"Finally, no more Sunday afternoons spent categorizing transactions!" — Sarah, BankSync user who automated 95% of her transaction tagging
Picture this: It's the end of the month, you open your Notion budget, and see 200+ new transactions from BankSync sitting there, all uncategorized. Your heart sinks. You know you need to tag each one as "Groceries," "Gas," "Subscriptions," etc., but it's going to take forever.
Sound familiar? You're not alone. Even with BankSync automatically importing your transactions, the manual categorization step is what makes or breaks most people's budgeting systems. But here's the thing: you've already done most of the hard work.
If you've been using BankSync for a few months, you've probably already categorized hundreds of transactions. Starbucks → "Coffee," Shell → "Gas," Netflix → "Subscriptions." You've been training yourself, but what if you could train Notion AI to do this for you instead?
The "Aha!" Moment: Your Past Self Already Did the Training
Here's what clicked for me: every time you've tagged "WHOLE FOODS MARKET #123" as "Groceries," or "SHELL OIL #1472" as "Gas," you've been creating training data. You already know that:
- Anything from Starbucks, Dunkin', or local coffee shops = Coffee
- Target purchases under $50 are usually groceries, over $100 might be household items
- That $15.99 charge that happens every month is Netflix
- Gas stations are always transportation (except when you buy snacks!)
The beautiful thing about Notion AI is that it can look at all your historical categorizations and understand these patterns — even the nuanced ones like "Amazon purchases on weekends are usually personal, but weekday ones might be work supplies."
The Simple Setup (No PhD Required)
Don't worry — you don't need to be a prompt engineering expert. If you can write "Hey AI, can you help me categorize this?" you're already 90% there. Here's what you need:
What You'll Need (Probably Already Have)
- BankSync already importing transactions to your Notion database
- At least 50-100 transactions you've already categorized (the more, the better!)
- Notion AI enabled (it's included in most paid plans)
- 5 minutes to set up the automation
Step 1: Make Sure Your Database Is AI-Ready (2 Minutes)
Good news: if BankSync is already working, you're probably 90% set up. Just make sure you have these columns (most BankSync templates include them):
PropertyTypePurposeDescriptionText✅ BankSync gives you this automaticallyAmountNumber✅ BankSync gives you this automaticallyCategorySelectWhere you've been manually tagging (and where AI will take over!)AI CategoryFormula🆕 Add this — where the magic happens
Step 2: Look at What You Already Have
Before creating anything new, take a quick look at your existing categories. You've probably been pretty consistent without even realizing it. Most people end up with something like:
The Essentials (You Definitely Have These)
- • Groceries (Whole Foods, Target, etc.)
- • Gas (Shell, BP, Exxon, etc.)
- • Rent/Mortgage
- • Utilities
The Fun Stuff (Probably Here Too)
- • Coffee (Your daily Starbucks habit)
- • Restaurants & Takeout
- • Shopping (Amazon, Target runs)
- • Subscriptions (Netflix, Spotify)
The "Other" Pile
- • That weird charge you had to Google
- • Random fees you forgot to cancel
- • Transfers between your accounts
- • Stuff you're still figuring out
Step 3: The Magic Prompt (Copy & Paste Ready)
Here's where it gets fun. You're going to create a simple AI formula that basically says: "Hey AI, look at how I've categorized similar transactions before, and do the same thing for new ones."
Copy this prompt into a new Formula property called "AI Category":
The Prompt That Does Everything 🧙♂️
Look at this transaction: • Description: [prop("Description")] • Amount: $[prop("Amount")] • Date: [prop("Date")] Based on similar transactions I've already categorized in this database, what category should this be? Look for patterns in how I've tagged: • Same merchants (exact matches first) • Similar merchant names (Starbucks vs Starbucks #1234) • Similar amounts at similar places • Time patterns (weekend vs weekday spending) Just give me the category name that matches my existing patterns. If you're not confident (less than 80% sure), respond with "NEEDS REVIEW" so I can manually check it. My existing categories: [List your actual categories here]
Pro tip: Replace "[List your actual categories here]" with the categories you actually use. AI works way better when you give it your specific options instead of generic ones.
Step 4: Set It and (Mostly) Forget It
Now for the satisfying part. Create a simple view that shows you:
Your "AI Did The Work" Dashboard
- • "Auto-Tagged": Show transactions where AI Category matches your actual Category (AI nailed it!)
