Transaction Management in Money Pro

Why It Matters

• Avoid duplicates when re-linking an account after a disconnect
• Exclude personal transactions from a period before you started using the account for business
• Control the scope of your Profit & Loss and tax reports

How to Change a Start Date

1. Go to Expenses or Income → click the gear icon (top right)
2. Select Banks & Integrations
3. Click on the account you want to update to see its Start Date
4. Change the date as needed
5. Use the bulk option to update all accounts from the same institution at once

What Happens When You Change the Start Date

• Move it earlier (back in time): Money Pro pulls in all available transactions from that date forward. Transactions appear progressively in Money In / Money Out — no action needed from you.
• Move it later (forward in time): Transactions before the new date are hidden from view. You'll see a confirmation message. The transactions are not deleted — if you move the start date back again, they reappear with their original categories intact.

Best-Practice Start Dates

Setting a Beginning Balance

In Banks & Integrations, you can set a Beginning Balance for each account to align Money Pro with your actual bank statement balance on your chosen start date. This keeps your Balance Sheet accurate when you're starting mid-period.

Step 1: Create a Manually Tracked Account for the Processor

1. Go to gear icon → Banks & Integrations
2. Scroll to Manually Tracked Account → click Add Bank Account
3. Name it something like "PayPal Clearing" or "Square Clearing"

Step 2: Record the Gross Payment as Income

1. Go to Income → + Add Income
2. Enter the full invoice amount (before the processor's fee)
3. Set the bank account to your new "PayPal Clearing" manually tracked account
4. Save

Step 3: Record the Processing Fee as an Expense

1. Go to Expenses → Add Expense
2. Enter the processing fee amount
3. Category: Professional Fees or Bank Charges (or your preferred category)
4. Set the bank account to the same "PayPal Clearing" account
5. Save

Step 4: Match the Income to the Invoice

1. Open the invoice in ZenBusiness Money → Invoices
2. Click Add Bank Transaction
3. Select the gross income entry you created in Step 2
4. Save — the invoice is now marked as Paid at the full invoice amount

Step 5: Convert the Bank Deposit to a Transfer

1. Open the actual bank deposit in the Transaction Dashboard (the net amount that landed in your real bank account)
2. If it was categorized as income, convert it to a Bank Transfer
3. Set the "From" account as your "PayPal Clearing" manually tracked account
4. In the "Itemized transactions included in the Payout" field, select the gross income and the fee expense from Steps 2 and 3

The result: your original bank transaction now shows as a "Payout" with the invoice payment and fee linked to it — your books match your actual bank activity, and your income is reported at the gross level with the fee as a separate deductible expense.

How to Record It

Step 1: Record Owner's Equity
- In Money Pro, create a credit entry of the investment amount to Owner's Equity
- This reflects your personal contribution to the business

Step 2: Record the Assets Purchased
- Create a debit entry for the same amount to the appropriate asset account(s):

Why it matters: Recording this as an owner investment (not income) accurately reflects your ownership stake and ensures your Balance Sheet is correct. Treating it as income would overstate your taxable profit. Consult your accountant for the proper asset allocation if you acquired multiple asset types.

What's a "start date" and why does it matter?

The start date controls how far back Money Pro imports transaction history from your linked bank account. Setting the correct start date prevents duplicate transactions (especially after relinking), excludes personal history from business reports, and ensures your Profit & Loss and tax estimates reflect the right time period.

I changed the start date forward and lost older transactions. Can I get them back?

Yes. They're hidden, not deleted. Change the start date back to the earlier date and Money Pro will re-import those transactions with their original categories intact. This works as long as your bank still shares that history through Plaid.

Will changing my start date affect my tax reports?

Yes. Tax reports, P&L, and cash flow reports reflect only transactions within your current start date range. If you hide earlier transactions by moving the start date forward, those months drop out of reports. If you need older data in your reports, move the start date back.

How do I handle PayPal or Square payouts that don't match my invoice total?

Use the Manually Tracked Account workflow described in this article. The key principle: record gross income at the full invoice amount, record the processing fee as a separate expense, then reconcile both to the actual bank deposit. This gives you accurate gross revenue and deductible fees without overstating or understating your income.

My Stripe payout deposit is showing as income in my P&L, but my invoices are already marked Paid. How do I fix the duplicate?

The deposit was categorized as income instead of being linked to your invoices. Open the bank deposit transaction → click "Link to Invoice" → select the invoices covered by that payout. Money Pro reclassifies the deposit as a payment settlement, which removes the duplicate income entry from your P&L. Only the invoices should generate income — the bank deposit is just the cash movement.

One Stripe payout covered multiple invoices. How do I link it to all of them at once?

Open the payout deposit in your Money In or Transactions tab → click Advanced → select Invoice → check all the invoices included in that payout. Money Pro marks all selected invoices as Paid. You can also do this from each individual invoice: open the invoice → "Add Bank Transaction" → select the same deposit → then add additional invoices on the next screen.

What expense category should I use for PayPal, Square, or Stripe fees?

Use Merchant Fees or Bank & Financial Fees. For Stripe users with automatic reconciliation, Money Pro creates these records automatically. For manual flows (PayPal, Square), enter the fee as a separate expense linked to your clearing account so it appears as a deductible expense on your P&L rather than reducing your revenue.

My clearing account for PayPal / Square shows a non-zero balance. What's wrong?

A non-zero clearing account means a step was missed or amounts don't add up. Check: (1) Does the manual income entry equal the full gross invoice amount? (2) Does the manual expense equal the exact fee the processor charged? (3) Was the bank deposit converted to a Bank Transfer from the clearing account (not left as income)? Adjust any incorrect entry. The clearing account should net to exactly zero once all steps are complete.

I see duplicates in my transactions after relinking my bank. How do I fix them?

Set your start date to the day after the last transaction that synced correctly on the old connection. Any transactions that imported from the new link for periods already covered by the old link will be duplicated — delete the duplicates manually. For bulk deletion: Bulk Select → filter by the affected date range → Trash icon. (Bank transfers require individual deletion.)

Does Money Pro work with payroll software?

Not directly — there's no native payroll software integration. However, if you run payroll through a third-party service (ADP, Gusto, etc.) and pay wages from a linked bank account, those payroll transactions sync automatically. Tag employee wages as Payroll or Wages. Tag independent contractor payments as Contract Labor or Contractors, not Wages.

How do I record a refund for a business expense?

Open the incoming refund transaction and convert it to an Expense Refund if that option appears. Use the same vendor and category as the original expense when possible. This prevents the refund from being treated as new services income and keeps your P&L from overstating revenue.

How do I record a client reimbursement for an expense?

If the reimbursement was billed through a Money Pro invoice, link the client payment to that invoice rather than categorizing the deposit as separate services income. If you added the expense to the invoice at cost, it may simply offset the original expense. If you marked it up, only the markup should increase income.

Can Money Pro handle fixed assets, loans, and depreciation?

Money Pro can record some asset, liability, and journal-entry activity, but complex asset accounting should be done with accountant guidance. Loans often need principal and interest split correctly, and depreciation requires a schedule and journal entry. Ask your accountant for the exact treatment before entering large assets or loan adjustments.

How do I find a transaction I deleted by mistake?

Deleted transactions go to the Archived view — they're not permanently removed. Go to Expenses → Type Filter → Archived, find the transaction, and click Restore. If you bulk deleted a large number of transactions, use the date range and search filters in the Archived view to narrow them down.

Can I set start dates for all accounts from the same bank at once?

Yes. In Banks & Integrations, select the bank institution and use the bulk option to apply the same start date to all linked accounts from that institution simultaneously.