Definition: A split transaction in personal finance software is a single transaction that is assigned to more than one category. Processing a transaction by splitting the categories makes for more accurate budgeting.
Most personal finance software allows for split transactions in registers, but not all do. If being able to assign more than one category to items purchased at your department store or grocery store is important to you, be sure the personal finance software you are considering allows for processing transactions into split transactions.
Examples: When I downloaded transactions into Microsoft Money, my purchase made at the grocery store yesterday needed to be split into two categories. I bought cat food along with groceries, so I split the transaction by allocating the appropriate amounts to my Pets category and Groceries category.
