Transaction types
Every transaction is one of four types. The type tells CentBase which direction money moves, into an account, out of an account, or between accounts, and it drives how the amount is shown and how it affects your budget.
TL;DR
Four types: Income (money added, shown green), Expense (money spent, shown negative), Transfer (money moved between your own accounts), and Balance adjustment (a behind-the-scenes correction). Income grows your budget, expenses shrink it, and transfers and balance adjustments don't touch your budget at all, they only change account balances.
Income
Money added to an account. Shown as a positive amount (in green).
Examples: your paycheck, a refund, interest earned, money received.
Income is assigned to income envelopes (like "Paycheck" or "Side Hustle") so it lands in your budget as money you can give a job to. In the app this is what "fills" an envelope and increases your Ready-To-Assign money.
Expense
Money spent from an account. Shown as a negative amount.
Examples: groceries, rent, gas, a coffee, your streaming subscription.
Expenses are assigned to expense envelopes, and they're what your "Spent" / "Available" numbers in the budget actually track, every expense reduces the money available in its envelope.
Transfer
Money moved between two of your accounts. It has a From account and a To account (for example, moving money from Checking into Savings).
A transfer is shown with a distinct blue tone so you can spot it easily.
Transfers don't affect your budget, you're not spending or earning money, just moving your own money around, so no envelope is touched. Your total across all accounts stays the same; only the two balances change.
Envelopes on transfers? By default transfers carry no envelope. If the destination is off-budget (or a liability like a loan/credit card), you can optionally attach an envelope, then that transfer does count as spending in that envelope. See Account & envelope settings.
Where to find it: Add Transaction → Type → Transfer → pick From and To accounts.
Balance adjustment
A correction to an account's balance. This is a special type used behind the scenes to fix an account's starting balance or correct a discrepancy, for example, when you set an opening balance, or when you align an account to the real statement during reconciliation.
You won't see "Balance adjustment" in the type picker when adding a transaction, it's applied automatically when the app needs to correct a balance. Like a transfer, it never touches your budget.
Summary
| Type | Direction | Shown as | Touches your budget? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income | Into an account | Positive (green) | Yes, more Ready-To-Assign |
| Expense | Out of an account | Negative | Yes, less available in the envelope |
| Transfer | Between your accounts | Distinct blue tone | No |
| Balance adjustment | Corrects a balance | (automatic) | No |
That's the core rule: your budget tracks the plan (envelopes), while your accounts track reality (balances). Transactions are how the two stay in sync.
Sample use cases
- Paycheck day. Income into your Checking → "Paycheck" income envelope, then fill Groceries and Rent.
- Moving savings. Transfer from Checking to Savings, balances move, your budget doesn't flinch.
- Setting up an account. When you first add an account, CentBase posts a balance adjustment to match the opening balance you set.
- A refund. Post a refund as income into the envelope the original purchase drew from, and your budget comes back in line.