MoneyCoach shows loan and credit card balances without a minus sign and uses color for the direction. Red means you owe money. Green means the account is above zero. Your debts still count against your Net Worth.
TL;DR
- Loan and credit card rows show the amount without a minus sign.
- Red: the balance is below zero. You owe money. This is normal for a loan.
- Green: the balance is above zero. You paid more than you owe.
- No color: the balance is zero.
- In the Accounts summary, Liabilities is the total you owe on credit cards and loans, and Net Worth is Assets minus Liabilities.
- When you add or update a loan or credit card, enter the amount you owe as a positive number.
- If your debts show in green, check Invert Color Meaning in Settings > General.
How the balances look
Two account types are debts in MoneyCoach: Loan and Credit Card. MoneyCoach saves the money you owe on them as a negative balance.
On the Accounts list and on the Accounts card in Overview, these rows show the amount without the minus sign. The color tells you what the number means:
| Color | Balance | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Red | Below zero | You owe this amount. Normal for a loan, and for a card you have used. |
| Green | Above zero | The account is in your favor, for example after you overpaid a card. |
| No color | Zero | Nothing is owed. |
Other accounts, such as bank or cash accounts, show their balance with its sign and without these colors.
A credit card's details screen shows its balance the same way: the amount without a minus sign, in red when you owe money.
Some places keep the minus sign:
- The total next to an account group name, such as Credit Cards, is the sum of the balances in that group. A group of debts shows a minus sign there.
- In an account's transaction list, the Balance on date headers show the running balance with its sign.
- On Apple Watch, account balances keep their minus sign.
How debts count in your Net Worth
At the top of the Accounts list, the Summary section shows three lines:
- Net Worth: your assets minus your liabilities. It is green when it is above zero and red when it is below zero.
- Assets: the total of your other accounts.
- Liabilities: the total you owe on credit cards and loans, shown as a positive number.
Tap the info button next to Summary to see this rule in the app: Liabilities = credit cards and loans.
Because a debt is a negative balance, it lowers your Net Worth. A payment by transfer from your bank account lowers your bank balance and your debt by the same amount, so your Net Worth stays the same. The Net Worth card in Overview uses the same balances. Use its filter button to choose which accounts count.
Add a loan or credit card
- Open Accounts and tap the + button.
- Choose Add Manual Account if MoneyCoach asks how you want to add an account.
- Choose the account type Loan or Credit Card.
- Enter the amount you owe as a positive number:
- For a loan, use Loan Amount. MoneyCoach does not accept a negative loan amount.
- For a credit card, use Current Balance.
- Tap Save.
MoneyCoach saves the amount as money you owe, so the new account shows in red. For a loan, MoneyCoach also adds a Loan Payable expense for the loan amount.
To pay off a debt, record each payment as a transfer from your bank account to the loan or credit card account. See How To Track And Manage Credit Cards for card payments.
Update the balance of a loan or credit card
If the balance of a manual loan or credit card no longer matches your statement:
- On the Accounts list, touch and hold the loan or credit card.
- Choose Update Balance.
- Enter the amount you owe today as a positive number.
- Check the new balance on the review screen and tap Confirm.
MoneyCoach adds one Account reconciliation transaction for the difference.
Linked loans and credit cards
When you link a loan or credit card from a US bank, the bank reports how much you owe. MoneyCoach saves that amount as a negative balance, so a linked debt shows in red, the same as a manual one.
MoneyCoach also adds an Account Reconciliation transaction so the account balance in MoneyCoach matches the balance at your bank. For a debt, this transaction is usually an expense.
If your debts show in green
MoneyCoach has a setting that swaps red and green in the whole app. Some cultures use red for gains and green for losses.
- Open Settings in MoneyCoach.
- Open General.
- Find Invert Color Meaning.
When this switch is on, a debt shows in green and an amount above zero shows in red. Turn it off to use the standard colors. Restart MoneyCoach if the colors do not change right away.
If the switch is off and a loan or credit card still shows in green while you owe money on it, contact us and include a screenshot of your Accounts list.
