Categories and groups are how Monarch sorts transactions in order to help you organize your financial transactions by grouping similar expenses, income, and transfers together. They function like folders or envelopes, making it easier to track cash flow, analyze spending, and budget effectively. Monarch has an exhaustive list of default categories, but we recognize that those won't work for everyone! Creating custom categories help you stay organized in a way that makes sense for your spending habits and budgeting lifestyle.  

Monarch will attempt to categorize transactions as best as possible, but if you find that any transactions are not being categorized correctly, you can update the category for the transaction manually or create rules to automatically categorize transactions. Or you can set up a transaction review system if you want to ensure everything is being sorted in the right category.

(Note: The design of Monarch has changed since this video, but the steps remain the same!)

Table of Contents

• Create new custom categories on desktop
• Create new custom categories on mobile
• Create new custom groups on desktop
• Create new custom groups on mobile
• Reorder groups and categories

Create new custom categories on desktop

• On desktop, navigate to Settings > Categories.
• Locate the Income, Expenses, or Transfers group to which you want to add a custom category.
• Select Create Category.
• Give the custom category an icon and name.
• Confirm the group this custom category should be under.
• Decide if you want to toggle on the Make this category a rollover fund and Exclude this category from the budget (note: the rollover option will not appear for transfer or income categories).

Create new custom categories on mobile

• On mobile, navigate to your Icon > Settings > Categories.
• At the top, click the three dots in the upper right corner and select Add a category.
• Give the custom category a name and emoji, confirm the type of category and group, and decide if you want to toggle on the Make this category a rollover fund and Exclude this category from the budget (note: the rollover option will not appear for transfer or income categories).
• Click Save.

Create new custom groups on desktop

• Navigate to Settings > Categories.
• Decide if you are creating an Income, Expenses, or Transfers custom group.
• Select Create group.
• Give the custom group a name and decide how this group will be budgeted (By category or By Group)..
• You can now drag existing categories into this custom group or create new custom categories for this custom group.

Create new custom groups on mobile

• On mobile, navigate to your Icon > Settings > Categories.
• At the top, click the three dots in the upper right corner and select Add a group.
• Give the custom category a name, select the type, and decide how this group will be budgeted (By category or By Group).
• Click Save.

Reorder groups and categories

From Settings > Categories, you can drag any group or category name to rearrange the order. Changes are reflected across both web and mobile.

Note: If you're using flex budgeting, reordering only affects your fixed and non-monthly buckets. The order of your flex bucket is determined by actual spending amount.