[Bug]: Mismatch Between Cash Flow Card and Cash Flow Drill-Down Report #880

New Issue

GiteaMirror · 2026-02-28T19:22:55-06:00

GiteaMirror commented

2026-02-28 19:22:55 -06:00

Originally created by @Torqu3Wr3nch on GitHub (Jan 16, 2024).

Verified issue does not already exist?

I have searched and found no existing issue

What happened?

Using the savings workflow recommended in the "Recommended workflow for new users", when money is transferred into a savings account and using the savings transaction category, savings is correctly shown as a transfer, distinct from expenses, in the cash flow drill down report (https:///reports/cash-flow).

However, when viewing the Cash Flow Card (https:///reports), the transfer (and thus savings) workflow is bucketed with expenses, thus reporting an incorrectly inflated expense flow.

tl;dr: Transfers are classified as expenses in the Cash Flow Card which should not be the case.

Why this is a problem

This mismatch is not only detrimental from a reporting perspective, but also from a usability/Actual budget mindset where "The purpose of a budget is to answer simple questions: how much money did I save last month?" is blurred because savings are now treated as expenses.

What should happen

Since many/most users use the cash flow card as a quick gauge check to see if they're living within their means (i.e. positive, or at least neutral cashflow), this mismatch should be fixed where the Cash Flow Card filters only on expenses and does not include expenses, just as its drill-down report does. (This should also be fixed in the sum of income + expenses in the top right of the card).

What error did you receive?

No response

Where are you hosting Actual?

Docker

What browsers are you seeing the problem on?

Microsoft Edge

Operating System

Windows 11

Originally created by @Torqu3Wr3nch on GitHub (Jan 16, 2024). ### Verified issue does not already exist? - [X] I have searched and found no existing issue ### What happened? Using the [savings workflow recommended in the "Recommended workflow for new users"](https://actualbudget.com/docs/budgeting/how-it-works/), when money is transferred into a savings account and using the savings transaction category, **savings is correctly shown as a transfer, distinct from expenses, in the cash flow drill down report** (https://<domain>/reports/cash-flow). However, when viewing the **Cash Flow Card (https://<domain>/reports), the transfer (and thus savings) workflow is bucketed with expenses, thus reporting an incorrectly inflated expense flow**. **tl;dr:** Transfers are classified as expenses in the Cash Flow Card which should not be the case. ### Why this is a problem This mismatch is not only detrimental from a reporting perspective, but also from a usability/Actual budget mindset where "The purpose of a budget is to answer simple questions: how much money did I save last month?" is blurred because savings are now treated as expenses. ### What should happen Since many/most users use the cash flow card as a quick gauge check to see if they're living within their means (i.e. positive, or at least neutral cashflow), this mismatch should be fixed where the Cash Flow Card filters only on expenses and does not include expenses, just as its drill-down report does. (This should also be fixed in the sum of income + expenses in the top right of the card). ### What error did you receive? _No response_ ### Where are you hosting Actual? Docker ### What browsers are you seeing the problem on? Microsoft Edge ### Operating System Windows 11

GiteaMirror added the bug label 2026-02-28 19:22:55 -06:00

GiteaMirror closed this issue

2026-02-28 19:22:56 -06:00

GiteaMirror commented

2026-02-28 19:22:56 -06:00

@Torqu3Wr3nch commented on GitHub (Jan 23, 2024):

While we're on the subject, adding Bring Back Account Types #2021 as a related issue since this issue would allow us to more intelligently handle "transfers" and help us more properly categorize transfers as "expenses" vs savings/off-budget transfers automatically.

@Torqu3Wr3nch commented on GitHub (Jan 23, 2024): While we're on the subject, adding [Bring Back Account Types #2021](https://github.com/actualbudget/actual/issues/2021) as a related issue since this issue would allow us to more intelligently handle "transfers" and help us more properly categorize transfers as "expenses" vs savings/off-budget transfers automatically.