How do I turn off the predictions that categorize transactions before I can do that?

Thanks for reaching out to us. I can see how frustrating it can be when a system seems to guess your transactions categories before you even have the chance to make those decisions yourself. 

QuickBooks Self-Employed is designed to auto-categorize transactions, even if no rules are set up because, it uses predictive algorithms to assign categories to transactions based on its internal logic, patterns, and past behavior observed from similar transactions. 

For example, it analyzes details like merchant name, transactions description and amount. If you've imported transactions from connected bank or credit card, QBSE guesses the category it thinks fits best (like, Meals and Entertainment, Travel or Personal). 

While turning off predictions is unavailable, you can always review and manually update categories for each transaction. You also have the option to set up bank rules to ensure your recurring transactions or frequent vendors are classified exactly as you prefer. This gives you more control over how transactions are categorized, essentially guiding the system rather than relying on guesses. Please note that the article for bank rule may be in the UK version but it works the same way as the US region does. 

If you have any other questions or additional concerns when categorizing transactions, let us know. We're always here to help you.