Stories — Best Practices
The Stories feature in Valid8 allows you to group transactions together into a named narrative, regardless of which account, statement, or data source they came from. Stories are useful for organizing transactions that share a common theme — such as activity tied to a specific case, geographic location, property, or financial pattern. Once created, stories can be filtered and visualized to show the sources, accounts, and uses of money within that group.
Steps
- From the process map, click the Bank Transactions
- Click the Stories button to open the Manage Stories screen.
- To view an existing story's details, click the View button next to it. Click Cancel then Close to return.
- To filter the transactions view to a specific story, click the Stories filter on the left-hand side. Check the checkbox next to the story and click Apply. Transactions assigned to that story will show a story icon in the Story column.
- Click the Visualizations tab to see a visual breakdown of the filtered story data, including sources, accounts, and uses for each transaction.
- Return to the Transactions tab and click the Stories button again to manage stories.
- To create a new story: click the Add button at the bottom of the Manage Stories screen. Enter a name and description, then click Create. The new story will appear in the list. Click Close.
- To clear all active filters: click the Clear button on the left-hand filter panel, then click Apply.
- To add a transaction to a story: check the checkbox next to the transaction and click the Add to Stories icon. Select the story from the list and click Save. A confirmation notification will appear.
- To confirm which story a transaction belongs to, hover over the story icon in the Story column — the story name will appear.
Tips & Common Questions
- Stories cross account and statement boundaries. A single story can include transactions from bank statements, brokerage statements, credit cards, and any other data source in the engagement.
- Use stories to build case narratives. Group transactions that tell a coherent story — for example, all expenses tied to a property, a location (e.g., Las Vegas spending), or a specific business relationship.
- Visualize stories for reporting. After filtering to a story, the Visualizations tab shows a clear picture of where money came from and where it went — useful for court exhibits or client presentations.
- A transaction can belong to only one story. Plan your story structure before assigning transactions to avoid needing to reassign them later.