How to categorize and tag common transactions

Origin automatically categorizes most transactions to help you understand where your money is going. You can also manually update transactions or create Rules when you’d like Origin to handle something differently.

Here’s how some common transaction types are handled.

🏠 Mortgage Payments

Origin automatically treats mortgage payments as expenses, so they’re reflected in your Spending, Budget, and cash flow.

You shouldn’t need to manually re-categorize your mortgage payment in most cases.

If your mortgage account is also connected to Origin, we may match the payment leaving your bank account with the corresponding transaction on your mortgage account.

When that happens:

• The payment leaving your bank account is categorized as an Expense.
• The corresponding transaction on your mortgage account is categorized as a Transfer.
• Your mortgage payment is counted once in Spending, Budget, and cash flow.
• The mortgage-side transaction isn’t counted as income.

Mortgage payments are treated as expenses whether the mortgage account itself is linked, unlinked, or held with an outside servicer.

This behavior applies to new transactions. Existing transaction history isn’t automatically rewritten, and Rules you’ve already created will continue to take priority.

🛒 General Expenses

We automatically categorize most transactions based on information such as the merchant.

If something looks incorrect:

1. Select Transactions from the main navigation.
2. Select the transaction.
3. Select Edit.
4. Choose the appropriate category.
5. Save your changes.

You may also have the option to create a Rule so similar transactions are categorized the same way going forward.

💵 Cash Tips and Other Manual Income

If you receive income that doesn’t appear through one of your connected accounts, such as cash tips, you can add the transaction manually:

1. Go to the Transactions page.
2. Select the three-dot menu.
3. Select Add Transaction.
4. Enter the transaction details.
5. Select Income as the transaction type.
6. Save the transaction.

The income will then be reflected in your financial tracking.

💳 Credit Card Payments

Credit card payments generally represent money moving from one account you own to another rather than new spending.

The purchases made on the credit card are the expenses. Counting the subsequent payment of the credit card balance as another expense would double-count that spending.

Origin may therefore categorize and match credit card payments as Transfers.

If a credit card payment isn’t categorized correctly, you can edit the transaction and change its type to Transfer.

You can also create a Rule if you’d like similar transactions to be categorized the same way going forward.