When you move money between your own accounts, both sides show up in your books — one transaction leaving the source account and another arriving in the destination. Mercury Books recognizes these as the same money and links them, so a transfer isn't recorded as income or expense. This article explains how that works and what to do when a transfer doesn't link.
What counts as a transfer
The Transfer Between Accounts category covers any movement of money between accounts in your books:
- Moving money between your Mercury accounts
- Moving money between Mercury and an external bank account
- Paying off a credit card from a bank account
- A Stripe or PayPal payout landing in your bank account
These are all balance sheet movements rather than revenue or expenses, which is why keeping them out of your income statement matters.
How linking works
Books matches the two sides of a transfer on amount and date, within a window of a few days. Once matched, each side records against the transfer account, and the transaction's side panel shows a Linked transfer detail pointing to the other side.
- Under Books, go to Transactions and click a transfer to open its side panel
- Find Linked transfer
- Click it to jump to the other side of the transfer
Opening a linked transfer from the Reconciliation page takes you to the reconciliation for the other account. From Transactions or Journal Entries, the side panel swaps in place.
Payouts from Stripe and PayPal
Payouts link reliably, because the payout event tells Books exactly which bank account the money is going to. Books matches the deposit in that specific account to the payout, so revenue isn't counted twice.
Tip: A payout deposit can be categorized as revenue for a short time before the payout event reaches Books. Once it arrives, Books recategorizes the deposit as a transfer and links it. If a deposit looks miscategorized, wait a day before changing it by hand.
This applies to payouts that arrive after your payment processor is connected. For payouts that predate the connection, categorize the deposit as a transfer between accounts yourself.
When a transfer doesn't link
A transfer stays unlinked when the other side never arrives in your books. The usual reasons:
- The other account isn't in your books. A transfer to or from an account you haven't connected has only one side. Connect the account, or import its transactions with a CSV
- The two legs are further apart than the matching window. Transfers between institutions can take several days to settle
- The amounts differ. A wire fee or currency conversion deducted along the way means the two sides don't match on amount
When that happens, categorize the transaction yourself. Open it from Transactions and set the category to the account that reflects where the money actually went — or record the difference with a manual journal entry if a fee was taken out.
FAQs
Can I tell from the transactions grid whether a transfer is linked?
Not from the grid. Open the transaction's side panel and look for Linked transfer.
Why is a transfer to my Treasury account unlinked?
Treasury activity isn't part of your books, so the other side of the transfer never arrives. Record it with a manual journal entry.
Should transfers appear on my Profit & Loss?
No. A transfer between your own accounts moves money without earning or spending it, so it belongs on your balance sheet rather than your income statement. If a transfer is showing up as income or an expense, it's categorized to the wrong account.
Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.