Split Bank Transactions

SQUAVA allows you to split a transaction in your bank or credit card register between multiple accounts, jobs, payees/payors, or memos. Splitting transactions is only an option for general withdrawals and deposits and not available for other transactions that are directly connected to invoice payments, bill payments, or bank transfers.

Example: You used your credit card at the office supply store to buy pens, paper, and a piece of office equipment, like a webcam. That will show up on your credit card as a single transaction, but you want to categorize the three items to two separate ledger accounts: office supplies, small office equipment, and reimbursable project expenses. Splitting the transaction will allow you to do this.

Article Overview

Split an existing transaction
Edit a transaction that has been split
Create new transaction and split it
Delete a transaction split
Limitations to splitting a transaction

Step-by-Step Guide

Split an existing transaction
To split an existing transaction, click on an existing transaction anywhere on its row and it will show you the transaction details. The transaction split button is located below the select account field.

When you hover over this button, it will tell you if you’re able to split the transaction. The transaction split button will be inactive if the transaction is connected to a bill payment, invoice payment, or bank transfer.

In the image above, we opened the transaction details of an invoice payment. When you hover over the transaction split button, the message tells us that it cannot be split because it is connected to an invoice payment. You will also see this same message if the transaction is connected to a bill or is a bank transfer.

If your transaction is able to be split, click on the button to open the transaction split dialog window. Here, you can split the transaction into multiple payees/payors, amounts, accounts, or projects. Be cautious to maintain the same total of the transaction. If the total changes, you will see a red warning and the amount of the difference below. The split won’t be saved if the total amount of the split is not equal to the existing amount of the transaction.

* If, for some reason, you need to update the total of the transaction, see more description and instructions here.

The remaining field determines how much is the remaining amount you could still enter. The transaction split transaction should be good once the remaining amount is already zero.

Example: We’ll add a transaction split to an existing transaction that has a total amount of -$130.44 and fill in the Split Transaction details. I added a new row of payors with an amount of -$100.00 which resulted in a remaining amount of $30.34.

We’ll change the Client 11 amount from -$30.44 so the remaining amount would be zero. Any transaction split will be saved if the remaining amount is not zero.

When it is saved, it should look like the image below. It will tell you it has been split into multiple payees, memos, accounts, and jobs. The transaction split button is also in bold meaning the transaction has been split.
Edit a transaction that has been split
If a transaction has been split, you will see several indicators in the transaction row.

You could edit a split transaction by clicking on one of the links displayed in the transaction row or by clicking on the transaction split button inside the transaction details (visible after clicking on the transaction row). Clicking on any of these items will display a pop-up window showing the split transaction details where you can edit items as necessary.

You can add more detail rows or change split details, but the split transaction won’t be saved if the total amount of the split is not equal to the existing amount of the transaction. As described above, you will see warning items in the bottom right and the save button will be deactivated. Once the unassigned amount is zero, you will be able to save the changes you’ve made.

Update the transaction total
If, for some reason, you need to change the total amount of the transaction, you will see the option in the bottom right corner to update the total amount of the transaction. An “Update Total” button will appear next to the red warning exclamation mark. See the image below.

*** Please note - this will update the amount of the transaction which may disrupt your account balance or reconciliation. Please use caution. ***

For example, in the image below, we’ve added $30.00 to the split that now totals $160.00, resulting in an unassigned amount of -$30.00.

Once we click the update total button, the total transaction amount will be updated to $160.00 and we’ll be able to save the changes we added.
Create a new transaction and split it
Note: this is not a common action, but it may be necessary to fix a transaction that was deleted or otherwise compromised or a single transaction that has multiple parts that would be accommodated with a split. Normally, if you intend to add a new transaction with split details, consider whether you should be adding multiple transactions to your register.

To create a new transaction with split details, click on the ‘New’ button located below the bank register and select ‘Withdrawal or Deposit’.

A new blank transaction field will appear for you to enter your transaction details. Next, select the transaction split button located below the select account field.

When you click the split button, the Split Transaction dialogue will appear where you can enter multiple payees/payors along with their memos, accounts, jobs, and amounts. These initial split entries will define the total amount of the new transaction. In the example below, the transaction was split into two payors with a total amount of $200.

Once you are satisfied with the details of the split transaction, click the ‘Save’ button and it should look like the image below. The transaction details will now show you that it has been split into multiple payees, memos, accounts, or jobs. The transaction split button will also be bold indicating the transaction has been split.
Delete a transaction split
If, for some reason, you want to remove or delete the details of a split transaction, you can simply delete the split details connected to it. To delete the split details, click anywhere on the transaction row, or one of the fields with the split icon, and select the split button located below the account field.

This will display the split transaction dialog. Here, you can delete the split details by clicking the ‘Delete’ button located at the bottom right of the window.

Deleting the split details will only remove the split from the transaction, not the entire bank or credit card transaction.
Limitations to splitting a transaction
You can only split withdrawal or deposit transactions. Transactions connected to bills or invoices cannot be split. In addition, a bank transfer cannot be split since it is connected to a transaction in another account (bank or credit card account).

Tip: To find out if a transaction can be split or not, hover over the transaction split button. If it cannot be split, you will see a message with a reason why. In addition, the split button will be deactivated.