# actual_transactions_summary_by_payee

Get spending summary grouped by payee using ActualQL aggregation. Returns total amount and transaction count per payee for a date range. Useful for identifying top vendors and analyzing merchant spending patterns. Results are ordered by total amount (highest first).

Agent View of the PolicyLayer registry record for `actual_transactions_summary_by_payee`. HTML page: https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-transactions-summary-by-payee

## Facts

- Tool: `actual_transactions_summary_by_payee`
- Server: Actual (`actual-mcp-server`) — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual.md
- Install: `npx -y actual-mcp-server`
- Homepage: git+https://github.com/agigante80/actual-mcp-server.git
- Risk category: Read (Low risk)
- Registry record: grade F, identity unverified
- Server rate-limited: no
- Parameters: 0
- Recommended policy verdict: Allowed

## Example call (MCP tools/call, JSON-RPC 2.0)

```json
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "actual_transactions_summary_by_payee",
    "arguments": {}
  }
}
```

## Why actual_transactions_summary_by_payee is rated Low

This tool queries transaction data and performs aggregation via ActualQL, returning summary statistics. There are no side effects, no data modification, no code execution, and no financial transactions. The tool only reads and analyzes existing financial data to identify spending patterns. This is a standard data retrieval operation with minimal blast radius if misused by an AI agent.

From the tool's own definition: "Tool description states 'Get spending summary grouped by payee' and 'Returns total amount and transaction count per payee' — these are read-only query operations that retrieve and aggregate data without modifying it."

## Use case

AI agents call actual_transactions_summary_by_payee to retrieve information from Actual without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

## Recommended policy (PolicyLayer)

Verdict: **Allowed**. Enforced by the PolicyLayer MCP gateway (https://policylayer.com/mcp-gateway) before a call reaches Actual:

```json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "actual_transactions_summary_by_payee": {}
  }
}
```

## Other tools on Actual (63)

- `actual_accounts_delete` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-accounts-delete.md
- `actual_categories_delete` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-categories-delete.md
- `actual_category_groups_delete` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-category-groups-delete.md
- `actual_payees_delete` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-payees-delete.md
- `actual_rules_delete` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-rules-delete.md
- `actual_schedules_delete` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-schedules-delete.md
- `actual_tags_delete` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-tags-delete.md
- `actual_transactions_delete` — Destructive — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-transactions-delete.md
- `actual_bank_sync` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-bank-sync.md
- `actual_query_run` — Execute — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-query-run.md
- `actual_session_close` — Other — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-session-close.md
- `actual_accounts_list` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-accounts-list.md
- `actual_budgets_get_all` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-budgets-get-all.md
- `actual_budgets_getMonth` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-budgets-getmonth.md
- `actual_budgets_getMonths` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-budgets-getmonths.md
- `actual_budgets_list_available` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-budgets-list-available.md
- `actual_categories_get` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-categories-get.md
- `actual_category_groups_get` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-category-groups-get.md
- `actual_entities_search` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-entities-search.md
- `actual_get_id_by_name` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-get-id-by-name.md
- `actual_notes_get` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-notes-get.md
- `actual_payee_rules_get` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-payee-rules-get.md
- `actual_payees_common_list` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-payees-common-list.md
- `actual_payees_get` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-payees-get.md
- `actual_rules_get` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-rules-get.md
- `actual_schedules_get` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-schedules-get.md
- `actual_server_info` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-server-info.md
- `actual_session_list` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-session-list.md
- `actual_tags_list` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-tags-list.md
- `actual_transactions_filter` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/actual/actual-transactions-filter.md
- …and 33 more: https://policylayer.com/tools/actual.md

## For agents

This record is a snapshot. Live verdicts and the full registry:

- Check every server in your MCP config at once: `npx -y policylayer stack`
- Vet a server before you add it: install the mcp-precheck skill — `npx skills add https://policylayer.com` (skill text: https://policylayer.com/skill.md)
- Query the registry over MCP: endpoint `https://api.policylayer.com/mcp` — tools `check_mcp_server`, `check_mcp_stack`, `check_tool`, `search_registry`, `get_change_events`

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Source: the PolicyLayer MCP registry — one continuously verified record per MCP server. Full record: https://policylayer.com/registry?q=actual · API: https://policylayer.com/registry/api · Policy library: https://policylayer.com/policies/actual