Monarch has default categories which will automatically recognize and label transactions related to them. Categories are like folders or envelopes in that they can be used to group similar things together for cash flow reporting or budgeting.
You can also create custom categories which Monarch will not automatically place any transactions into. Instead you will need to create rules to specify the criteria for when a transaction should be put in a custom category or manually categorize them as they comes in.
Tip: We recommend using the built-in system categories when possible since it's less work to have Monarch detect the correct category for new transactions. But you can change their names or emoji to better suit your style or setup a transaction review system if you want to make sure everything is being put in the right category.
Table of Contents
Default categories
Income
- 💵 Paychecks
- 💸 Interest
- 💰 Business Income
- 💰 Other Income
Expenses
- Gifts & Donations
- 🎗️ Charity
- 🎁 Gifts
- Auto & Transport
- 🚗 Auto Payment
- 🚃 Public Transit
- ⛽️ Gas
- 🔧 Auto Maintenance
- 🏢 Parking & Tolls
- 🚕 Taxi & Ride Shares
- Housing
- 🏠 Mortgage
- 🏠 Rent
- 🔨 Home Improvement
- Bills & Utilities
- 🗑️ Garbage
- 💧 Water
- ⚡️ Gas & Electric
- 🌐 Internet & Cable
- 📱 Phone
- Food & Dining
- 🍏 Groceries
- 🍽️ Restaurants & Bars
- ☕️ Coffee Shops
- Travel & Lifestyle
- 🏝️ Travel & Vacation
- 🎥 Entertainment & Recreation
- 👑 Personal
- 🐶 Pets
- 😜 Fun Money
- Shopping
- 🛍️ Shopping
- 👕 Clothing
- 🪑 Furniture & Housewares
- 🖥️ Electronics
- Children
- 👶 Child Care
- ⚽️ Child Activities
- Education
- 🎓 Student Loans
- 🏫 Education
- Health & Wellness
- 💊 Medical
- 🦷 Dentist
- 💪 Fitness
-
Financial
- 💰 Loan Repayment
- 🗄️ Financial & Legal Services
- 🏦 Financial Fees
- 🏧 Cash & ATM
- ☂️ Insurance
- 🏛️ Taxes
- Other
- ❓ Uncategorized
- 💸 Check
- 💲 Miscellaneous
- Business
- 📣 Advertising & Promotion
- 📞 Business Utilities & Communication
- 💵 Employee Wages & Contract Labor
- 🍴 Business Travel & Meals
- 🚖 Business Auto Expenses
- 📁 Business Insurance
- 📎 Office Supplies & Expenses
- 🏢 Office Rent
- 📦 Postage & Shipping
Transfers
- 🔁 Transfer
- 💳 Credit Card Payment
- ⚖️ Balance Adjustments
Investment transactions (beta) categories
The first time an institution syncs an investment transaction to your account, two new categories are added:
- Buy ➡️
- Sell ⬅️
These categories allow you to categorize your investment buys and sells as transfers instead of income or expense.
Please Note: These new categories only show up once you sync investment transactions.
Deactivate default categories
Default categories can be deactivated but not deleted. Deactivating a default category will remove it from everywhere in Monarch except the settings screen in case you want to re-enable them in the future.
To deactivate a category:
- On desktop, navigate to Settings > Categories.
- Locate and select the category you would like to deactivate.
- Select the Deactivate button.
- Confirm you want to deactivate this category by selecting Disable Category.