San Balance01Confirm the scope before judging the number
Check the date range, selected accounts, categories and reporting currency. A correct transaction outside the chosen dates is absent by design, while a backdated correction may change an earlier period. Compare reports only when the filters match. Save the exact scope in an export or note when you need to reproduce a month-end result later.
02Distinguish starting money from earned money
Opening balances describe what already existed when tracking began, so they are separate from income. Adjustments are also shown separately because they reconcile a balance rather than describe normal activity. If either appears inside operating income or expense, the ledger type is probably wrong. Keeping these values separate makes the first reporting period comparable with later periods.
Example: With AUD 2,000 in opening balances and an AUD 1,800 salary payment, the period's income is AUD 1,800, not AUD 3,800. The AUD 2,000 is starting cash.
03Expect transfers to disappear from income and expense
A transfer changes account balances but should be excluded from income and expense totals. This is why moving money into savings can reduce the current account without increasing spending. To review the movement, inspect account history or transfer records rather than the expense category chart. Record any transfer fee separately as an expense because that portion truly left your ownership.
04Compare planned and actual on purpose
An unpaid payment occurrence is a commitment, not actual spending. It belongs in planning views until money leaves and the occurrence is marked paid. If both the occurrence and a manual expense were posted, actual spending may be doubled. Compare the payment list with the transaction list and keep one posted movement for each settled obligation.
05Do not combine currencies without a method
A report in one currency cannot safely add raw balances from another currency. Select accounts already held in the reporting currency or convert with a verified rate and record the date and source of that rate. A later market-rate change should not silently rewrite the historical amount used for a completed transaction. When totals differ, first check that every compared view uses the same currency basis.
06Diagnose an unexpected total in ledger order
Start with the account balance, then inspect transactions, paid payment occurrences and report filters. Look for a wrong date, wrong account, duplicate entry, transfer recorded as expense, refund recorded as income or a voided item that was restored. Only after the ledger agrees should you change categories or presentation. Export before major corrections so you can explain every material change.