Fix Sign Problems During Upload
When expenses show up positive or deposits show up negative, the problem is almost always one setting: account type. This tutorial walks you through the full fix in five steps.
Why This Happens
Different institutions export transactions differently. Some behave like standard bank accounts — deposits positive, spending negative. Some credit card exports behave the opposite way — purchases positive, payments negative.
Money Mastery needs to know which kind of account it is reading. That is what the Account Type setting is for.
Traditional vs. Flipped Account
Before you upload anything, confirm which type matches your file.
Standard bank / debit style
Use for: checking, savings, debit accounts.
Credit card / reverse-sign export
Use for: credit cards and reverse-sign exports.
5 Steps to Fix Sign Problems
Check the Account Type Setting Before You Import
In the Account Upload flow, look at the Account Type choice. Confirm you're selecting Traditional or Flipped based on the table above.
If It's a Credit Card Export — Slow Down Here
Credit card exports are the most common cause of sign problems. If your file is a credit card statement, there is a high chance it needs Flipped Account treatment. Missing this here means the review screen will show your charges with the wrong sign.
Check the Review Screen Before Saving
Once the preview appears, scan the amounts. Ask yourself:
- Are expenses behaving like expenses?
- Are deposits or payments behaving logically?
- Does the whole file look backward?
If the whole file is reversed, that is a sign issue — not a row-by-row issue.
Use "± Reverse All Signs" If the Whole Batch Is Backward
If the review table is correct in content but the signs are flipped the wrong way, click ± Reverse All Signs.
| Date | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 3 | Grocery Store | +$84.12 |
| Jul 5 | Coffee Shop | +$6.50 |
| Jul 8 | Payment Received | −$240.00 |
| Jul 11 | Pharmacy | +$22.80 |
This is the clean correction when the direction is consistently wrong across the entire import. Do not manually fix amounts one at a time if the whole file is reversed.
Re-check Before Approving
After fixing the sign direction, confirm that expenses now read correctly, deposits now read correctly, and nothing else was distorted. Then proceed with approval.
Common Sign Problems
-
My expenses are showing as positive numbersUsually means the account needed Flipped Account treatment, or the review-stage Reverse All Signs was needed. Go back a step and adjust the account type before reimporting.
-
My credit card payments look backwardCheck the account type setting. Credit card exports often need Flipped Account treatment. Confirm the source file was interpreted correctly and use Reverse All Signs at the review stage if needed.
-
My bank account deposits look negativeThat usually means the account was treated as a Flipped account when it should have been Traditional. Set the account type to Traditional Account and reimport.
What Not to Do
- Do not ignore the problem and assume categorization will fix it — it won't.
- Do not manually edit dozens of amounts if the whole file is simply reversed — use Reverse All Signs.
- Do not choose Flipped Account just because one row looks weird — use it only when the whole source behaves that way.
"Sign issues look scary, but they are usually one of the cleanest upload problems to fix — as long as you catch them during the upload review stage instead of after they have already flowed downstream."