Account Types In Roo

Quick Take

• Account types come from your bank or data provider (data aggregator)
• Roo uses these labels to identify the kind of account you connected
• Account type is different from account behavior
• You can change account behavior if needed

Account type describes what the account is, not how Roo treats it in your plan.

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Why Account Types Exist

When you connect an account to Roo, the bank or data provider sends information about that account.

One piece of information is the Account Type. This tells Roo what kind of financial account it is. These labels help Roo understand the role the account plays in your overall financial picture.

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Common Account Types In Roo

Checking

(Default Behavior: On Budget)

Checking accounts are typically used for everyday spending.

Examples include:

• Primary checking accounts
• Cash management accounts
• Spending accounts used with debit cards

These accounts often fund your pouches through the Income Splitter River plan. They are typically assigned On Budget as their behavior setting.

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Savings

(Default Behavior: On Budget)

Savings accounts are designed to hold money you want to set aside.

Examples include:

• Traditional savings accounts
• High-yield savings accounts
• Emergency savings accounts

Some savings accounts may fund your pouches while others may simply be tracked for net worth. Savings that you want to see in your pouches are On Budget while savings that you only want to affect your net worth are Off Budget.

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Venmo Or PayPal

(Default Behavior: On Budget)

Some financial platforms classify digital wallet accounts separately.

Examples include:

• Venmo balances
• PayPal accounts

These accounts behave similarly to checking accounts but may appear under their own type depending on the data provider.

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Credit Card

(Default Behavior: Payback Mode)

Credit card accounts represent borrowed money used for purchases.

These accounts track spending activity and may also affect your net worth.

They are usually handled using Payback Mode in Roo so spending is tracked without treating the balance as available cash. If you want a card to act like cash instead, you can set it to On Budget.

What if I want my credit card to act like a checking account?

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Loan

(Default Behavior: Off Budget)

Loan accounts represent money you owe.

Examples include:

• Mortgages
• Auto loans
• Student loans
• Personal loans

Loan balances typically reduce your net worth but do not participate in your daily budgeting plan.

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Investing

(Default Behavior: Off Budget)

Investment accounts hold assets designed to grow over time.

Examples include:

• Brokerage accounts
• Retirement accounts such as 401(k)s or IRAs
• College savings plans

These accounts affect your net worth but are usually not part of daily spending.

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Unknown

(Default Behavior: Off Budget)

Sometimes, a bank or data provider can’t tell the exact account type.

When that happens, the account may appear as Unknown.

This does not affect how Roo works. You can still choose the right account behavior for the account.

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Account Type vs Account Behavior

Account Type

Comes from the bank or data provider and describes what the account is:

Checking, Savings, Venmo or PayPal, Credit Card, Loan, Investing, Unknown

Note

If the bank or data provider labeled the account incorrectly, you can change the type by going into the account settings and selecting the correct type.

Account Behavior

Determines how Roo treats the account inside your plan.

On Budget, Off Budget, Payback Mode, Hidden

Account Behavior controls things like:

• Whether transactions are tracked
• Whether the balance funds your pouches
• Whether the account affects net worth

Note

If you need to change how an account participates in your plan, you can change the behavior by going into the account settings and selecting the correct behavior.

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A Simple Way To Think About It

Account Type = what the account is.

Account Behavior = how Roo uses it.

Together they help Roo understand your financial system.

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FAQs

What if my account type looks wrong?

Banks and aggregators sometimes mislabel accounts.

Go into the account settings and select the correct type.

Changing An Account’s Type

1. Go to Menu → Accounts.
2. Select the desired account.
3. Make your desired change to the Type drop-down.

See also: Account Types In Roo

What if I want to change an account behavior?

You can change how Roo treats an account by changing its behavior in the account settings.

First, it helps to know what each account type means. See Account Types In Roo.

Here is what each change does:

• Changing an On Budget account to Off Budget stops it from funding your pouches.
• Changing an Off Budget account to On Budget starts tracking its transactions and adds its balance to your plan.
• Changing an account to Hidden removes its money from your pouches and your net worth.

Before changing, ask yourself:

Tip

Do I want this account’s balance flowing through my River?

• If yes → On Budget
• If no → Off Budget or Hidden

Changing An Account’s Behavior

1. Go to Menu → Accounts.
2. Select the desired account.
3. Click the gear icon in the top right corner of the account information box.
4. Make your desired change to the Set Account Behavior drop-down.

You can change this at any time.

Credit Cards

Credit cards are set to Payback Mode, and changing that behavior has some extra effects you should know about.

See also: What if I want my credit card to act like a checking account?

What if I want my credit card to act like a checking account?

In Roo, a credit card is set to Payback Mode by default. This means the balance does not lower the money in your pouches, but Roo still brings in the transactions for you to swipe. As you swipe, that money is set aside in your Payback Pouch, so you have the cash to pay the statement. This is on purpose: a card’s balance is money you owe, not cash you have. See Credit Card Strategy.

Some people like to count their credit card balance as part of their budget. In cases like this, because the balance is money you owe, it lowers your available cash. This lets you see, right now, how much you would really have if you paid off the card today.

This only works if you have a lot more cash than you owe. You need enough to pay off the card today and still fund your pouches. If you owe too much, the negative balance can make it look like you have no money left to spend.

To make a credit card act like a checking account, set the card’s behavior to On Budget (see What if I want to change an account behavior? for the steps). Roo will then count the card’s balance in your budget, lowering your available cash by what you owe.

Caution

Only do this if you are very confident you will always pay off your credit card in full each month. You are telling Roo to treat the card like cash you are spending, not debt, and that is only true if you never carry a balance. Most users should leave credit cards in Payback Mode.

See also: Account Types In Roo