What are the different account types?

iBank offers a number of different types to choose from when creating an account. By selecting the appropriate types, your iBank accounts can be set up to mirror your real-life bank accounts. Here is an overview of each type and what it is used for:

Checking

Used to track deposits and withdrawals from a typical bank checking account.

Savings

Used to track deposits and withdrawals from a typical bank savings account.

Credit Card

Used to track charges and payments made against a credit account. When using a credit card account, be sure to record its interest rate so that iBank can generate more accurate reports on your debt. The balance of a credit card account should almost always be negative or zero - a positive balance would indicate a credit on the account due to overpayment.

Investment

Used to track purchases and sales of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, as well as other security-related transactions. Investment accounts should be set up to reflect your brokerage accounts, not individual funds. The balance of each investment account (shown in the source list) includes the cash value of the account in addition to the market value of its securities. For more information about tracking investments, see About Investments.

401k

Used to track purchases and sales of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds in a 401k retirement account, as well as other security-related transactions. 401k accounts should be set up to reflect your retirement accounts, not individual funds. The balance of each 401k account (shown in the source list) includes the cash value of the account in addition to the market value of its securities. For more information about tracking investments, see About Investments.

Money Market

Used to track deposits and withdrawals from a typical bank money market account. This account type should not be confused with money market funds, which should be tracked as securities in investment accounts.

Line of Credit

Used to track charges and payments made against a line of credit. When using a line of credit account, be sure to record its interest rate so that iBank can generate more accurate reports on your debt. Charges made to the account should be entered as negative transactions; payments should be positive (either deposits or transfers from other accounts). The balance of a line of credit account should almost always be negative or zero - a positive amount would indicate a credit on the account due to overpayment.

Asset

Used to track the value of an object, fixed term security (such as a CD), or money that is owed to you. For example, if you own a house, an asset account can help you track appreciation and depreciation on the equity that you hold in your home. When using an asset account, record the base value of the asset as a deposit into the account, then enter gains or earnings as positive transactions and losses as negative transactions.

Liability

Used to track debt or money owed for which you do not make regular payments. When using a liability account, record the initial amount owed as a withdrawal from the account, then enter any payments made against the debt as deposits or transfers into the account.

Loan

Used to track loans for which you maintain a payment schedule, such as a mortgage, auto loan, or student loan. Payments made towards the loan should be recorded as deposits or transfers into the account. For more information about configuring loan settings and scheduling automatic payments, see Tracking Loans.

Cash

Used to track the spending of cash you withdraw from a bank account (or credit card, in the case of a cash advance). Whenever you take cash out of an account (e.g. an ATM withdrawal), transfer the money to your newly created cash account. Then, whenever you spend the cash on something, create a transaction in the cash account for the appropriate amount and set the other attributes of the transaction as appropriate.