Add and manage accounts

Every account you track in AceMoney Studio (a bank account, a credit card, the cash in your wallet, a brokerage account) lives on the Accounts page. This page shows you how to add accounts, what each field means, how to find, group, sort, edit, close, delete and restore them, and how the free version’s three editable accounts work.

Open the Accounts page

Select Accounts in the navigation rail on the left (F2 on a computer).
The header shows how many accounts you have (for example 3 accounts), a Search accounts box, Group by and Sort by, the chips Show closed accounts, Hide zero balances and Available balance, then Add account, New group (in the Group view), Export, Print accounts and View trash. Add account also sits in the bottom-right corner.

Each row shows the account’s name, the bank and a masked account number under it, the current balance (red when negative) and the buttons Open login page, Open register, Edit account and Delete account, plus a ⋮ menu with Open register, Edit account, Move to group… (in the Group view) and Close account (or Reopen account).

On a computer, a click selects a row and a double-click opens that account in the Register; Enter on the selected row does the same.

On the free version, accounts past your three editable ones show a lock and are read-only: you can open them, see their balances and registers, and move them to the trash, but you cannot edit them. A line above the list says how many, with Keep editable… and Unlock AceMoney Studio. See the free version and the license.

For most accounts the balance shown is the opening balance plus every transaction in the register. An investment account shows its cash plus the value of its holdings, with a cash … line under it for the cash alone (turn this off with Add investment value to account balances in Settings ▸ Currency & Quotes). The page lists every account in the document; the Home page and the Register only use the accounts of the portfolio you have open (see Portfolios).

Add an account

Select Add account.
Enter an Account name. It is required and must be unique in the document.
Choose an Account group, or New group… to make one (see Organize accounts into groups). In a new document, your first account creates five starter groups (Cash accounts, Bank accounts, Credit accounts, Investment accounts and Loan accounts) and goes into Bank accounts.
Optionally start typing in Bank (optional) and pick your bank from the suggestions, type one that is not listed, or leave it empty.
Optionally enter the Account number.
Pick an Account type.
Enter the Opening balance and choose the Currency.
Optionally fill in Balance limit, APR %, Comment and Login page URL (optional).
Select Add.

The account appears in the list and in the Account picker of the register, ready for its first transaction: Enter transactions in the register.

Account types

Account type offers Not set (the default), Checking, Savings, Credit, Cash and Investment. The type helps you recognize the account and decides its section when you group by Account type; it does not change how amounts are entered or added up. Use Investment for a brokerage account: buys and sells recorded on the Portfolio page post their cash side to the account you pick there (Investments and quotes).

From version 1.2, an Investment account also has a Cost basis method: First in, first out, Average cost or Specific lots. It decides how the cost of the shares you sell is worked out.

Opening balance and currency

The Opening balance is what the account held on the day you start tracking it in Studio, typically the closing balance of your last statement. Enter transactions from that day onwards. You can change it later; the running balance is recalculated.

Each account has one Currency. The list offers every world currency; to set exchange rates see Currencies. A transfer between accounts in different currencies lets you enter the amount on each side (Transfers and split transactions).

Balance limit, APR and comment

Balance limit (a credit or overdraft limit) and APR % (the interest rate, up to four decimal places) are kept with the account. Studio uses the balance limit only for the available balance (see Show the available balance); it does not use the APR in any calculation today. Comment holds up to three lines of notes.

Type a credit limit as a negative number, as AceMoney Classic does: a limit of -1,000 on a card whose balance is -200 leaves 800.00 available. A positive limit is an amount you keep in reserve: the same balance with a limit of 1,000 gives -1,200.00.

Login page URL (optional) is the address of your bank’s sign-in page: a plain web address, never a link that contains a password or a token. When it is empty, Studio falls back to the website of the bank you picked. Open login page appears on the row only when there is an address to open. Studio never stores your bank password.

The Account number is shown masked, for example ••••7890, with an eye icon (Show account number / Hide account number); a number of four characters or fewer shows as dots only. Exports ask before including numbers.

Find, group and sort accounts

Search accounts narrows the list to the accounts whose name or bank contains what you type.
Group by splits the list into sections: Group (your own groups), Account type, Bank, Currency or None. Each section has a header with its count and total; select a header to collapse or expand it. From version 1.2, a document with groups opens on Group, one without on Account type.
Sort by is My order (the order you arranged) or Name. With sections, it sorts the accounts inside each section; the sections keep their own order.
Show closed accounts and Hide zero balances decide which rows show. A section’s total still counts every account in it.

Organize accounts into groups

Groups such as Bank accounts, Credit accounts or Cash accounts are the sections of the list in the Group view, and the exported account list uses them for its subtotals.

New group in the header (or New group… in the account form’s Account group list) adds a group. It goes last.
A group’s header has a ⋮ menu with Rename group, Move group up, Move group down and Delete group. Delete group asks first; its accounts move to Other accounts, and none is deleted.
Move to group… in an account’s ⋮ menu moves it to another group.
In My order, drag an account or a group header to a new place (in AceMoney Studio Mobile, from version 1.2, on a phone or tablet press and hold first).
In the account form, the tune icon next to Account group (Manage groups…) opens Manage account groups, where you can also add, rename and delete groups.

An account without a group shows under Other accounts. The next time you edit it, choose a group: the form asks Choose an account group. before it saves.

Edit an account

Select Edit account (the pencil, or the item in the row’s ⋮ menu), change any field and select Save. Renaming an account updates it everywhere, including transfer rows in other accounts; changing the opening balance recalculates every running balance. Changing the currency asks Change this account’s currency? first: the amounts are not converted, only their currency changes.

