Exporting Data and Backups

Exports are the practical checkpoint and handoff tools in Common Cents.

Where export actions live #

Most export and backup actions live in Settings > File / Export.

There is one important exception: the All Transactions page also gives you an Export Filtered menu so you can export only the transactions that match the current search and filters.

If you prefer keyboard-driven workflows, many of these same actions are also available from the Combo Palette in Actions mode.

Save As and Create Backup are not the same thing #

These two actions both write a .cents file, but they do different jobs.

• Save As writes the current document to a new .cents file name and switches Common Cents to that new file.
• Create Backup writes a .cents copy but keeps your current file open.

If you are about to make a risky change and want an easy return point, Create Backup is usually the right first move.

If you are intentionally branching into a new working file, use Save As.

Choose the right CSV export #

• Export All Transactions CSV is the broad reporting export. It includes transaction rows, detail rows, IDs, amounts, dates, and joined names such as payee, account, category, and label.
• Export Transactions Import CSV is the re-import-friendly transaction export. It keeps stable external IDs and normalized names so the data is easier to feed back into an import workflow or another integration.
• Export Budget CSV focuses on monthly budget inputs only: manual assignments and net category moves per category.
• Export Planning CSV is the broader month-by-category planning export. It includes manual assignments, moves in, moves out, net moves, activity, and end-of-month available balances.

Filtered transaction exports #

On the All Transactions page, the export menu can follow your current filters.

That lets you export only the matching set instead of the whole file.

You have two filtered choices there:

• Export Filtered CSV for a reporting-style filtered export
• Export Filtered Import CSV for an import-ready filtered export

This is useful when you have already narrowed the transaction list by account, payee, note text, date range, category, label, or other search criteria and want the exported file to match exactly what you are looking at.

When to create one #

Create an export before:

• a large import
• a major cleanup session
• structural changes that could ripple through the file
• handing budget or transaction data to another tool

Think of it as a checkpoint #

You are giving yourself a clean place to return to if the next step does not go the way you expected.

That is the main rule for this section:

• use Backup when you want a safe return point
• use Save As when you want a new working file
• use the right CSV export for the kind of data you actually need