In this section, you will learn more about the Bookkeeping tab, where you can add, view, and manage your transactions in one place.
Year
When you click on the year, you can switch between your transactions for the current year and prior years, going back to 2022. If you have been tracking transactions with Keeper in previous years, those transactions will remain available in the Bookkeeping tab and can be viewed or edited at any time.
If you recently signed up and connected your bank accounts for transaction tracking, keep in mind that Keeper can typically access up to 18 months of transaction history, although this depends on your bank’s policy. Some banks may only provide a few months of data.
In these cases, you may not see transactions from prior years scanned automatically, but no worries. You can still manually add transactions or upload bank statements for those years. We will cover those options in more detail later.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Year
Search transactions by name
The search feature lets you quickly find your transactions by entering the merchant’s name (for example, Amazon). If you’re unsure of the exact name, clicking on the search bar will also display a list of your transactions, making it easy to locate what you need.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Magnifying glass icon
Manually adding a transaction
If you need to add a transaction that isn’t already in Keeper, you can add it manually from the Bookkeeping tab. Select + Add Transaction in the top-right corner.
From there, you’ll have three options:
- Scan receipt — Upload or scan a receipt, and Keeper will use the information to create a transaction.
- Add transaction manually — Enter the transaction details yourself.
- Upload transaction list — Upload a file or bank statement in PDF, CSV, or XLSX format containing multiple transactions at once.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> + Add Transaction
Scan receipt
You can upload a copy of your receipt to quickly add the transaction details to the Bookkeeping tab. Once uploaded, Keeper will scan the receipt and automatically extract the relevant information for you.
Before saving the transaction, we recommend reviewing the imported details to make sure everything is accurate. You can make any necessary changes before adding the transaction to your records.
The receipt copy will also be saved with the transaction, so you can easily access it from the transaction details for your records.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> + Add transaction -> Scan receipt
Add transaction manually
This feature lets you enter a transaction directly into Keeper when it hasn’t been automatically imported from a linked account or added another way.
What you’ll need:
- Select whether the transaction is an expense or income
- Merchant or transaction name
- Date
- Amount
- Category
You can also add a note or upload a copy of the receipt if you’d like to keep additional details with the transaction. Once you’ve entered everything, select Save to add the transaction to your bookkeeping records.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> + Add transaction -> Add transaction manually
Upload transaction list
Need to add a large number of transactions at once? The Upload Transaction List feature lets you import multiple transactions using a PDF, XLSX, or CSV file.
This can be especially helpful if you have a bank account or card that isn’t currently supported by Keeper. Simply upload a spreadsheet or bank statement from that account, and Keeper will automatically add the transactions to your Bookkeeping tab once the upload is complete.
To get started, go to the Bookkeeping tab on your web dashboard, select + Add Transaction, and choose Upload transaction list.
💡 Tip: If your transactions don’t upload successfully, try saving your file as a CSV with only these three columns: Date, Name, and Amount. Avoid including additional information, as extra columns may prevent Keeper from processing the file correctly.
If you’re still having trouble uploading your transactions, reach out to us and we’ll be happy to help.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> + Add Transaction -> Upload transaction list
After adding your transactions, we recommend reviewing them to make sure they’re marked and categorized correctly.
To quickly find transactions you added manually, use the Account filter and select Manually Added. For transactions imported from an uploaded file, use the Expense Upload filter.
Deleting a transaction
If you need to remove a transaction from Keeper, go to the Bookkeeping tab and select the transaction you want to delete. This will open the transaction details, where you can select the (...) menu in the top-right corner and choose Delete transaction.
You can delete manually added transactions, uploaded transactions, and transactions imported from a linked account. Keep in mind that deleting an imported transaction can’t be undone, so Keeper will ask you to confirm before deleting it.
If you don’t want a transaction included in your deductions or income but still want to keep it in your records, you can mark it as Personal instead of deleting it.
