Holdings & transfers
Connect purpose to location: see which account holds each item’s money and move holdings without losing assignment.
The problem holdings solve
Available on an item answers “how much is reserved for this purpose?” Account balance answers “how much is in this bank account?” When one purpose spans multiple accounts—or one account funds many purposes—you need a bridge.
Holdings are that bridge: for each item, balances by account. The matrix view shows items as rows and accounts as columns.
Item × account matrix
- Each cell is how much of that item is accounted for in that account.
- Row totals should reconcile to the item’s available (accounted total).
- Column context includes each account’s overall balance.
Transfer between holdings
Use transfer actions on bucket items (list/matrix/detail) to move purpose from one account to another. This is different from simply transferring cash without updating which item owns the dollars.
Mental model: Account transfers move where cash sits. Holding transfers also keep the purpose ledger honest when that cash still belongs to the same item (or when you intentionally re-home it).
When to use what
| Action | Use when |
|---|---|
| Register transfer | Moving cash between bank accounts as a pure cash event. |
| Holding / item transfer | Repositioning which account backs a funded purpose. |
| Assign / spend with splits | Changing how much purpose exists (funding or spending). |