- • "Needs Review": Show transactions where AI said "NEEDS REVIEW" (usually weird one-off purchases)
- • "New Transactions": Show transactions where Category is empty (your Sunday task list)
Weekend routine: Quickly scan the "Needs Review" list, copy AI suggestions to your Category field for the ones that look right, manually tag the weird ones. Done in 5 minutes instead of 2 hours.
Real-World Results (What Actually Happens)
After using this for a few weeks, here's what you can expect:
Week 1: "This is pretty good!"
AI gets 70-80% right immediately. You still need to review everything, but most suggestions are spot-on.
Starbucks → Coffee ✓ | Shell Gas → Transportation ✓ | Random Amazon charge → "NEEDS REVIEW"
Month 1: "Okay, this is actually amazing"
AI learns your specific patterns. It knows your grocery stores, your gas stations, even that you always categorize Target differently based on the amount.
Target $47.32 → Groceries | Target $127.84 → Shopping | Both correct based on your history!
The "Oh Wait, That's Wrong" Moment
Sometimes AI gets it wrong. That's actually good news — it means you can teach it your specific preferences:
Example: The Costco Dilemma
AI suggested "Shopping" for your Costco run. But you know that 90% of your Costco trips are groceries, even though you sometimes buy random stuff there.
Fix: Add to your prompt: "Costco purchases are usually Groceries unless over $200." Next time, AI will remember this.
The more you correct it, the smarter it gets. It's like training a really good assistant who pays attention to your preferences.
The "Wow, It Actually Gets Me" Examples
When AI Nails Your Quirks
🎯 Perfect Match: "STARBUCKS #1847" | $4.85
AI:
Why it worked:
This one was a no-brainer — AI's getting confident with your daily habits!
🤔 Smart Guess: "TARGET T-1247" | $73.42
AI:
Why it's smart:
It learned your personal Target shopping pattern — that's actually impressive!
😅 Honest Confusion: "AMAZON.COM" | $47.82
AI:
Why it's honest:
At least it knows when it doesn't know! Better than guessing wrong.
The Numbers That Actually Matter
Forget fancy metrics. Here's what you actually care about after a month of using this:
5 min
Sunday categorizing (vs 90 min before)
87%
Auto-tagged correctly
3
"Huh, that's smart" moments per week
0
Times you've dreaded budget review
When Things Go Sideways (And How to Fix Them)
"AI keeps calling my grocery store 'Shopping'"
This usually happens when you haven't been consistent with tagging that store before.
Quick fix: Go back and manually tag 5-10 transactions from that store as "Groceries." AI will pick up the pattern.
"Everything comes back as 'NEEDS REVIEW'"
You probably don't have enough historical data yet, or your categories are too specific.
Quick fix: Start with broader categories ("Food" instead of "Organic Groceries," "Coffee Shop," "Fine Dining"). You can always get more specific later.
"AI is too confident and wrong"
Sometimes AI gets overconfident. This usually means your prompt needs to be more specific about edge cases.
Quick fix: Add examples of when you want AI to say "NEEDS REVIEW" instead of guessing.
The "I Can't Believe This Is My Life Now" Moment
Three months in, here's what Sunday budget review looks like:
“Oh hey, AI already categorized everything. Let me just double-check the weird ones... yep, those look right too. I guess I'm done?”
— You, realizing you have your Sunday afternoon back
That's the goal. Not fancy AI features or complex algorithms — just getting your time back while actually having better financial insights than when you did everything manually.
Your Next Sunday Afternoon
Instead of spending 2 hours manually categorizing transactions, here's what you'll be doing:
5-Minute Sunday Routine:
- Open your "Needs Review" filter in Notion
- Scan AI suggestions, copy the good ones
- Manually tag the weird Amazon purchases
- Done. Seriously.
The Other 115 Minutes:
- ☕ Make that fancy coffee you keep meaning to try
- 📊 Actually look at your spending trends
- 🏖️ Go for a walk without financial guilt
- 🍿 Watch Netflix (guilt-free, it's already categorized)
Look, I'm not saying AI will solve all your money problems. But it will solve the "ugh, I have to categorize 200 transactions" problem. And honestly? That's pretty life-changing.
Ready to get your Sundays back? Start your BankSync trial and set up this system this weekend. Your future self (relaxing next Sunday instead of doing data entry) will thank you.