How to Use Bulk Transaction Actions
Save time by editing, categorizing, or deleting multiple transactions at once
Need to categorize 50 transactions from a newly connected bank? Fix mis-categorized purchases? Delete multiple duplicates? Bulk actions let you update many transactions at once instead of editing them one-by-one.
What You’ll Learn
By the end of this guide, you’ll know how to:
- Select multiple transactions
- Assign them all to the same slice
- Change categories in bulk
- Update descriptions for multiple transactions
- Unassign or delete in bulk
- Save hours during initial setup or monthly cleanup
How to Access Bulk Actions
Step 1: Select Transactions
From any transaction table (Overview, Transactions page, or Slice Details):
- Check the checkbox at the left of each transaction row you want to modify
- Select as many as you need (no limit)
- A Bulk Actions bar appears at the top showing count: “Bulk Actions (5)”
Selection tips:
- Click individual checkboxes for specific transactions
- Use filters first to narrow down (by date, account, merchant) then select all
- Deselect by unchecking boxes
Step 2: Open Bulk Actions Menu
Click the “Bulk Actions (X)” button at the top of the table.
A dropdown menu appears with 5 options:
- Delete Selected
- Unassign from Slice
- Assign to Slice →
- Change Category →
- Change Description
The 5 Bulk Actions
1. Assign to Slice
What it does: Assigns all selected transactions to the same slice.
Steps:
- Select transactions
- Click “Bulk Actions”
- Hover over “Assign to Slice”
- A submenu appears showing all your slices
- Click the target slice
- ✅ All transactions instantly assigned
What happens:
- All selected transactions assigned to chosen slice
- Slice balance decreases by the total of all transactions
- Each transaction shows the slice assignment
- Success notification shows count
Perfect for:
- Initial bank connection (categorizing 180 days of history)
- Monthly grocery run cleanup (assign all grocery store purchases)
- Correcting mis-categorized transactions
- Moving transactions from one slice to another
Example:
Select 23 Safeway transactions from last month
Bulk Actions → Assign to Slice → "Groceries"
Result: All 23 assigned to Groceries slice in one click
Groceries balance: Decreased by total of all 23 transactions
2. Change Category
What it does: Updates the category for all selected transactions.
Steps:
- Select transactions
- Click “Bulk Actions”
- Hover over “Change Category”
- A submenu appears showing all your categories
- Click the target category
- ✅ All transactions updated with new category
What happens:
- Category field updated for all selected transactions
- Helps with spending analysis and reports
- Doesn’t affect slice assignments (those stay the same)
Perfect for:
- Recategorizing imported transactions
- Fixing bank’s automatic categorization (often wrong)
- Organizing for tax purposes (business expenses, deductions)
Example:
Select 15 Amazon transactions currently categorized as "Shopping"
Bulk Actions → Change Category → "Business Expenses"
Result: All 15 now categorized as Business Expenses
3. Change Description
What it does: Sets the same description text for all selected transactions.
Steps:
- Select transactions
- Click “Bulk Actions”
- Click “Change Description”
- A modal opens with a text input
- Enter the new description
- Click “Apply”
- ✅ All transactions updated
What happens:
- Description field updated for all selected transactions
- Original merchant name replaced
- Helps clarify vague transaction names
Perfect for:
- Making cryptic merchant names readable (“AMZN MKTP US” → “Amazon Purchase”)
- Adding context to recurring charges (“MONTHLY SUB” → “Netflix Subscription”)
- Batch labeling project expenses (“Home Depot” → “Kitchen Renovation - Supplies”)
Example:
Select 8 "SQ *COFFEE SHOP" transactions
Bulk Actions → Change Description
Enter: "Local Coffee Shop"
Result: All 8 now say "Local Coffee Shop"
Note: All selected transactions get the same description. This action is best for truly identical transactions.
4. Unassign from Slice
What it does: Removes slice assignment from all selected transactions.
Steps:
- Select transactions (that are currently assigned to slices)
- Click “Bulk Actions”
- Click “Unassign from Slice”
- A confirmation modal appears
- Confirm the action
- ✅ All transactions unassigned
What happens:
- Transactions removed from their slices
- Slice balances restored (increased by transaction amounts)
- Transactions become “Unassigned”
- Safe-to-Spend increases by the total amount
Perfect for:
- Correcting mass mis-assignments
- Clearing out a slice before deleting it
- Starting over with categorization after connecting a bank
- Removing rule-assigned transactions you want to manually reassign
Example:
Select 10 transactions incorrectly assigned to "Dining Out"
Bulk Actions → Unassign from Slice → Confirm
Result: All 10 unassigned, Dining Out balance restored
Now manually assign to correct slices
5. Delete Selected
What it does: Permanently deletes all selected transactions.
Steps:
- Select transactions
- Click “Bulk Actions”
- Click “Delete Selected”
- A confirmation modal appears: “Are you sure you want to delete X transaction(s)? This action cannot be undone.”
- Confirm deletion
- ✅ All transactions permanently deleted
What happens:
- Transactions removed from your account permanently
- Slice balances restored (if transactions were assigned)
- Cannot be recovered (this is permanent!)
- Deleted transactions won’t re-import from bank
Perfect for:
- Removing duplicate transactions
- Deleting test transactions
- Removing irrelevant bank transfers
- Cleaning up initial import junk
⚠️ Warning: This is permanent! Make sure you really want to delete before confirming.
