Setting Up Your Household

After the onboarding wizard, there are a few things you can do to make your household work perfectly for your situation.

Understanding Your Chart of Accounts

Wambai automatically created a complete chart of accounts for you. These accounts are organized into five groups:

Assets (1xxx) — Cash, bank accounts, investments, property.
Liabilities (2xxx) — Credit cards, loans, mortgages.
Equity (3xxx) — Net worth tracking.
Revenue (4xxx) — Income categories.
Expenses (5xxx) — Spending categories like groceries, transportation, entertainment.

You'll mostly interact with the leaf accounts (the most specific ones), and Wambai shows them with friendly names. The hierarchy helps organize reports and totals automatically.

Adding More Accounts

You might want to add accounts that weren't set up during onboarding:

Bank and Cash Accounts

Go to Assets to add additional bank accounts, savings accounts, or cash accounts. Each account can have its own currency.

Liability Accounts

Go to Liabilities to track debts like credit cards or loans. These integrate with the Credits system for detailed payment tracking.

Custom Expense/Revenue Categories

The chart of accounts comes pre-loaded with common categories, but you can customize the account names to match your vocabulary. For example, rename "Food & Beverages" to "Groceries & Dining."

Inviting Household Members

To share your financial space with family members:

The household Owner can invite members from household settings.
Each member gets assigned a role:
- Editor — Can add and edit transactions, accounts, and budgets.
- Viewer — Can see everything but can't make changes.
Members sign up with their own account and join the household.

The subscription plan is shared — the Owner subscribes, and all members get access to the plan's features.

Managing Assets

For a complete net worth picture, add your major assets:

Real estate — Your home, rental properties.
Vehicles — Cars, motorcycles.
Investments — Stocks, bonds, retirement accounts.

Each asset can have metadata like appreciation/depreciation rates, acquisition value, and useful life. This helps project future net worth.

Setting Up Persons

Add the people and businesses you regularly transact with:

Employers — For tracking income sources.
Utility companies — For recurring bill payments.
Stores and merchants — For expense tracking.
Family and friends — For shared expenses or loans.

Persons make transactions faster to enter and help you see who you're spending money with.

Tips for a Great Setup

Start with your main bank accounts — Get accurate opening balances for a true net worth picture.
Add your regular bills as recurring payments — You'll never miss a due date.
Don't try to categorize everything perfectly — You can always recategorize later.
Invite your partner — Shared visibility is one of Wambai's biggest strengths.