Smart Categorization: Rules, Not Robots
Uncommon Cash doesn't use a black-box AI classifier. It uses something better: rules you control, vendors you recognize, and an AI agent you can ask directly. Zero mystery, zero wrong guesses you can't explain.
Why rules beat a classifier
Most "AI categorization" means a model trained on millions of transactions guesses what category your Walmart trip belongs to. It's often right, but when it's wrong — "Walmart" filed under Clothing instead of Groceries — you're stuck fixing it manually anyway, with no idea why it happened.
Uncommon Cash takes the opposite approach. You define what Walmart means to you. Set it once, and every Walmart transaction lands exactly where you want it — forever.
How it works
Automation rules
Write a rule once — "if merchant contains Trader Joe's, assign Groceries" — and every future match categorizes itself.
Vendor recognition
Assign a default category to any vendor. Uncommon Cash applies it automatically whenever that vendor appears.
Workbench bulk processing
Uncategorized transactions group by merchant. Select a group, pick a category, and create a rule in one step.
AI via MCP
Connect Claude Code to your account and ask it to categorize everything at once using your own spending context.
Automation rules in depth
Automation rules are condition-action pairs. A condition matches on the transaction description (partial text, exact match, or regex), and the action assigns a category, a vendor, or both.
Example: Coffee shops
If description contains "STARBUCKS" → category: Dining, vendor: Starbucks
Example: Payroll
If description contains "DIRECT DEP" → category: Income
Example: Streaming services
If description contains "NETFLIX" or "SPOTIFY" → category: Entertainment
Rules run automatically on every import, so new transactions from known merchants categorize themselves before you ever open the app.
How to get set up
- 1
Assign vendors first
In the Transactions view, click the vendor column on any transaction and assign or create a vendor. Set its default category — every future transaction from that vendor auto-categorizes.
- 2
Create automation rules for edge cases
Go to Automation Rules in the sidebar and add rules for merchants that come through with inconsistent names. Rules run on every new import.
- 3
Use the workbench for the rest
Open the Transaction Workbench to see uncategorized transactions grouped by merchant. Select a group, assign a category, and optionally save it as a vendor rule — done in seconds per group.
- 4
Let Claude finish the job
If you have the MCP server connected, ask Claude to "categorize all uncategorized transactions" and it will work through them using your existing categories and patterns.
What about genuinely new merchants?
For a merchant you've never seen before, two paths work well:
- Workbench — open the uncategorized view, find the merchant group, assign a category, and optionally lock it in as a vendor rule in one step.
- MCP + Claude — if you have the MCP server connected (see how), ask Claude to "categorize all uncategorized transactions" and it will handle them in bulk using your existing category names and your spending context.
Either way, once a merchant is handled, it's handled forever.
Spend five minutes on rules, save hours every month
Sign up and set up your first automation rules — most people cover 80% of transactions in under ten minutes.