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Categories help you classify transactions for reporting, analysis, and accounting purposes.

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What are Categories?

Categories are labels you assign to transactions to organize them by type or purpose. Examples include:
  • Revenue - Income from clients or sales
  • Operating Expenses - Day-to-day business costs
  • Trading - Buy/sell activity
  • Transfers - Movements between your own wallets
  • Subscriptions - Recurring payments

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Default Categories

New accounts include these default categories:
CategorySuggested Use
IncomeReceived payments and revenue
ExpensesOutgoing payments and costs
TradingExchange and swap transactions
TransferInternal wallet transfers
Customize these defaults or create new categories that match your workflow.

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Managing Categories

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Creating a Category

1

Go to Settings

Navigate to Settings from the sidebar.
2

Open Categories

Click on the Categories tab or section.
3

Click Add Category

Click the Add Category button.
4

Enter category details

FieldDescription
NameCategory name (e.g., “Consulting Revenue”)
ColorOptional color for visual distinction
Keep names short but descriptive for easy selection.
5

Save

Click Create to add the category.

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Editing a Category

  1. Go to Settings → Categories
  2. Find the category you want to edit
  3. Click the Edit button (pencil icon)
  4. Modify the name or color
  5. Click Save
Editing a category name updates it on all previously assigned transactions.

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Deleting a Category

Deleting a category removes the categorization from all transactions that used it. The transactions themselves are not deleted.
  1. Go to Settings → Categories
  2. Find the category to delete
  3. Click the Delete button (trash icon)
  4. Confirm the deletion

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Assigning Categories

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Manual Assignment

Assign categories to individual transactions:
1

Open Transactions

Navigate to Transactions from the sidebar.
2

Select a transaction

Click on the transaction you want to categorize.
3

Choose a category

Click the category dropdown and select from your categories.
The category is saved automatically.

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Bulk Assignment

To categorize multiple transactions at once:
  1. Filter transactions (e.g., by contact or date range)
  2. Select multiple transactions using checkboxes
  3. Click Bulk Actions → Set Category
  4. Choose the category to apply
Use filters to find similar transactions, then bulk assign to save time.

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Auto-Categorization

Chainbook can automatically assign categories based on patterns you’ve established.

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Enabling Auto-Categorization

1

Go to Settings

Navigate to Settings from the sidebar.
2

Find Auto-Categorization

Locate the Auto-Categorize toggle.
3

Enable the feature

Turn on the toggle.
Auto-categorization uses AI to learn from your existing categorization patterns.

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How It Works

When auto-categorization is enabled:
  1. Chainbook analyzes your existing categorized transactions
  2. It identifies patterns (e.g., transactions from address X are usually “Revenue”)
  3. New transactions matching patterns are automatically categorized
  4. Auto-assigned categories are marked so you can review them

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Reviewing Auto-Assignments

Transactions with auto-assigned categories show an indicator:
  • Look for the “auto” badge next to the category
  • Review and adjust if the AI made a mistake
  • Your corrections help improve future suggestions
The more transactions you manually categorize, the better auto-categorization becomes.

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Disabling Auto-Categorization

If you prefer manual control:
  1. Go to Settings
  2. Toggle off Auto-Categorize
  3. Existing auto-assignments remain, but no new ones are made
Disabling auto-categorization also removes existing auto-assigned categories. Manually assigned categories are preserved.

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Category Best Practices

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Keep Categories Consistent

Create a category structure that works for your needs: For personal use:
  • Income
  • Expenses
  • Savings/Investment
  • Transfers
For business use:
  • Revenue
  • Operating Expenses
  • Payroll
  • Taxes
  • Capital Expenses
  • Internal Transfers

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Use Specific Names

Specific category names make reports more useful.
✅ Good names:
  • “Client Payments”
  • “Software Subscriptions”
  • “Exchange Withdrawals”
❌ Avoid vague names:
  • “Misc”
  • “Other”
  • “Stuff”

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Match Your Accounting

If you use accounting software:
  • Mirror your chart of accounts in Chainbook
  • Makes export reconciliation easier
  • Consistent reporting across systems

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Regular Review

Set a routine to categorize transactions:
  • Daily: Categorize new transactions
  • Weekly: Review uncategorized transactions
  • Monthly: Audit category assignments

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Using Categories in Reports

Categories power several reporting features:

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Dashboard Charts

The “Chart by Categories” shows:
  • Transaction distribution by category
  • Largest categories by value
  • Uncategorized transaction percentage

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Filtered Views

Filter transactions by category to:
  • View all income transactions
  • Review specific expense types
  • Find uncategorized transactions

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Exports

Category information is included in CSV exports:
  • “Category” column shows the assigned category
  • Use for accounting import
  • Filter in spreadsheets by category

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Frequently Asked Questions

No, each transaction can only have one category. If you need multiple classifications, consider:
  • Using more specific category names
  • Tracking in separate systems for different purposes
  • Using the description field for additional notes
Transactions lose their category assignment but are not deleted. They become “uncategorized” and can be assigned to a different category.
Currently, categories must be created manually. For bulk creation, contact support for assistance with larger category lists.
There’s no limit on the number of categories. However, we recommend keeping your list manageable (10-20 categories) for easier selection and reporting.