"How much do I actually spend at that one coffee shop?" sounds like a question any budgeting app should answer. Most can't. Nearly every app records the category, which is what you bought. Far fewer record the merchant, which is who you paid, in a way you can count and rank.
Here is how the main approaches differ as of October 2026, with links to each company's own help pages, and how to set up payee tracking without linking a bank. I build Pocket Clear, one of the apps below, so I've tried to be specific about where others do this better.
Where the merchant name comes from
From your bank feed. Bank-linked apps read the merchant string off each transaction automatically. You never type it. In exchange, an aggregator holds a connection to your accounts, and raw feed names are often messy. The same café can show up as SQ *BLUE BOTTLE 0412 one day and TST* BLUE BOTTLE the next. Monarch's help center, for example, suggests merging merchants in Merchant settings when one merchant appears under several names.
From you. Manual trackers rely on you to name who you paid. Some give you a real payee field; many give you only a free-text note. That difference matters more than any feature list suggests.
A note is not a payee
| Note field | Payee field | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Free text on one transaction | A record many transactions point to |
| "Starbucks" vs "starbucks" vs "sbux" | Three different strings | One payee, picked from a list |
| Find one payment | Yes, by searching | Yes |
| "Who did I pay most this month?" | No | Yes, ranked |
| Fix a year of inconsistent names | Edit rows one by one | Rename or merge once |
So when an app says you can "record the merchant", check whether that means a note. If it does, you can find a payment but you can't analyse your spending by merchant.
How the main options compare
- Bank-linked apps (for example Monarch): automatic merchant capture and merchant merging, at the cost of bank access plus some cleanup of feed names. Best if you want merchants filled in with zero typing.
- YNAB: a payee on every transaction, whether the account is linked or entered by hand. You can rename, combine and delete payees from Manage Payees in the web app, and renaming rules clean up names on future imports. It comes with YNAB's zero-based budgeting method, which you need to adopt to get the most from it.
- Simple manual trackers: often a note field only. Fine for remembering, not for ranking.
- Pocket Clear: a structured Payee field, entered by you, with no bank connection at any point. It is part of the optional Pro subscription.
If automatic capture matters more to you than keeping your bank disconnected, a bank-linked app is the better tool. If you want to know who you paid and never link a bank, a manual app with a real payee field is the rare combination to look for.
Setting up payee tracking in Pocket Clear
- Go to Settings > Payees and switch payees on. They are off by default.
- When adding or editing a transaction, tap the new Payee field. Your payees drop down straight away, most-used first. Type to filter, or type a new name to create one.
- Save. There is no starter list, so the first payee you type becomes the first entry. Within a couple of weeks your regular shops are one tap.
What you get once it's on:
- Top Payees in Reports: your spending ranked by who you paid.
- Search by payee: All Transactions search matches payee names along with notes, category and amount. Search is free for everyone.
- Manage Payees: each payee with its transaction count. Rename one and every transaction shows the new name. Merge "Trader Joe's" and "Trader Joes", and Pocket Clear tells you how many transactions will move before you confirm.
- Safe deletes: deleting a payee only removes it from the picker. Past transactions keep the name and still count in Reports.
- A Top merchant insight: with payees on, Pro Insights can flag a month where one payee takes 15% or more of your spending so far across at least three orders.
Things to know first
- You type it. That is the trade for no bank access. Most-used-first suggestions keep it to a tap for repeat merchants, but new ones need a few letters.
- Payees are private. A partner never sees yours, even in combined view, and Top Payees there shows only your own spending. Merging two people's lists by name would be a guess, so the app doesn't try.
- It's optional. If category totals already answer your questions, leave payees off and the Add Transaction screen stays as short as it was.
Full details are in the Payees help article. For the wider picture, see budgeting without bank linking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which budget apps let you track who you paid?
Bank-linked apps such as Monarch take the merchant name from your bank feed and let you merge duplicate merchants. YNAB has a payee on every transaction, linked or manual. Pocket Clear has a Payee field you fill in yourself, with no bank connection, as part of its optional Pro subscription.
Is a note field good enough for tracking merchants?
Only for finding a single transaction. A note is free text on one entry, so "Starbucks", "starbucks" and "sbux" are three different strings and can't be ranked or totalled. A payee is a record many transactions point to, which is what makes a Top Payees report possible.
Can I track merchants without linking my bank?
Yes. YNAB lets you enter transactions manually with a payee, and Pocket Clear never links a bank at all: you pick the payee from a list of ones you've used, most-used first, or type a new one.
How do I clean up duplicate payee names?
In Pocket Clear, open Settings > Payees > Manage Payees, select the duplicates and merge them. It shows how many transactions will move before you confirm. In YNAB, payees are combined from Manage Payees in the web app. In Monarch, merchants can be merged in Merchant settings.
Does deleting a payee change my old transactions?
Not in Pocket Clear. Deleting a payee only removes it from the picker. Past transactions keep the name and still appear in Reports.
Can my partner see my payees in Partner Mode?
No. Payees are private to each person. In the combined view, Top Payees shows only your own spending, because each partner keeps a separate payee list.
What Users Say About Pocket Clear
"This is the best money tracking app I have ever used! I absolutely love it. It is easy to use and I am able to adapt it to my needs. I can add the names I want for each categories. I can use it to simply track my spending. It gives me overviews of my spending. I highly recommend it."
"Love the app - straightforward , no fluff and unnecessary things. Easy and effective !"
Know who you paid, without linking a bank
Pocket Clear is free, with an optional Pro subscription that adds payees and Top Payees.