Navigation: Bookkeeping → Select the transaction → (...) Menu → Delete transaction
💡 Tip: You can also remove all transactions from a linked account by removing the account from the Profile > Linked accounts section and choosing the option to delete its transactions. Keep in mind that this will remove all transactions imported from that account across all years, not just the transactions for a specific year.
Tracking income
When you link an account to Keeper, we categorize your transactions based on the information provided by your financial institution. Some transactions are categorized automatically, while others may need to be reviewed if Keeper isn’t sure what they’re for.
By default, all imported income transactions are placed in Needs Review until you add and categorize them. To find them quickly, go to the Bookkeeping tab and select Needs Review at the top of your transaction list. You can also use the Tax Status filter and select Needs Review.
To add an income transaction, select it to open the transaction details, then choose the appropriate income category and income type. Available income categories include Other income, Salaried income, Unemployment income, and Self-employed income.
If you categorize a transaction as Self-employed income, it will be included in the total business income shown in the Bookkeeping tab. Income transactions are also marked with a + before the amount, making them easy to identify.
Need to add income that wasn’t imported from a linked account? You can add it manually by selecting + Add Transaction in the Bookkeeping tab, then choosing Add transaction manually and selecting Income.
📝Note: Income tracked in the Bookkeeping tab can help you keep your records organized and provide information for your tax estimate. However, when you file your tax return, you’ll still need to enter your income and provide any applicable tax forms in the File Taxes tab.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Select income transaction -> Select income category
Creating rules
The Rules feature helps you automatically categorize recurring transactions, so you don’t have to update them manually each time. Whether it’s a monthly utility bill, recurring income, or a personal subscription like Netflix, you can create a rule to make sure these transactions are consistently categorized according to your preferences.
To manage your rules, go to the Bookkeeping tab and select Rules. From there, you can create new rules or review and update your existing ones.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Rules
When creating a rule, you’ll need to enter:
- Merchant name
- Type
- Category
- Business/Personal Use Percentage
Types of rules you can create
Business: Create rules for recurring business transactions, such as utilities, subscription services, or insurance. Keeper will automatically categorize these transactions according to your rule, so you won’t need to update them manually each time.
Personal: Create rules for personal transactions to prevent them from being mistakenly categorized as business deductions or income. This can be useful for expenses such as grocery purchases or non-work-related streaming services.
Needs Review: Create a rule for transactions that could be business or personal depending on the situation. Transactions with this rule will remain in Needs Review instead of being automatically categorized, allowing you to review each transaction and decide whether it should be marked as business or personal.
You can also choose to apply the rule to all existing transactions. You’ll find this option at the bottom of the rule details. Simply turn on the toggle, which is disabled by default, to apply the rule to transactions with the exact merchant name. Keeper will then update those transactions based on the rule you created.
If you select Business as the transaction type, you can use the slider to set the business-use percentage for the transaction. If you have multiple jobs or businesses added to your profile, you’ll also have the option to split the transaction between them. Select Switch to custom job split to manually adjust the percentage allocated to each job or business.
More (...) menu
The More (...) menu at the upper-right corner gives you quick access to additional features and tools available in the Bookkeeping tab, including:
- Linked accounts
- Match receipt
- Export
- Tax Estimate
Let’s take a closer look at each feature and how it can help!
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> More (...)
Linked accounts
The Linked accounts option lets you view and manage the bank accounts and cards connected to Keeper. You can also add a new account or card, or update and remove one you’ve previously connected.
Select Linked accounts from the More (...) menu of the Bookkeeping tab to open the Profile tab on your dashboard, where you can manage your linked accounts.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> More (...) -> Linked accounts
Match receipt
The Match receipt feature lets you upload a receipt and match it to an existing transaction in the Bookkeeping tab. If a matching transaction is found, the receipt is added to that transaction’s details, where you can access the receipt copy anytime.
If no matching transaction is found, Keeper will let you know and give you the option to create a new transaction based on the receipt.
