Transaction Categories
Understand how transactions are classified and what each category means.
Every transaction extracted from bank statements is classified into a category. Categories determine how transactions are treated in affordability calculations.
Category types
Transactions are grouped into high-level category types:
Income categories
Regular Income Predictable, recurring income that forms the basis of affordability.
- Salary / wages
- Pension
- Government benefits
Variable Income Income that fluctuates and is subject to haircuts in affordability calculations.
- Commission
- Overtime
- Bonuses
- Freelance / consulting
- Rental income
- Investment returns
Expense categories
Fixed Obligations Recurring commitments that must be paid regardless of income.
- Rent / mortgage
- Loan repayments
- Insurance premiums
- Vehicle finance
- Child maintenance
Essential Variables Necessary expenses that vary in amount.
- Groceries
- Utilities (electricity, water, gas)
- Medical expenses
- Transport / fuel
- Education
Discretionary Non-essential spending that could be reduced.
- Entertainment
- Dining out
- Shopping
- Subscriptions
- Travel
Transfers Money moving between accounts (excluded from expense calculations).
- Internal transfers
- Savings deposits
- Investment contributions
Fees & Charges Bank and service fees.
- Bank charges
- Card fees
- Penalty fees
Uncategorized Transactions that couldn't be confidently classified.
How classification works
oqui's AI analyzes each transaction considering:
- Description text - Keywords and patterns in transaction narratives
- Amount - Typical ranges for different transaction types
- Frequency - Regular patterns vs. one-off transactions
- Context - Surrounding transactions and overall account behavior
The classification is probabilistic - transactions are assigned to the most likely category based on available signals.
Impact on calculations
Category type determines how a transaction affects affordability:
| Category Type | Included in DTI | Haircut Applied |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Income | Yes (numerator) | None |
| Variable Income | Yes (numerator) | Yes |
| Fixed Obligations | Yes (denominator) | None |
| Essential Variables | Yes (denominator) | None |
| Discretionary | No | N/A |
| Transfers | No | N/A |
| Fees & Charges | Yes (denominator) | None |
Custom categories
You can create custom categories for your organization to track specific transaction types or apply custom treatment. Custom categories inherit from a parent category type.
Reviewing classifications
In the assessment results, you can:
- View all transactions with their assigned categories
- Filter by category type
- Flag misclassified transactions for review
- See classification confidence indicators