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Convert Income to Refund

Refund income should reduce the expense it reverses, not inflate your income. Link it back to the original purchase in one tap.

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The money came back — it was never earned

Two screens: the same-currency expenses this income could be paying back, and the one you pick for it to cancel out.

A refund is not income

Counting a merchant refund as earnings inflates every income report you run. Long-press the income row, choose Convert to Refund, and Budgie lists the expenses it could be reversing — same currency, any account, and never smaller than the refund itself.

Budgie Convert to Refund picker listing same-currency expenses with a search field and a disabled Convert button
Likeliest match sorted first
Search by merchant or account

Link it to what it reverses

Pick the expense and convert. The refund stops standing on its own: it attaches to that purchase, the expense is marked Refunded, and analytics counts the purchase net of what came back — under its original category, not as new income. Tap Revert on the refunded transaction to pull the two rows apart again.

Budgie Convert to Refund picker with one expense row selected and checked, and the Convert button now enabled
Pick the expense it reverses
Convert enables on selection

Why refunds pollute income analytics

When a merchant refunds a purchase, the money reappears on your card as a positive transaction. Most expense trackers record it as income — which is technically accurate in a cash-flow sense but misleading for actual income analysis.

Budgie treats that positive transaction as a refund. It links the refund income to the original expense, supports partial refunds, and keeps the audit trail visible from the transaction detail screen.

What you get

Clean income totals — refund income links back to the expense instead of counting as earnings

Partial and full refunds — Budgie compares the refund amount with the original expense

Cross-account manual search — find same-currency expenses even when the refund lands elsewhere

Reversible audit trail — Revert restores the original income and expense rows

Frequently Asked Questions

Why would I convert income to a refund?
Merchant refunds arrive as positive income, but they usually reverse an earlier expense. Linking the income to that expense keeps income and spending analytics honest.
Can I refund only part of an expense?
Yes. Pick the original expense and Budgie marks the refund as partial when the refunded amount is lower than the expense amount.
Can I undo a refund link?
Yes. Open the refunded transaction and tap Revert. The income and expense return to their original standalone state.
What if the expense is on another account?
Manual refund search can find same-currency expenses across accounts. Budgie sorts likely matches by amount and date so the closest refund target appears first.

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