Sankey flow

The Sankey flow report shows where your money comes from and where it goes, as a flow diagram. Wider bands mean more money. Thinner bands mean less.

Open it from Reports → Sankey flow.

How to read it

flowchart LR
  Salary --> Total
  Freelance --> Total
  Total --> Rent
  Total --> Groceries
  Total --> Dining
  Total --> Subscriptions
  Total --> Uncategorized

Income flows in from the left. Expenses flow out to the right. The width of each band is proportional to the amount.

The left side of the chart shows your income categories. The right side shows your expense categories. The width of each band is proportional to the dollar amount it represents.

The chart answers one question quickly: where is the most money going? The widest band on the right is your largest spending category.

A worked example

Suppose your income for the month was $6,000 — $5,500 from salary and $500 from freelance work. Your expenses were $1,800 rent, $420 groceries, $280 dining, $85 subscriptions, and $340 uncategorized.

The Sankey chart shows two bands entering from the left (salary wider than freelance). On the right, rent is the widest band by far, followed by groceries, then uncategorized. The uncategorized band is a signal: those transactions need categories before the chart tells the full story.

Uncategorized transactions

A large “Uncategorized” band means transactions haven’t been assigned a category. The band is intentionally visible — it tells you where to look next, not something to worry about on a first import.

To reduce it: click the Uncategorized band (or go to your register and filter by category = Uncategorized) and assign categories. If the same merchants recur, write a payee rule to handle them automatically.

Date range

By default, the Sankey shows the current calendar month. Use the date selector to change the period. The chart redraws to show the flow for whatever range you select.

See also

• Categories — how PennyBolt groups expenses.
• Payee rules — assign categories automatically to reduce the Uncategorized band.
• Spending trends — the same spending data, plotted over time instead of as a flow.