Transaction Templates
Transaction Templates let you automate regular income and expenses. Instead of manually recording the same transaction every month, you define a template once and Financer automatically creates the transaction on the due date.
How It Works
A transaction template defines a blueprint for a recurring financial event. The system periodically checks for templates whose next due date has been reached and automatically creates a transaction from each one. After processing, the template's next due date is advanced based on its configured frequency.
Template Properties
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Short title for the template |
| Description | Optional longer description or notes |
| Type | Income, Expense, or Transfer |
| Amount | The monetary value (always entered as a positive number) |
| Frequency | How often the transaction recurs (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly) |
| Start Date | The date from which the template becomes active |
| End Date | Optional date after which the template is deactivated automatically |
| Account | The account the transaction will be booked to |
| Category | Optional category applied to each generated transaction |
| Counterparty | Optional counterparty applied to each generated transaction |
| Active | Whether the template is currently enabled |
Frequencies
| Frequency | Description |
|---|---|
| Daily | A transaction is created every day |
| Weekly | A transaction is created every 7 days |
| Monthly | A transaction is created on the same day each month |
| Yearly | A transaction is created once per year |
Working with Templates
Creating a Template
Admins and Owners can create transaction templates:
- Navigate to Transaction Templates in the sidebar
- Click Create Template
- Select the type (Income, Expense, or Transfer)
- Enter the amount, frequency, and start date
- Optionally assign a category and counterparty
- Save — the template becomes active immediately
Editing a Template
You can update any property of a template at any time. Changes take effect from the next processing cycle onwards and do not affect transactions that have already been created.
Activating and Deactivating
Templates can be toggled on or off without deleting them. A deactivated template is skipped during processing and no new transactions are created until it is reactivated.
Deleting a Template
Deleting a template only removes the template itself. All transactions that were already generated from it remain in place.
WARNING
Deleting a template cannot be undone. If you only want to pause it temporarily, deactivate it instead.
Relationship to Other Entities
- Account: Every template is linked to one account; generated transactions are booked to that account
- Category: An optional category is copied to each generated transaction
- Counterparty: An optional counterparty is copied to each generated transaction
- Transactions: Each processed template creates a transaction with a back-reference to the template it came from
- Household: Templates belong to a household and are only visible to its members
Scope
Templates belong to a household. Only Admins and Owners can create, edit, delete, or toggle templates. Members and Guests can view the template list.