Spending reports help you understand where your money is going over time. ClearCash groups your transactions into trends and breakdowns so you can see total spending, compare periods, and identify the categories or merchants driving the change.
What spending reports show
Spending reports are built from your categorized transactions. Depending on the view, you can analyze:
- Total spending over time
- Spending by category
- Spending by merchant
- Personal spending versus shared group spending
Categories are what make the reports useful, so it is worth keeping them accurate as you add or import transactions.
Time ranges and grouping
ClearCash supports multiple time views so you can look at short-term changes or broader trends:
| View | Best for |
|---|---|
| Daily | Recent activity and short spending spikes |
| Weekly | Lifestyle trends and week-to-week comparisons |
| Monthly | Bigger patterns like rent, groceries, travel, and recurring bills |
The right view depends on the question you’re asking. Monthly usually gives the clearest high-level picture, while daily is better for investigating a specific period.
Category and merchant breakdowns
There are two common ways to read your spending:
Category breakdown
Use this when you want to know what kind of spending is driving the total, such as groceries, housing, dining, or travel.
Merchant breakdown
Use this when you want to know where the money went, such as Amazon, Costco, or your utility provider.
These views are complementary. A merchant may appear under one category in one month and another category later if you reclassify transactions, so category accuracy matters.
Shared spending and groups
If you use groups, reports can help answer different questions depending on the scope:
- Your personal spending across all accessible accounts
- Spending from a specific shared group
- Spending attributable to a specific member’s share
This makes it possible to analyze household expenses without merging all personal finances into one undifferentiated report.
Shared visibility and shared ownership are not the same thing. A transaction can be visible in a group report while still being attributed according to each member’s split percentage.
Keeping reports accurate
Reports are only as good as the underlying transaction data. If something looks off, check:
- The transaction category
- Whether the transaction was duplicated during import or sync
- Whether the correct account or group is selected
- Whether a transfer was categorized as spending by mistake
For manual accounts, remember that ClearCash only knows about the transactions you’ve entered or imported.
Recording transactions → · Importing transactions from CSV →
Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn’t a transfer show up as spending?
Moving money between two of your own accounts is not new spending — it is just a balance movement. If a transfer is categorized like a purchase, it can make the report look inflated.
Do refunds affect spending reports?
Yes. Refunds reduce spending for the category or merchant they are assigned to. If a refund is uncategorized or categorized differently from the original purchase, the report may not look how you expect.
Can I include manual accounts in spending reports?
Yes. Manual accounts and connected accounts both feed into spending reports as long as they have transactions recorded on them. See Manual accounts →
Why does shared spending look different from my personal spending total?
Shared reports and personal reports answer different questions. A shared report looks at the selected group, while your personal report reflects your own accessible accounts and your share of split transactions.
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