Duplicate Detection

Duplicate Detection

Sometimes the same transaction appears more than once in your accounts. This can happen due to bank reporting quirks, pending-to-posted transitions, or data import issues. Curl Budget automatically detects these duplicates and lets you control which copy to display.

Why Duplicates Happen

Duplicate transactions can appear for several reasons:

• Pending and posted versions - A charge appears as "pending" and later as "posted," but your bank reports both
• Bank corrections - A transaction is adjusted and the original remains visible
• Import overlap - When reconnecting an account, some transactions may be imported again
• Multi-institution accounts - The same card appearing through different bank connections

How Detection Works

Curl Budget identifies duplicates by looking for transactions that match on all of these criteria:

Matching Criteria

For two transactions to be detected as duplicates:

1. Exact same amount - Down to the cent
2. Same transaction time - The timestamp must match exactly
3. Same merchant - The Plaid merchant identifier matches
4. Same institution and account - From the same underlying account
5. Same original description - The raw description from your bank matches

This strict matching ensures only true duplicates are grouped—not similar transactions that are actually separate purchases.

Pending vs. Posted

A key feature of duplicate detection is that pending status is ignored. This means:

• A pending charge and its posted version are detected as duplicates
• You see one transaction instead of both
• When the posted version arrives, it automatically replaces the pending one

Duplicate Groups

When duplicates are detected, they form a duplicate group:

• One transaction is marked as shown (visible in your transaction list)
• Other copies are marked as hidden (still in your data, but not displayed)
• You can change which transaction is shown at any time

Viewing Duplicate Groups

When you view a transaction that has duplicates:

• You'll see a "Duplicates" indicator showing how many copies exist
• Tapping reveals all transactions in the group
• You can see details of each duplicate and choose which to show

Managing Duplicates

You have full control over how duplicates are handled:

Changing Which Transaction Shows

If you prefer to display a different copy:

1. Open the transaction with duplicates
2. Tap to view the duplicate group
3. Select "Show This One" on your preferred transaction
4. The previous one becomes hidden

Excluding a Transaction

If a transaction was incorrectly grouped as a duplicate:

1. Open the transaction
2. Tap to view the duplicate group
3. Select "Exclude" on the transaction that's not really a duplicate
4. It will be removed from the group and appear separately

Including a Transaction

If you previously excluded a transaction and want to re-add it:

1. Open any transaction in the duplicate group
2. Tap "Include Previously Excluded"
3. Select the transaction to bring back into the group

Automatic Selection

When duplicates are first detected, Curl Budget automatically chooses which transaction to show based on:

1. Posted over pending - Posted transactions are preferred
2. Most recent - If both have the same status, the most recently synced is shown
3. Existing category - If you've already categorized one, that one is preserved

Notifications

When new duplicates are detected, you can receive a notification:

• Duplicate Alert - Informs you that potential duplicates were found
• Tap the notification to review and manage the duplicate group

You can configure these alerts in your notification settings.

Impact on Reports

Duplicate detection ensures accurate financial data:

Spending Totals

Only the shown transaction in each duplicate group counts toward:

• Cash Flow reports
• Budget tracking
• Category spending totals

Transaction Counts

Your transaction counts reflect unique transactions, not duplicate entries.

Duplicates vs. Other Detection Types

Duplicates vs. Transfers

• Duplicates are the same transaction appearing multiple times
• Transfers are two different transactions (one in, one out) representing money movement

A credit card payment appears as two transactions (one per account) but they're transfers, not duplicates.

Duplicates vs. Double Charges

• Duplicates are the same transaction reported multiple times by your bank
• Double charges are actually separate charges that may indicate fraud

If a merchant charged you twice, those are double charges. If your bank reported the same charge twice, that's a duplicate.

Troubleshooting

Duplicate Not Detected

If you believe transactions are duplicates but they weren't grouped:

• Check amounts - They must match exactly
• Check timestamps - They must have the same time
• Check merchants - The bank's merchant identifier must match
• Different pending/posted descriptions may prevent matching

For transactions that aren't automatically detected, you can manually categorize or hide them.

Wrong Transactions Grouped

If unrelated transactions were grouped as duplicates:

1. Open the transaction
2. View the duplicate group
3. Exclude the transaction that doesn't belong

This is rare due to strict matching criteria, but can happen if your bank reports identical metadata for different transactions.

Related Features

• Double Charge Detection - Catches similar but separate charges
• Transfer Detection - Groups related transactions across accounts
• Push Notifications - Get alerted to new duplicates