We know you're always busy, or perhaps have just gotten started with Ambrook and have a lot to catch up on. If you’re dreading opening up Ambrook and dealing with months of uncategorized transactions, you’re not alone.

Our team has created this guide to help you rip off the bandaid. Trust us, it’s not as bad as it seems!

Oftentimes, the hardest part is just getting started. Open up your Ledger tab, and click on the “To Do” button in the upper right hand corner. This will filter to only your uncategorized transactions.

Once you start tagging in the “To Do” view, you’ll notice that the completed transactions get filtered out! This will help you stay focused on the work that needs to be done.

There are a handful of ways that Ambrook can help you catch up even faster.

1. Create automations that do the work for you. Each time you tag a transaction, you’ll be prompted with a banner at the bottom of your screen to “Automate.” You can also click the three dots next to the “Tag” button to proactively create an automation. These will tag historical transactions that contain the same description, and also tag future transactions. You can view and disable existing automations in “Settings.” For a more detailed walkthrough, see our article on automations here.

2. Bulk tag many transactions at once. Use the checkboxes on the left hand side of the Ledger to select multiple and tag them with the same Category and/or Enterprise tags. This is great for instances where you don’t want to create an automation, or if you want to fix a group of incorrectly tagged transactions.

3. Search & filter to find similar transactions, or to view one account at a time. Our search bar and “Filter” button may look simple, but you can use them to find any combination of dates, amounts, accounts, descriptions, and more. Once you pull up the list of transactions you’re looking for, you can use automations and bulk tagging to knock them out.

4. Use the Analytics tab to catch errors. It’s not only there as an overview of your business metrics; you can actually use it to visually explore which transactions you’ve labeled with what tags. By viewing your category totals, for example, you can sniff out mistakes you might have made and drill all the way down to the filtered transactions to retag them.

5. Reconcile your accounts to identify discrepancies in your Ledger. Though it’s rare, your bank connection may omit or duplicate transactions from time to time. The easiest way to catch this is by using our “Reconciliation” feature on the top right hand corner of your Ledger. It allows you to compare a time period in your Ledger to its associated bank statement.

6. Review your balance sheet accounts. If you made any equipment purchases this year or took out a loan, you probably want to represent these on your balance sheet. Add any capital expenditures or loans to Ambrook (go to Settings > Balances), and share these with your accountant to ensure they get correct tax treatment - this will save both of you time later on.

We know our way around farm financials, but there are many questions that are better suited to ask a CPA or financial advisor – see below for some examples. When in doubt, check with a professional.