BananaBird

What Are Accounts?

Accounts represent the financial accounts that make up your financial position. This can include things you own, such as chequing, savings, and investment accounts, as well as things you owe, such as credit cards, loans, and lines of credit.

Once an account has been created, its balance can be recorded as part of your regular snapshots. Over time, BananaBird uses those balances to show how the account - and your overall financial position - has changed.

Assets and Liabilities

Every account is classified as either an Asset or a Liability.

Asset Accounts

Asset accounts represent money or investments you own. Examples may include chequing accounts, savings accounts, investment accounts, or other financial balances that contribute positively to your net worth.

Liability Accounts

Liability accounts represent money you owe. Examples may include credit cards, loans, mortgages, or lines of credit.

BananaBird calculates the net value of your accounts as Assets minus Liabilities.

Creating an Account

To add an account, open the Accounts page and select Add Account.

Basic Information

Name
A recognizable name for the account. For example, TD Chequing, Visa 1234, or Retirement Account.

Institution
The bank, financial institution, lender, or other organization associated with the account.

Owner
An optional name you can use to identify who owns the account. This can also be used to view groups of accounts belonging to the same owner.

Classification

Type
Determines whether the account is an asset or a liability.

Subtype
Provides a more specific classification for the account. This helps organize similar accounts and allows accounts of the same subtype to be viewed together.

Horizon
Describes the general timeframe associated with the account - for example, whether the money or obligation is primarily short, medium, or long-term.

Liquidity
Describes how readily the value associated with an account can generally be accessed or converted into usable funds.

Description
Optional notes or additional information you want to keep with the account.

Opened and Closed Dates

The Date Opened and Date Closed fields define the period during which an account is considered active.

If an account was opened after you began using BananaBird, entering its opened date prevents it from being treated as active before that date.

When an account is no longer active, you can enter a closed date. Closed accounts can still remain part of your historical financial record while being treated as inactive after their closing date.

Account Options

Three options control how an account participates in other parts of BananaBird.

Include in Aggregates

When enabled, the account is included in dashboard totals, charts, and other aggregate calculations. Turn this off if you want to track an account without having it contribute to your primary financial totals.

Tracks Contributions

Enable this option when you want to separately record contributions to or withdrawals from an account.

This is particularly useful when a change in balance can come from both money moving into or out of the account and changes in the value of the account itself.

Investment Account

Enable this option when the account should be treated as an investment account. Investment accounts are included in investment-specific totals, charts, and performance views.

Accounts and Snapshots

Creating an account defines what you want to track. Snapshots provide the balance information that lets BananaBird track that account over time.

As you complete snapshots, the balances recorded for your accounts build their history. BananaBird can then compare balances across snapshots and display trends, balance changes, contributions, and other metrics.

If an Account does not have a new balance recorded in a Snapshot, BananaBird continues using its most recent known balance for effective balance calculations. Entering current balances regularly is still recommended, and an actual zero balance should be recorded explicitly as $0.00.

Understanding the Accounts Page

Once you have account and snapshot data, the Accounts page brings that information together into several views.

Net, Assets, and Liabilities

The summary at the top of the page shows your total account assets, total account liabilities, and the resulting net balance.

Allocations

Allocation charts show how your account balances are distributed. BananaBird can also group balances by Horizon and Liquidity, helping you see the composition of your accounts rather than only their total value.

Net Metrics Over Time

As additional snapshots are created, the Net Metrics chart shows how your account assets, liabilities, and net balance have changed over time.

Balance and Performance Information

BananaBird can compare current balances with earlier periods to show how account values have changed. When investment or contribution information is available, additional performance information may also be displayed.

Contributions, Withdrawals, and Growth

For accounts that track contributions, BananaBird can distinguish between a change caused by money moving into or out of the account and a change in the value of the account itself.

Balance Change
The difference between the starting and ending balance for the selected period.

Contributions
Money added to the account during the period.

Withdrawals
Money removed from the account during the period.

Net Contributions
Contributions minus withdrawals.

Estimated Growth
The portion of the balance change remaining after net contributions are taken into account.

Growth is an estimate based on the balance change and the contributions or withdrawals recorded in BananaBird. It should not be treated as a detailed investment return calculation.

Account History

The History section shows the balances recorded for your account across submitted snapshots.

If contribution tracking is enabled and contribution data is available, the history also shows the contribution or withdrawal associated with each snapshot. You can open the related snapshot directly from the history table.

Accounts