How To Handle Refunds, Cashback & Repayments

The cleanest way to handle refunds, cashback, and repayments in MoneyCoach is to add them as negative expenses in the same category as the original spending. This reduces the original category total instead of creating fake income.

TL;DR

• Use a negative expense for refunds, cashback, and repayments.
• Use the same category as the original expense.
• Add the same payee if another person paid you back.
• Use Income only when the money is truly new income.

Video tutorial

Real life example showcasing this feature

Let's say that your friend John has asked you to pay 50€ for drinks. You add a 50€ expense for Drinks with John as the payee in MoneyCoach. A couple of days later, John pays you back 25€.

You could add the 25€ as income, but that makes your reports look like you earned extra money. A negative expense is more accurate because it reduces the amount spent in the original category.

Step-by-step guide

• Open Settings / General and set Keyboard type to Calculator
• Add a new expense
• In the amount field, enter the amount as a negative number by using the minus operator
• Use the same category as the original expense, such as Drinks
• Add the same payee if you want to track who paid you back
• Save the transaction

Since the expense has a minus sign, MoneyCoach treats it as a negative expense. It acts like money coming back, but it stays inside the expense category and deducts from that category's total.

This is the right approach for refunds, cashback, partial repayments, and reimbursements where the money should reduce a previous expense instead of appearing as income.

When to use this method

Use a negative expense for:

• A store refund.
• Cashback that offsets a purchase.
• A friend paying back part of a shared bill.
• A reimbursement for a cost you originally paid.

Use income only for money that is actually income, such as salary, interest, gifts, or business revenue.

Additional information

If you also want to track who repaid you, add a payee in the transaction details. For a broader debt tracking workflow, see How To Track Debts.