Getting Started with Tricksy.io: Your First Transactions

You signed up. Now what?

First, create accounts for where your money actually is. Your checking account, savings, credit cards, loans, whatever.

Press Ctrl+K (or Cmd+K on Mac), pick "Create Account," choose Asset or Liability depending on the type, name it, enter the current balance. Done.

One weird thing: when you set your initial balance, use the "Adjustment" account that Tricksy auto-creates. This keeps the books balanced from the start because dual-entry requires every transaction to have two sides, even the initial setup.

Expense and Income Categories

Create some expense accounts (Groceries, Rent, whatever you spend on) and income accounts (Salary, etc.). These are also accounts, just different types.

Recording a Transaction

Press Alt+N (or Option+N on Mac), type $50 @checking @groceries, hit Enter.

Done. You moved $50 from checking to groceries. Both sides tracked.

The syntax is:

$100 = amount
@account = from/to accounts (order doesn't matter)
^2024-03-20 = date (defaults to today)
Everything else = description

Examples: $50 @checking @groceries weekly shopping or $3000 @salary @checking paycheck

Account Balances

Checking: $1,500 (asset, you have this) Credit card: -$500 (liability, you owe this) Savings: $5,000 (asset)

Net worth: $6,000

When you buy something on the credit card, it goes more negative (-$500 → -$550). When you pay it off, checking goes down and the credit card goes back toward zero. Net worth stays the same because you just moved money around.

Keyboard Shortcuts

The app is keyboard-heavy. Main shortcuts:

Alt+N / Option+N - Quick create
Ctrl+K / Cmd+K - Command palette
? - See all shortcuts
j / k - Navigate
e - Edit, d - Delete

Learn these and you'll be fast.

Common Mistakes

Credit cards are Liabilities, not Assets. Negative balance on a liability = you owe money.

Every transaction needs FROM and TO. Both sides.

Create expense categories so you can actually see where your money goes over time.

Try It for a Week

Set up your accounts, create categories, record every transaction for 7 days (yeah, even coffee), then check if your balances match reality.

After a week you'll know if this system works for you.