This feature is especially useful when you want to add receipt copies to your records but aren’t sure whether the transaction has already been added to Bookkeeping. It can also help prevent duplicate transactions by checking for an existing transaction before creating a new one from the receipt.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> More (...) -> Match receipt
Exporting your deductions
You can export a spreadsheet of your deductions directly from the Bookkeeping tab. Before exporting, make sure you’ve selected the correct tax year so the spreadsheet includes the right data.
To export your deductions, click the More (...) menu in the top-right corner and select Export.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> More (...) -> Export
Estimating your tax bill or refund
Curious about how much you might owe in taxes or whether you’ll get a refund for the current year? The Tax Estimate feature provides a quick calculation, giving you a rough idea of your potential tax bill or refund.
You can access the feature from the More (...) menu in the top-right corner of the Bookkeeping tab.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> More (...) -> Tax Estimate
Keep in mind that while the estimate provides a helpful ballpark figure, it doesn’t take into account other sources of income, credits, or deductions that will be factored in during the actual filing process. Think of it as a useful guide, but not a final calculation. Your actual tax bill or refund may vary once you complete your filing with us and submit your return for review.
Understanding your tax profile
Your Tax Profile includes important information about your income, work, certain tax credits, and deductions that may be used to calculate your tax estimate. You can access your Tax Profile through Tax Estimate in the Bookkeeping tab or directly from the Profile tab on the web dashboard by selecting Tax Profile.
Below, we’ll walk you through each section of your Tax Profile and explain how the information is used.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> More (...) -> Tax Estimate
Personal info and Income
In this section, you can update your:
- State of residence
- Tax filing status
- Dependents (if any)
- Expected annual W-2 employee income
- Expected annual freelancing/business income
Jobs & Income
Here, you can add or edit the types of work or businesses you have by selecting + Add job under Jobs & Income.
If you don’t see an exact match, simply type in the name of your job or business. You can then select the matching option and add it to your job list.
The jobs you add here are also used to allocate transactions in the Bookkeeping tab. As you continue using Keeper, the app learns from your spending patterns to help categorize your transactions and identify potential deductions based on the work you do.
Credits and deductions
Here, you can enter the amounts you paid toward student tuition, mortgage interest, and traditional IRA contributions for the year. If any of these don’t apply to your tax situation, you can simply leave the corresponding fields blank.
Travel and business meals
Next, you’ll find toggle switches for common deductions, such as business meals and travel expenses. Use these toggles to indicate whether these types of expenses apply to your self-employed work or business. You can indicate whether you have business meals with clients or colleagues or travel for business purposes.
For more deduction options and configurations, check out the Rules feature in the Bookkeeping tab.
Taxes Paid
In the final section of your Tax Profile, you can enter the federal and state income taxes withheld from your W-2, as well as any quarterly estimated tax payments you’ve made for the year. This information helps Keeper provide a more accurate estimate of your potential tax bill or refund.
Business deductions
Business deductions are ordinary and necessary expenses you incur while running your self-employed work or business. These expenses can reduce your taxable business income when they qualify as deductible under IRS rules. Common examples include business supplies, advertising, software, and other expenses related to your work.
The total business deductions shown in the Bookkeeping tab reflect the deductible portion of all your eligible business expenses. Note that Keeper automatically takes your business-use percentage and any applicable deduction limits into account when calculating this total.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Business deductions
Deductions overview by category
Selecting the Business deductions amount opens a pop-up window with a breakdown of your deductions by category. Select a deduction category to view all the expenses recorded under it.
Reviewing this breakdown can help you stay organized and confirm that your business expenses are properly categorized and tracked.
From this window, you can also select View your tax estimate to access the Tax Estimate feature.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Business deductions
Business income
The total Business income shown in the Bookkeeping tab reflects all income transactions categorized as Self-employed income.
