This is common with merchants like Apple, Amazon, or Google where one merchant sells everything from games to business software to personal subscriptions. For example, you might see dozens of "Apple" charges all categorized the same way — but some are mobile game purchases, some are iCloud storage, some are streaming subscriptions, and some are dating apps.
The Fix: Add custom categories with descriptions
Go to Settings > Manage Categories and create categories that reflect how you actually want to organize your spending. The key is the description — this tells the AI exactly when to use each category.
Example: Breaking up Apple charges:
- Games — "Mobile games, in-app purchases, gaming subscriptions"
- Software and Apps — "Business-related software, cloud storage, app subscriptions"
- Personal — "Dating apps, personal purchases, entertainment, non-business items"
Now a Puzzles and Conquest purchase gets filed under "Games," an iCloud subscription goes to "Software and Apps," and a Match.com charge goes to "Personal."
How does the AI decide? ExpenseBot reads the actual content of the receipt — not just the merchant name. It looks at line items, subscription names, and purchase descriptions. This info also flows into the Notes field as a brief summary (e.g., "Puzzles and Conquest" or "iCloud 200GB").
Tips for good descriptions: Be specific and give examples. For instance, a medical professional might create:
- CME and Medical Education — "Continuing medical education courses, certifications, medical conferences"
- Medical Reference and Subscriptions — "Clinical reference tools, medical journals, databases (UpToDate, Sanford Guide)"
- Professional Development — "Business coaching, non-medical courses, professional education"
Without descriptions, these look similar. With descriptions, the AI knows a Sanford Guide subscription is "Medical Reference" while a Kajabi course is "Professional Development."
New categories apply automatically to all future receipts — no further action needed.