If an account holds rows still marked Imported, its name shows how many, for example Checking (4), and its ⋮ menu offers Accept imported transactions, which clears them all in one step (Undo takes it back).

Close an account

Select Close account in the row’s ⋮ menu, or tick This account is closed in the form and select Save. A closed account keeps its history and still counts in the totals, but it is hidden from the list and from the account pickers until you turn on Show closed accounts; it then shows dimmed. Reopen account brings it back. The exported account list marks it Closed.

Delete and restore an account

Select Delete account (the bin icon). There is no confirmation: the account moves to the trash at once and a message such as Travel Card moved to trash offers Undo for a few seconds. On a computer, ⌘Z (macOS) or Ctrl+Z (Windows, Linux) also undoes the last delete.
Later, select View trash. Deleted accounts lists every trashed account with Restore and Delete permanently.
Delete permanently asks Delete permanently?: the account will be deleted forever, and transfers to or from other accounts are kept as regular transactions in those accounts.

The free version: three editable accounts

The free version keeps three accounts you can edit, counted across all your documents. Accounts beyond that are not deleted or hidden: they stay readable, with their registers and balances, but editing them is off. Keep editable… lets you choose which of this document’s accounts are the editable ones; you can change that choice once every 30 days.

When you select Add for a new account and your three are in use, the Unlock AceMoney Studio dialog says that the free version keeps three accounts you can edit and that unlocking adds unlimited accounts, once, for a single one-time price. On a computer its buttons are Enter a license key… (opens Settings ▸ Account), Buy AceMoney Studio (opens the shop in your browser) and Not now.

An import from AceMoney Classic brings in every account; the ones past your three editable accounts arrive read-only. A bank file that holds several accounts, and a bank feed, stop creating new accounts at the limit: the accounts created up to the limit stay, and the same dialog appears once at the end. See the free version and the license, Plans and licensing and /pricing/.

Show the available balance

Select the Available balance chip above the list. Each account that has a balance limit then shows one more line under its balance, available …: the balance shown minus the limit exactly as you typed it, in the account’s currency. An account with no limit, or a limit of zero, shows no line. The group totals and the grand total do not change. The chip is off by default and is remembered for each document. Home’s Accounts card shows the same available … line while the chip is on.

Export or print the account list

Select Export and choose TXT, CSV, QIF, XML or JSON.
For every format except QIF, Studio asks Include account numbers?. Choose Exclude (recommended) unless you need the numbers in the file.
On a computer, choose where to save (the suggested name is Accounts plus the extension); Saved to … confirms.

The file lists accounts by group with subtotals and a Grand Total, with the columns Account, Number, Status (Closed or empty), Balance and Currency. While Available balance is on, TXT and CSV add an Available Balance column after Balance. Print accounts (or ⌘P / Ctrl+P on this page) prints the same list without the Number column. For transaction exports see Export and print.

Platform differences

macOS

F2 opens Accounts; ⌘1 to ⌘9 and ⌘0 open the first to tenth account in the register.

Windows

As on macOS, with Ctrl in place of ⌘.

Linux

As on Windows.

iOS (iPhone and iPad)

AceMoney Studio Mobile is coming to iPhone and Android; it is not in the app stores yet. From AceMoney Studio Mobile 1.2, the header is one line: Search accounts, a Filters button (Group by, Sort by, Show closed accounts, Hide zero balances and Available balance) and a ⋮ menu (New group, Export, Print accounts, View trash). Tap a row to edit the account; Open register opens its register. Exports go through the share sheet. The unlock is bought in the app.

Android

As on iOS.

Common questions

How many accounts can I have for free?

Three accounts you can edit, across all your documents. Any more stay in your documents, readable but not editable, until you unlock. You never have to delete accounts. See the free version and the license.

Can I hide an account without deleting it?

Yes. Close it with Close account in its ⋮ menu. Closed accounts are hidden until you turn on Show closed accounts, and they keep their full history.

Which type should I use for a credit card, and why is its balance negative?

Choose Credit. Studio stores what you owe as a negative amount, so a card with a balance owed shows a red, negative balance and reduces your net worth. Enter the opening balance as a negative number.

Why is my investment account’s balance more than its cash?

The balance includes the value of the holdings. The cash … line under it is the cash alone. To show cash only, turn off Add investment value to account balances in Settings ▸ Currency & Quotes.

Why does the Home page count fewer accounts than the Accounts page?

The Accounts page lists every account in the document; Home, the Register and the reports use only the active portfolio, chosen with the switcher in the top bar (Portfolios).

Where do I connect my bank to download transactions?

In Settings ▸ Connections (Bank feeds). Bank (optional) only records which bank an account belongs to.

Troubleshooting

“An account named … already exists.” Names must be unique in the document. Choose another name, or restore and rename the account in View trash if it was deleted.

“Choose an account group.” The account has no group (its group was deleted). Pick one, or choose New group…, then save.

“Choose a currency.” Pick one from the Currency list.

“Balance, limit, and APR must be valid numbers.” Type plain numbers, such as 1250.00 or -430.25, without currency symbols.

“Enter a valid http(s) URL.” The login address must start with https:// or http://.

An account I closed has disappeared. Turn on Show closed accounts.

I can’t edit an account; it shows a lock. It is read-only on the free version. Use Keep editable… to choose which accounts stay editable, or unlock AceMoney Studio.

I deleted an account by mistake. Select Undo in the message at the bottom, or View trash ▸ Restore.

The Unlock dialog appeared after importing a bank file or syncing a bank feed. New accounts were created up to the free limit. Unlock to create the rest, or map the remaining bank accounts to existing accounts (Import data).