add a fee

You add a fee from the same form where you create or edit any transaction. It works for new transactions, edits, clones, and templates.

1. Open the transaction form, tap + from the Transactions tab, or edit an existing transaction.

2. Scroll to the Transaction Fee section. While no fee is attached, you'll see a pill that says "Add fee", tap it.

3. The first time you add a fee in a budget, CentBase asks where fees should go:

   • "Create "Fees" envelope", creates a new expense envelope called "Fees" in that budget, or
   • "Select existing envelope", pick any expense envelope you already have.

   CentBase remembers your choice for that budget, so next time it pre-fills the fee envelope for you. The dialog title is "Set up a fee envelope".

4. Enter the Fee amount (the field is tinted the same way as other expenses), choose the Fee envelope if you want to change it, and pick "Fee paid from" if the fee came from a different account. If you leave the account blank, CentBase uses the main transaction's account.

5. As soon as you type a fee amount, a small breakdown appears right under the main amount at the top of the form: "+ $3.00 Fee" and a "Total: $103.00" line so you can see the combined cost before you save.

To remove a fee, tap "Remove fee" in the fee section header. The fee fields disappear and the pill comes back.

If you try to save a fee without picking an envelope, you'll see "Please select a fee envelope", pick one and save again.

The Fees envelope

When you choose "Create "Fees" envelope", CentBase creates an expense envelope named "Fees" in the first expense group of that budget. It uses a receipt-style icon and a coral color, and it is marked as excluded from the budget so it doesn't inflate your budget totals.

That matters: fees are real spending you want to track, but most people don't want a $3 bank fee to count toward their grocery budget's "Available" or to throw off Budget Health. Keeping the Fees envelope excluded keeps your envelope balances honest while still letting you see fee spending if you open that envelope's page.

You can change the fee envelope later, tap the envelope row inside the fee section and pick a different one. If you picked an existing envelope the first time, that choice is saved as the budget's default fee envelope. You can also create your own envelope called something else (like "Bank Charges") and use that instead; it works the same way.

Each budget remembers its own default fee envelope, so a personal budget and a shared budget can point at different fee envelopes.

How fees show up after you save

• On the transaction row. The row shows the main amount as usual, and underneath it a small line that reads "Fee − $3.00" in a muted red. It lines up with the amount column so you can scan it quickly.
• In the details view. Opening the transaction shows the fee envelope and fee details alongside the main transaction.
• In envelope and account pages. The fee is spending in its own envelope and account. Open the "Fees" envelope and you'll see the fee there. Open the account the fee was paid from and you'll see the fee as an expense from that account. The main transaction stays in its own envelope, the two don't double-count in one place.
• In the transaction list. You never see the fee as a separate standalone row. It lives nested under its parent. That keeps your list clean, one purchase, one row, while still keeping the accounting exact.
• In Advanced Search. By default, fee legs are hidden from search results just like they are from the main list, so a filtered search doesn't show orphan fee rows. If you open a transaction that has a fee, the watcher loads the companion so you always see the full picture.

Fees with templates, schedules, and clones

A fee travels with the transaction when you reuse it:

• Templates. When you save a transaction with a fee as a template (using "Save as reusable template" from the form), the fee, its amount, envelope, and account, is saved as part of the template. Every time you use that template, the fee is pre-filled. You can still change or remove it before saving.
• Scheduled transactions. A schedule is a template running on a schedule, so the same rule applies: the fee is part of the blueprint. Each occurrence CentBase posts includes its own fee leg automatically. Editing the schedule's template changes future occurrences; transactions already posted keep the fee they were created with. See Scheduled transactions.
• Clone. Cloning a transaction that has a fee copies the fee into the new draft, so you don't have to re-enter it. You can keep it, change it, or tap "Remove fee" before saving the clone.
• Reverse / Refund. A reverse or refund creates a compensating transaction for the main leg; it does not automatically create a matching fee reversal.

Editing and deleting a fee

• Change the fee. Open the transaction, tap Edit, and the fee section comes back with the current fee amount, envelope, and account. Change any of them and save.
• Remove the fee. In edit mode, tap "Remove fee" at the top of the fee section and save. The companion fee transaction is unlinked and removed, leaving the main transaction behind.
• Add a fee later. Open any existing transaction, tap Edit, then tap "Add fee" and fill it in. Saving links a new fee to that transaction.
• Delete the main transaction. Deleting the parent removes the fee with it (they are linked). The usual Undo banner appears for a few seconds in case you want it back.

Summary

Question	Answer
What is a fee?	A linked expense leg attached to any transaction
How is it saved?	Two linked transactions, main + fee, shown as one row
What type is the fee?	Always an expense, even for income or transfer parents
Where does the fee's money go?	Into the fee envelope you pick (defaults to a "Fees" envelope excluded from the budget)
Which account pays the fee?	The account you pick in "Fee paid from", or the main transaction's account if you leave it blank
Where do I add it?	Tap "Add fee" in the Transaction Fee section of the transaction form
Can I remove it?	Yes, "Remove fee" in the fee header, then save
Does it travel with reuse?	Yes, saved with templates, posted with each scheduled occurrence, and copied when you clone

Sample use cases

• ATM withdrawal with a charge. You withdraw $100 and the bank charges $3. Save the main transaction as an expense of $100 against "Cash" and add a $3 fee into "Fees" (or "Bank Charges"). Your account drops by $103, but each envelope sees only its own part.
• Card purchase with a service fee. You pay $50 for a ticket plus a $2 service fee. The main $50 goes to "Entertainment" and the $2 fee goes to "Fees". In the transaction list you see $50 with a small "Fee − $2.00" underneath, one row, full story.
• A template you reuse. You regularly pay a vendor who always adds a $5 processing fee. Save the transaction as a template once with the $5 fee, and every future use of that template comes pre-filled with the fee attached.