Searching & Filtering

Searching & Filtering

As your transaction history grows, finding specific transactions becomes essential. Curl Budget provides powerful search and filtering to help you find exactly what you're looking for.

Quick Search

Basic Search

The search bar at the top of the transaction list:

1. Tap the search icon
2. Enter your search term
3. Results filter in real-time

What's Searched

Search looks through:

• Merchant names
• Transaction descriptions
• Notes you've added
• Tags

Search Tips

• Partial matching - "Star" finds "Starbucks"
• Case insensitive - "amazon" finds "Amazon"
• Multiple words - "coffee shop" finds transactions with both words

Filtering

Filter Types

Filter transactions by:

Filter	Purpose
Date range	When transactions occurred
Account	Which account(s)
Category	Transaction category
Tag	Transactions with specific tags
Amount	Transaction size
Status	Pending, posted, etc.

Applying Filters

To filter:

1. Tap the filter icon
2. Select filter type
3. Choose filter value(s)
4. Apply

Active filters show as chips below the search bar.

Combining Filters

Stack multiple filters:

• Date: "This month"
• Category: "Restaurants"
• Account: "Chase Visa"

Shows only restaurant transactions on Chase this month.

Clearing Filters

Remove filters:

• Tap "X" on individual filter chips
• Or tap "Clear All" to reset

Date Filters

Preset Ranges

Quick date selections:

• Today - Just today's transactions
• This Week - Current week
• This Month - Current calendar month
• Last Month - Previous month
• This Quarter - Current quarter
• This Year - Current year
• All Time - No date restriction

Custom Range

For specific dates:

1. Select "Custom Range"
2. Choose start date
3. Choose end date
4. Apply

Useful for:

• Specific billing periods
• Trip dates
• Project timeframes

Account Filters

Single Account

View one account:

1. Tap Account filter
2. Select the account
3. See only its transactions

Multiple Accounts

View several accounts:

1. Tap Account filter
2. Select multiple accounts
3. Combined view of selected

Excluding Accounts

Show all except certain accounts:

1. Start with all accounts
2. Deselect ones to exclude

Category Filters

Single Category

Filter to one category:

1. Tap Category filter
2. Select category
3. See only matching transactions

Subcategories

When filtering a parent category:

• Includes all subcategories
• "Food & Dining" includes Restaurants, Groceries, etc.

Multiple Categories

Select several categories:

1. Tap Category filter
2. Check multiple categories
3. Shows transactions in any selected category

Uncategorized

Find uncategorized transactions:

1. Select "Uncategorized" in filter
2. Review and categorize as needed

Tag Filters

Single Tag

Find transactions with a specific tag:

1. Tap Tag filter
2. Select the tag
3. See matching transactions

Multiple Tags

Filter by multiple tags:

• Any of - Has at least one of the selected tags
• All of - Has all selected tags

No Tags

Find untagged transactions:

• Filter to "No Tags"
• Useful for finding transactions to tag

Amount Filters

Amount Ranges

Filter by transaction size:

• Greater than - Over a certain amount
• Less than - Under a certain amount
• Between - Within a range

Examples

• Large purchases: Greater than $100
• Small expenses: Less than $20
• Medium transactions: Between $50 and $200

Signs

Remember amount conventions:

• Expenses are negative
• Income is positive

"Less than -$100" means expenses over $100.

Status Filters

Transaction Status

Filter by status:

• Posted - Fully processed transactions
• Pending - Not yet fully posted

Detection Status

Filter by detection:

• Transfers - Show or hide transfers
• Duplicates - Show hidden duplicates
• Flagged - Potential issues

Saved Searches

Creating a Saved Search

For frequently used filters:

1. Set up your filters
2. Tap "Save Search"
3. Name your saved search
4. Access it later from saved list

Example Saved Searches

• "Work Expenses" - Business expense tag
• "Monthly Groceries" - This month + Groceries category
• "Large Purchases" - Amount over $200

Managing Saved Searches

Edit or delete saved searches from Settings.

Using Search and Filters Together

Combined Power

Search and filters work together:

• Filter to "This Month" + "Restaurants"
• Then search for "Pizza"
• Finds pizza places this month

Order of Operations

1. Filters narrow the set
2. Search finds within filtered set
3. Results show matching transactions

Advanced Techniques

Finding Patterns

Use filters to investigate:

• "Why was January expensive?" → Filter to January, sort by amount
• "Where do I shop most?" → Use Explorer with filtering

Audit Trail

Find when things happened:

• Filter to specific date range
• Search for merchant name
• Review all transactions

Category Review

Check categorization accuracy:

• Filter to a category
• Scroll through transactions
• Fix any miscategorized items

Pre-Export Filtering

Before analyzing data:

• Set exact filters
• Verify the transaction set
• Proceed with analysis

Tips

Start Broad, Then Narrow

If you can't find something:

1. Start with no filters
2. Search broadly
3. Add filters to narrow down

Use Date Ranges First

Date ranges are most effective:

• Reduces search space significantly
• Usually you know roughly when something happened

Check Spelling

If search returns nothing:

• Verify merchant name spelling
• Try partial name
• Check for alternate names

Review Filter State

If transactions seem missing:

• Check active filters
• Filters might be hiding them
• Clear all filters to see everything

Related Features

• Viewing Transactions - Transaction list basics
• Categories - Category organization
• Tags - Tag organization
• Explorer - Advanced analysis