Selecting the amount opens an overview of your business income by job or business type. Choose a job or business type to view the income transactions recorded under it.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Business income
Filtering transactions
Below the total amounts in the Bookkeeping tab, you’ll find a list of your transactions. You can use the available filters to narrow down the list and quickly find specific transactions by:
- Date
- Account
- Type
- Category
- Amount
- Tax status
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Filters
Filtering transactions by tax status
If you click on Tax Status, you’ll be able to filter your transactions by:
- Deduction
- Non-deductible
- Needs Review
- Business income
- Personal income
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Tax status
Under Needs Review, you’ll find transactions that still need to be categorized. You can mark each transaction as Business or Personal, and update other transaction details or categories as needed.
Reviewing this section regularly can help ensure your transactions are categorized correctly and that you don’t miss potential deductions. More deductions can mean more tax savings!
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Tax status -> Needs review
Editing a transaction
Selecting a transaction in the Bookkeeping tab opens its details, where you can review and update various transaction settings.
You can click on a specific transaction to:
- Edit the type
- Edit the category
- Edit the business-use percentage
- Edit the custom job split, if available
- Create or view a rule
- Add a note
- Add a receipt
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Select a transaction
Additionally, selecting the three-dot (...) menu in the upper-right corner of the transaction details page gives you the option to Edit transaction details or Delete the transaction. Choosing Edit transaction details lets you update the transaction name and amount.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Select a transaction -> three-dot menu (...)
Add a note
You can add a note to any transaction to keep additional details or documentation with your records. For example, for a business meal, you might note who you met with or what the meeting was about. You can use this field to add any other relevant information that helps you keep track of the transaction.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Select a transaction -> Note
Add a receipt
You can upload a copy of your receipt to any transaction in the Bookkeeping tab. Simply select the transaction and click on Add receipt photo to upload your receipt.
Once uploaded, select Save to attach the receipt to the transaction. To view it later, open the transaction and you’ll find the receipt copy in the transaction details.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Select a transaction -> Add receipt photo
Split amounts
If a transaction includes both personal and business items—for example, purchasing business supplies along with personal items—you can adjust the business-use percentage to make sure only the portion related to your business or self-employed work is counted.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Select an expense -> Business percentage slider
Custom job split
Smart Split is a method that divides your expenses across your freelance or business jobs based on your reported income and industry benchmarks. When you file your taxes with us, Keeper will automatically assign expenses to the correct Schedule C income source using this method.
If you’d prefer to decide how a transaction is allocated yourself, you can do so from the Bookkeeping tab. Simply select the transaction and adjust the percentage sliders under Custom job split to assign the business transaction amount across your different income sources.
Alternatively, you can create a rule for recurring transactions and set how the transaction should be split across your jobs. This way, Keeper can apply the same allocation automatically, so you don’t have to update it each time.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Select an expense -> Custom job split
Bulk edit
The Bulk edit feature lets you update multiple transactions at once. First, filter your transactions to display only the ones you want to edit. Then, use the checkbox to the left of the transaction date to select the transactions you want to update. You can also use the checkbox at the top of the list to select all of the filtered transactions at once, then uncheck any individual transactions you don’t want to include.
Navigation: Bookkeeping -> Checkbox
You can then edit the selected transactions by adjusting the following:
- Type: Mark all selected transactions as either Business or Personal.
- Category: Assign a category to all selected transactions. You can choose from the available categories, but only one category can be applied to all selected transactions.
- Note: Add the same note to all selected transactions.
- Delete: Delete all selected transactions.
‼️Warning: After you bulk edit your transactions, you’ll only have a few seconds to undo the changes. A pop-up message will appear at the bottom of your web dashboard with an UNDO option.
If you made a bulk edit by mistake, click UNDO as soon as the message appears to reverse the changes. Once the option disappears, the bulk edit can’t be undone, and you’ll need to manually revert the changes for each affected transaction.
If you prefer to manage your transactions in the mobile app, check out this article for more information about the app’s Bookkeeping tab!