Example:
Select 3 duplicate transactions from a sync error
Bulk Actions → Delete Selected → Confirm
Result: Duplicates removed, slice balances corrected
When to Use Bulk Actions
Initial Bank Connection
You just connected a bank:
- 180 days of transaction history imported
- Most transactions unassigned
- Overwhelming to categorize one-by-one
Solution:
- Filter by merchant (e.g., “Safeway”)
- Select all matching transactions
- Bulk assign to “Groceries” slice
- Repeat for other frequent merchants
- Manually assign the remaining unique transactions
Time saved: Hours → Minutes
Monthly Cleanup
End of month review:
- Unassigned transactions accumulated
- Want to clean up categorization
- Need accurate spending reports
Workflow:
- Filter by “Unassigned” or scan for uncategorized
- Group by merchant type
- Select all from same merchant
- Bulk assign to appropriate slices
- Bulk change category if needed
Time saved: 30 minutes → 5 minutes
Fixing Rule Errors
Your rule mis-categorized 20 transactions:
- All assigned to wrong slice
- Need to fix quickly
Solution:
- Go to the incorrect slice’s transaction table
- Select all mis-categorized transactions
- Bulk unassign from current slice
- Bulk assign to correct slice
- Update the rule to prevent future errors
Tax Preparation
Organizing for tax season:
- Need all business expenses categorized
- Want consistent descriptions
Workflow:
- Filter transactions by date (tax year)
- Select all business-related transactions
- Bulk assign to “Business Expenses” slice
- Bulk change category to appropriate tax category
- Export or review for deductions
Advanced Techniques
Combining Filters + Bulk Actions
Power user workflow:
Example: Categorize all Starbucks purchases from Q4
- Filter:
- Date range: Oct 1 - Dec 31
- Search: “Starbucks”
- Select: Check all filtered results
- Bulk assign: To “Dining Out” slice
- Bulk category: “Coffee Shops”
Result: Months of Starbucks purchases organized in 30 seconds.
Sequential Bulk Actions
You can chain actions:
Example: Clean up Amazon purchases
- Filter for “AMZN”
- Select all
- Bulk change description: “Amazon Purchase”
- Keep selected
- Bulk assign to “Shopping” slice
- Keep selected
- Bulk change category: “Online Shopping”
Result: 3 actions, 1 selection, complete categorization.
Using with Automation Rules
Best practice: Bulk actions + rules together
Workflow:
- Bulk assign historical transactions manually
- Create a rule for the same merchant
- Future transactions auto-assign
- Use backfill on the rule (if actions are safe)
Example:
Manually: Bulk assign 47 Safeway transactions to Groceries
Then: Create rule "Merchant contains Safeway → Assign to Groceries"
Future: All Safeway purchases auto-assign
Tips & Best Practices
💡 Filter First, Then Select: Narrow down transactions before selecting to avoid mistakes.
💡 Check Your Selection: Before bulk actions, verify you selected the right transactions. The count helps!
💡 Undo by Reversing: Made a mistake? Select the same transactions and bulk assign to the correct slice.
💡 Use for Initial Setup: Bulk actions shine when setting up a newly connected bank.
💡 Review Before Delete: Deleting is permanent! Double-check your selection before confirming.
💡 Combine with Search: Search for a merchant, select all results, bulk assign.
💡 Don’t Overthink: Bulk assignment is faster than perfect rules for one-time cleanups.
Troubleshooting
Issue: Bulk Actions button not appearing
Cause: No transactions selected.
Solution: Check the box next to at least one transaction.
Issue: Can’t select certain transactions
Cause: Some transactions may not have checkboxes (parent transactions of splits, certain system transactions).
Solution: Only regular transactions can be bulk-edited.
Issue: Bulk assign failed
Cause: Slice may have been deleted, or insufficient permissions (Family tier member).
Solution: Verify the slice still exists. Check your account permissions.
Issue: Selected wrong transactions
Solution: Before clicking bulk action, review your selection. Uncheck any incorrect ones. After action, you can reverse by bulk assigning to a different slice.
Common Questions
Q: Is there a limit to how many transactions I can select? A: No hard limit, but selecting hundreds at once may be slow. Recommend batches of 50-100.
Q: Can I undo bulk actions? A: Not directly, but you can reverse most actions (reassign, recategorize). Deletion is permanent.
Q: Do bulk actions trigger automation rules? A: No. Bulk actions are manual overrides. Rules only trigger on new transactions.
Q: Can I bulk assign to different slices at once? A: No. Bulk assign sends all selected transactions to the same slice. For different slices, select and assign in batches.
Q: What if selected transactions are already assigned to different slices? A: Bulk assign will reassign them all to the new slice. Previous slice balances are restored automatically.
Q: Can I bulk split transactions? A: No. Splitting must be done one transaction at a time. See How to Split a Transaction.
Q: Do bulk actions work on pending transactions? A: Yes! You can bulk assign/categorize pending transactions.
Related Guides
- How to Assign Transactions to Slices - Single transaction assignment methods
- How to Create Automation Rules - Automate instead of bulk manual work
- How to Connect Your Bank Account - Initial import that may need bulk cleanup
- How to Split a Transaction - For transactions needing multiple slice assignments
Remember: Bulk actions are your best friend during initial setup and monthly cleanup. Use them to save hours of repetitive clicking.