It may happen that not all income or expenses go through your linked bank account. In such cases, you can manually create them as external transactions in the smarta web app.
In this article, we’ll guide you step by step on how to create, save, or delete an external transaction – and what happens if you first save it only as a draft.
What is an external transaction?
An external transaction is a business income or expense that was not processed through your bank account – for example, cash payments, private expenses, or PayPal payments if the account is not linked to smarta.
You can manually record such transactions in the smarta web app.
You’ll find the “External Transaction” button in the accounting view in the top right corner.
How do I create an external transaction?
To create an external transaction, please proceed as follows:
In the accounting view, click on the “External Transaction” button in the top right corner.
2. Upload the corresponding receipt –
either via drag & drop or by using the file picker.
External transactions are always created based on a receipt.
The system assumes that each receipt corresponds to a separate external transaction.
3. Fill in the required fields in the input form:
Name
Date
Amount
Selection: Income or Expense
4. Click “Save” to fully record the transaction.
Note:
If you upload multiple receipts at the same time, the input form will open only for the first receipt. The remaining receipts will automatically be created as drafts under “To Do”. By clicking on the respective to-do item, the input form will open so you can complete the external transaction.
Where can I find my external transactions?
Once you have saved an external transaction, it will appear in your accounting.
You can view all external transactions specifically by using the “External transaction” filter – this includes both the ones you created yourself and those created by smarta Steuerberatung.
What does “To Do – External Transaction” mean?
Drafts & To-Dos:
If you create a new external transaction but do not click “Save”, it will not be recorded as a booking.
Instead, it will appear as a draft under “To Do” with the tag “External Transaction”. This also applies when you upload multiple receipts at once: the input form opens immediately for the first receipt, while the remaining receipts are automatically saved as drafts under “To Do”.
To remove these to-dos from your task list, you must either save or delete the transactions.
Save a Transaction
How to fully save an external transaction:
Click on the open transaction under “To Do”.
The detail view will open.
Fill in all required fields:
Name
Date
Amount
Selection: Income or Expense
Click “Save”.
Note:
The accounting category is optional. We review and categorize your entries as part of the ongoing accounting process.
Delete a Transaction
If you don’t need the transaction, you can delete it:
Open the transaction.
Click the “Delete Transaction” button at the bottom right.
A confirmation window will appear.
Click “Confirm” to permanently remove the draft.
Deletion After Verification
If you have created external transactions, you can delete them from your accounting yourself until they have been reviewed and verified by our team.
A verified transaction can be identified by the green checkmark icon in the transaction overview.
Once a transaction has been verified, it can no longer be deleted.
Note:
If you still want to remove a verified transaction, please contact us. We will be happy to do it for you.
Do you need support?
For our clients:
Feel free to reach out to us anytime at kontakt-team@smarta-steuern.de or book a consultation here – we're here for you!
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Further questions?
Contact us via the app or by email at kontakt-team@smarta-steuern.de if you want to learn more about our consulting services or have other tax-related concerns.