🔀 Transaction Management

Transactions

Overview

Transactions are the individual financial events that make up your business’s financial story. Every time money moves in or out of your business, it is recorded as a transaction.

The transaction management system ensures every financial movement is properly categorized, documented, and automatically creates the necessary accounting entries to keep your books balanced.

Why This Matters

Proper transaction management is like keeping a detailed diary of your business’s financial life. Without it, you would not be able to:

• Track cash flow and prevent overdrafts

• Identify spending patterns and cost-saving opportunities

• Prepare accurate tax returns

• Detect errors or fraud

• Make informed financial decisions

Prerequisites

Before managing transactions, ensure the following are set up:

• Chart of accounts configured

• Bank accounts configured

• Accounting module access permissions

Accessing Transactions

Step 1: Open the Transaction List

1. Click Accounting in the left navigation

2. Select Transactions from the dropdown menu

3. View all transactions with available filtering options

📸 Image Placeholder: transactions-list-page.png

Transaction Types

Otutu supports four transaction types:

• Deposit 💰 Money coming into bank accounts (customer payments, loans)

• Withdrawal 💸 Money going out of bank accounts (expenses, bill payments)

• Transfer 🔄 Moving money between your own accounts

• Journal Entry 📝 Manual accounting adjustments

📸 Image Placeholder: transaction-types-modal.png

Filtering and Searching Transactions

Use filters to find specific transactions:

• Account Filter – Filter by bank account or chart of accounts category

• Status Filter – Reviewed vs unreviewed transactions

• Type Filter – Deposit, withdrawal, transfer, or journal entry

• Date Range – Filter by specific periods

• Payee Filter – Filter by clients or vendors

📸 Image Placeholder: transaction-filters-panel.png

Creating a New Transaction

Step 2: Add a Transaction

1. Click New Transaction

2. Select a transaction type

   • Deposits / Withdrawals: Choose bank account and category

   • Transfers: Select source and destination accounts

   • Journal Entries: Enter debit and credit accounts

3. Enter the amount and description

4. Set the transaction date

5. Add notes or references (optional)

📸 Image Placeholder: new-transaction-form.png

Reviewing and Categorizing Transactions

• Unreviewed transactions appear in bold

• Click an unreviewed transaction to categorize it

• Assign the correct account

• Mark the transaction as Reviewed

📸 Image Placeholder: unreviewed-transaction-highlight.png

Viewing Transaction Details

Click a transaction to view:

• Full transaction details

• Automatically generated journal entries

• Related documents (invoices or bills)

• Payment and reconciliation status

📸 Image Placeholder: transaction-details-view.png

Tips and Best Practices

• Review transactions daily to avoid backlogs

• Use clear descriptions for future reference

• Reconcile regularly with bank statements

• Use bulk actions for similar transactions

• Monitor uncategorized transactions closely