Accounts

An Account in Arthalekha represents any financial container where you keep or owe money. Accounts are the foundation of your financial tracking - every transaction must be associated with at least one account.

What is an Account?

Think of an account as any distinct pool of money you want to track separately. This includes:

• Your primary bank account
• A savings account
• Credit cards
• Digital wallets (PayPal, Google Pay, etc.)
• Cash in your wallet
• Investment accounts
• Loans you've taken or given

Account Properties

Each account has the following properties:

Property	Description
Name	A descriptive name (e.g., "HDFC Savings", "Cash Wallet")
Identifier	Optional account number or reference (e.g., last 4 digits)
Account Type	The category of account (Savings, Credit Card, etc.)
Initial Date	When you started tracking this account
Initial Balance	The balance on the initial date
Current Balance	The real-time balance (automatically calculated)

Account Types

Arthalekha supports several account types, each with a short code for easy identification:

Type	Code	Description
Cash	CA	Physical cash, wallet money
Savings	SB	Bank savings accounts
Credit Card	CC	Credit cards (balance typically negative)
Wallet	WL	Digital wallets, payment apps
Investment	IN	Stocks, mutual funds, fixed deposits
Loan	LN	Loans (given or taken)
Other	OT	Any other type of account

See detailed Account Types reference →

Account Labels

In the interface, accounts are displayed with a label that combines:

• The short code for the account type
• The account name
• The identifier (if provided)

For example: SB - HDFC Savings - 4523

This makes it easy to quickly identify accounts, especially when you have multiple accounts of the same type.

Balance Tracking

Current Balance

The current balance is automatically maintained by Arthalekha. It updates whenever you:

• Record an income (balance increases)
• Record an expense (balance decreases)
• Record a transfer (source decreases, destination increases)

You never need to manually update the current balance.

Initial Balance

When creating an account, you specify:

• Initial Date: The date from which you want to start tracking
• Initial Balance: The account balance on that date

All transactions should be dated on or after the initial date for accurate balance calculations.

Historical Balances

Arthalekha maintains monthly balance snapshots for each account. This allows you to:

• See how your balance has changed over time
• Generate historical reports
• Understand spending patterns across months

Working with Accounts

Creating an Account

When creating a new account, provide:

1. A descriptive name
2. The account type
3. Optionally, an identifier (like last 4 digits of account number)
4. The initial date (when you want to start tracking)
5. The initial balance on that date

Account Transactions

From any account, you can view all transactions affecting it:

• Incomes credited to the account
• Expenses debited from the account
• Transfers into or out of the account

Account Projected Balance

For each account, you can view projected future balances based on:

• The current balance
• Scheduled recurring incomes
• Scheduled recurring expenses
• Scheduled recurring transfers

Best Practices

Naming Conventions

Use clear, descriptive names that help you identify accounts quickly:

• Include the bank/service name: "HDFC Savings", "PayPal"
• Add purpose if helpful: "Emergency Fund", "Vacation Savings"

Using Identifiers

The identifier field is useful when you have multiple accounts at the same bank:

• Use last 4 digits of account number
• Use a nickname that's meaningful to you

Setting Initial Balances

For accurate tracking:

• Check your actual account balance on the initial date
• Enter the exact amount
• Start recording transactions from that date forward

Credit Cards and Loans

For credit cards and loans:

• A negative balance represents money you owe
• Payments to a credit card are recorded as transfers from another account
• This keeps your net worth calculations accurate

Deleting and Restoring Accounts

Arthalekha uses soft deletes for accounts, which means deleted accounts are not permanently removed from the system.

Soft Delete Behavior

When you delete an account:

• The account is marked as deleted but remains in the database
• It no longer appears in regular account lists
• Existing transactions linked to the account are preserved
• The account can be restored at any time

Viewing Deleted Accounts

From the accounts list, use the Status filter to view deleted accounts:

• Active Only (default): Shows only active accounts
• All (Including Deleted): Shows both active and deleted accounts
• Deleted Only: Shows only deleted accounts

Deleted accounts are visually distinguished with:

• A "Deleted" badge next to the account name
• A highlighted row background
• The deletion date instead of the initial date

Restoring Accounts

To restore a deleted account:

1. Navigate to the accounts list
2. Change the Status filter to show deleted accounts
3. Find the deleted account
4. Click the Restore button

Alternatively, view the deleted account's detail page and click Restore Account from the alert banner.

Once restored, the account returns to normal operation with all its historical data intact.